Buying first telescope, need help!

[Jham]

Hi,

I'm planning to buy my first telescope. My problem is i don't know what to choose. Can somebody help me? 

[Coastliner]

Are you just starting out?  Have you tried the first step i.e a good pair of 10x50 binoculars and "Turn Left at Orion"?

[ronin]

You are going to have to supply more information.

People will (naturally) suggest the scope they have - so the 3 main types.

Some will say manual others motorised and goto, then comes Alt/Az mounts or equitorial.

They all work, they all do the job in one way or another.

If you have any intention of sticking a camera on then say so. It is relevant.

What is your budget?

Can you travel if required?

Give a rough idea of maximum size and weight.

Do you want to get a "serious" scope or is this a case of try it and see what you think, then possibly getting more advanced?

One big factor is you have a location of Asia, a lot of answers will be refered to the FLO site that is not exactly somewhere you can buy from.

Is there a presence of one scope maker or better two, where you live?

Little point saying get an Orion Optics XT6 if Orion are not avilable.

[rowan46]

welome to sgl we need to narrow the field down a bit

what sort of budget have you?

With the proviso that  bigger is better how portable does it need to be?

Are you wanting to see mainly moon and planets or mainly deep space objects?

are you likely to put a dslr on it at any point?

[bingevader]

I don't suppose there's a local club you could get along to and have a look at the different types?

[Sirius Starwatcher]

So there you are Jham Once you give me bere more details you will probably be directed to a scope that suits your interest. Welcome to SGL and best wishes. Good luck with your choice of scope

[Jham]

Yeah, i'm just starting out. To be honest i don't know anything about this things. 

My main reason to buy a telescope is that i was inspire by dream to become an astronaut to see planets and beyond that...but too sad i can never be an astronaut so that's why i decided, to buy a telescope just even a little glimpse on space, just to make my self be satisfy.

I want a telescope that can see nebulas or others. and might be a little cheap. I know some telescopes are to expensive.But my budget is only $100 less.

*Sorry about my English, I'm not fluent in it.*

[completenovice]

With your budget I'd be buying second hand. Plenty of people decide that Astronomy is not for them and then sling their equipment on ebay for a few quid. You'll pick up an entry level 'scope from the likes of Celestron or Skywatcher for around that price but bear in mind that the aperature will probably be quite small and you have to realistic on what you'll actually see.

Alternatively , A decent set of binoculars would be a good start and FLO have a decent set of 15x70 bins for under your budget. 

[Uranium235]

For cheap and cheerful, its either an ST80 refractor - or a 130PDS newtonian, the latter also doubles up as an excellent imaging telescope too.

However, you still need to budget for an EQ mount (preferably powered, with basic tracking).

[Liquid360]

I'd recommend the new FSQ-130 and a paramount MEII [emoji6] without specifics that's my recommendation

[Uranium235]

I'd recommend the new FSQ-130 and a paramount MEII [emoji6] without specifics that's my recommendation

Not a good recommendation.... at all. The guy only has 100 quid, not 10,000.

[Liquid360]

I was kidding. Meant that without specifics it's hard to say. And it's closer to 30k.

Not a good recommendation.... at all. The guy only has 100 quid, not 10,000.

[Uranium235]

The true price (however ludicrously expensive) is irrelevant, to a beginner it will just confuse the issue. The answer needs to be clear, concise, and helpful.

Sometimes its better to follow the golden rule "if you dont have anything helpful, constructive or witty to say - dont say it at all"

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

I was kidding. Meant that without specifics it's hard to say. And it's closer to 30k.

30K makes the comment even more irrelevant to a beginner. Is suggests you only can get results by splashing out. This is not so. Great views and great images have been obtained with far more modest kit.

[Liquid360]

It was kidding.... heavy sigh. I'd take it back but I can't.

To the OP, I'm gonna assume you understand that I wasn't recommending you spend 30k. It was kidding meant to illustrate the fact that it's hard to recommend anything without more info on what your goals are.

Sheesh, tough room.

[Uranium235]

Not tough really, Ive just got my sensible head on today so please dont take offence. Choosing your first setup can be horribly confusing, and if you dont have much money - one wrong move may be your last. So its essential to get it right first time... ive learnt that from bitter experience - wrong mount, wrong telescope (for my experience level at the time), and wrong camera.

If you flick through the thread, the general gist that the guy has $100 to spend on his first telescope and wants to view solar system and DSO objects - which is a tough call on such a small budget.

If 100 bucks is all I had then Id sink the money into one little refractor and then build a simple alt/az mount out of bits of wood, bolts and nails if I needed too. Or try to get my hands on a 2nd hand dob (blimey.... first time ive ever suggested that!).

[rowan46]

Actually ifs not the beyond the realms of possibility  to use quite a modest scope if  the light pollution isnt too bad and for planets and the moon although apparture helps its still possible to get  something quite small that can be rewarding. Something like the heritage 100p perhaps

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/beginner-telescopes/skywatcher-heritage-100p-tabletop-dobsonian.html

I don't know the availability in your country  but it can give decent views of the moon and jupiter and its moons

Again I don't know the 2nd hand market in your country  but it maybe that you ccan pick up something decent. is there an ebay in your country if there is post up a couple of liks to something you fancy and we can advise you of its pros and cons. To be honest looking through a good telescope is great  but even a not so good telescope is better than nothing. certainly Gallileo's was probably only as good as most dept store telescopes.  A department store scope and an enquiring mind is better than all the gear and no idea

[Billy Bluelight]

Welcome - might you consider a pair of binoculars as a first step?  They would be well within your budget, you can see many beautiful things through them - including some nebula and galaxies, they will help you learn to navigate around the sky and you get a much wider field of view - many things look far nicer through the wide field of binoculars than through the narrow view of a telescope.

You would probably need a simple tripod to steady them.  You can get some good recommendations for $100 binoculars here http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/229279-opinion-on-binoculars-over-telescope/

[Uranium235]

You would probably need a simple tripod to steady them.  You can get some good recommendations for $100 binoculars here http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/229279-opinion-on-binoculars-over-telescope/

Good suggestion there. If youre looking at binos, a tripod is essential (im my experience) if you want the best views and no neck/arm ache. If you dont have that, resting them on top of a tall(ish) fencepost helps with getting a steady image.

[RikM]

 A department store scope and an enquiring mind is better than all the gear and no idea

Exactly right.

[happy-kat]

If you know which brands of telescope you are able to select from in your country we may be able to make some suggestions.

For example are you able to get skywatcher or celstron or orion, or perhaps it is another manufacture you are able to choose from?

[Liquid360]

What's a department store scope?

[rowan46]

What's a department store scope?

Its the ones which are sold through the chains some are very poor some not so  poor, not great perhaps but certainly usable

[Liquid360]

After a bit of searching I now understand... although if I'm understanding correctly it seems the super cheap scopes would do more damage than good. I suppose it could spark interest but if I had one I'd probably get angry and frustrated and shy away from astronomy.... but to each his/her own.

[rowan46]

After a bit of searching I now understand... although if I'm understanding correctly it seems the super cheap scopes would do more damage than good. I suppose it could spark interest but if I had one I'd probably get angry and frustrated and shy away from astronomy.... but to each his/her own.

theres a school of thought which runs through lots of forums (not just astro ones) that poor gear puts people off. i imagine there's some truth to it for some but on the whole I don't buy it. I and i've no doubt  most people who looked through a scope more than 40 years ago who are still looking were not put off by the quality of the scopes. my first look through a scope was a prinz 60mm f12 it was like looking through a straw  but I could see the moon mars as a disc jupiter and its moons and nearly 50 years later here I still am, (wish I could find something else to look at) I suspect what puts most people off is the time and effort involved when night after night is cloudy it can get very easy to just not bother.