Telescope or Binoculars?

[BigBairn]

Hi,

I have always been into astronomy from a young age when my father shared his passions for it with me, sadly he died when I was 8 so due to being young I didnt get quite get the chance to absorb his full wealth of experience. Now I have decided that it is time to invest in a set of Bins or a telescope. For years I have travelled over Scotland just experiencing the stars and sky with my own eyes but now i feel its time to take it a little further.

I am however deliberating on whether to make my first purchase a pair of binoculars or a telescope. From home I do have some light pollution but I do have several good dark areas within a 30-60 minute drive. I dont know due to travelling about if a set of binoculars would be more advantageous. I also like the idea of the goto feature on some telescopes as well as the option to add more eyepeices in the future.

I have a budget of £100-£140 for some binoculars or I could stretch it a little further to £200-£250 for a telescope. I really like the idea of being able to get some really nice detail on the moon and further a field. Obviously I know my budget restricts me to the quality I can get but I just thought I would see what you knowledgable guys and gals think?

Andy

[Putaendo Patrick]

For me the answer is BOTH, both have their role to play although obviously you don't need both to start.

Avoid really cheap binoculars, pocket size, or any that have red coating. Go for moderate magnifications x7, x8 or maybe x10 and the largest aperture 40 or 50mm range. In general, aviod zoom. For 50 pounds you can probably pick up a quite respectable pair, especially second-hand. Binoculars are great for getting a feel for the night sky.

High power astronomy binoculars (x15 to x30) are another niche, but one I wouldn't recommend for beginners. They also have to be tripod mounted.

For more detail, you need a telescope. Again, you don't need mega-magnifications, but with different eyepieces maybe between 40 and 150 times.  Goto is quite an expensive option which with cheaper telescopes tends to eat into the quality of the mount, tube, optics etc.

Many people here will suggest a Dobsonian mounted telescope (basicly it just sits on the ground and you move it by hand), perhaps with an aperture of 150 or 200 mm. It's probably the best value for your money and in your price range, although some people do find them quite large.

[BigBairn]

Thanks so much for the reply

I have been reading about the Sky Watcher star discovery 150p and seems quite impressive for the price. I also meant to put £300-350 for my telescope budget

[RT65CB-SWL]

Hi Andy and welcome to SGL.

+1 for the above...

As you have set a budget for a 'scope, have you decided on what you wish to observe? For lunar or planetary then a refractor, Maksutov or SCT. If you want DSO's then a Dobsonian, (it's a Newtonian on a 'basic' alt-az base), or maybe one of the Heritage types. Other things to consider are: mount, portability, weight, storage, astro-photography.

Join a local club/society, (some even 'loan' their scopes for a small fee for members).

Also download Stellarium, (it's free and one or two of the developers are SGL members); and if you want star charts then my favourite... TriAtlas, (all three parts/volumes are .PDF and can be saved to CD-ROM), (also free).

[BigBairn]

Thanks Philip

I would mostly be using it for planetary and lunar, possibly some astrophotography (although I know that it can be expensive).

Im not familiar with DSO's (Deep Sky Objects? if so would I not be able to pick them up with soemthing similar to the Sky Watcher Star Discovery 150p?).

I dont mind weight and bulk, im a big guy so thats no problem to carry from place to place, plus i have a decent sized vehicle to transport it further afield.

Storage wise I would keep it set up when within the house in one of the spare bedrooms.

I will look at some local groups as well

[Lorne]

Welcome to the forum Andy

Check out the Central Scotland Observers group... a forum based group who meet at various dark sites in the area.... usually at short notice if the skies ever clear. If you can get along to a meet before you decide on your scope you will get to see and look through various types and size of scope and binoculars too.

Cheers,

L.

[happy-kat]

I have telescope and binoculars and I use the binoculars the most for nighttime and day use. For size and weight choices they are 8x42 and get a lot of use. So I would go for binoculars I enjoyed many nights of tracking comet lovejoy with them.

[RichM63]

I too am a both type. The binoculars live in the car and are frequently used for grab n go both during the night and day. I also have a 150P amongst my kit and find it a pleasure to use pretty much hassle free.

DSO etc are all possible with a 150P, but one other thing to consider is that you will very soon want to upgrade to a couple of quality eyepieces such as a 6mm and 30 or 32mm as you get more hooked.

Whilst 20x80 binoculars are within your budget, they are not sensibly hand held for anything other than a quick look, and 'must' be mounted on a decent tripod for any quality observing.

Rich...

[Size9Hex]

Welcome to the forum.

I started with binoculars, but bought a scope after three or four months. Today, if I could choose just one, it would be the scope. But, if I was starting again, I would still choose the binoculars as my starting point.

The binoculars were a cheap way into the hobby to decide if I enjoyed it or whether my enthusiasm would wear off. They were an absolutely massive upgrade from the naked eye. Really simple to use, really good for learning my way round the sky, and I found I could see an amazing amount of things with them (all the planets, some asteroids, comets, galaxies, double stars, loads of stuff on the moon, various other moons, star clusters, nebulae, etc, etc). What I didn't get to see, except on the moon, is much detail, and for me that's where the scope comes in. The scope picks out clouds on Jupiter, fine detail on the moon, more detail in various nebulae, fainter galaxies, etc. It's also more unwieldy and expensive than binos, and won't travel as easily. The binos will always be better for the bigger features in the sky too - some things up there stretch a surprising way across the sky, and the narrow view from the scope doesn't let you see them.

Pros and cons of both ultimately. Hope this helps you decide what's important to you. You do mention planets and the moon, which would have me leaning toward scope rather than binos.

[BritAngler]

I would say go for the bins first (either 7x or 10x50) and save up a bit more for the 'scope, the SkyWatcher 200P & EQ5 mount is about £70 more than your given budget, and is a very popular model. If you really want a Goto, you can easily modify the mount at a later date.

[Peter Drew]

Yes, a further vote for both. I would spend £20 on the binoculars and the rest on a telescope. 

[Astro Imp]

Welcome to SGL.

Choosing your first piece of observing equipment is the hardest decision you'll have to make in this hobby because you have so many questions and little or no experience to guide you. Taking advice from others will help but remember we are all different with different priorities, lifestyles and budgets so ultimately it is the individual who has to make the decision.

I started with a cheapo pair of bins that I had lying about the house and very quickly moved to a scope.

I have seen loads with the 150P and as you say you can easily get to dark skies you will see even more.

I eventually upgraded my bins. to a half decent pair of 8 x 42s and use these for quick sessions and also alongside my scope.

Really try to get to an observing session with your local group to see what others use and have some first hand experience of seeing through a scope. 

Good luck.

[laudropb]

Most visual observers use both bins and a scope. This is because they serve 2 different purposes. The bins will give you a widefield low magnification view this makes it easier to find objects and perhaps also helps more in learning your way around the sky. They are also very portable and require virtually no time to set up.But they will not show much detail on the Moon and the planets will only appear as disks. A telescope will allow you much higher magnifications and resolution. This means that you will be able to see great detail on the Moon and some surface detail on the planets, sky's permitting. This comes at the cost of a small field of view and it is more difficult to locate targets. This is why telescopes come with some kind of small finder device. Think carefully what you want to observe. If possible join a club and see other members equipment. Best of luck.

[BigBairn]

Sorry I never replied faster.

Thanks for all the helpful advice.

I'm tempted to go straight into the telescope market, mainly due to the fact I don't want to spend £100 on bins and then 3 months later spend £350 on a scope. I have also had a fascination with the night sky for years so I know it won't just be a fad. Really I want to be able to spend hours looking at the surface of the moons, see other planets and DSO's. I know there isn't one thing that does everything perfectly, but hopefully the 150p does a good job.

[BigBairn]

I have also tried locating a Central Scotland Observers Group but without any luck, I found a website/forum but the last post was in August!

Anyone have the URL for ther site?

[Lorne]

http://scottishastronomers.com/forum/

That should get you there, you have to register to get access to the full forum.

[BritAngler]

Sorry I never replied faster.

Thanks for all the helpful advice.

I'm tempted to go straight into the telescope market, mainly due to the fact I don't want to spend £100 on bins and then 3 months later spend £350 on a scope. I have also had a fascination with the night sky for years so I know it won't just be a fad. Really I want to be able to spend hours looking at the surface of the moons, see other planets and DSO's. I know there isn't one thing that does everything perfectly, but hopefully the 150p does a good job.

If that means you now have £450 to spend, I'd definitely go for the Sky Watcher 200P on an EQ5 mount and convert it to Goto at a later date. If you're not fussed about Goto however, there are a few even bigger Dobsonian mounted scopes.