Celestron .7X Reducer Lens EdgeHD 800, 94242

The reducer is well made. It is also large and heavy. The Edge 8 HD scope is already "tail heavy". So, monitor eypiece/diagonal clearance when using an alt-az style mount.

The Celestron 8" CPC telescope is unable to view the entire disk of the sun, so the focal reducer is required. Now both the sun and moon fit entirely in the camera's view.

I can only comment on build quality, as it has been raining since I received it. As all amateur astronomers know, as soon as you acquire a new piece of gear, you must endure your "Rain Punishment". That being said, this is a superbly manufactured instrument. Fit and finish are flawless. The claims are that with this reducer, you can essentially cut your exposure time in half, which is really important to me because my polar alignment skills are really lacking, and my auto guiding setup doesn't work(yet). I'm getting much better, and have even managed to get some 2 minute exposures a few times. The trouble with that is at 2 minutes, my camera develops a lot of heat and "noise". The concept of capturing the same amount of photons in half the time is very appealing, and by all accounts this focal reducer accomplishes this admirably.

Makes collecting photons a speedier process. Sure wish it was cheaper!

For someone doing astrophotography, after a camera and a guiding solution, this is the next accessory to get. I haven't tried this with my full frame DSLR, but I use it regularly with my CCD cameras. I also have a Hyperstar, but that is too short except for very wide objects (like M42 or Andromeda). For everything else it is either this or prime focus. In fact, because I have a DSLR, which itself has such a wide field of view, I will probably sell the Hyperstar and stay with the option of the focal reducer (f/7), prime focus (f/10) or the Televue 2.5x Powermate (f/25).