Stephanos

@steppenwolf & @Pixies thank you for your replies. Turn left at Orion seems to be getting great reviews all over. I think that might be the first one I order.

Hi All, After doing my research for a first telescope (where I sought advice on this forum also, getting some great feedback), my wife did her own research and surprised me with a Celestron Astromaster 130EQ for our 10th anniversary. It was very easy to set up, balance and also to align the red dot finder. I'm very excited and can't wait for a clear night to polar align it and start viewing even from light polluted North London. A t-ring and 2x barlow adaptor are on their way also (I know they won;t be competition winners, but it's just an easy / affordable way to start taking some photos also) I was wondering which books, maps etc the members would recommend in order to start finding my way through the night sky (I am aware of basics but there's room for improvement of course!) - these could be books to read after work, or maps/guides that are useful while observing. Thanks, Stephanos

I have a 'nifty fifty' 50mm f1.8 and a Tamron 18-270mm zoom.

Thank you so much for the replies everyone! Great to get some input from experienced users and other new scope owners as well. It seems obvious that if you get the bug, two set-ups are a given, one for observing and one for astrophotography. I'll reevaluate my budget and try and make a reasonable choice. Budget I had in mind was around £300, but if a bit more gets be a lot more for the money I might consider spending more. Might go for the 200p for now, as it seems that it has a lot going on for it for observing (and maybe take some short exposure shots with it/try things out). I just thought that with an eq mount, I could set up anywhere (as it's on a tripod) while with the dob it needs to be level/flat. Also it seems that anything less than an EQ-5 is a bit wobbly (at least for anything serious)? Would this set-up be a minimum? https://www.firstlightoptics.com/pro-series/skywatcher-evostar-80ed-pro-heq5-pro.html Once again, thanks guys, much appreciated.

Thank you very much for your reply, much appreciated! I'll see if I can get my hands on the book. I appreciate that refractors are suitable for astrophotography but not sure if I want to sacrifice observing for pure photography, maybe a decent compromise between the two. Will look more into refractors though also.

Hello everyone! I am new here and about to buy my first telescope and wondering if you could help me make up my mind! I have been looking at the skywatcher explorer 130P on an eq2 mount and the skyliner 200P Dobsonian. There is obviously a price difference, as well as the diameters and mounts are of course different. The skyliner supposedly has 'direct slr connection' which is a big plus, as I would like to connect my ancient Canon 1000D to the telescope I buy. Would it be that hard to connect the camera to the explorer (i.e. would it be more than a t-adapter?) Also anyone had experience with the EQ-2 mount? Not worried about the alignment etc as I am confident I can do it with a bit of practice, it're more if it's stable enough and offers a good experience? Also does the optional motor help with taking long exposures or is it not that precise? I like the simplicity of the Dobsonian but as far as I know there is no option to 'motorise' it (so I'm wondering whether I will need a completely separate rig in the future if I want to take long exposures etc?) Thank you so much, apologies if any of the questions are a bit obvious to the experienced. Any other advise (or alternatives) are most welcome All the best, Stephanos