This focuser alongside the Astro Essential version (which is the same) has a FATAL design flaw. The 4 grub screws, that are on the side of the mounting plate, that hold onto the actual focuser don’t sit in a recess, lip or steep dovetail. It’s completely smooth and straight. This means, that these screws will eventually come loose or slip and your focuser + anything in the focuser WILL come crashing to the ground.

This happened to me last year, which I initially thought was an isolated case, but it is now happening to more people. This focuser NEEDS a lip as a safety stop where these grub screws sit, as in its current state, has a huge design flaw that makes this focuser not safe to use. Basically every other Crayford focuser on the market has a steep taper / dovetail or recess for these grub screws. The annoying thing is, you won’t know about this design flaw unless you take apart the focuser once you buy it or have this situation occur.

If you own one of these or another rebranded variant, I *highly* recommend buying some steel cable tethers to hold your focuser onto your tube and blue loctite to hold the grub screws in place. This will at least add a level of safety and it’s how I’ve had to use my focuser since mine fell apart while slewing last year. I’ve been since awaiting to replace it.

This is a very robust and well made unit , except on mine the left hand alloy knob was slowly grinding itself away because it was fouling the edge of the mounting plate . However that was soon remedied as I removed the Knob (once I'd found an allen key) to fit a motor drive unit. The Lack of a 50 cent Allen key I think is a bit mean as you do need it. Definitely a better quality unit than the standard Focuser supplied with Sky Watcher Dobs too.

If like me you have been using one of the original Skywatcher white Crayford focusers you will know that it is just fine for a compact DLSR like the Canon 550D. However, I found that fitting an ASI1600mm and filter wheel with coma corrector was just too much to keep collimated, and anyway the focuser was old and second hand so I thought it about time to upgrade.

This low profile focuser is a much more rigid construction and much heavier too. As other have said, its a drop in replacement. It is a bit fiddly to tighten the two bolts under the focuser - I used a small flat blade to hold the bolt and then tightened the nuts from the inside of the tube. Because it is CNCd it doesn't need the collimation screws of the old one.

Although there is only one clamping screw the eyepiece clamp uses a brass compression ring which is a much more positive clamping for the my comma corrector.

The draw tube can be extended and is clamped as you need it with a compression ring also. Its probably best to have the extension fully out or fully in if you are imaging as this inner draw tube is quite sloppy until clamped.

The focuser operation is very nice and I have now added my ZWO EAF to it which fitted easily (I used 2x M3 20mm bolts and washers to replace two of the four that hold the focuser mechanism in place. I kept the x10 reduction knob fitted as this provides a nice bearing to keep the focuser tensioned and aligned to the draw tube on the opposite side to the EAF.

A very nice upgrade, I just need some clear sky now

The usual rapid and efficient ordering and delivery service from FLO plus accurate technical advice that enabled me to make an informed decision about purchase. Bought this focuser to replace the high profile original on a Synscan 250 mm dobsonian. A real improvement over the original - smoother and less inclined to slip- allowed the telescope to reach focus with a camera- and overall very good value for money. It was easy to fit and no need to drill new holes. The only gripe was that the original focuser aperture in the side of the Synscan is of a wider diameter than is taken up by the replacement focuser meaning that light and dust can get in around the edges. Thus I cut and glued in place some foam to fill the gap which was quite easy to do and solved the problem.

I decided to get this focus to see if I could achieve the neccesary in focus on my Quattro to use the ASA 0.73x reducer, I didn't want to have to re-drill the tube or move the primary, so this was a try out to see if it could be done......it works!
I didn't have the screw hole issue that others had, I just placed the screws in first and then tightened up the nuts on the other end, but yes the screw holes are a bit awkward if your nuts are fixed to the tube. I think the focuser is better than the stock focuser that came with the quattro from a build perspective too. I am overjoyed that I can now image at F2.9 this season.
Simon Todd Astrophotography

This is a good quality focuser for the price. My first impressions when I opened the box was the high quality finish with of sturdy metal base and pleasing appearance. The fine focussing knob worked a treat on my homemade Newtonian reflector compared to the old rack-and-pinion focuser it replaced.
The only downside I found was that two of the four boltholes were positioned very close to, and even partly underneath, the focusing barrel. I therefore found the fitting and tightening of the bolts rather awkward. It seems to me that this is a design fault and I see no reason why the manufacturer could not have placed the two holes at a slight distance from the barrel for easy tool access. Hence the reason for the 4 star rating.
Having said that, it is still worth every penny for it's high quality and excellent performance.

This is not the best focuser on the market but is very good for the price. Nice smooth action and good fine focussing. I would not recommend if you expect it to carry a lot of weight such as a filter wheel or DSLR camera but for observing is great. I replaced the stock single speed focuser on Skywatcher 8" Dobsonian and was a direct replacement, no need to adjust the holes in the tube. As I say there are better focusers but probably 2 to 3X the price as well so for observing more than adequate.

brought this a while ago and is 100%better than the standard rack and pinion i bought it for photo work with a dslr/webcam and focus is so much more easier and precise get one you will never look back