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Hello,

Time for me to buy a first equipment, been waiting for it for like 20 years now, as my uncle was making custom build scopes back in 80's and since my first mars view than I was 5 than I was into it :)

After looking on budget and offer I think SW 200p on eq5 is my weapon of choise, but I still have all thoese 127'casigrans at about same or close prices who lure me out of final decision.

Any suggestions on this tpoic is highly apreciated, as my head is boiling now with all the reviews and considerations.

Regards,

Sergey

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SW 200p is a great scope. Good amount of aperture. If the EQ mount isn't important then a 250px is excellent for the money too. Be aware of the size though if you plan on moving them around.

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Thanks for reply mate, apreciated!

But comparing with smaller cassegrains ( 127') do I realy need 200mm for a first scope. how much difference will it bring. I am still troubled by this thought as MAK127 cassegrain are much more mobile, and may be if I am losing not so much in usefullness I might gain more in useability...

oh thoese damn choices..

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oh thoese damn choices..

tell me about it.............i've still not decided yet !

the birthday has been & gone & we're still thrashing it out...............maybe next years pressie ;-)

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Thanks for reply mate, apreciated!

But comparing with smaller cassegrains ( 127') do I realy need 200mm for a first scope. how much difference will it bring. I am still troubled by this thought as MAK127 cassegrain are much more mobile, and may be if I am losing not so much in usefullness I might gain more in useability...

oh thoese damn choices..

mm....

It's about length as well as girth :)

200mm width will give you better views of DSO and star clusters. Although this scope has "only" 1000mm of focal length.

A 127 mak with 127mm of width might not be able to give you good views of DSO and star clusters, but it will excel on the planets, double stars and the moon. It has 1540mm of focal length, so gets you closer. It rarely needs collimination and so is better suited for transport than the bigger Newtonian tube.

I have had a 127 Mak and have the smaller brother of the 200P, the 150P.

All the best,

Mike

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Thanks again for suggestions guys, appreciated.

I guess I will go for a 200p, Htou I still not sure if its size will be a problem or not.

May be I should go for a smaller 150? also will save some money on it to invest into accesories...

One more question from newcommer:

What accesories I certainly need to buy with a first buy, please help.

I dont want to buy some not needed at start bits , and lose some important ones.

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the 127 mak is a very very good planet and lunar scope, it will also show dso`s but they have a bit of a narrow field of view, as a first scope i think i would go with this model

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I must admit I am having similar issues. If it were just for me I would be going for the biggest newt I could afford. BUT I have got to remember the rest of the family. The children will want a look at some point and I've go to store the thing and if I want to take it on holiday and ... and ... and

So I think I'm going to end up with a mak 127 - but then a 180 would be nice (and it starts all over again - I know you get the idea)

Looks like it's going to be toilet roll centres all round!!!!

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Swampy, I just traded away from my first scope, a Mak-Cas 127, to a 250px dob.

Both fantastic telescopes, but have different functions, which I understand now I have tried both of them.

When they say a 127SLT is a good planetary scope, it means that it is fabulous for zooming on features on planets, like craters and so on. I used mine for white light solar observing, which was incredible - a 9mm ep on a 1500mm focal length telescope gives truly detailed views of umbra/penumbra in the sun.

If it helps, think Mak-Cas is great for bright objects, large reflectors are great for faint objects and SLTs sit in the middle.

Thing is though, the higher the aperture, the higher the practical magnification. So, while I have no idea what the actual figures are, I think a 200p will get similar clarity at high power as the 127SLT will at the same magnification.

However, a 130p reflector will show a featureless blur at the same magnification.

As a starter scope then, it would make sense to get as much aperture as you can afford.

Hope that helps,

Alan

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Thanks Alan, I must admit that I am leaning towards the mak option all things considered, then maybe trade up later on - like yourself. I suppose this will just put the cat back amongst the pigeons for Kaminovs (the OP).

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Thanks again!

Still question remains baout needed accesories with a first buy.

I guess collimator is a must, but what type and etc, I was thinking about cheshire one, but..

ANd what other gadgets I may need and what i dont need to worry about at starters.

Apreciate any input!

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Once again - thanks Alan. Now I'm back to square one :) I intend to carry on sniffing around SGL whilst I save up some funds. I am sure that whatever budget I have (and more) can easily be swallowed up in a couple of mouse clicks.

All the advice is worthwhile and keeps the little cell in my head busy

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Thanks again!

Still question remains baout needed accesories with a first buy.

I guess collimator is a must, but what type and etc, I was thinking about cheshire one, but..

ANd what other gadgets I may need and what i dont need to worry about at starters.

Apreciate any input!

What do you need to get started viewing the stars?

I'd recommend a 150P or 200P on a (whatever) mount. One or two nice quality Plossl (design, not make) eyepieces and a collimator, maybe a laser one as they're accurate and very easy to use.

Dobsonians seem ideal as they give a good bang for the buck.

A light pollution filter could come in useful (Skywatcher do a cheap but generally good one) as would a neutral density filter for making the moon darker (it's pretty bright otherwise).

Alll the best,

Mike

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Hi,

Thanks alot Mike, you made it more clear on setup choice.

FEw more questions if I can - what is your suggestion on eyepieces to accompany factory supplied ones? make/ model ?

and is 200p children friendly, I mean size wise to look into accular? how big is 200p actualy is on lets say EQ5 ?

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Hi,

Thanks alot Mike, you made it more clear on setup choice.

FEw more questions if I can - what is your suggestion on eyepieces to accompany factory supplied ones? make/ model ?

and is 200p children friendly, I mean size wise to look into accular? how big is 200p actualy is on lets say EQ5 ?

Not a problem;

The 200P on an EQ5 is different to the 200P that you get as a Dob. I know, it's a little confusing!

The 200P Dob version (First Light Optics - Skywatcher Skyliner 200P Dobsonian) is 1.2 meters in length and I think (depending on the height of your child) it's a good height for most people. If you're observing something higher up in the sky, you might need a step or a yellow pages for your kids, perhaps.

The 200P on the EQ5 is 1 meter in length. The EQ5 you will want to keep fairly low, and it will work out to be maybe 10-20cm (I'm guessing here) taller at zenith (right above your head) than the dob version. However on the mount you have the flexibility to twist the dob around in the rings to get the most comfortable view. For this reason I find observing using my 150P a lot more comfortable than the Mak127 I had, simply because the eyepiece on the Mak goes at the back fairly low down and on the 150P I can adjust it more so that I'm more comfortable.

First Light Optics - Skywatcher Skyliner 200P Dobsonian - it's £279 delivered, and I suspect that it's FLO's most popular scope choice (although the bright orange subtitle might give that away).

An eyepiece kit like this (First Light Optics - Revelation Photo-Visual Eyepiece kit) contains a selection of eyepieces, a barlow, coloured filters to enhance contrast and a neutral density filter to dim out the moon. It comes in a lovely case and is pretty good value. Alternatively, you can pick up (even better) eyepieces for less but you'll not have the wide variety that comes in a kit like that. I'm thinking of selling off the remaining eyepieces in my own kit at some point this summer, they go for around £20-30 each second hand so that might be a good choice too if you're looking to save some money. Really, the stock eyepieces are not good. They're doable but the basic of basic views. The "magic" of the view comes from the quality of the eyepieces.

Also, half an hour with your local astronomy club during an observing session ought to give you a good idea of what to expect.

All the best,

Mike

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If you're planning to purchase new, how about:

First Light Optics - Skywatcher Skyliner 200P Dobsonian - £279

and

First Light Optics - Baader Laser Collimator - £55

and one of:

First Light Optics - Celestron Eyeopener Eyepiece and Filter Kit (£?) or http://www.firstlightoptics.com/eyepiece-sets/revelation-photo-visual-eyepiece-kit.htmlhttp://www.firstlightoptics.com/eyepiece-sets/revelation-photo-visual-eyepiece-kit.html (£127).

Total: £461 new.

That's pretty much all the essentials covered and it'll give you reasonable views of anything you'd want to look at from craters on the moon to splitting double stars, to star clusters, DSO and galaxies, brighter nebulae and more.

And watch out as you may find yourself getting hooked and looking for better accessories as time goes on!

All the best,

Mike

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I have a 127 cassegrain and the only thing it beats a 200 newt on is portability. Go for the 200 if you don't need portability you will not regret it. I need portabilty for my viewing and I can tell you everytime I go to a starparty I regret that I cannot use a 200 at home as the views on everything are so much better.

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Except for planets and their moons and our own moon, right? :)

to be honest the 200 beats a 127 sct on everything visually, admitedly it takes magnification better on the sct so perhaps it may be a little better on the moon, but saturn and jupiter are much better on a 200. Its the apparture you see. A c8 is a better planetary scope than a skywatcher 8inch but not a c5

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Have one more thought about choices... (I guess patrons of site answered this question a milion time by now :) )

What will be actualy more beneficial for a first ever scope to go if comparing a first purchase as :

1) SW150P on EQ2/3 + eyepice set

2) SW200P on EQ5

3) SW200dob + eyepiece set

my considerations are:

a) is there SOOOO big difference to go for a 200 comparing with 150 newtonian

;) is EQ5 mount worth going for a new starter , or i will happily use dob mount for a long run.. (I am somehow more driven towards EQ mounts for not known reason :) )

c) is eyepiece set needed with first purchase or I can go with standart lenses/barlow for a first period and than see what I need from eyepieces as I will understand more my interests in the sky.

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