Beautiful scope. This’ll be a great scope for the intermediate user that wants an upgrade from a beginner scope!

I'm glad you also enjoyed your time with the FF90! It truly was a stellar performer in my experience.
Clear Skies!

Great video. I have a RedCat 51 and 71 scopes, really happy with their performance. Might have to consider one of these for something with a bit more focal length.

FYI, the paint is powder coating. Paint is sprayed dry, in powder form, onto a surface that is slightly charged, then baked in an oven.

Powder coating usually leaves a thick, textured finish and is very hard wearing.

Nothing weird about looking at bugs on flowers Luke, I think many of us who are interested in astronomy have a general interest in the natural world too. Nice looking scope but as one of my cameras has just decided to throw it's hand in I might have to spend my spare cash replacing that if it can't be repaired easily. The joys of astro photography.

receaved a few days 131 FF ZWO BIG BROTHER first light wonderful

I have my eye on the FF110.  promizing ! <3

Love these scopes Luko thanks for this review! Now I want the collectors set: (new) FF70, 90, 110, 131 and (old)  FF65, 80, 107, 130 😵‍💫...  But I'm still convinced that my AM3 FF80 (0.76x reducer) PE 160 TC40 EAF EFW (dualband) CAA 2600MC Duo ASIair at f/5.6 is the better grab-and-go and hits the sweet spot in the range. Alas it is no longer available. It has to be easier to carry fully assembled through a half open door with the tripod legs still locked, and it has a more versatile (wider) field of view - it'll give you Andromeda on APSC. FF90 @f/6.8 612mm is neither one thing or the other, and the longer tube will bump the door jam more often!

Now I notice that ZWO aren't currently offering any focal reducers for their new FF models (and the reducers for the old range - even if they were suitable - are out of stock). Taking the FF80/0.76x (f/5.6 450mm) as a case in point, closest equivalent in new range is not the 90 (because of the lack of reducer) but the 70. For comparison, the FF70 is (still a tiny bit) longer (f/7 490mm) and smaller than my reduced FF80, (so a bit slower, with a slightly smaller FOV) but it is very much cheaper and even more so without the need reducer. The range is now all around f/7 I'd guess that's for easier narrowband guiding with the duo and air cameras, and yes as you say now "performance meets value" (even more so than before). But yeah, it clips Andromeda a little bit more too (whereas the 90 significantly clips the wings of this popular target). Older better, newer cheaper - aint that the story of our times!

If I didn't already have an Orion 130 mono rig, the FF131 on a Berlebach tripod PE 200 AM7 EAF EFW CAA 2600MM + OAG ASIair would tempt me for deep reach and detail at a 'best bang for buck' price point.  I'd bet that would also just fit using soft luggage into a good camping cart and work for family-car trips to dark sky sites.

As for that motivation thing, I'm sure that I "dun real good" when I added that FF80 wide field OSC grab and go, to combine with my larger deep reach instrument (originally with a 533MC, and now converted for mono). The grab-and-go will go out on the balcony in minutes (and although the target options are limited from that spot in the 6 months from late spring) it is a genuine delight to be able to run the show from couch when feeling sleepy, or after a beer.  I still set up the big rig on the roof and guard/attend it all night, and I don't use it any less, but now with the grab and go, I'm active more often.

As a last point the ZWO shop boasts "Designed for Both Visual Observation and Astrophotography". Really?? Well the OTA can take an eyepiece, but that's as far as it goes and in my view that's not good enough to support this claim.The bundle is NOT pleasant for visual use, and who wants their hobby to be an unpleasant experience? If unsupported by a ZWO camera, and an asiair capable of plate solving, none of the AM mounts can do accurate PA, so you are stuck with AltAz. I don't know how well they fair in EQ, but they cant even hit a target reliably to within 4 or 5 degrees in AltAz. That's just not good enough when my (fairly typical) widest field eyepiece is 2.9 true. Who wants to mount and dismount (what should be redundant) equipment during the PA goto observe goto observe... workflow?  The mount control (SkyAtlas App, or ASIair) involves a screen. There goes your dark vision if you want (or need) any goto assistance at all... to find a messier target example. No clutches mean a long wait while the scope slews to somewhere with the target just out of view, So a finder needs to be attached and aligned. Finally looking near the zenith involves bending low, and with the AltAz mode (on any power) I get dizzy from field rotation with my head between my knees, and there's a genuine risk of a fall. So I'd give it a 3/10 for that "design" claim, as 70% of the important considerations are misjudged. Visual Observation of bugs on the plants def. deserves 3!

Great video.  Garden Luke, that guy can ramble on. LOL!  And I really liked you making the point about what you called friction.  My main rig is an AM5, William Optics Redcat 61, ZWO 533MC plus EAF, ASIAIR Plus and a guide scope and camera, and dew heaters.  I keep this set up all the time which and just carry it out onto my deck for imaging.  To me this seems more or less as friction free as using a smart telescope, but I don’t own a smart telescope so I don’t really know.  What I do know is that using my Celestron C6 with the Celestron mount and Star Sense unit is anything but friction free.  I used it for planetary four or five years ago, and I’m still amazed that with a lot of post processing I got a very good image of Saturn and decent images of Jupiter and Mars.  I’m amazed because I was a complete beginner when I got those images, and it wasn’t really fun getting them.  I may even divest myself of that equipment (sell or donate) given its unwieldy nature to operate.  Because I am very happen with my main rig, I won’t be tempted by the FF90, but it seems like an excellent value for someone deciding what to get right now.

Hi Luke great video mate

I bought the FF80 about 8 months ago and have it set up more or less exactly the same as your rig. It lives in my upstairs spare room, fully assembled with a dust cover over it, and it is easy even for a 60 year old like me to carry it down the stairs and into the garden whenever there is a clear night. I got the reducer for mine, which I find really useful in terms of framing bigger or smaller targets, and the only 'issue' I have noticed so far is what I expect to be the slightest of tilt, just like you mentioned, but in such a minor degree that I haven't bothered trying to correct it. If money was no object I suppose the better way to go was to have a full array of different telescopes, but if the budget isn;t quite there for that the reducer is a nice bit of kit to get the most from your telescope.

i have an FF110 on the way! kinda got screwed over by the shop i bought it from and they're making me wait another month before getting it but excited none the less.

the second F means red flames color.

I still use the ZWO FF80 telescope quite a bit even though my collection of scopes has grown quite a bit so yeah, I get the portability part! :)

Great review Luke.  It reminds me of a red version of the Askar 91F (lol).  I agree that if one is able to set up quickly and easily then you would use the scope more.  I've got my 71F set up so that my 70 year old muscles can put the scope outside in about 10 minutes.  I really don't think about setting up these days, just taking advantage of clear skies.

These are selling for AUD $1650.00 (866 pounds) in Australia atm. It's crazy how much prices have come down in the last few years for Quadruplet Apo's thanks to ZWO and Askar. Skywatcher must be feeling the pinch though as they don't appear to be keeping up in this area. They are still relying on their outdated and over priced Esprit triplet range.

Hey mate, I’m looking at upgrading early next year from my S30 Pro to a setup just like this.
With all the advancements in smart telescopes these days like the S50 Pro and the Draco on the way is image quality comparable with them to something taken by a setup like the one in your video?
If it’s only marginal then I might have to have a rethink.
Keep up the great work 👍

The comments passed the vibe check.

I bought the Askar 91F, which is the same scope, just without the hotrod-red color splash.

great scope, great price.  very satisfying.

lugging out hd 11 and rasa 11 rig every night now. friction isn't that bad. dont like it too lubed :D