John88

Thanks for the reply 

Hi all, 

I'm in the process of looking at getting my first scope, I was initially looking at getting an AZ GTi mount with Skymax but with the price rises I am now looking at a used celestron Nexstar slt 90 or sky watcher synscan with skymax 102.

Other than the 102 having more light gathering ability, is there any difference between the mounts? 

I was looking at the WiFi adapters for each as would like to control via sky safari and seems the Celestron one is about twice the price. 

Also how portable are the mounts do they pack down relatively well as storage is at a premium? 

Any other suggestions on subtable scopes would be welcome. 

I'm looking for a scope mainly for moon and planets etc

Ideally goto to be able to show my son things quickly, but not essential. 

Something that is fairly portable

My budget is 400 max including mount

Think I have read so much, but am still having trouble deciding. 

Thanks in advance for your help and advice 

1 hour ago, BinocularSky said:

They can be specified with or without filter threads; worth asking before you buy. I think some of the Delta Optical (similar, but ED glass) may have filter threads.

Definitely something to keep in mind in the future great bins though

Have done a bit of a bodge solution by putting a rubber washer round the thread of the filter and they are now push fit. Given them a good shake upside down and seem pritty solid although they sit a bit proud. 

Thanks for the reply.

That's a shame looks like I might be sending the filters back, I got the bins second hand so can't look at exchanging them

Hi all, 

I have just bought some skywatcher filters (uhc and o-iii) to use with my helios apollo 15x70 

But I can't seem to screw them into where the eyepieces are, I must be doing something wrong but thought it should be fairly easy to fit. 

Have added some pics just incase there is a model which can't accept them or something 

Many Thanks in advance 

6 hours ago, wibblefish said:

Added some phone camera shots of the moon the other day maybe help judge CA etc?

Thanks for the pictures and the info gonna be tough choice eventually between the 90/660 or a Skymax 102 I think although I will probably change my mind before they come back in stock again 😁

3 hours ago, wibblefish said:

I have this telescope, I am a beginner though so not sure how much use a review would be but happy to answer some questions / give some thoughts if you wanted

Hi

I'm looking at possibly getting this scope too

Couple of questions 1. How long is the tube? Looking at getting something fairly compact as storage is at a premium. (can't seem to find it on the net) 

2. How is the scope at high magnification on Planets etc is the there a lot of chromatic aberration and better suited to wide views? 

Thanks in advance 

Hi all

Just on my usual browsing in the hope I will have some money to get some new bins at some point I saw the bresser Spezial saturn 20x60s, I couldnt find much in the way of reviews (except one on cloudy nights) which is probably a sign. At about half the price I presume these have nothing on the Pentax 20x60s. 

It was more out of interest if anyone has used these and if they are any good? 

Thanks all for your time

3 hours ago, Ships and Stars said:

The Pentax 20x60s are just the bees knees for all-around use, I use them for birds, ships, jets, astro, anything really. 

 

I did see the Pentax but bit expensive for me at the moment but maybe I should save my pennies and wait for a good deal 

Hi all, 

Thanks for the opinions and info. I think I might go for the 15x's hopefully battle against light pollution slightly maybe and I have a monopod so should hopefully steady enough. 

Didn't know if there was any difference build quality wise between the Celestron and the opticron. 

Thanks 

Hi all, 

I was looking at some 15x70 skymaster on amazon for around £60 thought I might give them ago to compare to my 10x50's as they seemed a good price, then saw some opticron 11x70  for similar price just wanted to know peoples thoughts on either product and how they compare before I press the buy button?

Thanks 

On 23/06/2020 at 14:01, mattjanes100 said:

Fully refunded I hope!

Yea thankfully 😊

It was too good to be true order got an email to say order was cancelled 

10 minutes ago, Tenor Viol said:

I see that the 'branding' infers a 'German' heritage but delivery is 6 - 8 weeks... would indicate shipping from somewhere slightly further east...

Yea sounds like a German company but business address is somewhere in China. 

3 minutes ago, John said:

I hope this is not a case of "if it seems to good to be true, it probably is" but even a budget half decent pair of 20x80's is usually £120 or so

If they turn out to be decent then they are an absolute bargain

 

🤞I will have a bargain but I won't hold my breath 😂

Hi guys, 

I saw these through amazon which look and sound like celestron skymaster pros especially with the images provided. 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B08747BTKM?ref=ppx_pt2_mob_b_prod_image

And thought it might be worth a punt at under £40 and through amazon marketplace so I should be able to return them fairly easily if needed. As the price is a bit too good to be true they probably are cheap tat, but hoping they might be made in the same factory or something as the SkyMaster pros will see. 

They should arrive in a little over a months time hopefully and I will report back then. 

Great Thanks

6 minutes ago, BinocularSky said:

I didn't actually try them on a monpod when I had  them for testing, but given that I used to routinely use the Helios Apollo, which is  about 80g heavier that the SkyMaster Pro 20x80, on a monopod, I'd be surprised if it wasn't OK, especially if you tweak the tensions on the 222 to suit the weight.

Sorry to hijack, I was thinking about the 20x80 pros too. Would these be useable on a monopod with a manfrotto 222 that I have or a bit unwieldy and better suited to a tripod? 

Thanks

Nice, I was looking at get a used manfrotto 222 head similar to the tripod head but this might be good and just sell the tripod. 

Hi guys

I'm looking at getting a benro MAD49A for my olympus dps-1 10x50 as its quite tall. I was thinking of getting a tripod base/foot for a monopod when looking around for added stability. 

I'm unsure if the foot on the benro unscrews at all to add a separate base on to it? If anyone has experience with it? Might be the case might not need a separate foot. 

Any other advice/recommendations on different monopods and set ups would be appreciated. 

Thanks

Thanks, I went olympus in the end as they were slightly cheaper. Very happy with them so far

Also maybe helios naturesport plus I am having trouble deciding 

Hi guys, 

So am about to buy my first pair of bins I was looking at Olympus  10 x 50 DPS-1 but noticed they didn't have "bak 4" and "multi coated lenses"  which the opticron adventurer t wp 10x50'S do.

I'm not sure how important all the specs really are. 

So just wanted to see if anyone had any experience with either of these? 

Thanks a lot for your time and help

Thanks Dave, I do have a camera tripod so will maybe grab a mount and see how I get on. 

Thanks a lot guys for your time and advice

I'm sure I will be back here soon asking lots more questions 

Thanks, I will def add a tripod to the list. 

I think I'm going to go for a pair of Olympus Binocular 10 x 50 DPS-1 they seem to have pritty favourable reviews. 

And think they might be easier pair bins for me to start off with being lighter and smaller

I don't really wanna spend more than £100. I suppose there is a bit of light pollution not pitch black. 

I did see Opticron Imagic TGA WP 7x50 Binoculars on first light which are on sale

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/all-binoculars/opticron-imagic-tga-wp-7x50-binoculars.html

Wondering if these might be a good choice