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Tele & Bino Selections seeking lounge advice


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Got opinions on these small telescopes?

 

It's made by a small company out of upstate New York called Carson Optics.

I have found it for as little as $115 online.

The SkyRunner™ Short-Tube Wide-Angle Telescope is a lightweight, refractor type Telescope that is rugged, compact and easy to use. It has a 70mm objective lens with a 350mm focal length. The SkyRunner™ is equipped with two removable Kellner Eyepieces (6mm/25mm) and a 2x power Barlow Lens. The finder scope is 8x21mm and a folding tabletop Tripod is supplied.

This one seems to be getting great reviews for the price.

Orion SkyScanner 100mm TableTop Reflector Telescope only $110 direct from Orion.

Is this worth the extra $75 ?

Orion StarBlast 4.5 4.48" (114mm) f/4.0 (450mm) Astro Reflector Telescope, 1.25" Rack-and-Pinion Focuser, 1.02 Arc Sec Power 10015

or the Orion StarBlast 4.5 Equatorial Relector for $170

What additional lens purchase would be recommended for your pick in the under $175 range to improved clarity and magnification?

Would the addition of a lens purchase change your choice in the price range?

For Binos:

Orion 20x80 Astronomy Binoculars

4.5 / 5.0

Amazingly affordable 20-power astronomy binocular with giant 80mm lenses provides bright views of the cosmos with exceptional contrast and sharpness. Features built-in tripod adapter, fully multi-coated optics, BAK 4 prisms and 17mm of eye relief.

$149.99

or

Celestron SkyMaster 25 X 70 Binoculars

4.7 / 5.0

The Celestron 25x70 Skymaster binocular combines big aperture with high power, resulting in maximum image brightness in low-light and long-range conditions. Multi-coated lenses offer sharp, clear views of the night sky and distant landscapes.

$99.95

My head is swimming

I look forward to your advice

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Hi there from the UK.

Not heard of the SkyRunner refractor.  However, these short focus achromat refractors are generally good for low to medium power views, and not so good at higher powers, 100x  plus. That's not to say they can't be used at higher powers, but typically, that's not what they are best at.

Personally, I'd go for the Orion 100mm reflector instead of the SkyRunner refractor.  Others may see this differently, so please see what others say, not just me.

Is the Starblast worth an extra $75 is more a difficult question. The Orion 100mm and the Starblast are fairly similar, both short focus reflectors. Not entirely sure, but the Starblast gets good reviews. Please be aware that short focus reflectors are generally hard on eyepieces, what I mean is that less expensive eyepieces show fuzzy stars away from the centre of the field of view, but ok in the middle.  That bothers some more than others, many just learn to live with it, some don't.

One other point.  Table top telescopes need a much more sturdy table ( or other solid surface ) than is sometimes realised, to give a steady view. Not trying to put you off, but something to bear in mind.

Binos - Not so sure here.  Again, not trying to put you off, but if it were myself, instead of getting a scope plus binos, I'd total up the max you can spend, and put the whole amount into a better scope or better binos.

You mention your head is swimming, well that's not surprising, so much choice, so many different price points, so many opinions, like mine here  :smiley:

You know what ?  If you are not sure what to get, I would hang fire until you are.  I'd join a local astronomy club, most are very friendly, get to some observing sessions, most folks are happy to share the view. Take a range of opinions, because it's just so easy for someone to say that what they have is the best, because they just spent their hard earned cash, and so badly want to think they got the best deal going.

Not putting anyone down at all, it's as easy as eating chocolate to think we did the right thing, and tough to admit we didn't.

HTH, Ed.

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Buying equipment for the first time is never easy with so much to choose from. If we start with binoculars I would not recommend the 25x70 against the 20x80. Both binos will be hard to hand hold so you will need to budget for a tripod or monopod (which I prefer). Many astronomers start with something like a 10x50 which will show you many deep sky objects. I have both 15x70 and 20x80 and they give great views - you may wish to look at the Celestron 15x70 certainly a better buy than the 25x70 for astronomy IMHO.

The advice given by Ed (NGC1502) to visit an astronomy club is a good idea. I know that there are several astronomy clubs in the Bay area as I meet a number of groups when I was a guest in 2012 for the Venus Transit.

Don't rush into buying a scope. The small 70mm frac which is f5 I would not recommend as your first scope as Ed stated its ok on low magnification but the image will become soft at higher mags.There are many good pieces of kit around and very popular in the 6" and 8" Dobsonians.

If you want more info just ask - if you find a scope on the Net add a link to your thread.

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Give it up to the reasonable mind. Best advice other than the winning lotto numbers of course. "You know what ?  If you are not sure what to get, I would hang fire until you are.  I'd join a local astronomy club, most are very friendly, get to some observing sessions, most folks are happy to share the view. Take a range of opinions, because it's just so easy for someone to say that what they have is the best, because they just spent their hard earned cash, and so badly want to think they got the best deal going.

"

I needed a little break pressure on this. Sound advice!

Thanks Ed

Hi there from the UK.

 

Not heard of the SkyRunner refractor.  However, these short focus achromat refractors are generally good for low to medium power views, and not so good at higher powers, 100x  plus. That's not to say they can't be used at higher powers, but typically, that's not what they are best at.

 

Personally, I'd go for the Orion 100mm reflector instead of the SkyRunner refractor.  Others may see this differently, so please see what others say, not just me.

 

Is the Starblast worth an extra $75 is more a difficult question. The Orion 100mm and the Starblast are fairly similar, both short focus reflectors. Not entirely sure, but the Starblast gets good reviews. Please be aware that short focus reflectors are generally hard on eyepieces, what I mean is that less expensive eyepieces show fuzzy stars away from the centre of the field of view, but ok in the middle.  That bothers some more than others, many just learn to live with it, some don't.

 

One other point.  Table top telescopes need a much more sturdy table ( or other solid surface ) than is sometimes realised, to give a steady view. Not trying to put you off, but something to bear in mind.

 

Binos - Not so sure here.  Again, not trying to put you off, but if it were myself, instead of getting a scope plus binos, I'd total up the max you can spend, and put the whole amount into a better scope or better binos.

 

You mention your head is swimming, well that's not surprising, so much choice, so many different price points, so many opinions, like mine here  :smiley:

 

You know what ?  If you are not sure what to get, I would hang fire until you are.  I'd join a local astronomy club, most are very friendly, get to some observing sessions, most folks are happy to share the view. Take a range of opinions, because it's just so easy for someone to say that what they have is the best, because they just spent their hard earned cash, and so badly want to think they got the best deal going.

 

Not putting anyone down at all, it's as easy as eating chocolate to think we did the right thing, and tough to admit we didn't.

 

HTH, Ed.

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More good advice, and it brings up another question. Ok two

It seems you might recommend a Dobsonian scope for a beginner like myself.

1. Why?

2. In short what is the basic plus and minus of Dobsonians vs Reflector & Refractor scopes.

This site is great.

Thanks again

jb

Buying equipment for the first time is never easy with so much to choose from. If we start with binoculars I would not recommend the 25x70 against the 20x80. Both binos will be hard to hand hold so you will need to budget for a tripod or monopod (which I prefer). Many astronomers start with something like a 10x50 which will show you many deep sky objects. I have both 15x70 and 20x80 and they give great views - you may wish to look at the Celestron 15x70 certainly a better buy than the 25x70 for astronomy IMHO.

 

The advice given by Ed (NGC1502) to visit an astronomy club is a good idea. I know that there are several astronomy clubs in the Bay area as I meet a number of groups when I was a guest in 2012 for the Venus Transit.

 

Don't rush into buying a scope. The small 70mm frac which is f5 I would not recommend as your first scope as Ed stated its ok on low magnification but the image will become soft at higher mags.There are many good pieces of kit around and very popular in the 6" and 8" Dobsonians.

 

If you want more info just ask - if you find a scope on the Net add a link to your thread.

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More good advice, and it brings up another question. Ok two

It seems you might recommend a Dobsonian scope for a beginner like myself.

1. Why?

2. In short what is the basic plus and minus of Dobsonians vs Reflector & Refractor scopes.

This site is great.

Thanks again

jb

Hi again jb.  Ok, I'll do my best, but admit that I'm a lo-tech astronomer, and that doesn't suit everyone, so please take that into account.

A Dobsonian ( a Newtonian reflector on a basic alt - azimuth mount ) gives the largest aperture for the least money, or as post # 6 says " the biggest bang for the buck ".  A larger aperture collects more light for better brightness and resolution. Most of the money goes into the optics, rather than a fancy mount and onboard technology.

The downside of a basic Dob is you have to learn the sky, find and track objects yourself.  I think that's fun, but not everyone does.  Only you can decide what's best for you.

Of course you can now buy Dobs with technology onboard, more money, but could be best for you.

A Newtonian telescope can be on an equatorial mount, once set up, it will track your object with one motion.  Can be manual, or go-to.

Refractors come in many different types, basically -

Short focus achromat refractor, very portable, relatively affordable, great for low to medium wide field views, not the best for high power.

Long focus achromat refractor, needs a more solid mount, less good for very low power wide field, better for medium to high power.

Apochromat refractor (apo for short) Very much more expensive, but exquisite views, can take you from very low power wide field, to high power planetary.  Some get hooked on apos, a clubmate waited 9 years for his Astrophysics 130mm apo.  It's fabulous, but remember that a relatively inexpensive large aperture reflector will give brighter views of dim objects.

I'm only talking visual observing here, only mentioned the very basics, and of course there are other types of scope to consider.

As already said, I do think that visiting / joining a local club is a good move.  But a downside is that depending on who you talk to, they may recommend what suits them, so try to see past what's being said, usually with the best of intentions, to make sure you get what suits you.

In my local club we have dedicated high-tech imagers, dedicated low-tech observers, armchair astronomers, casual, obsessed  :grin:, and all points in between  :smiley:

I say, whatever gets you under the stars is good.

Regards, Ed.

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  • 2 months later...

I settled on getting the Pentax 20X60 Binoculars. They just arrived yesterday and seem in good shape.

Images are crisp and clear to the edge but I do see some of the eye blackout problems. You really have to be dead center but when you are the clarity is amazing.

I find it possible to hand hold them if you brace you elbows on something, a tripod is in my near future.

You guys are great any and all tips are welcome.

jb

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