Astro-Tech AT60ED 60mm f/6 FPL-53ED and Lanthanum Doublet

Sky & Telescope called it a Hot Product. Years of owner reviews later, the AT60ED has earned that reputation many times over. This is a 60mm f/6 ED doublet with FPL-53 and Lanthanum glass — the same premium ED optics that define refractor performance — packed into a scope small enough to fit a backpack. It works as a wide-field visual scope, a capable travel refractor, a guide scope, or a small-chip astrophotography platform. It does all four well, and none of them compromise.

The key is the glass. FPL-53 is Ohara's premium ED element, paired here with a Lanthanum element to deliver virtually zero chromatic aberration at f/6. The AT60ED's 360mm focal length is fast — fast enough for efficient wide-field imaging, fast enough to show brighter deep-sky objects in impressive fields of view, fast enough that you can gather a surprising amount of light in short exposures. For a scope you can literally carry in one hand, that's serious capability.

The focuser is a dual-speed 2-inch Rack and Pinion with 10:1 fine focus and a camera angle adjuster. This is the kind of focuser found on much larger scopes. The CAA lets you rotate your camera or guide camera for framing without moving focus. The scope mounts via a finder ring with a 1/4"-20 tapped foot — straight onto a photo tripod, or into a standard finder shoe on a larger scope for piggyback work. The retractable dew shield stores flat against the tube for travel. Light, compact, versatile, and with optics that punch far above the aperture.

The Optical Design

FPL-53 glass is Ohara's premium ED element. Paired with a Lanthanum element, it produces a doublet design that delivers near-zero chromatic aberration at this focal ratio. The surfaces are fully multicoated to maximize light transmission and contrast. What this means in practice: bright, sharp star images with virtually no false color, even at moderate magnifications. The 360mm focal length at f/6 puts the AT60ED in the sweet spot where refractors excel — fast enough to be practical, slow enough to be forgiving on eyepiece quality.