Marc1964

@Tiny Clanger any specific recommendations or advice on what I should avoid? The local fbook pages have lots of tripods locally some look to be of very dubious quality!

Many thanks for the information, makes perfect sense and very helpful 👍

@Tiny Clanger This is absolutely what I was looking for, many thanks for the idiots guide! I was thinking of spending around £125 in order to get a decent tripod. Would spend up to £200 for an alt-az but as I say above, finding a decent mount at a not stupid price seems to be a challenge at the moment; was thinking of the SW az4 on steel legs but not at the increased price! Now looking at a Vixen Mobile Porta, but God only knows when they will be back in stock! I will wait for my new scope to arrive before taking the plunge on a photo tripod, and hopefully the Vixen will come into stock, but at least I now know what I should be looking for if I choose to go down the photo tripod route!

My project is to be able to get to grips with the terminology and apply it correctly to what I see e.g. really understanding and being able to view examples of 'globular clusters' find and be able to explain the difference between a planetary nebula and other types... Basically learn the basic language and try to apply it significantly better to what I see!

The most difficult part of this debate, coming at this from the position of the rank newbie amateur is the importance of the fundamental design. As has been stated already a good doublet with seemingly inferior glass and a lower cost can outperform a poor design that uses the best materials. The difficulty as I see it is knowing the designs well enough to make an informed choice. Also, what I do not think has been mentioned so far is that at some point you are going to get diminishing returns and the difference between certain designs etc. may let you see things differently, not necessarily better. Where I live, at the low, budget end of the market a relatively small increase in spend will (ceteris paribus) produce a qualitatively better image (in principal) but at the top end you seem to have to spend significantly more to get a more marginal improvement.

@Paz I see. How have you attached what is, I assume, a vixen mount to the tripod head?

Hi I have (hopefully) an 80/560 ED refractor coming my way in March. I need a mount for this. Now in the UK sensibly priced AZ mounts seem to be non-existent and I therefore am contemplating using a purchasing a photography tripod (Neewer or Arctise). Trouble is how to connect a vixen mount to the thing. I am frankly confused by the wealth of adaptors etc. that are out there and I have no idea what I should be looking for. I am therefore throwing myself at the mercy (and the probable amusement) of the forum to guide a hapless, hopelessly confused individual as to how this might be achieved, preferably without extracting too many £££s' from my weeping wallet...

I think that if it comes in at less than £300 I'll still be ahead. Now for a star diagonal and a mount....

What telescope have you got mounted, and what mount are you using? I'm thinking of using the same tripod and would be useful to learn from your experience! Thanks!

When you say a small refractor, how small? How about 3kg and an 80/560 refractor?

Well not sure where to post this, so apologies if this is in the wrong place! Finally pulled the trigger on buying a new scop, but feeling nervous 😂. Not seen too much on the above scope, but Aliexpress has a deal with the Svbony shop for one of these at £192 instead of the usual £400 plus. The brand seems to be trustworthy but an ED scope at this price... Roll on March 05!

Very interesting story. I think that you're partly correct in as much there is a cartel in this market however the impact of this is magnified by the distortions in the shipping market which should settle down in the next few months. The shortage of containers will be resolved as manufacturers have increased output and with production levels recovering in Asia prices should at the very least stabilise of not come down but I suspect that the new equilibrium prices will remain 7-15 % higher than pre pandemic...

Hi I'm considering the Altair Ascent Starwave 80ED, not the Skywatcher. Think it's the same scope as the TS-Optics. Not sure about customs charges so waiting for a bit more clarity... I hear that an import from EU will cost up to 35% more in charges and VAT...

Hi, whilst keeping an eye on the price and availability of 80ED telescopes, I saw on the APM website a TS Optics 80/600 achromat. I know alot of people swear by the quality of their ED and APO lenses, build quality etc. I was wondering if anyone had any experience of their more budgetary options, particularly in relation to visual use only....

The science is awesome. A couple of of nights ago, I was out looking at Taurus through a pair of if 8x42 binoculars. Crystal clear night but I do get light pollution. I was struck by the sheer mass of stars that could be seen, and I was thinking about how our ancestors, with no light pollution and no expensive binoculars mapped out constellations and created myths around them. Gemini was clear with Castor and Pollux and the Pleiades were beautiful. I admire the science of the universe, but we should never forget the staggering beauty of what we see in the night sky.

As usual good advice and a spot of controversy as well 🤔. Thank you all for your thoughtful contributions as ever! The number of choices are quite boggling and some of the differences sometimes seem quite marginal, so good to be able to narrow choices down and learn from other people's experiences. I personally don't want to spend more than £75 on the diagonal so pleasing to see some of the choices within my mental budget 😁.

Hi. I will be looking to purchase a star diagonal either for a relatively inexpensive refractor (102/600 or 90/500) or potentially for and ED80/500 depending on how much my car MOT is going to set me back 😁. Any recommendations for each of these would be gratefully received! 1.25" not sure I have a requirement at present for 2" unless someone here can persuade me otherwise 🤣🤣🤣 Guidance on dielectric, prism, quartz... All welcome!

First sight of M42 is always special and still draws my eyes! Enjoy yourself!

I have the 90/910 evostar and it is a good scope, though as @Tiny Clanger reports the 10mm eyepiece is pretty poor. I will be purchasing a second scope partly because it is, sadly, not as portable as I would like. Does not fit properly in my mini... I bought the scope used for £60 to see if I would stick with the hobby, so I don't feel too disappointed that I am considering a new scope after two years of ownership. I supplemented the eyepieces with two Celestron Omni plossls (32mm and 15mm) which I paid £40 for off fleabay, which improved things enormously. I may yet change the diagonal as it is a 45° one for a nice 90° dielectric star diagonal as it does not look as if I will be getting my new scope in the near future 😟 As a starter scope I do recommend it....

Fabulous tour. I was out last night and could have used your tour notes. I have a pair of 8x42, so may not have been able to see as much in very mixed seeing conditions. Next time...

Normally when you buy from abroad, there will be some form of customs charge and potentially VAT to pay. The carrier will collect the tax on behalf of the government as well as any other customs related charges. The link attached illustrates how one UK buyer of a coat from a German supplier got a nasty surprise... https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-55734277

Absolutely. The best scope for me in one sense given what I want to do would be a Dobsonian, it would be a sensible hardware choice. Practically though it would not be used. Hence the small, refractor. It's a trade off - the scope I need is a portable one... It's just a matter now of making the best choice given the restraints of space, money, availability....

@Tiny Clanger NO. Too bloody noisy! Enough light pollution where I live without adding more noise....

Hmmmm... youve been hanging around with @Tiny Clanger too long....

Not planning solar - not something that interests me at all at the moment!