Telescope-Refracting Telescopes-William Optics MiniCat 51 Refractor

Ultra-Wide Petzval Optics
Ensuring your images will be just as clear
and crisp as they are expansive, is the MiniCat 51
Refractor’s Petzval optical design. With 6 optical
elements arranged in 2 groups, this optical design
allows the William Optics MiniCat 51 Refractor to
provide excellent images! 2
Super ED elements and lanthanum glass with advanced multi-coatings make up part of this 6 element premium design,
keeping your images free of chromatic aberration.
Front and center of this optical design is a 51mm
front objective, matching that of the
William Optics RedCat 51 Gen 3 APO f/4.9
Refracting Telescope with WIFD
this scope is based on, but with a f/3.5 focal ratio
to give you a wider view into the night sky and
2x faster data acquisition. With a focal length of 178mm
this can comfortably frame up the largest celestial
targets, or offer a sprawling panoramic-esque take
on smaller objects. If wide-field imaging is your
goal, than this scope certainly has you covered!

Popular Imaging Line, Now in a Mini Form Factor
William Optics’ RedCat line of telescopes are some of the gold standards when it comes to compact, premium construction, tack-sharp Petzval telescopes, and this excellence has now come to the ultra-wide field, ultra-compact imaging space! Dwarfed by its already compact big sibling, the RedCat 51 Gen 3 APO f/4.9 Refracting Telescope with WIFD, this scope is seriously tiny; coming in at just 8.3″ long and only 5.05 lb.! This hasn’t come at the cost of build quality however, with this scope featuring the same sleek red construction as its full-sized counterparts. Please Note: Unlike other RedCat models, the MiniCat 51 Refractor does not come with a built-in filter drawer.

Unique WIFD Focuser, with EAF Compatibility
Typical refractor focusers work by moving a
tube separate from the main telescope housing,
extending and collapsing this tube out of the back
of the housing until the gear attached is at focus.
This is an effective solution, but it does come with
some drawbacks. The further away from the main tube
your gear is, the more it wants to tilt; and as this
assembly needs to be smaller than the main tube, it
can vingette the optics and reduce your useable
signal. William Optics’ patented WIFD system removes
both of these concerns from the equation! By instead moving
optics inside the telescope to adjust focus, your
gear now has a rock-solid and tilt-free connection
capable of passing the full light cone of the optics
through! William Optics didn’t stop there—as
this focuser also features electronic focuser
compatability out-of-the-box, making adding
auto-focus capabilities a breeze. Those more
interested in manaul focus need not fret however, as
a dual-speed focus knob and an analog thermometer
equipped coarse focus knob are here as well!

Essential Accessories Included
This scope ensures you have all the
essential hardware you need to have an excellent
optical base for your astrophotography setup! With a
Vixen-style dovetail and scope ring included, the
William Optics MiniCat 51 Refractor to a wide
variety of mounts right out-of-the-box. Attached to
this is a stylized combination handle and
Synta-style/ findershoe-mount accessory rail that
can hold your guidescope or compatible WiFi camera
control system. For manually finding focus, this
scope also includes a Bahtinov mask inside the front
dust cap.
Finally, for camera adjustments the MiniCat 51 Refractor features a rotator with index markings that make precise, repeatable, rotations simple, as well as a built-in tilt plate to allow you to adjust out any misalignment of your imaging train!