Laurus

4 hours ago, sorrimen said:

10” dobs tend to go around that price, and I would recommend them much more. EQ mounts and newts can put the eyepiece in some pretty awkward positions and they’re just less intuitive to use manually. I really can’t see any benefit to using a manual EQ over alt az apart from being able to track objects on one axis, but tracking on alt az isn’t particularly difficult once you’ve had a little practice. 

That’s all ignoring the fact that the scope is likely very undermounted anyway, so it’ll be a bit of a pain to say the least. 

The eyepieces are basically worthless, and the focuser and finder look awful so the good deal on the face of it is a bit misleading. 

@allworlds presents a good alternative with 6” or 8” dobs. A brand new 8” with a good quality focuser and accessories wont cost you much more than that scope, or just go with the new skywatcher 8” for a few less accessories. Go the used route on an 8” or 10” dob (10” starts to get big so consider your own fitness/strength and where you’ll set up and store it) and you can’t really wrong.

 

Always a safe bet to ask here before buying anything so you’ve done yourself a great help!

5 hours ago, Spile said:

I personally would recommend a Dobsonian mount https://astro.catshill.com/why-did-i-choose-a-dobsonian/

4 hours ago, allworlds said:

Yeah, I had a smaller Newt on an equatorial mount and it drove me up the creek, I hardly ever used it and eventually got rid of it. This 10 inch is a scope that's high on performance per £ and low on practicality and usability.

You can buy a much more practical Dobsonian mount. Orion Optics sell them, there's probably other suppliers too. Or make one if you have the tools, workspace, and skill (things that I lacked). But whatever mount it's on it's a big heavy scope. Think about how far you'd have to move it from where it's stored to where you observe.

If you'd prefer something ready-to-go, consider a new 6 or 8 inch Dob.

6 hours ago, Ricochet said:

OOUK make good scopes but a Newtonian of that size on an eq mount will be a nightmare to use. That mount looks a bit bigger than an eq3 to me but even so I think that scope is probably under mounted. If it was me I would be considering if £375 is a good deal just for the OTA with a plan to build a dobsonian base for it. I would also factor in the cost of a decent 2" focuser which will require cutting a larger hole in the tube. The eyepieces will get you started but you'll soon be wanting to upgrade them. 

6 hours ago, Mandy D said:

You have everything there that you need to get started. A 10 inch Newt is a big telescope and should give great views of most things. The EQ mount could be a bit tricky to learn to use for a beginner and you may be better with a Dobsonian mount, but I think it has been mentioned before that you can set an EQ up to operate in AZ mode which is a lot easier.

Just be sure that you want to handle such a large scope if you have to move it far for observing each time. My first scope was the same size, a Skywatcher 250PX dobsonian mounted Newt and I love it!

Welcome to the group and I hope you enjoy your new hobby. Ask plenty of questions and you will find lots of help and advice, even if we don't all agree which is the best scope!

 

Thanks for all your responses guys, honestly a massive help. I think I'll pass on this particular one as the general consensus seems to be that it's vastly under-mounted and would be a pain in the backside to use, which I hadn't considered as much as I probably should have!

I have been looking at a couple more today, and have found the following listings, the first being a "Konus Konusky 200" with a motorised mount and several accessories, list price £375 again.

The second being a 120mm Skywatcher refractor that I'm not sure of the exact model, comes on an EQ3-2 mount, list price £275

They both seem a lot more managable and usable in general, but I'm not 100% sure on the refractor, as I'm really looking to get into visual astronomy, not AP. 

If anyone has any opinions on these, or indeed if I should choose the first one over either, that would be fantastic!

So I'm looking at a second hand Orion Optics 10" telescope that's listed for £375, it comes with the following

Orion Europa 10" (250 mm) telescope, + tripod/mount (EQ-3) + 10mm, 25mm, 30mm eye pieces, + Barlow lens + two Moon filters.

Being brand new to this hobby, I'm not really sure if this is a good, bad, or middling deal. Any help would be appreciated!