Stu1smartcookie

3 minutes ago, Gem85 said:

I have just sent back the Celestron travel scope 70mm as I didn’t find it at all good enough for what I wanted to see. But Can I please ask what’s the difference between a reflector and a refractor? What’s better? 

This is a question that in a less enlightened forum would create a " my scopes better than your scope " scenario . in laymens terms a refractor uses a lense whereas a relector uses mirrors . Each have their benefits and flaws . A reflector will , generally give you more "bang for buck " as you will no doubt be able to buy a reflecting scope with more aperture for the same price as you will pay for a refractor . Using a reflector , you will need to master collimation ( not hard , believe me ) . But as you have found out , a cheap frac isnt always the best option , especially if you want to use it to view planets . 

Whats better ? , IMHO if money is paramount buy a reflector , but , whatever you buy ... get a good mount !!! thats why people go for the Dobsonian design 

13 hours ago, AstroNebulee said:

I second this whole heartedly 👍

I certainly "third" it !!! There is an underlining traditional theory that purists insist on an HEQ5 as "an absolute minimum" set up for astro photography . In reality , as this thread proves , and indeed for people using other AZ goto mounts photographing the planets and stars is very much achievable , with top results from our smaller rigs . 

Stu

As I found out last night although the little blighters that have eaten me are small black flies that hide in the grass . A hazard that we have to bear in the summer . 

8 minutes ago, Mr Spock said:

Last night , as per @Ags I was sitting outside ( getting eaten alive )  looking for meteors , only seeing one, at least the insects had a good time at my expense 

By now you will have been bombarded with many suggestions , ALL OF THEM well meaning and perfect for a first scope . I agree with a previous comment , think about what you want to see . I know you are going to answer "everything" , but bear in mind , no one telescope excels on everything! The 200mm dobsonian is a favourite but , it can be a bit cumbersome if you have to move it up and down stairs . A small refractor such as the st80 has been mentioned ( I have an st80, and an ed60 refractor and they are great little scopes ),but they are for widefield viewing , not really suited to planetary . I also own a 127Mak which gives lovely views of planets as you can increase magnification due to its long focal length , but , this scope has its drawbacks as it has a small field of view . Also you have to think about a mount for the scope ( unless you go for the dobsonian) . This is where it all gets a bit expensive for a first time buyer as the mount is really the most important purchase . I certainly have made mistakes in cutting corners on mounts just to get a really nice scope and regretted it afterwards . 

Although in the past I have recommended the 127mak ,  I would buy a dobsonian , large or small , as my" first "scope .The heritage series are a good start . But if you can store it and you have easy access to a viewing point then the 200mm skywatcher is probably the best value scope . Of course the first thing to do is to "learn the sky " especially if you buy a telescope on a non GOTO mount . Astronomy can be the most rewarding hobby but also the most frustrating.Finding targets is time consuming . Buy some astronomy magazines .. Astronomy Now , and Sky at Night magazine , and the book Turn left at Orion ( which is a hard read but gives you an indication of what you might see at certain times of year ) . 

Whatever you decide , keep asking questions on here . You will get different opinions , and some great technical advice . NEVER be afraid to ask!!  

Oh and one last thing , Enjoy stargazing .. it's not a competition, go at your own pace, you don't have to do everything in one night  . The sky will always be there .

27 minutes ago, Ags said:

@Stu1smartcookie That is really good for a phonecam! Which phone was that?

Hi , thanks ... i have the newest sony 1 mk iv ... in manual mode with an optical zoom periscope lens 85-125mm. I'm just getting to grips with it having come from an iphone lol

No scope or Binos used last night , just my phone camera hand held , just a touch out of focus but it was worth a shot .

24 minutes ago, Peter-uk said:

The 127 arrived safely today new glass so we see if the clouds stay way

Its a great scope... nice purchase  

Mr Peach , move aside ... brilliant image , Neil , as always

19 hours ago, Astro_Dad said:

Not always about the high end here…I’ve sold off previously owned more premium end zooms as didn’t get enough use (preferring single eyepieces) but have recently missed having one in my kit bag for convenient grab and go - particularly on holiday. This one delivered direct to the holiday cottage in Scotland courtesy of Amazon. It’s no Baader MK IV but it’s light and compact, ideal for grab and go with the Heritage 150 - surprisingly good and even better value 👍

No need to  apologise for buying the SVbony ... its great value , i briefly used an 8-24 and although the Baader is considered to be  "king of the Zooms" the SVbony range of Zooms are great . Hmmm , Now i'm interested in buying another one !!!!!!  

13 hours ago, Louis D said:

just wanted to put that out there to avoid someone else like me upgrading to a triplet and being shocked by how slowly it acclimates.  If quick acclimation is the goal, definitely stick with doublets.

A good call Louis , that's why this forum is considered one of the best , everyone wants to offer the best advice they can .

Just now, Louis D said:

I guess you've never used a triplet refractor.  Mine takes at least 30 minute to acclimate.  All sorts of pinched optics looking artifacts until then.

true enough , i haven't but then again i think the op isn't looking at that kind of money judging by the scopes he listed . I'm purely in the doublet range .

HMMM spanner in the works , time . I am going to ask the op what interests them in the hobby . Planetary and Lunar ? , DSO's ? Double Stars ? Globs and Nebs?

No one scope will do it all , well . 

I think the little Dob is a better all rounder , but i also think the Mak excels in what it does best . There is a reason why it gets such high praise on here and other sites . Sure there are downsides ie you must let the scope "cool down" longer than the dob , and , as pointed out the FOV is reduced compared to the dob , but lets look at the good stuff ... pinpoint views with high magnification , as has been said ... NO COLLIMATION  . The Dob has probably one of the worst focusers going , which you can rectify by adding tape !!!  To my mind that is a quality control issue that never should have passed inspection . Why you have to fix something that is new is beyond me . 

... now for the spanner ..... im just throwing this one in , what about a nice refractor ? Decent focuser , No cool down time . Sharp Views . ( very satisfying to see the "snap" of an object come into focus on a frac ) .

Hey , nobody said this hobby is a simple right and wrong ! 

Just getting used to our new house , and trying to put things away ( repeat to fade) ... just before i went to bed , around 11;30 i looked out on our "new" skies in Witchford nr Ely , Cambs 

OMG ! I now know there are definitely more stars than just the brightest favourites . In fact , staring at Cygnus i am sure i saw some faint misty patches to the  left of Deneb , and considering the sky was clear i was mighty impressed by the sheer number of stars which were visible . It all bodes well for some lovely nights sweeping the sky with binos or indeed taking some shots through my little 60mm Horizon . Really exciting . 

1 hour ago, StevieDvd said:

It's arrived amd looking good:

Will need the extension to make sure the weight bar does not catch on tripod, well at least with the setting 'as is' . The alt/az adjustments are very smooth and look to be a winner for PA on mobile setups.

Can't wait till it's first light but will connect up and try it indoors later with app and Asiar/Stellarmate/Astroberry to which it likes/dislikes.

you trend setter ... looks great mate 

Hello Tina , welcome to the forum . 

Another early walk ... even earlier than yesterday , at this rate i will be staying up all night !! Took a photo of Jupiter sitting above the Moon. It was a bit cloudy first thing this morning and the photo highlights this

Due to an earlier start to work this morning i went for my morning walk at 4am . Wow , i've said it before but it reall is the best time to be out , at this time of year anyway .Jupiter was shining brightly to the left of the moon and i even managed to spot Mars , and of course Venus, which is a lovely sight . I'm turning into a bit of a lunar / planetary freak whilst the lighter nights and early sunrises  exist , like many i'm sure . 

Looking forward to the nights drawing in and the mornings getting a little darker . 

Disclaimer : i honestly like the summer.... really .   

Not strictly the postman but it’s the first time this rig has been put together so I think it’s worth a photo . 
missed a golden opportunity last night though as it was really clear but , hey , there’s always tonight 

11 hours ago, Ratlet said:

DPD finally found the house.  AZ5 and a 130PDS fresh from FLO.

Back in 2012, this was the scope I wanted and now I've got it, along with an 8mm BST and Barlow.  Have to say that the stock 28mm was very comfortable to use, certainly less kidney beaning and blackouts compared to the stock eyepiece than came with the slt127.  Tripod is an Innorel NT364C and exhibited very little shake with the scope plopped on top and not particularly well balanced.  I had nothing hanging off the hook on the bottom either.

Currently only some very litght haze outside, so hopefully will be able to take it out in anger tonight!

Nice set up . The 130PDS is a really capable scope. 

3 minutes ago, Elp said:

Certainly it benefits those looking for the complete package, we all knew the price was going to be higher than the azgti, whether it offers any benefits over and above remains to be seen. I still use my azgti primarily even though I've got a sturdier mount to use.

Absolutely , and i will probably keep mine as a purely quick Alt Az set up . 

10 minutes ago, Pixies said:

The Star Adventurer GTi is about to become available. It's £515 mind!

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/star-tracker-astronomy-mounts/sky-watcher-star-adventurer-gti.html

yes or £599 including the tripod 

looks like Widescreen etc will have stock early next week . To be honest its been a good year for new mounts as the celestron Starsense mounts have been a great success . I think the new SA-Gti is a good upgrade from the original SA or AZGti ... dual axis guiding , illuminated polar scope , sensible counterweight system, but as you mention the price , its comparable to the EQ3-2 which basically does the same thing with the same payload .

Whether its worth upgrading from an Az-Gti or a SA wifi ?... the Jury is out !

I certainly get around ! Another little journey to the south coast to meet @mareman48… and to collect the little beauty in the photos . A bit of widefield photography beckons 

So it looks like the SA-GTi will be available next week . (Champagne corks popping ) .I received a notification today to order . Available with or without the tripod ! 

On 10/07/2022 at 11:57, thesaintishere said:

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!

 Good choice , especially the steel tripod as that enables stability.