Lemmy Caution

Am very happy to find this discussion as I am also a newbie waiting for an ED80 Pro and so am in the same position of wondering what eyepieces to go for, also which would work well with glasses wearer. I was thinking of the Baader hyperion zoom to start out with as an easy way of finding objects then zooming in, which can be bought with a dedicated barlow. As I thought that even if expanding with some fixed length eyepiecves in the future, this would still be a useful piece of kit. I've put the links below. Any advice or opinions welcome as to whether this is a good first eyepeice to go for? https://www.firstlightoptics.com/baader-planetarium/baader-hyperion-zoom-eyepiece.html https://www.firstlightoptics.com/barlow-eyepieces/baader-hyperion-zoom-barlow.html

Thanks @vlaiv, @Drewby80 and @Tiny Clanger for all the insights and advice: it's greatly appreciated and has helped me going from no idea what I was looking at to having narrowed the choice down to either a 127MAK or an ED80 telescope. (Altair or Skywatcher). Looking on the website FLO also do a Skywatcher ED72 which looks great and might be a real contender but doesn't come as a kit whereas the EED80 and MAK127 do and am presuming is better value (but maybe its best to buy things separately in terms of quality, so the ED72 still in the running). It seems that the EDs are allrounders while the MAKs offer best value so a hard call. Nothing in stock from what I've seen and so it looks like its going to be wait unless anything turns up second hand. Any recommended second hand forums?

..useful to see that Starwave that John recommends above is the same one that Vlaiv recommended earlier

...what a fantastic image taken with the APO refractor. I just googled 80mm APO and the prices are indeed steep but worth looking into, esp perhaps secondhand. Any specific recommendations?

Hi Vlaiv This is so useful to see the differences and he images really bring to life the qualities of the respective telescopes. Both shots of the moon are excellent but as you say there is also an obvious difference in terms of contrast and detail. I hadn't really thought about the photographic element (my tripods are used for film cameras) but it seems like a no brainer to get an adaptor to attach a DSLR.

thanks Vlaiv, I've just spent the last 20 mins going through the links and options, and that makes the differences between the various telescope designs much clearer. I'm tempted by all of them, except maybe the spotter and it's a tough call as to the others as the different designs all seem to offer certain advantages. In practical terms I can get good views of the moon from my flat and so that is most likely going to be object that it will be used for most. There is also a 10 story car park 2 mins walk away which would give me 360 degree access to the sky and hopefully would open up other objects.

Thanks Cosmc Geoff and Tiny Clanger, I checked out the FLO website and there are a lot of options! so it's good to have something to narrow it down in terms of the Celestron /Skywatcher 127 maks. My current tripods are also Manfrotto and so its very useful to know about the slow motion controls that might be needed to get a good view.

Hi Everyone I'm looking for a (complete) beginners telescope. I live in Manchester city centre on the 4th floor with a large open door and tiny julliete balcony that would be no good for putting a telescope on but the telescope would be unobstructed looking out of the door. This means it would be above lamposts but still lots of light pollution. I have a couple of good tripods for film cameras which can take 6kg and 10kg cameras, respectively so one that could be mounted on that would be great so that I can spend more money on the telescope itself (am presuming may have to buy a tripod mount of some kind rather than use the existing fluid heads). In an Ideal world the telescope could be used for nightsky and nature but would rather get a good nightsky one rather than compromise. Also in an ideal world one that is portable as I don't drive so would need to fit in a backpack. Any recommendations in the £200 to £500 range, and also essential or recommended accessories. thanks and merry xmas! Lemmy Caution