MartinT

Thanks again for all your help everyone - I'm skitting between even types of scope (spent a while considering refractors earlier today!), so it's all really helpful. I think I'm slowly coming round to the idea of going with an alt-az instead of eq - assuming the dob doesn't score another win! This is surprising to me as I came into this pretty much assuming EQ was just the way (and I do wonder if I'll miss the one dial tracking, or option to motorise tracking later) but can I ask someone to help explain the difference between these two options: A 150p on the AZ4 - £448 A 130ps on the AZ5 - £319 Is the extra aperture on the 150 the key in the price difference or are there other important aspects I'm overlooking. From the videos and reviews I've read the non-collimatable primary of the 130ps works OK (happy to be corrected!) and one less job sounds fine to me. Buying the 130pds and AZ4 adds up to the same prince as the 150p, so a general question too: I'd think I'd be trading weight-on-mount against aperture there, so is the smaller, presumably lighter telescope better on that mount, even though the other one has the extra inch? Does this matter less on an Az than an EQ? Thanks again everyone.

Thanks pixies - having read lots of similar threads I feel like having a dob recommended is a rite of passage here! Yes I was looking at dobs too, but they seem somewhat less portable than the other options and I can imagine wanting to take it camping etc when space in the the car is already pretty tight! I'm totally turned around though and a bit bewildered with choices tbh. I definitely think I'll park the photography plan for now and that does mean a dob would be good value. I was looking at the Bresser 6" dob. I like the idea of a collapsible base, plus its well within budget so I could even afford some extras (eyepiece? etc.) but I think I'd need to see it in the flesh to get an idea of just how big it is. But then I was also looking at the 102 mac on the az gti, which is a little beyond budget but really ticks the portability box and while I didn't originally fancy a goto, it would make including the kiddos with some easy spotting and viewing so much better too. So many decisions! Very glad I'm giving it some time and thought though - I'm still super excited to get started. Thanks again for everyone's thoughts.

Thanks so much everyone, lots to think about!! That's a shame that the EQ3 isn't the base to build from i thought it was - but really great to know that now and avoid the pitfall. It's certainly wise advice to think about what my goals are, and think about the enjoyment now too. I think, from the responses, I'll park the longer term idea of building an astrophotography rig and focus on enjoying seeing the sights, maybe look into leaving the equatorial mount for now and consider the 130p on the AZ4 mount, or maybe the AZ GTi (though, too heavy?) - though I hadn't even considered the 102 Mak someone else mentioned, so that's certainly something to think about too. I don't think I saw any votes for either the Evostar 102 or 120 - is less there said the better? Cheers everyone, really helpful M

Hi everyone, I'm new to astronomy - after wanting a telescope for sometime, my wife recently bought me a Celestron Powerseeker 127EQ for my birthday. My joy quickly turned to frustration when I couldn't get a sharp, stable, image from it (when it finally stopped shaking, the stars looked more like wispy hairs than spots of light!) and, on going online, i discovered a lot of folks describing the exact problems with it I was having. So I want to follow the advice, move on from that before I'm totally fed up with it all, and get myself something that I can enjoy now and build on later on. My budget is around £400 and I'd really like something that I can upgrade rather than replace as time goes by. I think I'll be mainly viewing, but I'd like to try astrophotography (I'm quite a keen photographer, with a DSLR already) so i'd definitely like the upgrade path to handle that. Right now I'm not entirely sure if I'll be mainly pointing at the moon/planets or DSO, so i don't want to rule either out - i know that makes the decision more difficult. I would like the setup to be portable enough to take on holiday with all the kids stuff (so, no car-fillers!) and i do like the hands-on learning aspect of all of this, so don't really want a GoTo right now (although, again i can see myself upgrading to this later, especially for imaging). I've read a lot suggesting that the mount is as important as the telescope itself and like the idea of a setup that i can later upgrade with motors or a GoTo system, so (currently, it changes everytime i browse the web!) I'm trying to choose between these two options: Sky-Watcher Evostar 102 with the EQ3-2 mount - currently £399 or the Sky-Watcher Explorer 130P-DS- currently £229 - and getting the EQ3-2 mount separately - currently £209 I'm leaning towards the 103P-DS, especially after seeing the fabulous pics people have posted in this forum using it. I do like how much smaller the 102 looks for portability, so I wonder if that'd be better (or possibly waiting a bit/stretching the budget to the Sky-Watcher Evostar 120 with EQ3-2 - currently £489). Any advice would be greatfully received. Am i right in thinking the 130P will be ok on the EQ3-2 mount? Would it be smarter to not get an EQ mount at all at this stage and get something like the AZ4 mount instead (currently £189)? Any other suggestions for telescopes I've overlooked would be good too. Thanks in advance, Martin