Compact telescope for ~£500 budget

[jaydeeuk1]

Santa will be bringing me a telescope for xmas. I had a celestron 114eq a few years ago which reignited my interest. However the mount was pretty poor and although finding objects manually was fun, I never felt I got the best from the sky. I've been researching the last month or two pretty much reading these entire forums! 

I'm also limited in space living in a 2 bed terrace, although there is some room in the shed. Would love a dob but there it would be a struggle to fit.

I live in Belper in Derbyshire away from the centre so light pollution isn't too bad, and decent views can be found at my office where I have access to the roof.

I have a budget of £500, but with this I want the scope, some lenses filters and probably a powerpack of some kind, so budget for the actual scope will be around £350. Looking at ebay, a number of scopes that cost around £350 still seem to sell for near £300 some time later so I have no problems in buying a cheaper scope and then upgrading to something a lot better in a few years.

I intend to mainly view the usual suspects, planets, moon and perhaps galaxies etc. I'd like to have a dabble with astrophotography - I've already bought a logitech 4000 pro and adapter.

The scope that caught my eye is the celestron nexstar 127slt. It has a number of feaures I like such as goto and for the price a decent aperture. I'm aware that the mount isn't too good, however my garden is paved and fully level and I've read up on someways to mitigate it such as extra weight on the tray. Another thread on here someone was recommended the 4se instead, but I've read the mount is fairly similar until you get to the 6se which atm is beyond my budget.

However, being the bargain hunter I am, I came across this on ebay. I know meade are highly regarded and although its probably an older scope, is it far superior to the 127slt? Are there any other scopes you would recommend looking at?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/271682275024?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&fromMakeTrack=true

[happy-kat]

Hi

If you want to dable in DSO imaging you need to get the right sort of mount and if you want to do long exposure (dslr use) then it would be a form of equatorial mount. A webcam can be used on any mount. Webcam is great on planets. If you have a static none equatorial motorised mount then you can still take lovely wide field images with a dslr.

What is it that you want to do with your setup our rather what can you accept to do?

There is though a great thread on imaging without an equatorial mount if you take a look at that it might help with expectations.

Good idea keeping some of that budget for eyepieces.

[jaydeeuk1]

To be honest I want to try a bit of everything. I accept it will be a jack of all trades, master of none trade off which is why most of you have more than one scope. I'm not planning any serious photography atm (I don't have a dslr) and I know an alt az mount limits exposure for DSO, I've got realistic expectations after viewing several galleries on here and watching youtube vids of the 127slt, 4se etc. Most of my attempts will be of planets for the time being.

Whats your opinion of the meade etx125?

[baggywrinkle]

You could look here http://www.astrobuysell.com/uk/

£500 would go further on a good 2nd hand set than 1st hand. You might even get a bit more apeture.

[rowan46]

the 127slt when it comes  to imaging isn't a jack of all trades. a maksutov cassegrain which is what it is has a very long focal length. which unless you have a high end mount is no good for long exposure imaging. you are right though in that it makes an excellent planetary imaging scope . which means it can be used very successfully on an alt az  mount with a webam. I wished to point this out in case you have any illusions that this scope and mount can form any basis for deep space long exposure work because it can't without some serious money spent. Within your stipulations though it will do what you want ie;  image planets and give you some decent visuals  from a compact scope. you should be able to have fun with it and its a great lunar imaging scope as well

[NotSoSuperNova]

I would recommend starting with the visual side of things myself. Astro Photography has a fairly gruelling learning curve and is quite costly to pursue with any intent. With going for a light bucket and getting the most out of the visual side and taking some photo's while you're there (assuming you're happy to wait for 'quality images') then you would maybe get more out of it in the short term. Aperture is king after all   

That being said, the 127SLT is a great bit of kit and if you did opt for that I suspect you would be very happy with the choice. Despite what Rowan says about the shortcomings with DSO imaging (and being correct about it), it'll get you through your initial exploring.

[rowan46]

I would recommend starting with the visual side of things myself. Astro Photography has a fairly gruelling learning curve and is quite costly to pursue with any intent. With going for a light bucket and getting the most out of the visual side and taking some photo's while you're there (assuming you're happy to wait for 'quality images') then you would maybe get more out of it in the short term. Aperture is king after all   

That being said, the 127SLT is a great bit of kit and if you did opt for that I suspect you would be very happy with the choice. Despite what Rowan says about the shortcomings with DSO imaging (and being correct about it), it'll get you through your initial exploring.

I actually said that its a decent visual scope i was just putting him straight about it being a jack of all trades

[ArnieVXR]

You need to find my advert for a Helios 150F5 refractor on an EQ5 on AstroBuySell...two / three weeks back now.

[happy-kat]

Whilst waiting for replies to your question lots comes up on here if you search for meade etx125

http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/229926-sctmak-newbie-pls-help-comparing-used-meade-ext-125-and-new-celestron-nexstar-127/?fromsearch=1

F15 if it is that may not be so hot to be able to view DSO.

[rowan46]

meade have decent optics generally but their electrics can be a unreliable at times and in truth  visually there is no difference between the etx 125 the celestron slt 127 and the skywatcher skymax 127 at least with the celestron and skymax   for the same price you get  a guarantee.  If you wanted to go nearer your 500 budget you may pick up a nexstar 6se  second hand on astrobuysell but taking account of your desire to save a little back for eyepieces I think your choicce of a celestron 127 slt or skymax 127 synscan (same scope different livery)  is a good idea all you are getting with the etx 125 is an old scope out of warranty  it doesn't really  offer anything better. If it was me i would go for the skywatcher synscan  that way if you get an eq mount in the future you may save a few pounds by buying a syntrek version as you already have a  skywatcher handset.

by the way welcome to sgl and apologies for not answering properly first time I obviously had not read all of your post.

[Uranium235]

How compact is compact?

Really small would be a ZS71 doublet + reducer. However its blue performance is questionable, so RGB imaging would be a challenge (good for narrowband though).

Next size up would be the excellent SW 80ED Pro, for about 350 (non kit version). If you find that a little slow (f7.5 or f6.38 reduced), then may I suggest the 130pds. There is a growing mountain of evidence to show that its more than capaple of taking some excellent images, and doubling up as a half decent visual scope for the wider field. Another plus is that its only 160 quid, which leaves you loads of change left over for the inevitable purchase of adaptors, filters or correctors

Check its images here:

http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/210593-imaging-with-the-130pds/

Mad to think that thread has over 9000 views! nuff said!

[jaydeeuk1]

Thank you for your comments everyone.

meade have decent optics generally but their electrics can be a unreliable at times and in truth  visually there is no difference between the etx 125 the celestron slt 127 and the skywatcher skymax 127 at least with the celestron and skymax   for the same price you get  a guarantee.  If you wanted to go nearer your 500 budget you may pick up a nexstar 6se  second hand on astrobuysell but taking account of your desire to save a little back for eyepieces I think your choicce of a celestron 127 slt or skymax 127 synscan (same scope different livery)  is a good idea all you are getting with the etx 125 is an old scope out of warranty  it doesn't really  offer anything better. If it was me i would go for the skywatcher synscan  that way if you get an eq mount in the future you may save a few pounds by buying a syntrek version as you already have a  skywatcher handset.

by the way welcome to sgl and apologies for not answering properly first time I obviously had not read all of your post.

What is the difference between the cele goto and the synscan? I'll be ordering a serial cable to control the scope too from my tablet / stellarium which i know works with the cele but i've not researched the synscan. Wish i knew they were the same last week, i had a 10% off code on ebay which would have made the skymax £320!

[Uranium235]

Having said that.... you might need to look at your mount first. If you intend to do any AP, the mount is the heart of it all. As long as you have a good mount (eg: HEQ5), then it doesnt really matter how expensive your telescope is (or not). A good telescope will be of no use if its on a pants mount, but a budget telescope on a good mount can do an awful lot of good.

Order of importance (for AP)

Mount > Camera > Telescope (or camera lens)

[jaydeeuk1]

How compact is compact?

Really small would be a ZS71 doublet + reducer. However its blue performance is questionable, so RGB imaging would be a challenge (good for narrowband though).

Next size up would be the excellent SW 80ED Pro, for about 350 (non kit version). If you find that a little slow (f7.5 or f6.38 reduced), then may I suggest the 130pds. There is a growing mountain of evidence to show that its more than capaple of taking some excellent images, and doubling up as a half decent visual scope for the wider field. Another plus is that its only 160 quid, which leaves you loads of change left over for the inevitable purchase of adaptors, filters or correctors

Check its images here:

http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/210593-imaging-with-the-130pds/

Mad to think that thread has over 9000 views! nuff said!

That is quite spectacular for a £160 scope! How much am i looking at for a mount to get me up and running?

Off to have a read up on it... im hoping for some sort of black friday deal from flo or jessops tomorrow, so need to decide asap!

[jaydeeuk1]

Having said that.... you might need to look at your mount first. If you intend to do any AP, the mount is the heart of it all. As long as you have a good mount (eg: HEQ5), then it doesnt really matter how expensive your telescope is (or not). A good telescope will be of no use if its on a pants mount, but a budget telescope on a good mount can do an awful lot of good.

Order of importance (for AP)

Mount > Camera > Telescope (or camera lens)

Ok, you've thrown a spanner in the works, read that whole thread and now i'm willing to blow the budget a bit.

Will £500 get me a decent eq goto mount? Is this one suitable?

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/skywatcher-mounts/skywatcher-eq5-pro-synscan-goto.html

[happy-kat]

I guess I would be thinking of storage space that you mention early on

[rowan46]

with the 130pds you can just about get away with an eq5 but its going to be tough but you will still have to get a few bits the scope needs a coma corrector the eq5 will probably need  tuning (there are how to's on the web) and ideally you need to guide so aprox another 100 for a cheap guide camera then you are going to need a guide scope or better still off axiis guider then all the bits and things to tie it all together cables adaptors dew control. do you see how your 500 budget has just blown. If you are in no hurry get this book and read it first it will tell you what you need WHY you need it  and if you understand whats going on you may be able to make wise choices  and so get the cost down. People who know where they are going and have a good sense of direction are more likely to take better short cuts

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/books/making-every-photon-count-steve-richards.html

I assume you are no longer looking at the mak on an alt az mount then?

[jaydeeuk1]

with the 130pds you can just about get away with an eq5 but its going to be tough but you will still have to get a few bits the scope needs a coma corrector the eq5 will probably need  tuning (there are how to's on the web) and ideally you need to guide so aprox another 100 for a cheap guide camera then you are going to need a guide scope or better still off axiis guider then all the bits and things to tie it all together cables adaptors dew control. do you see how your 500 budget has just blown. If you are in no hurry get this book and read it first it will tell you what you need WHY you need it  and if you understand whats going on you may be able to make wise choices  and so get the cost down. People who know where they are going and have a good sense of direction are more likely to take better short cuts

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/books/making-every-photon-count-steve-richards.html

I assume you are no longer looking at the mak on an alt az mount then?

Actually after reading up for the last hour or so, i think the 130pds and getting the best from it might be out of reach atm. The photos are amazing, but as i said in first post i want to try a little bit of everything with this scope and other than dso photography the maks seem decent. For the 130pds looking at cost of a decent mount, ota and all the bits n pieces its going to be near £1000 and probably wouldnt go down well with the wife! I'll keep ending up saying for an extra £100 i can get this etc, so i'm going to be sensible and stick to the original plan. So the 127slt or skymax it is leaving £150 for the powerpack, lenses, filters and pc control cable, will just see if a deal appears tomorrow somewhere.

Cheers all.

[jaydeeuk1]

Actually after reading up for the last hour or so, i think the 130pds and getting the best from it might be out of reach atm. The photos are amazing, but as i said in first post i want to try a little bit of everything with this scope and other than dso photography the maks seem decent. For the 130pds looking at cost of a decent mount, ota and all the bits n pieces its going to be near £1000 and probably wouldnt go down well with the wife! I'll keep ending up saying for an extra £100 i can get this etc, so i'm going to be sensible and stick to the original plan. So the 127slt or skymax it is leaving £150 for the powerpack, lenses, filters and pc control cable, will just see if a deal appears tomorrow somewhere.

Cheers all.

Don't know how to edit, but thanks for the book suggestion, will get that too. I'm getting the turn left at orion book which everyone seems to recommend and will get that one next.

[happy-kat]

Editing comes with more posts :-) I would buy a better eye piece then filters to start with. You can image planets and take a look at here

[Uranium235]

There is no requirement to buy the mount new, my NEQ6 is 2nd hand and its never given me any problems - the only thing ive had to do is swap out the AZ bolts for some better, less finger-shredding ones. If youre savvy enough you can get a HEQ5 2nd hand for about 5-600 pounds. I know thats most of your budget, but thats the hardest part out of the way and you wont need to upgrade again for quite a few years.

Do you have a DSLR? As a starter you could pop that on the mount and get some pretty good widefield pics.

You may even be able to snap up a 2nd hand 130pds (mine was used too, just £120), but if you want it in time for crimbo - time is running out.  Try to avoid fleabay, and have a look through the SGL ads, or ABS instead.

Also, try to get the book "every photon counts" - it will fill you in on the finer details you need to know before you even spend a penny.