Herb H

Aug 31, 2023

SVBONY SV550 80mm f/6 APO Triplet Refractor Telescope for Astrophoto

"Very Nice Scope for the Price ! I bought this on webiste , and after a month of use I am very happy with it. It is a rather large 122mm aperture ApoChromat (see definition on Wikipedia) with excellent color correction. You can find my unboxing video on YouTube under KLTyzWgymQ0 , with lots of detailed pictures. On a few good nights I was able to get a few images with it, just to test it out. You will be able to see those pictures on YouTube under 0Oqvk5U5gWw. I used a Skywatcher HEQ5 mount (an AVX would work just as well) and a RisingCam IMX571 camera. Pros : Excellent optical quality for the price Very well-made focuser, ring mounts and 0.8x reducer Complete accessories (finder mount, guider mount etc) Cons : This thing has a good size and is not light ! EDIT : You can find a few more Astro Images taken with my 122 on my YouTube channel under : D_85aN6ddWA and MNZpV9GhpjI as well as 0Oqvk5U5gWw and p6O4EX56wFo"

dogdog

Oct 26, 2024

SVBONY SV550 80mm f/6 APO Triplet Refractor Telescope for Astrophoto

Very nice telscope, Sharp images The due shield wants to slip back own its own when viewing 20 degrees to zenith. To fix this all you need is a 2.5mm allen wrench to screw in the three set screws at the base of the dew shield. That the only problem I had with this scope, but once I adjusted those screws I give it an A+ or 5 stars

Patty & Dudley Eirich

Nov 20, 2023

SVBONY SV550 80mm f/6 APO Triplet Refractor Telescope for Astrophoto

A great all-around telescope I have been doing astrophotography for a little less than two years. I started out with an 8 inch Schmidt Cassegrain style telescope (SCT) but I wanted a telescope with a wider field of view. I decided to order the SV550 80 mm refractor telescope from Svbony and loved it. It was an inexpensive but high quality telescope. With it I was finally able to image the complete circle of the moon, the Andromeda galaxy and a number of large nebulae. Plus the quality of the pictures was much improved over my previous telescope. So when SVBONY came out with the SV550 122 mm telescope and I saw some video reviews, I decided to order one to replace the 8 inch SCT reflector. I couldn't be happier with a telescope. It is a little on the heavy side (14 lb/6.4 kg vs 12 lb/5.4 kg for the SCT) but it's not too much for a senior citizen like me to handle. It has a nice long dew shield that extends and retracts smoothly. I use the manual focuser with a Bahtinov mask as a focus aid. It dials in smoothly and maintains focus once set. With the 1.0x field flattener, the stars are sharp and round points of light all across the field of view. In comparison with the 8" SCT with a 0.63x focal reducer, the quality of the images has improved greatly. In comparison with the SV550 80 mm telescope, it has over twice the light-gathering capability, so I am able to get more detail in my images during a single night of photography. The only down-side is that it is pretty long, but that is to be expected with a refractor with a wide aperture. With the dew-shield extended and my camera attached, it is 43 inches (109 cm) long, which means that I have to be much more careful as the telescope approaches the meridian. However I have safety features set up to avoid collision with the tripod legs so it isn't a deal breaker. All in all, I am extremely happy with this telescope and expect to get many years of great images with it.

Álvaro Moreno

Nov 18, 2025

SVBONY SV550 80mm f/6 APO Triplet Refractor Telescope for Astrophoto

Quality optics, focuser and overall build is top notch Received mine back in Jul 2025 — taking advantage of a 35% off sale! I was skeptical as I have a number of high-end/premium medium to large ed/apo scopes, but the SV550 122mm APO really delivers the goods and continues to greatly impress me each time I take it out. Optics are really impressive - views are razor sharp, clear and contrasty. It is very well constructed and its build holds up to my premium scopes. The focuser, like the optics, works supremely well. Best of all, this scope really does not tip the scales like some near 5” APOs. I will not be letting this scope go! Highly recommended.

Maria Laffitte

May 28, 2026

SVBONY SV550 80mm f/6 APO Triplet Refractor Telescope for Astrophoto

Excellent optics and solid quality optical tube. I have owned this telescope for several months now. It has provided me with some of the best visual views of the moon and planets for this aperture. There is no observable chromatic aberration. At high power stars look like textbook images with no astigmatism. Collimation is sharp and I checked it using star tests at high magnifications. The star test shows little if any spherical aberration. Intra and extrafocal images of slightly defocused stars look almost equal. The level of detail and color that I was able to see on Jupiter was astounding. There was no hint of a purple halo around the planet. On the moon the contrast and sharpness allowed for the resolution of fine structures. Double stars are a pleasure to observe with this telescope especially colorful pairs. The telescope excels on deep sky objects too. The Orion Nebula was impressive. I was able to fit the whole sword of Orion in the field of view of my 20mm SvBony wide field eyepiece. The Trapezium multiple star system yielded 6 stars at medium magnification. This is a great visual refractor. Mechanically the focuser is excellent with smooth movements. The fine focusing knob allows for precise focusing especially on the moon and planets. In my humid climate I have not seen any dew on the objective lens thanks to an appropriate dew cap that slides back for storage. The telescope is heavy on the front due to the triplet objective. Take that into account when lifting it from the case and balancing in an equatorial mount. This telescope is a quality instrument at a very reasonable price. I have owned many telescopes in my 60 years as an amateur astronomer. This is one of the best.

Rafael Diaz Vasquez

Jul 11, 2025

SVBONY SV550 80mm f/6 APO Triplet Refractor Telescope for Astrophoto

Excelente telescopio, relación calidad - precio inigualable Excelente desempeño por su precio, es un OTA compacto y liviano, las ópticas reducen sustancialmente la aberración cromática. He conseguido astrofotografías muy bonitas y es un excelente equipo para iniciación en astrofotografía dada su inigualable relación calidad - precio

JACO

Dec 04, 2025

SVBONY SV550 80mm f/6 APO Triplet Refractor Telescope for Astrophoto

Plan ahead Heavy. Plan for the mount ahead of time as the real options are limited and pricier than the OTA but fantastic optics and smooth focus. 5 stars.

Kevbo

Aug 11, 2025

SVBONY SV550 80mm f/6 APO Triplet Refractor Telescope for Astrophoto

Stars finally aligned!Stars finally aligned! Knowing the build quality of my SV503 80mm, I knew the SV550 construction would be solid--and it is. Surprisingly light for a 122mm triplet, but well balanced. The image quality is excellent and if I can break away from the clouds and Canadian forest fires, I'll get more time to spend with it. So far the color fringing is minimal with the triplet compared to their doublet. Overall I am satisfied with my purchase and the value/quality that Svbony delivers. Purchase from the Svbony direct store and you *may* still get a free gift.

JAM

Apr 29, 2026

SVBONY SV550 80mm f/6 APO Triplet Refractor Telescope for Astrophoto

Great telescope absolutely love it Wow , what a great telescope absolutely love it

Sam

Jan 30, 2023

SVBONY SV550 80mm f/6 APO Triplet Refractor Telescope for Astrophoto

I can see the green comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) with a dslr camera with this.I can see the green comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) with a dslr camera with this. Mind that I'm an absolute noob at astrophotography but even so, I was able to snap this pic of the green comet known as C/2022 E3 (ZTF). Im learning how to take multiple pictures at longer exposures and stack them together with the scope on a star tracker aaand trying a camera that doesn't block precious uv light spectrums so I can get more deep space objects but the whole reason I started building out my gear was for this once in 50k year event. The scope came in on time, no damage, zero flaws, just as good as all the youtube videos show. To a vloggers advice at starting with something smaller and easier to focus, I found that to be true. You do see quite a bit with the field of view in this scope but as you get used to the shape of stars, it becomes easy to match up what you're looking at through a sky atlas or star tracker visual. Yes, computers can automate this but sometimes you just want to see what you see. I manually looked at the unique star collections around ursa minor and was able to make my way directly over to this green comet and couldn't believe I was standing there looking at it. The experience takes you right out of our own little world, opening up the wonders of the unknown. That's exactly what I get from looking through this scope.

Robert Williams

Jan 22, 2023

SVBONY SV550 80mm f/6 APO Triplet Refractor Telescope for Astrophoto

Perfect for astrophotographyPerfect for astrophotography The performance is remarkable. The optic is superb, the build quality is excellent, for an affordable 80mm APO imaging scope it leaves nothing on the table. Very pleased with it. Only experts in optics will be able to notice any defects in the images it produces. It’s the telescope bargin of the century.

EZ

Sep 15, 2025

SVBONY SV550 80mm f/6 APO Triplet Refractor Telescope for Astrophoto

Great scope for astrophotography! Great telescope for astrophotography. I haven't tested it extensively but so far it's taking gorgeous pictures. In case this is useful to anyone; I used the Explore Scientific 1.0x flattener and it worked great with this scope.

Bob.

Sep 11, 2023

SVBONY SV550 80mm f/6 APO Triplet Refractor Telescope for Astrophoto

Very good telescope for the price. The svbony 550 80mm triplet is a great telescope for anyone who wants to get into astrophotography. I would definitely buy again.

Jozua Hattingh

Oct 10, 2023

SVBONY SV550 80mm f/6 APO Triplet Refractor Telescope for Astrophoto

Excellent telescope. Beautiful telescope. Quality is excellent.

Robert Williams

Nov 11, 2022

SVBONY SV550 80mm f/6 APO Triplet Refractor Telescope for Astrophoto

Very nice OTA, excellent for astrophotography with the correctorVery nice OTA, excellent for astrophotography with the corrector The build quality is superb, the optics are bright and sharp, the focus mechanism is extremely solid and smooth. The entire assembly is much more solid that it appears to be in pictures. Definitely a higher end scope. Pretty thrilled with it so far. Edit— After getting some more clear nights boy this thing performs beyond expectations, I’m imaging with the ASI2600MM pro in mono with it and wow, pinpoint stars across the entire feild, no aberration noticeable at all. This scope is the deal of the century. If you’re on a budget and looking for a very high performance APO for astrophotography then it can’t be beat there’s nothing I’d complain about. I mounted it to a Losmandy rail to add room for power supplies and my imaging computer. I still haven’t had enough clear night to really push it to it’s limits but having taken some images under less than perfect conditions the results are impressive to say the least…

nagant12

May 28, 2024

SVBONY SV550 80mm f/6 APO Triplet Refractor Telescope for Astrophoto

Wow X2Wow X2 Ordered the SV 550. Received it a couple of days ago. I inadvertently ordered the 80 mm instead of the 122 mm. It was my mistake. Although I had initially desired the 122 mm, I was impressed with the ease of set up and the quality of the 80 mm. I had always used Different types of scopes, including the rasa, and a couple of SC 8’s etc. . Nothing was easier than setting up the telescope with an Orion eq 26 mount. I was very impressed with the visual and a brief session of photography with using zwo 2600 color. I incorporated an ASI air, electric auto focus, Lens flattener (not a reducer), , backspacing, scope camera…etc. It was a very nice neat package that fit in my gym bag! It was approximately 14 inches long by about 9 inches high. I didn’t weigh it but I suspect somewhere around 11-12 pounds. I can now “go lighter” and feel confident That I did not make significant sacrifices. Something that I’ve been looking forward to for sometime. I think I’m keeping the 80 mm. This is an update: I ordered the 122 after having decided to keep the 80 mm as well. The 122 came double packed and inside the second box was neatly placed telescope in a well packed carrie bag. I have only set it up on the mount now but it’s like dad and little boy. Although the 122 is quite manageable, It does weigh twice as much as the 80mm but still keep it in the range appropriate for medium capacity mounts. I am putting a Dual scope mount on my AVX and will be able to use both telescopes simultaneously for camera, viewing, or any combination of both. The combination of these two triplets, ais a. great value and compared to the price of a single Rassa 8., I believe I have a true value in owning both of these scopes.

NewEnglander

Feb 08, 2024

SVBONY SV550 80mm f/6 APO Triplet Refractor Telescope for Astrophoto

Bargain triplet, don't forget the flattener for it. This is a bargain 80mm triplet meant for astrophotography. Produces excellent images with the right camera. If you want to make it faster and wider field of view for your camera, get the reducer that is made for the 80mm doublet, it works 100%, just like the dedicated flattener for the triplet. Highly recommended.

Charles D Taylor

Dec 13, 2025

SVBONY SV550 80mm f/6 APO Triplet Refractor Telescope for Astrophoto

Mine is an excellent APO My version of this scope is excellent. My version compares favorably to other telescopes with similarly sized aperture that cost much more. I bought this for solar observing using a spectroheliograph, but I’m also using it for photometry and spectroscopy now. The focuser is stout and carries the shg and other optical components easily. Well worth the money.

M. Steele

Aug 14, 2023

SVBONY SV550 80mm f/6 APO Triplet Refractor Telescope for Astrophoto

Great telescope The 80 mm SVBONY APO is a work of art. Great value for the money with excellent crisp optics. I am very happy to have it and I’m looking to years of using this and expanding my accessories for it.

Rolando Ojeda

Apr 15, 2024

SVBONY SV550 80mm f/6 APO Triplet Refractor Telescope for Astrophoto

Great APO Telescope at an affordable price. My title describes how I feel about this telescope, great quality, dual speed focuser, no chromatic aberration at a GREAT price. Good job Sbvony!, Good job! 👏 👏 👏 If you want to use 100 of your pictures get the flattener. That will be my next purchase.