Raph-in-the-sky

Finding a place nearby, even if not so great is a good idea. I have 2 different spots. One is 35min away from home and the other one is 1h away... sadly I live in Belgium where light pollution is everywhere and those sites are bortle 5 and 4 respectively. I'm gonna try to go to Champagne in neighbouring France which is 3h away and has some bortle 2/3 spots ... I might have a drink or two while I'm there 😉

Go Dob Mob!

Well even if it's 6'' dob would be cheaper. My understanding was that OP was going to move out of the city with his car but if he intends to use on his balcony, your point is valid regarding the wall. Regarding the knidging it really isn't a problem. At the beginining it can be a bit frustrating to go back to a low mag EP but you get used to it quickly. Regarding the bending a simple stool, costing 10Eur solve the issue. Your last point regarding the carrying the scope is a real concern. I wouldn't want to move an 8'' dob over several flight of stares but if the OP has a lift it could work... depending on the size of the flat storage might also be an issue. Conclusion: there's a lot of things to take into account and what works for one person will not work for everybody. (god I love my 10'' dob)

Since the mount is not for imaging why not go for a dob?

Is that the 3'' reflector? If so, you will be blown away by the views a 8'' scope gives!

What is your old scope? Have you never been tempted to upgrade the eyepieces?

When he said he had a budget of 500$ I assumed 500 USD... Canadians really should use CAD, if you us $ it will be very confusing for all of us

That is good advice. Unless you know at what rate you are borrowing, your interest rate is probably above 9% pa...

Also, you should consider buying second hand. There is great deals to be had... I was able to buy a 1 year old 10'' dob with a case full of eyepieces and a planetary camera for 400 EUR, I estimate the value new to be close to 1100 EUR!

Good, so you should be able to fit this scope in your car and go away from city lights (which I highly recommend). To be honest, the difference between these 2 scopes is marginal at best so accessories might define what makes the cut. The SW comes with a 9x50 straigh finder which is perfectly usable but you might want to upgrade to a RACI (corrected, with a 90° diagonal) for comfort, a 25mm Plossl eyepiece which should do a decent job for wide field/low mag and a 10mm Plossl which has short eye relief and is not very comfortable to use. The Orion comes with a red dot finder which is and will remain useful ... you will probably want a RACI finder on top of some kind of red dot (like rigel quickfinder or Telrad). It also comes with a red light, again useful and a decent barlow (you might be ok with this one for quite some time). If I were you I would go for the Orion based on the fact that accessories will be useful for a longer time but keep in mind that you will have to buy eyepieces straight away (ie. you will not be able to use the scope as it comes). The SW come ready to use but you will want to upgrade, at least the eyepieces quite quickly.

Do you have a car? If so, I would say don't focus on astrophoto for the time being. Buy a 8'' or 10'' Dob and keep some money in your budget for a few eyepieces.

Thanks, I think it would be nice to have a low power wide field EP. I was hoping I could get a decent EP that gives me about 2° TFOV. The 70° 30mm would give me 1.75° which I suppose is close enough. My idea was that this EP could help locate fainter objects and provide me with good views of extended objects (Veil and orion nebulae come to mind). I'll check the ones you mention and see if I can find them second hand... I'm in no rush since I got a nice GSO 32mm plossl from another SGL member.

So now way around it. I'm gonna have to rob a bank... again

Just realized you were not talking about the 80° APM... The 70° is 200 EUR while the 80° is only 100 EUR. Have you tried the 80° one?

Have you used this EP with only one focal length (the one with only the 30mm printed on the EP, https://www.befr.ebay.be/itm/163778031584?ViewItem=&item=163778031584). Apparently the design is not the same. Regarding the APM UFF, this is the one with 80° AFOV (https://www.astroshop.eu/eyepieces/apm-2-30mm-80d-uw-eyepiece/p,52793)? Is it that good? Better than an ES 82°? If so I think I could spend 100 Eur on this (or I might wait for a second han to pop up ... I have a GSO 32mm plossl that does the job for the time being)

Good point. There a bit cheaper and delivery is much faster with Opticstar. If I decide to buy it I 'll go through them.

I know this general rule of thumb: Wide field, well-corrected, cheap... choose 2 out of 3 but from what I read this EP punches above its weight. just wanted to hear from some people who have first hand experience.

Could anybody help?

Hey Guys, While browsing through some EPs on Ebay, I stumbled upon this EP (https://www.befr.ebay.be/itm/One-High-Quality-2-F30mm-Ultra-Wide-80-Degree-Eyepiece-for-Telescope-Brand-New/143351523207?hash=item21606aa787:g:TDkAAOSwkhJZ5MQu) which is really cheap (only £65). Has anybody used it? How do you think it would perform in a F4.7 10'' Dob? Obviously I am not expecting Nagler performance but maybe it compares ok to something like a 30mm ES 82°. Finally I see that there is a 30mm EP and a 20mm/32mm (both focal lenght at once by removing a barlow element). I like the idea of having both 20 and 32mm as it would complete my range quite nicelly but this one seems to be a completely different built. How does this EP compare to the rest? Cheers, Raph

Don't settle for possibly ok... Just buy the HEQ5 when you have the money

Of course but with the prices today, I don't se the point... It's not that difficult to track objects even at high power and an EQ mount for a big Newt is soooo expensive

Or you could go full visual for the time being and buy a big ol' Dob (10'' or even 12'') and then buy a mount and refractor when you have more money on hand? I understand the idea of not buying twice and having one mount to fit either the reflector or the refractor but to be honest I don't see the point of having a Newt on a EQ mount if it's not for AP. A rocker box is cheap! Aperature rocks! In the future when doing AP, you be able to use the Dob while your AP rig does its stuff. I know, it's not what you had in mind but maybe this will help you see that from another angle

Would it help if I used my 250mm Dob instead of the 114mm?

I have a few color filters as well as a UHC and an OIII. I was also considering a Baader Neodymium. Would it help? Is it possible to see the corona?

Hey guys! I was wondering what I could do to improve my solar viewing. I have a full apperture solar filter for my 114/500 but the sun just looks like a dull uniform disc. Is there any filters I can use or anything I can do to improve this?