CasualObserver

From what I can find both in this thread and other places, the concensus seem to be that the conclusion largely depends on the humidity and if any dew has already formed on the scope. As long as the air outside is relatively dry (and less relative humidity than inside), AND the optics/scope does not have any dew before packing up, then it would be wise to put the caps on the scope/eyepieces, and put it in an airtight container. This should mean that as the dried, cold air gets warmed up, no dew should form as the air is "dry", and cold air holds less humidity than warm air. Still, it would probably be wise to open up the case the following day to make sure nothing is wet regardless. This also makes sense as locally, the air outside in the winter is usually considerable dryer than inside (typically a difference of 10-15%). I have only had the scope outside for about an hour so far, and it was still dry when packing up. But please let me know if I am at fault in my reasoning here. However, if there is any dew on the equipment, the best solution would obviously be to make sure it dries up before storing it. I would assume that depending on the length of the session, dew is impossible to avoid regardless of how dry the air is? I will probably opt for leaving caps off when going inside in those cases, and putting a towel around it for gathering the moist (and try to limit dust gathering on the optics). Just to be clear, I was only talking about going from outside to inside. The other way I will just take out all the equipment at once, and let it cool down as quickly as possible.

Like the topic states, I am looking for a good way to avoid dew when bringing my telescope inside. I have just gotten my Skymax 127 AZ-GTi, and while I have found various tips and tricks, there seem to be very little information about how to avoid dew building up when bringing it inside after observing (the clouds delivered with the telescope has hindered me from actually going outside yet). The telescope will be stored in an IP65-case with cutted foam, and I hope to also be able to fit the AZ-GTi-part in here. Would it work to just leave the case outside to cool down while observing, and then pack everything up while outside, and then just bring it inside? The idea being of course that the equipment would then be cold, and gradually warm up inside the case over a long time period. Or would this have the opposite effect where the humidity will be stuck inside the case, making it dew up anyway? As I understand it, the reason for dewing up when going from outside to inside, is that the cold equipment will instantly attrack all the water in the warmer air, and then making it wet. So very gradually warming it up should maybe be a good way to avoid this? And what about other pieces like diagonal and eye-pieces? I suspect I can not fit them all in the case, so is there some good way to avoid those dewing up?

Yes, that was my reason for asking here. I don't want to be "one of those" customers if this was the case. Regarding replacing the finder, I have decided not to for the time being. I hope the fact that it is a gti will help with the actual finding, and I am a bit over my budget already. So while there are stuff I could easily see myself add (solar filter, 32mm etc), I will leave those upgrades for later.

Thanks for all the advice, I have finally decided to get the telescope package with a dew shield, a zwo helical focuser, a couple of the BST eyepieces + barlow, and some minor accessories (red light, t-ring for camera etc). I asked FLO about carry options, but they didn't have any recommendations available, so I will just wait until I get it all and see what I need to fit it all in a carry-friendly manner to bring outside. Last question; does anyone know if FLO typically offers any discount when you order several items like this? I have no idea about how often (if ever) they give out discounts, but I thought it could be worth checking before I make the order, as the total for all the items does add up. I know I could just ask them, but I fear that it would be considered rude to ask about/"demand" a discount? Then again, if they commonly do this, then it would be stupid to lose out on one.

The whole world is basically sold out, but I am ok with waiting a couple of months. The best time to view will be when we are getting closer to winter anyway. I have ordered a pair of binoculars (Opticron 10x50 adventurer T WP) to get me started. So I can start using those to get into startgazing until I can get a proper telescope. Dew shield was not something I did consider, is it a must have (will the telescope always dew up if I don't have one?) Thank you, the range here seem to be good and from what I can find in other threads they seem to be a good choice. Thanks for your detailed explaination regarding photography. It makes sense, and the F-stop was not a part I had taken into consideration with the magnification. Regarding eye-pieces: will a 5mm be "wasted" on a 127Mak? If I understand it correctly, a 5mm will give a 300x magnification on this scope, while the "recommended" max based on aperature x2 would be 254x. And as the telescope is delivered with a 10mm and 25mm eyepiece; will an 8mm BST eyepiece be a good addition? I suppose it depends on the difference in quality of the BST vs the provided eyepiece, and less on the the difference in magnification? If it matters, I have good eyes (no glasses), but others in my family are not so fortunante. I understand that it may seem a bit eccessive to buy a lot of accessories together with the telescope, but my reason for this is partly the extremely long shipping times, and partly due to me ordering from abroad. Meaning that buying more at once will save me considerable shipping costs and import taxes.

I am planning on buying the SkyMax 127L AZ-GTi, but would also like to get a few things in addition. Mainly an extra eyepiece or two, and a few things to enable photography (though I understand that the GTi may not be ideal for photography-tracking of stars or planets). If it matters, I am probably going to buy from FLO. So my questions: 1. Is there a particular T-ring I should buy to use with this telescope? I have a Nikon camera (F-mount), but it seems that the focus knob on the telescope may interfere if the adapter is too thin? 2. If I want a greater magnification than the 10mm (150x), which eyepiece should I choose (I know nothing of which ones are of good/poor quality). Maybe a 2x barlow as well? 3. If I understand it correctly, I could also get a projection adapter to enable me to take photographs through an eyepiece, for greater magnification. Is that correct? Also, and forgive me if this is a stupid question; could I take usable photographs of terrestial targets through eyepiece projection with great magnification? Say a stationary target like a building on a mountaintop about 1 km away)? I know that telescopes could be used for viewing terrestial targets, but I can't find much information about photographs taken of terrestial targets.

Sorry for not quoting, but I use my mobile so I struggle a little with the technical part of quoting different users. Regarding price match, that is probably not an option. Some stores do have price match, but never against stores from another country. It is not a huge problem though, as I could just buy from whichever country is cheapest after taxes and imports are calculated for. I really liked the looks of the package with 127Max with an az-gti mount. Especially the combined weight of 7.5kg. That should be easy enough to carry when I want to, and the size makes it realistic to bring in the car on some of the vacation drives. Again an excellent point of why I should choose this, as a telescope that will get me more usage will be much better than one that is just gathering dust because I can't be bothered to deal with the size (if my interest grow, I could always add a heavy refractor at a later stage if that is what I want). Is the GTi something that will make it possible to do photography if I want to? It is not a main goal, but as I do have a camera, I will at some point or another connect my camera to the telescope. If not, why would I want the GTi? For the GoTo only? This is probably a stupid question, but as the 127 OTA comes with a basic carry case, will it also be included in the packages that are bundled with a mount? I assume so, but they never seem to mention it under the "what's in the box" - section, which seems odd.

I feel that I for some reason desire a reflector, but the more I read through old topics, the more in doubt I get. I believe that I feel that the EVO/Bresser would be a tad more usable to look at DSO with, and that they would be more or less equal to the SkyMax 127 on planets. Regardless, reading endless threads have made me conclude that a skymax 127 may be the best choice, as it would be much lighter, and easier to store and bring outside. As my only experience so far has been binoculars, I assume I should get quite a view regardless. To that point, I also have the option to keep my eyes on the local second hand market, just in case a good deal for something I have not considered should pop up. Given the large increase in prices, and decrease in availability in all the stores world over, I probably need some patience anyway. Thanks for all your input, it is much appreciated. Edit; if I end up with a Skymax 127, do I need to get the EQ3 mount, or are there better/lighter mounts I could go for? I assume that an EQ would be recommended above anything not EQ.

I was set on refractors based on two impressions. The first is due to maintenance. Would a Mak require me to adjust the mirror/glass at certain intervals? I don't really like the idea of that, at least not for my first. The second would be about the fov. To be honest though, the information a out fov, eyepieces and how much I will actually see based on these things is one of the things I have found most difficult to understand. I have no clue what to expect when I first will take a look through a telescope pointed at the moon, based on magnification, aperature, eyepiece and focal length. I assume that for experienced watchers, you instinctly know what to expect. I know refractors are not superb for DSO, but I still assume that I would get some enjoyment out of it, and so I expect that a refractor even with a large focal length (and a value of about f8-f9) would at least give me some interesting views. Although I plan to focus on planets initially, I expect the interest for DSO to grow as well. What I really like about the Mak is the size, and that it even seems to come with a storage case included, so both are excellent points for going for that one. It would also be a lot easier to carry out to get a better view. There is a lot of great advice so far, I conclude that if I choose either the EVO or the Bresser the EQ5 mount will be needed. Personally, I think the EVO looks the best, but that will not be a consideration anyway. Regarding the finder; would a beginner like me really feel that it is lacking, or should it be fine for the first year of usage? I feel really torn between the EVO and the Bresser still, but I am leaning towards the Bresser due to the focuser on the EVO. It just sounds like a piece where issues would be a hit on enjoyment (I mean, a focuser sounds like something that will need to be used all the time, so if it is not a great quality it could become tiresome)? Correct me if I am wrong. On the other hand, a larger fov on the EVO should make it a tad more useful for DSO, but it sounds like the difference on that part is neglable. Besides, a better focuser sounds more appealing. Regarding availability I feel like the whole world is emptied of telescope stock these days, so it seems I will have plenty of time to decide regardless. So with that in mind; do shops like FLO sometimes run sales, or should I just go for it if I know what I want whenever they get new stock again?

Please note that until I started digging into telescopes a few days ago, I believed that they were "simple" things. By this I mean that I always assumed I could ask for a 500£ telescope, and it would be easy to conclude which to get. I now know better! So if any of my logic or thinking is wrong, please correct me. Based on the information I have been able to gather so far, I have concluded that for me, the best option seem to be a refractor. This is largely due to the fact that I would like for it to require as little maintainance as possible (no readjusting the mirror every now and again). My main interest would be the moon and planets to start, but of course the whole sky will be of interest. I also decided on a longer telescope so that the CA will be somewhat reduced, compared to a shorter one. My budget is somewhat flexible, but not unlimited. Up to about 700£ for the telescope and mount. I have found some great information in here and other places, and as far as I can see, larger aperature is basically what I want. I did consider the EVO 102mm for a while (as it can be used on a cheaper tripod as I understand it), but I feared that I would run a risk of kicking myself after a year for not going for a 120mm in stead. So I feel like the choice stands between two telescopes: Evostar 120mm with either an EQ3-2 mount or an EQ5 mount (is the choice here obvious? The EQ5 is considerable more, but will the cheaper EQ3 give me any issues)? Bresser Messier AR 127L, with an EQ5 mount (I am not sure if there are better mounts that I should consider for this)? I don't live in the UK, but it seems that my best option is to order from FLO, as they deliver to my country. The local shops that have telescopes have few options, and though I could get the EVO 120, it would cost 25% more than importing from the UK (and that is after shipping, import and taxes are added)! I could consider buying used equipment, but here they seem to be very few telescopes on the second hand market locally. I am not sure about buying used from another country, or if anyone would even consider shipping internationally. My main concern with the EVO is that some users here have noted that there are some bad problems with the focus knobs or something? As I have never used one, I would probably just assume that things were suppose to be as they are, and just live with the annoyance. Still, I would like the best experience possible when I first buy a telescope. A second concern I have is about storage. I would like to get a case to store the telescope in when not in use, but I can't seem to find one that would fit either of the two I am considering. Is there a solution I am just not seeing here, or do I need to get a smaller telescope to be able to store it with ease? I suppose I could just use the box it is shipped in, but that seems like a bad alternative. Lastly; is there anything I should buy of extra equipment together with my initial telescope to improve my enjoyment right of the bat? Like some usefule eye pieces etc?