MattG

I live in the UK and with the weather I feel like I haven't viewed the sky from the northern hemisphere either recently... What a strange view it will be to have clear skies 😂

Great thanks guys. I'll order the Bresser now and then when it arrives (several months no doubt) I'll order a RACI, shoe etc etc, help spread the cost out. Thanks you all for the great advice, really appreciated! Matt

I think I've got to just order and then play the long waiting game. If I upgrade the shoe and RACI, is there particular RACIs that people would recommend? Looking at FLO there's a huge difference in price between the Astro Essentials for £59 and the Explore Scientific for £189, is it really necessary to pay that much for a RACI? Thanks, Matt

Before I take the plunge I was just waiting for some money to clear and today the Bresser has gone up by 10%. I'm guessing this is fx related or something similar. Is the Bresser still worth the extra money? The difference is now £144 which is really stretching my budget... Thanks, Matt

Do you store it outside with a cover or do you move it in and out of somewhere?

Haha no, definitely should have worked that one out 😂

FL? Sorry but if I'm dense!

Really wish I could go visit somewhere but genuinely think it'll be months before I could do that 😞 Obviously there's a huge number of EPs and accessories I could buy but I'll need to spread them out a bit... Is there anything I'm desperately missing though? Thank you so much everybody for the advice! Matt

I just did a quick search to see how often they come up... 😳

Thanks all, this is really useful. You've also answered the question I didn't ask - is the Bresser worth the extra £100! Really appreciate all the answers. Now if only anybody has a nice second hand ones in East Anglia...

Hi, With how long it's likely to be to wait I'm going to just bite the bullet and just order a telescope. I've spent a while lurking and reading the forum trying to work out what I want (not easy!) and have (probably) decided on an 8" Newtonian. I'm currently considering: Skywatcher 200p dobsonian Bresser 8" messier Skywatcher explorer 200p EQ5 From what I understand using the EQ5 mount rather than the dobsonian can lead to some awkward viewing angles. Is there much difference between the SW and Bresser dobs? Am I right in thinking that the bresser mount is a bit better? Essentially, if you had to pick one of the dobs, which would you go for and why? I'm an almost complete beginner. I've been out with a cheap telescope a few times, mostly just viewing the moon. At this point I'm only really interested in observing though would love to get some basic snaps, either on my phone or by attaching my partner's DSLR. I understand that the pictures I'm likely to get are not going to be world beaters, don't worry. I would initially want to be able to see Jupiter and Saturn though would like to be able to see DSOs. At this point I've only ever really viewed the moon. I suspect seeing Jupiter and Saturn would blow my mind though people on here seem to be also blown away by DSOs like pleiades. If I'm right I am hoping that these telescopes would be a great intro to these. Thanks very much, everybody on here seems to have an infinite amount of patience for these type of questions! Matt

Oh wow the situation is actually worse than I thought, I was going to wait to put in an order until it there was at least a vague delivery date but maybe I'll just have to order now if the queue is going to keep growing! 🤔

Hi FLO, Out of interest have any of the manufacturers said when they expect the situation to normalise? I know everythings messed up with both manufacturing and shipping at the moment but I was just interested if anybody had given any expected dates for normality? Also, I'm not expecting you to predict the future or necessarily be able to answer this concretely, "no" and "I have no idea" are both perfectly acceptable responses! 🤣 Had my eye on either a Bresser 8" or a SW 200 for a month or so now, can't wait to get one! Matt

There seems to be a lot of people askiong the same questions at the moment (run up to Christmas I guess), this is a really useful thread. Thanks all for the input!

Woah Nigella that's intense!