thesaintishere

Hi guys, I've recently got my hands on some binoviewers and have been advised to use to 1.25" diagonal rather than a 2" one to shorten the light path. Which adapter do I need to fit a 1.25" diagonal to the Skymax 150? I've attached photos if that helps! Cheers!

Hi guys, I've seen that the Skytee II is sold with the 1.75" steel-legged tripod used for the EQ mounts, but does it fit on the regular 1.75" steel-legged tripod (this one here) and the extension tube? Cheers!

I've had my SW 80ED for around 8 months and have really enjoyed my foray into the world of astronomy....even if I've mainly observed from Bortle 8 skies! I'm thinking of upgrading the 80ED as I feel I want a bit more aperture, and even though I like observing most things, I have a particular like for planets. Would the Skymax 150 be a good upgrade? Is it going to show a lot more? For those that have used/own both, what are your thoughts? Cheers!

I have a Skywatcher 80ED. Thanks to everyone for the above input!

I know it might be a bit of a silly question, but what does the sun actually look like through a telescope (using an appropriate solar filter of course! - this one for example: https://www.firstlightoptics.com/all-filters/astrozap-baader-solar-filter.html)? Can you see sun spots? Activity? Cheers!

Thanks for the advice! Any suggestions re 4mm eyepiece? Both the OVL Nirvana 4mm and the Vixen SLV 4mm are within budget, but I could simply wait a while longer if a more expensive eyepiece is going to be much better than either of those. Cheers!

Any recommendations? Thanks!

Very much belated, but thank you for all your above advice. After a month or two of toing and froing I decided to opt for the 80ED on an AZ5 manual mount. It took me a couple of months to pick up all the bits second hand (aside from a few eyepieces) but I got there eventually! Here's what I bought for circa £750: - Skywatcher 80ED pro kit - AZ5 Mount - Skywatcher Steel 3/8" tripod - AZ5 extension pillar - BST Starguiders 5mm, 8mm & 15mm - Baader Classic Ortho 6mm & 10mm. Thanks to the clouds (!!!) I've only had it out a couple of times, but I've had some amazing views of the moon and I think I saw M57 (ring nebula). In a word, I'm hooked! Looking to add a 4mm planetary eyepiece (Vixen SLV or OVL Nirvana) and a 18mm Classic Ortho too as I love the view through the 6mm & 10mm classic orthos. Thanks again!

Greetings! I'm thinking about my first scope and I've kind of narrowed it down to either the Skymax 127 or Evostar 80ed on an AZ-GTI. I'm only interested in visual observing at present, so wondering which would be the option? A friend is selling their Evostar 80ed so cost will be about the same regardless of which I plump for. Thoughts? Thank you.