FCN62

Hi Everyone, Thank you so much for all of your thoughts, experiences and advice. I finally deleted the mass of tabs I had open, and have started from scratch to try and find the right scope. I really thought the GoTo was the right option,and very nearly committed before posting to this forum. However, whilst it would be nice to press a button and view, having thought about it, I really think to make the most of the dark skies we have as well as the scope of view, a larger aperture would give us so much more. I really like the look of the Bresser Messier 10" dobsonian telescope, although they're not available (looking likely to become available in Jan 2021 - which would be fine) But I also wondered if anybody had any thoughts on the the Sky-Watcher Skyliner-250PX FlexTube Parabolic Dobsonian Telescope? I take into account your point about storage happy_kat. We're actually OK for storage and won't have any obstacles in getting the scope in/out, but I did notice these collapsible tubes and wondered if quality was any worse because of the set up? (Wonder if they're more likely to need tweaking etc. over time with such a key moving part?) Reviews seem to be fine, I just wonder if the rigid Bresser would stand up to more. Kind regards,

Thank you, really good advice. I worry I'd want more from a telescope and would outgrow the GoTo. And I think there are some really great GoTo's out there, but at the budget I am looking at, I don't think that quality is hitting the aperture/scope kit. I need to re-think. And that is also good to know regarding resale, because I did wonder how things like this sell if we progressed and wanted to change.

This is so true. I'm a big follower of 'buy cheap buy twice'! I really wouldn't mind buying additional accessories at extra cost if I knew I was getting a good quality telescope and this only added to it. The reason I looked at the GoTo was for the ability to find things. I do think we'd like to dabble in manually finding things, but I don't think at this point we would want to solely rely on that.

Hi Tiny Clanger, No it really does help To have different peoples experiences from different levels is really useful. I do think that having a telescope that can evolve over time with different kit is hugely advantageous. I'm beginning to wish I had posted to this forum earlier, as I was planning on this scope as a Christmas gift, but the feedback is making me look at things a little differently. It's clear I'd get a better scope without the GoTo feature. The reason I looked at GoTo is, as ridiculous as it sounds, we find such little time in our days (Or evenings/nights in this case) and whilst I would love to think we could research and learn the night sky, I think the reality would be that we're cold, tired, and 30-mins to an hour in, we still won't have found what we wanted 😂 I do think with time that would change, and I think the more we came to use a telescope, we would perhaps want to step outside of the box a little bit, but for us at the minute I think a GoTo would really add value - I'm just struggling to accept that you get a little less bang for your buck, although I'm sure the telescopes I've been looking at are more than adequate for beginners. I also think what makes this difficult is the inability to go into a shop and see these things, feel the quality etc.

Aware that the Nexstar you have is over double the budget of the 4SE and double the aperture! but how is it for DSO's? Do you think the 4SE would provide a good view? I'm beginning to think the 4" is far too small and we're not going to be getting enough scope for the budget.

Hi Orions_Boot, Thank you for this. That's actually really interesting to hear from someone getting back into everything. And a 10" near the budget is fantastic. I've just had a look at the link you sent through and you make a really good point about fewer accessories, better quality. It looks like the additions you can buy for this are good quality too. I agree, with the GoTo products you are paying for the electronics. The romantic in me wants to believe that we will be interested in scanning the night sky and reading it, and I think at some point, we'll actually build to this (I can already sense I'm becoming quite fascinated all over again, as I was when I was younger) but I think initially, a GoTo would have a lot of positives for us. It's definitely a fact that looking at a GoTo for the budget, we're looking at a smaller aperture. It's proving really useful having posted on here as it is making me weight things up a little differently. It looks like the telescope you have provides a lot of options moving forward, and would be great for nebulae etc.

Hi Cosmic Geoff, For us personally, the GoTo capability would be incredibly useful, and as Happy Kat stated, to have the ability to utilise both GoTo and manual capability would be great. I don't think I would ever go solely manual however, at least not at this stage. The handset vs. the mobile - This was something I was pondering. Initially I liked the idea of the handset which is why I looked at the Celestron 4SE (Although not sure that allows manual function as well) I thought the alignment might be better. It's so difficult to balance everything, that's possibly why it's taking me so long to come to a decision. I wouldn't like a bad quality image due to a sub-standard tripod, but guess I also have to be realistic given the budget.

Hi Alan64 Yes, I'm trying to get as much aperture as I can whilst balancing quality. Astronomy is definitely a fine art!! The 150 does sound like a good first approach however. Thank you.

Hi Happy Kat, Thank you for responding. The SW SD 150p rings a bell actually. I may have come across this, and reading into it, this does seem a really good option (I forgot to mention tracking and manual use would be great so this ticks a big box!) It looks like stock levels on this are pretty non existent, so a 2021 delivery might be the only option, but I don't mind waiting for the right one (It's going to be a part christmas present, but an 'it's coming...' card will suffice I'm sure!) I've also just come across an old post in 2016 when somebody was discussing this option. It also mentioned a SW 200p which looks great but just out of my budget, but it looks like a fair few people reacted to the 150p positively.

Hi Everybody, Firstly, apologies I'm adding to the list of people looking for advice on their first telescope. I have been reading through previous posts to try and get some information, rather than asking this question again, but it's difficult as requirements across the board are a little different for everybody. I've tried to read into everything as much as possible, but it's almost as if the more I read, the more confused I become... We live in a dark sky area, and have some amazing views when the sky is clear, so don't have the requirement to travel with a telescope. I'm ideally looking for something that can view planets, the moons craters and DSO's (Would love to view nebulae etc.) I have a budget of £500. When I first started searching, I contacted a specialist site, and when giving the loose specification, they advised me to look at: - Skywatcher AZ-GTI range - Celestron Astro-Fi range When I've been looking through, I understand the bigger the aperture, the better the intake of light. I also read that telescopes with a fast rating (f5 etc.) could be better for DSO's? and if we wanted good magnification we then concentrate on the eyepieces? We aren't looking into astrophotography at all, so this isn't a requirement (Although if this could be utilised later down the line I guess that is always a plus!) The telescopes that jumped out at me were the: - Celestron Astro-Fi 5 Schmidt-Cassegrain - Celestron Nexstar 4SE - Skywatcher SkyMax 127 AZ-GTI Maksutov If I remember correctly, I think these are mostly slow telescopes. These telescopes seemed to crop up with good reviews, but I'm not sure if I am falling foul of them being common telescopes so there are more advertisements for them? - There could be a hidden gem that I just haven't hit upon yet! (I am a bit of an over-researcher, and that can sometimes be a downfall!) Any help would be greatly appreciated. In the world of telescopes, I know £500 may not be deemed a lot, but I just want to make sure I get something that can stand the test of time, have a rigid tripod and we can get some good views as much as our budget will allow (Aware we won't be seeing the wonderful gassy nebulae we see in images)