Which one out of these three

[tim26792]

Hi all,

I am in a complete dilema about my first scope. I thought I had decided on what to gor for three times now and keep spotting others that tempt me.

The three I am looking at as follows:

Skywatcher 150P on eq3-2

Skywatcher 150PL on eq3-2

Skywatcher 200P Dob

All these are around my budget of £300 ish.

As a newcomer I dont have a preference as yet to planets or dso observing so would like one that is reasonable at both.

I was really tempted with the dob but the size is putting me off a bit as I have limited storage space.

Any thoughts appreciated.

Tim

[thunderchild]

good afternoon tim26792, in my opinion you would not go for wrong with all three but i personally own the 150p on the eq3-2 and i have found i have no trouble seeing dso,star clusters and planets,it's a superb starter/intermidate scope.I think most people here will say the 200 dob would be easier to use and set up, its personnel choice .I hope this helps.

clear skies Stuart.

[thunderchild]

good afternoon tim26792, in my opinion you would not go for wrong with all three but i personally own the 150p on the eq3-2 and i have found i have no trouble seeing dso,star clusters and planets,it's a superb starter/intermidate scope.I hope this helps.

clear skies Stuart.

[Adamski]

Looks like some ones finger got stuck on the enter button,lol. I've got the 150pl and I'm really happy with it as my first scope, it's just a bit longer in tube length than the 150p btu you won't go wrong with either. I would have got the 8" dob if i'd known about them before hand, I thought it was just the tube assembly but i needed something with mount and tripod.

good luck.

Adamski:icon_salut:

[thunderchild]

adamski yes my fingers did but then i got fat fingers:D

[banner001]

ok tim, im going to ignore the eq3-2 mount as i do alt/az (like the 200P dob will be).

the 150P and 200Pdob are similar telescopes, they are called 'fast' this means that you get good amounts of light, although they usually require good eyepieces. the 150PL is a 'slow' telescope, its a fainter image, but more forgiving of bad eyepieces.

IMO your decision is between the 150PL and the 200P, both have the same focal length of 1200mm which means that a 10mm eyepiece will give you 120x magnification, and a 5mm EP will give you 240x (realistically the limit in most UK skies). The 200P will collect more light (77% more than the 150PL), but it is alt/az mounted so you cant really do serious astrophotography (other than on really bright objects).

If it was me, and i had a budget of £300 i would but the 200P and buy a 'Telrad'. the 200P comes with a 9x50 finderscope, which is miles better than the 6x30 on the 150P and 150PL. That will set you back about £310...so buy them and forgo a few pints next time you are in the pub

also an alt/az mount is a lot more forgiving that an EQ for a beginner. if you want to go for an EQ mount, save up for a decent one (£400) and a decent mak/SC (£1000+) and do it properly, trust me, there is nothing worse than a bad EQ mount!

[swamp thing]

Hi Tim

Mmmm! limited storage space eh?

In that case I would definitely go and see all of them in the flesh before making any decisions. Definitely the 150PL and the 200 Dob.

No point in making any decisions and ordering only to get it home and...........DOH!

See what will fit in your life then go from there.

Regards Steve

[virtualpilot45]

I can see the advantage of having a dob as far as storage space is concerned, but the equatorial mount is very handy if you can't find an object but you know its celestial co-ordinates

[tim26792]

Ok Thanks for all the advise,

I think im going to go for the dob.

Cant get it out of my head that bigger is best.

Although the wife keeps reasurring me size isnt everything!!!

[rowan46]

Ok Thanks for all the advise,

I think im going to go for the dob.

Cant get it out of my head that bigger is best.

Although the wife keeps reasurring me size isnt everything!!!

women just say that to make us feel better