Best GoTo scope for under £500

[scottphillips]

Hey guys, didn't get an answer first time I posted this topic but here goes,

Looking for the best GoTo scope for under £500 or around that price

I am not expecting magic but have heard the nexstar 6se is a great scope for this kind of price range,

Please could you suggest the best I could expect to get and what scope I should get also a few links would be appreciated

Thanks

[lguise]

Having seen a Nexstar 6se in action I have to say I was quite impressed with both the goto function and the optics. An improvement on a Meade ETX 125 for general observing, more light grasp and shorter f ratio. The Meade may have the edge on planetary detail.

If you want a compact goto scope and can find one at the price you quote, then I don't think you would be disappointed. New price from FLO is £789 and I doubt there is a cheaper supplier?

Linton

[Gadget]

If you want to stick to your budget you wont go wrong with one of these and a few quid left for dew shield etc which you will need now this time of year  

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/az-goto/skywatcher-skymax-127-synscan-az-goto.html

Kev

[dweller25]

As Kev said, or ........

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/az-goto/skywatcher-explorer-130p-synscan-az-goto.html

..... which is more of an all-rounder.

[nicks90]

Does it absolutely have to be GOTO?

Is that a) you dont know your way around the sky want tracking?

If its the later, then you can get bigger aperture scopes with an ra motor fitted for tracking. A Skywatcher 200 on an eq5 with dual motors comes in on budget!

If the former, honestly it doesn't take long to learn your way about the sky! Get a BIG DOB and enjoy! 10" flextube :-)

Honestly out of your £500 budget, £300+ is going on the GOTO mount, seems such a waste.

[scottphillips]

Hey guys thanks for the help, in reply to nicks90 its not because I dont know my way around the sky I just was interested in the fact that it has over 40,000 objects in it system that it finds for you, which would save me precious time in the awful uk sky conditions where i live !!

Could you post a link for the skywatcher 200 on an eq5 around my budget please this would be a great help

[ollypenrice]

40,000 objects of which the apertue will allow you to see a tiny fraction... The trouble is that Going To is one thing and seeing anything of what you've Gone To is another! A very good rule of spending on optics, be it cameras, telescopes or whatever else, is 'pay for the glass...'

Olly

[John]

40,000 objects of which the apertue will allow you to see a tiny fraction...

Absolutely spot on. This is the problem with GOTO when on a limited budget - the majority of it goes into the mount.

[scottphillips]

ok guys, so im looking now at the skywatcher explorer 200p on a eq5 mount, and was wondering that does this have polar alignment and does that mean it moves with the sky so i can take long exposures ? 

I'm a real beginner so am keen to learn

[Ptarmigan]

Is this 40,000 list available to download anywhere so that we can judge first.

or do we have to buy 'scope to find out,

see where I'm going here ?

and if the one we buy isnt up to it we then take a punt on the next model up ?

Like a lot of the world of advertising you pays , , ,

But yes, the ££ invested in the GoTo are disproportionate in the smaller apertures,

however, with judicious use with an eye ( did you see what I did there ) to expected capability then in our cloud limited busy life× it depends on what pleases , ,

[ronin]

Other then the Skywatcher Maks the choice is a bit limited.

Not sure if the Meade 125's are available and I have an idea they cost more the £500.

How much above £500 would you go?

Also do you have a scope at present?

My thought is one of the iOptron SmartEQ mounts at £450 and put a scope on that. As I cannot see a scope being less then £150 that would make up £600. However many OTA's look more.

Concerning the 40,000 objects. Many will be duplicates, NGC and Messier overlap, and Betelguese has an SAO number besdies its name. many will be faint and likely not apparent. However all the ones you should need or want will be there. And the other aspect is would you rather they supply ones that you cannot see and say 40,000 or say 2,000 and not include one that you can see but they didn't bother to include. Are you going to return your car bacause it returns 45 mpg and the spec says 42mpg? :grin:

[Ptarmigan]

I think there is also the facility to make one's own list of objects, so those that can be seen can be put in it list future quick 'tween the clouds viewing,

and for those that cant be seen - well at least one will know that area of sky so that when the 20" dob arrives they can be GoneTo quickly

OK I'll get my coat,

[scottphillips]

Ok forgetting the GoTo at the moment amd moving on to what setup I'd need for long exposure shots ??

[xyz]

From the little I know about astrophotography, I think that it is a rather separate and different activity to observing. Although it's just possible to take photographs via an observing rig, they will not be that impressive. I think you should look at astrophotography as a completely different hobby requiring different equipment - and much, much deeper pockets.

[xyz]

And a further comment on the GOTO option. I have one of the Skywatcher 127 Synscans and aside from the fact that I seem to spend an awful long time aligning it and generally fiddling around with the features, it does not really deliver that much. If you can't find something because of light pollution (and not lack of knowledge), a GOTO is hardly any help. I think I use my 8" Dob. more often than the syncscan. BUT connecting a laptop to the syncscan and driving it with say Astroplanner or similar can ease the task of whipping around the sky, ticking off Messier's, doubles etc. Astroplanner will fidentify the visible targets from your specific location and local horizon. Adding the power of a planning tool like this does improve "efficiency".

[ollypenrice]

Start again completely if you want to do deep sky astrophotography. It needs a rethink entirely of its own. For a good overview try Making Every Photon Count by Steve Richards, Steppenwolf on here.

You DO need a stable, driven, equatorial mount with tracking accurate enough for the focal length (shorthand here for pixel scale) that you aim to use. http://www.12dstring.me.uk/fov.htm

The mount needs to handle the payload comfortably.

You DON'T need large aperture but you DO need a fast focal ratio (not slower than about F6.5) and, with a budget mount, you DO need short focal length optics. 500mm or so is a good beginner's maximum.

You might look at a big scope and say 'That pulls in lots of light so it must be OK for astrophotography.' It just isn't like that and a good read around on the needs of deep sky AP will explain why it's not like that. This picture was taken with tiny optics, a £250 cameralens.

The mount is by far the number one priority and you already have a camera. This was taken with a £250 camera lens. Tiny aperture, note. It's a 6 panel mosaic.

So if cash is tight, and £500 is as tight as a straightjacket in the mad world of AP, I believe you'd do best with a decent mount and a camera lens.  You could go for a small equatorial mount and buy a scope for it later or you could go for the handy and effective 'camera only' mounts like the Astrotrac, Vixen Polarie etc. iOptron and Skyywatcher do them as well. Is the Skywatcher called the Sky Adventurer?

Above all, though, read about AP first. There are so many ways in which it is counter intuitive.

Olly http://ollypenrice.smugmug.com/Other/Best-of-Les-Granges/22435624_WLMPTM#!i=3013830156&k=gfQmRVJ