Sam270

Thanks all for the warm welcome.

Thanks so far, my head is still spinning! I've looked into the skymax 127, these do seem impressive, I'd be willing to pay the extra I think. Anyone care to offer any more info on these as a first 'serious' purchase? or any alternative suggestions in the same price range? I also looked at the Celestron nextstar 4se but from my understanding that wouldn't be as capable for deep sky targets? Thanks.

Food for thought, thanks so far. I already read the linked review for the starsense dx130, from that it seems very middle of the road. I'm starting to see very mixed reviews and don't know what to make of it. My worry is that I'm putting money into a gimmick rather than quality optics with that one? Does anyone have this scope who can comment? At the end of the article the Celestron astro-fi 130 is suggested as an alternative, however on paper the specs seem virtually identical? - more confusion! Scousespacecadet, you suggest the Sky-Watcher SkyMax-127 AZ GTi, if that is goin

Good afternoon all, looking for a bit of advice on a first scope. Wifey bought herself a cheap eBay telescope a few years ago, as expected a complete disappointment and good for nothing but lunar viewing. She's been banging on about a decent telescope since and with her birthday coming up I thought why not. We're both absolute beginners so I've spent a bit of time online reading and learning. First things first, budget! I'm looking ideally to spend around £400 but am very aware that I'll probably need to upgrade eyepiece, add filters etc so maybe £500 in total. My first choice

New boy on board so please be gentle! Located in Manchester, totally new to all this but wifey's been banging on about a telescope for years. She bought some cheap eBay rubbish that totally disappointed but with her upcoming birthday I'm looking to get her something a little better and see where that takes us. Obviously I'll go post newbie questions in the appropriate section. Cheers.