I'm going slightly mad, please please help

[paulhutch]

So after loads of research and endless nights of searching (and help from here, thank you), I decided for my first scope to go for a skywatcher dobsonian 250p auto for 659 English pounds. Wanted for observing and some astro photography on dso/planets so I took the plunge today and it's been discontinued!!! Instead it's the Syscan goto that has replaced auto and it's another 257 quid. Yes I can (albeit only just) afford it but will I regret it. Is it good enough and will I be longing for the 300 or 400 in the not so distant future. I don't want to make the mistake of buying something to upgrade, I want to buy something that will last me forever (or at least 3 years). Please give me advice on how best to spend a £1000 on a scope and have I made a decent decision with the 250p? Thanks in advance Paul

P.S My budget originally started at 300 so 1000 is absolute!

[johninderby]

Telescope House still shows it as being in stock. Worth giving them a call to confirm.

http://www.telescopehouse.com/acatalog/Skyliner_250P_FlexTube_AUTO_10___Driven___Dobsonian.html

John

[paulhutch]

At £833.74 I'm not surprised they have, It was 679 at Pulsar and 659 at Harrison but at 833 I'm better off paying the 915 for full GOTO and not the auto. Thanks for looking. Paul

[johninderby]

Still not as cheap as Harrisons but there's always Telescope Service. They have it for £687.00 plus shipping which I think is about £35.00 or so. They often will give you a better deal if you ask so maybe they can come down a bit.

I've bought a couple of scopes off them and they do two working day delivery.

http://www.teleskop-express.de/shop/product_info.php/info/p2666_Skywatcher-Skyliner-250P-FlexTube-AUTO-Tracking-Dobsonian.html

From their website:

TS best price guarantee! - Seen elsewhere cheaper? We appreciate making you an offer: info@teleskop-service.de

John

[Polar Bear]

I would question the use of a big dob for astro photography ? Although the model you are aspiring to has GOTO it is still an Alt-Az mount so you will be limited with exposure times due to field rotation. Obviously you will be fine for simple moon and planetary imaging with a webcam.

For your budget I would be inclined to go for a fast 8" reflector on a good mount such as this

http://www.f1telescopes.co.uk/shop.php?id=753&level=

[pvaz]

I think you are going in the wrong direction if you plan to do DSO astrophotography.

Although that dob tracks, the "type of tracking" it does, doesn't account for field rotation which makes it unsuitable for DSO photography. You'll only manage to image planets and the moon using webcams.

An equatorial mount is a mandatory requirement for DSO photography.

[pvaz]

It will be a cracking visual scope. I'm planning to get one of the SW GOTO dobs soon, but I have no plans to start imaging, except for some quick plays with a modified web cam.

Even with a good budget of 1000, there is no setup available that will give you the best of both visual and photography. You'll have to compromise what you're capable of doing in one of those departments.

If you plan to do mostly visual and are satisfied with a just some plays with a webcam, then get the dob.

If your main interest is photography, then get a sturdy EQ mount, such as the HEQ5 or the EQ6, and a refractor ED scope, such as the SW ED80. It won't be much of a visual setup but, if you browse the imaging section, you'll notice it's the most common setup amongst the best imagers there.

Bare in mind that photography will cost you a lot more in bits and bobs. For instance, if you want to do those great nebula shots, showing the reds you'll have to modify your DSLR and remove the infrared filter that comes with it, to replace with a specific filter for astrophotography. This will void the DSLR warranty, make it pretty much useless for regular photography and will cost you about 100 on the replacement filter.

I'm not trying to put you off, just making sure you are well informed of what it may cost you in the end.

[paulhutch]

Thanks guys (again) I've made my mind up to get the dob, as I don't want to compromise mine and my boys viewing. (Everything looked decisively pants in Mums scope, see older thread). I will play about with it for some planet Afocal shots and see how it is with them, as for my astro photography I have resined myself to the fact that I'll need another scope. I often wondered when you guys list your gear, why some of you had 2 major scopes in your kit. I now know. At least with the 250p Synscan it won't need upgrading for ages (Unless I suddenly develop app fever that is!) No one said it wasn't going to be expensive did they??

Thanks again

Paul

[valleyman]

They are no longer available and Harrisons stock will come from OVL the supplier, who dont have any

I wanted one but in the end went for the 200Auto and bought a SW 102ALT/AZ synscan goto for the handset now have a 200 GOTO plus a 102 Synscan for grab and go, Total cost £782......Dob from FLO, SW 102 from Opticstar

[paulhutch]

Guys, another question has now come to mind. If (and indeed I do) I need one scope for visual and one for Photography then do I really need the goto (Synscan) Dob or will just the manual do for viewing? Whilst the budget isn't really set, I don't think I will need the goto and at £919 for the 10 inch goto and £639 for the manual 12 inch it would leave a few quid over for the set up that Polar Bear recommends for Astro photography.

[pvaz]

Manual will do just fine. I only see 2 draw backs in it:

1) The kids will have a bit more trouble. Objects move at great speed across the FoV so you need to nudge constantly to keep them in view. Depending on how young your kids are, it may be hard for them to keep objects in view.

2) If you live in a light polluted area it is hard to star hop to find objects, as you won't be able to see that many stars. Under those conditions GOTO is a really good addition. Also, before you know enough of the sky to move between objects at a decent speed, the kids may find it's not that amusing to wait 15min for you to locate an object while they are freezing. You can solve this by doing some sessions alone to learn, before bringing the kids.

[umadog]

"great speed" is somewhat of an exaggeration Particularly for lower power views of DSOs, manual tracking is virtually a non-issue. I've done public viewing nights with kids and a manual Dob. Tracking would be nice but manual is acceptable up to around 130x. YMMV.

I definitely agree that learning to find objects with kids around will get stressful. I've not had personal experience, but I've watched it in action. It will depend on how old the kids are, however. You may well be able to involve them in the process. For example, they can figure out where to point the scope with the Telrad. If they're under 10 or 12 or so, however, then you'll increasingly have to take the lead and you'll have to find stuff fairly quickly. Pushto can work wonders because it's easy for kids to help with that. Given the kids, in your shoes I'd opt for the 10 Goto. Not all that much difference in the views anyway.

[pvaz]

You're right, at low mag it's pretty easy, even for a kid, to keep things in view. I was thinking about high mags for planets and moon, which are usually the thing that makes kids get interested about the hobby.

In a slightly more precise way, a planet takes about 30 seconds to cross the FoV at 240x with an average EP. (This depends on the AFoV on that EP. It will take longer with a widefield EP and less with an Ortho, for instance.) It may take a couple of minutes at say 50x.

[umadog]

I guessed that's what you meant, I just didn't want the neophytes to be confused

[paulhutch]

Well guys I've ordered the 12 inch Dob from the camera centre, Flo still advertising them at £649 so if Camera centre doesn't come up with one today I'll order it from them. Someone will have one lurking around from stock. I'll let you know when it arrives. Thanks again for all your help.