Sky-Watcher Esprit 70EDX Apochromatic Telescope

The Sky-Watcher Esprit 70EDX is a compact apochromatic refractor designed with astrophotography as its primary application, while remaining a capable telescope for visual observation. Its three-element objective incorporates one Hoya FCD100 ED element, helping to control chromatic aberration and produce sharp, high-contrast images. Sky-Watcher’s MHTC multi-coatings are applied to the optical surfaces to provide high light transmission.

With a 70mm aperture, 455mm focal length and f/6.5 focal ratio, the Esprit 70EDX is naturally suited to wide-field imaging. The relatively short focal length allows larger deep-sky subjects to fit comfortably within the field of view, making the telescope particularly useful for nebulae, open clusters and larger galaxies. It can also be used for visual observation of the Moon, planets, double stars and deep-sky objects when fitted with suitable accessories.

The telescope uses a CNC-machined 2.8-inch hybrid rack-and-pinion focuser with 11:1 fine focusing. The focuser has a high accessory load capacity and is designed for zero image shift during focusing. The main focuser is not itself rotatable; instead, a separate 360° rotation adaptor is fitted to the focuser drawtube. This allows an attached camera to be rotated for convenient image framing while keeping the focuser mechanically fixed.

For astrophotography, an optically matched field flattener is available separately. With the optional field flattener, OVL specifies an image height of 44mm. This makes the Esprit 70EDX suitable for imaging systems requiring a comparatively large corrected field.

The optical tube is made from aluminium and incorporates internal stray-light baffling. A retractable dew shield reduces the telescope’s length for transport. The telescope is supplied with CNC-machined aluminium tube rings, a carrying handle, a 45mm dovetail mounting bar and an aluminium carrying case. No eyepiece, star diagonal or finderscope is included.