First scope advice

[drumsolo]

I am looking to but my first telescope, I have already have purchased an HEQ5 pro mount as I wanted good stability. I cannot decide what type of telescope to buy to put on this mount. I want to eventually get in to astro photograhy but to start with would be happy to just get used to visual only of plantets and DSOs. Should I go for a refractor or reflector. Budget is around £300, could maybe stretch to £400.

All advice most welcome. Thanks in advance.

Stuart

[Mika]

I cought a celestron last week. my first scope cost me £180 from argos. Didnt want to spend alot of money until I had a bit more practice. Spotted my first star the other night and zoomed into it was ace. Ive read loads of different opinions and so far from what i've gathered unless your gonna spend a few grand it doesnt really make a difference on the type of scope but rather the quality of the lense. Although i could be completely wrong. What i'd like to know is if their is a relatively cheap camera and stacking software I could buy to take pictures

[tomw28]

Firstly, thats a nice mount you've got there.

As you'll be using it for visual use first, I'd go for a reflector, you'll get a much bigger apperture for your money. You've got a good budget, so you could maybe get a 8" or 10", like First Light Optics - Skywatcher Explorer 200P DS OTA or First Light Optics - Skywatcher Explorer 250P DS OTA . The 250P is slightly over your budget, but its 10 inches! I'm not an imager, but I think both of these would be suitable when you start imaging. Someone else will probably correct me if needed .

Good Luck!

[drumsolo]

The Skywatcher 200pds is indeed one of the scopes I have been considering. I was told by the shop that I bought the mount from that the 8inch was the biggest for the HEQ5 mount could handle otherwise I would look seriously at the 250. Being a newbie the collimation problem with reflectors has put me off a little, how easy/difficult is it to re adjust the optics?

[AstroLuke]

Its quite easy if you have a colliminating eyepiece

[tomw28]

When I first got my 150P the collimation was worrying me a bit, but it really is easy if you read a good guide, like Astro Baby, first. don't let that put you off reflectors.

[Gra]

I would go for the Skywatcher 200pds, the 250 maybe to big for you to handle for your first scope.

[Digz]

As mentioned above, I would also favour the 200p DS. This scope is also designed with imaging in mind. The eyepiece holder can be unscrewed allowing direct connection of a DSLR (with the appropriate T Thread). This solves the issue experienced with reflectors of inward travel.

[RikM]

The 200PDS is a good match for your mount and a good scope for visual use. You will be able to make a start imaging with this set up, but it won't be easy. You should look at adding a second scope later on, perhaps a small refractor like an 80ED if the imaging bug bites.

[brantuk]

Nice mount - good decision - you can fit a variety of ota's on that quite nicely. If you intend to do observing only first then I'd recommend a 200P. That'll give nice views of planets and dso's. Learn the sky over a year so you get used to finding stuff through the seasons.

Meanwhile read up on imaging - have a play with a webcam on the planets which can be done quite cheaply. If you have a dslr there's nothing to stop you having a go at dso's too (for the cost of a connector and T-ring) with a few short exposures up to 2 mins tracking only.

If you find you enjoy snapping away, you have a year to save for a ccd and an appo plus guide scope. Get "Making Every Photon Count" - it'll tell you everything you need to know in a very easy to read style - from basics to advanced - good luck

[tms48]

If you do decide to go for the 200p I would say dont worry too much about the difficulty of collimation. I had no idea how to do it, but followed Astro Babys guide and initially it seemed a to a little bit fiddly, but now when I check it its quite a simple proceedure.

[Geno]

Another recommendation for the 200P, it's an excellent scope visualy and I am starting to get some joy using it for astrophotography. Add a cheap webcam, available here and you can get some decent planetary and moon images (with barlow).

As mentioned above don't worry too much about collimation. After following Astro Babys guide a few times it does become quite easy and can be done in 5 minutes or so.