PlanetGazer

If are you worried about the collimation only?

Great image this is.What did you use to mount the Camera on?

According to supplier for 130M Highest Practical Power (Potential): x260

What do you guys think of this telescope? http://www.firstligh...-telescope.html I laughed when I saw this under the clearance section XD There is no price tag on it

Good evening I'm actually interested in imaging but won't consider getting straight into it now. You make good points about the DOBs. I'm not the best when it comes to smoothly rotate an object, that is why I'm looking for a scope with slow mo rods. I'm not sure how would I be able to mange a DOB. I'm not considering any go to , but I may get a motor to keep up with an object. and yes the weight is a problem, im taking this back home so I will consider a lighter telescope. Back home there are few dealers and most of them sell advanced telescopes only. That is why I'm considering to get a light quality starter telescope from UK. Thank you for the informative reply. I'm sure that few years down the line I would have to upgrade to an advanced one. but for now I think I'm either going for: -Skywatcher Explorer 130M (EQ-2) f/6.9 (with motor , red dot finder and slow mo) or -Skywatcher Explorer 150PL EQ3-2 f/8 (with camera adapter and 6*30 finder scope) I have searched a lot and both received very good feedback. the 150PL is a clear winner on paper when it comes to specs. but with 130M accessories and price (difference of £100) it is really tempty. I like the 130M more at the moment, but will visit a store first to finalise my decision. Would be nice if I get feed back from people who tried any of these two. Thanks for all who recommended and helped me. I know a lot of votes were for the 200P, which is a great telescope, but I don't think it's for me. I hope this topic help others who are in the same position I'm at the moment. I leave you with 2 videos for the 130M and 150PL, not the best but good enough for a beginner like me - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUlI3CjGbug -

Already have one infact I got two, Redshift and Star Chart. the last one is free on Apple store . This will be helpful, but I'm interested in learning the traditional way as well

Thanks for the replies. Well I currently live in London, and I'm not going to use the scope here. I'm planing to buy a telescope from UK before finishing my studies and take it back home. I regularly go camping and will definitely take the telescope with me to enjoy the night-time. Some have pointed out that I should visit local stargazer groups or even the shop to test the kit, and that's what I'm planing to do.

I never used equatorial mounts before nor a Newtonian telescope, I was afraid that I might face such a problem, but though they're very popular and such a problem will be overcome. Is there a solution for this? because that means that I need to reconsider the Newtonian telescope type since all Newtonian s that I've seen come with equatorial mounts.

I'm surprised of the amount of replies within the short time! Thank you guys I came across the Skywatcher Skyliner 200P Dobsonian, but what put me off is its size and portability, but I can be wrong since I only judged by a picture. I was thinking of a telescope that I can take with me in car without taking too much boot space and can be re-built quickly on site. From what I understood that such telescopes are more permanent once built.. The price and specs are really tempting, but the ease of define buildability and portability made me shy away from it...it's too big for a beginner like me

Hello everyone I'll go straight into the topic. I have been searching a long time for a good beginner-intermediate telescope. But the more I search , the more confused I get! I'm looking for a telescope in the range of £250-£400. I'm interested in planet observatory (jupiter and saturn's rings) as a start , and open for deep sky as well. So I don't mind f/5-f/7. I'm looking for a reflector since they are relatively cheap, but wouldn't mind a reflector in the price range. I'm thinking that I should get a minimum diameter of 150mm/6inch as a starter. I don't want any computer/Go-to telescope, because I'm keen on learning how to find objects in the sky and would prefer to have the telescope that I can control manually my-self. I have found good new features like the slow-motion adjusters, but only found them in cheap telescopes like the Celestron Astromaster 130EQ which was really appealing to me but found the tripod is not solid. I would really appreciate your help if you would recommend a telescope or suggest new specs to look for. At the moment I'm looking at: -Sky-Watcher Explorer-150P (EQ3-2) f/5 £240 * like this one -Skywatcher Explorer 150PL EQ3-2 f/8 £280 -Celestron Omni XLT 150 f/5 £370 *like this one or even -Skywatcher Explorer 130 (EQ-2) f/6.9 £140/£170 (with motor) *tempting motor,slow-mo and focal ratio -Meade EQ114mm Reflector Telescope f/8.8 £150