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Showing results for tags 'grab and go'.
Found 4 results
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Hi everyone, about a month ago i got my first telescope. Wasn't sure what to get but i wanted something portable and easy to setup and use. After some internet "research" i decided to go for a refractor on a manual alt/az mount. The telescope was on a 50% sale so i decided to go for it , the Meade infinity 90. The package: The scope came in one big box, everything was inside. Included was the optical tube, the mount, 3 eyepieces (6.3mm, 9mm and 26mm), a 2x barlow lens, 90 degree diagonal, red dot finder, an eyepiece holder for the mount and a few manuals. The optical tube: The tube has a 90mm (3.5in) aperture and 600mm focal length. It looks and feels as a quality instrument, it has a small dew shield and the focuser is smooth when you move it back and forward. As expected the lens looks to be coated. It has a dovetail bar on it with 3 holes for screws. The mount: Light but stable, made of aluminium. It has 3 extendable legs, and 2 slow motion cables (alt/az). One screw to mount the tube on on top (adjustable back and forward). The eyepieces and barlow: All 3 are modified achromat eyepieces, the lenses are made of glass and are OK for the beginner, but i would suggest upgrading if you can. The barlow is bad i even think that the optics are plastic (not sure), it is usable if you don't have other options but this should be the first upgrade in my opinion. Observing: First light: The telescope arrived in the morning so the first thing i did after a quick setup was to adjust the red dot finder. I looked at some mountains about 20km away, the view was nice and very detailed using all eyepieces. Combining the 6.3mm with the barlow got me a bit blurry view, but the barlow in combination with the other eyepieces was ok. Night came and it was a moonless and clear night (only light pollution from the city i live in). I saw orion right infront of me, "marked" it with the red dot finder where i thought M42 should be and looked through the 26mm eyepiece. It was a bit blurry but after adjusting the focus i could see some nice pinpoint stars and also something fuzzy, i realized it was the orion nebula. After letting my eyes adjust to the view for a few minutes i started seeing 2 faint "wings" on both sides and in the center were 4 very tiny stars, i didn't expect to see that on my first night. I followed my target for about 15 minutes using the slow motion controls , it was easy to do. Also tried the 9mm eyepiece and with it the 4 stars were more easily seen but the faint clouds got fainter so i moved back to the 26mm. Next target was venus, i tried all eyepieces + with combination with the barlow. It looked like a very bright half moon without any details. When using the barlow the view was ok but purple glow was showing around the planet, without the barlow the purple wasn't noticeable. I also looked at the star Sirius which looked nice, bright and much bigger then any other star i could see that night. After Venus went down i decided it was enough for day one. Moon: I expected it to look good, but not this good. I was observing the moon for a couple of nights until it got full. I could see a lot of details at the terminator , with low and high magnification. When the moon was full it was very very bright and it looked best with the smallest magnification using the 26mm eyepiece. Jupiter and Saturn: I got 2 opportunities to look at these 2, the first time i think the "seeing" was bad. I could only see Jupiters 4 moons and the planet was a bright disc without any details at any magnification i tried. Saturn also wasn't very good, i could see the rings but they were blurry and "dancing" around. But the next time i had the chance to look at these planets the conditions were much better, first target was again Jupiter. With the 26mm eyepiece i could see a white disc with 4 moons.With the 9mm i could see the moons again but now the disc had very faint 2 bands without any color. The view was best with the 6.3mm eyepiece, the 2 bands were clearly visible and on the upper belt on the right side there was a small dark dot, i am not sure if it was anything . Next target was Saturn, event with the 26mm eyepiece i could see that it has rings, i switched to the 6.3mm right away and wow there it was, Saturn and its rings clearly visible, i even think i could spot the cassini devision, but it might have been my eyes playing tricks. I tried using the barlow on both targets but it was making the image blurry, but at this point i had purchased a higher quality barlow and the views were very nice with it , but the max magnification i could use that night was 133x, anything higher and the image was getting wobbly (probably that was due to the atmosphere that night). After that some clouds came in and it was time to get back to bed (got up just to see the planets in 4am). Conclusion: I think i got what i wanted, a small and very portable telescope for some basic amateur observing. I do recommend this telescope to anyone as a first telescope or even to an experienced astronomer who is looking for something light, portable and being able to set it up and start observing in 2 minutes. Also i would recommend you replace all of the eyepieces and the barlow. I got me a few plossl eyepieces and a nice barlow, it was worth it. Feel free to ask me anything regarding this telescope i will be more than happy to answer. Sorry for any spelling mistakes this review probably contains Also i am attaching a few images i took directly off the eyepiece using my smartphone (handheld). The Telescope The Moon: The Moon: Venus: Saturn: Jupiter:
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So I'm looking for the best grab and go planetary viewing (and maybe some DSOs) telescope that is relatively cheap (below 500$) that will also support some Astrophotography. I know the SkyMax 127 is a Maksutov and therefore has a high F number, but I'm okay with that because I'll just pop on a 0.5x focal reducer to bring it down to F/6 (still a bit high though.) With said Grab and Go I'm interested in viewing Saturn and Jupiter with high detail. What do you recommend? Clear skies, Leon. Edit: I need one that'll fit into the Sky Watcher EQ5.
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Dear all! I am looking for a good Grab and Go Scope / Tele lens with a total price tag below 1000 EUR. I have 5 candidates so far: (1) TS Imaging Star 70mm f/6,78 QUADRUPLET ED - Flatfield ED Refractor - 474mm focal length 599 Euro, no TSFLAT2 necessary + case 60 = 660 euros. astrobin sample w/ DSLR: https://www.astrobin.com/160820/ (2) Skywatcher dublet Apo 80/600 EvoStar ED OTA, FPL 53, 649 Euros +case 60 + flattener 179 = 890 Euros astrobin sample w/ DSLR: http://www.astrobin.com/236429/ (3) TS Imaging Star 65mm f/6.5 Quadruplet Astrograph - 44 mm field diameter 900 euros + case 60 = 960 euros astrobin sample w/ DSLR: http://www.astrobin.com/12039/ (4) TS PHOTOLINE 80 mm f/7 FPL53 Doublet Apo - rack and pinion focuser 745 euros + tsflat 179 + case 60 = 980 euros astrobin sample w/ DSLR: http://www.astrobin.com/213138/0/ (5) TS Photoline 80mm f/6 Triplet Super-Apo with FPL53 triplet - 2" Crayford focuser + case 798 euro + TSFlat 179 euro == 980 euros. astrobin sample w/ DSLR: http://www.astrobin.com/210940/ Edit: i was aiming for a total cost of max 1000 eur, a weight for the OTA of up to 4-5kg, and a max length of about 60 cm. I would really like your suggestions on that gear, as well as suggestions for good scopes that i may have missed... thanks a lot!!! -
Hello I am looking for a telescope that can fit in my backpack. I found two 1. Startravel 80 (Refractor) tabletop 2. Skymax 90 tabletop (MC). I will be looking at planets and bright deep sky objects. with a small telescope i will not be expecting too much. However i would like to have the option to attach a DSLR and take photos (not a must, but would be nice to have). I have Heritage 130p and i am happy with it but i can't carry it on my shoulder bag or a backpack. The two scopes i mentioned seems good but i am concerned about the table top tripod. I haven't read good reviews about it in general. I have two concerns about the tripod 1. stability, 2. i may find equitorial mount to be a mess to setup (i dont have one, so i dont know how much time it will take to assemble the mount). So guys, i am looking for suggestions on ultra-portable scope, Should i go for above mentioned telescopes or something like Celestron Travel Scope 70?
