Is this scope a waste of time? or not?

[5thelement]

Recently got myself a pair of binoculars (Praktica 10X50's) which im enjoying (when the clouds aren't ruining everything!) but i'm still thinking ahead about telescopes.

I've been looking at this little one

Celestron Firstscope Telescope at Astronomia

..but is it really going to offer a drastic improvement over binoculars?

If not, and my budget was roughly £100 - what would you recommend?

I've been looking around and the choice is staggering and the technical details/mount details etc are for a newcomer - quite overwhelming!

I just want a general all around telescope which would offer a decent improvement over using binoculars, but on a budget at this point in time.

My other question was regarding connecting a D-SLr camera to a telescope as i allready own a Nikon D40...what kind of money would i be looking to spend for a scope that would be capable of this? as i could possibly stretch my budget as this is something that really appeals to me...

Thanks

p.s

Apologies if these questions have been asked a 1000 times before!

[Moonshane]

I have never used one of these (BTW see Celestron Firstscope Astronomical Telescope) but I suspect it would give a better that is more magnified and brighter view than 10x50s and you can also change the magnification which you cannot do with bins.

it will also be quite stable too with less neck ache.

there's not a chance of attaching a camera to this scope.

astrophotography will be very expensive compared with your budget so concentrate on visual for now.

for £100 you could possibly get a used 6" dobsonian or if you are handy you could make a dob base and buy a used 8" tube. with such a small budget though it's hard to recommend much else.

[ronin]

£100 isn't going to go very far.

Just looked on UK Astro Buy and Sell and there is a Skymax 90mm Maksutov for sale at £100.

Comes with several bits and sounds good. The problem is that the seller does not state if there is a mount with it.

Says it makes a good grab-and-go scope and you tend to grab a scope on a mount. So unsure.

If it had a mount then it would seem to fit the bill.

It is on the 3rd page and the seller is in Scotland.

Web page is:

U.K. Astronomy Buy & Sell

Catch is that I assume that the budget needs to include the scope and the mount, and is not just £100 on a scope.

If it was £100 for the scope alone then I would suggest the Opticstar 80mm achro at £135 if you could stretch that far.

80mm isn't great but is a fairly decent start.

Cannot see any 130/150 Dobsonian style scopes on the used side as they would possibly fall into the budget.

Problem with the first scope is that you will very quickly want something a bit more in size. Will also say I have no idea on the size of the scope you have listed.

Any clubs around you that you could visit?

Always a good idea simply to have some time looking at the various options on display and maybe someone could have a scope to sell.

To attach a camera you will need a suitable camare adaptor for Nikons. If looking to take pictures then you need a mount so Dobsonian mounts are out of it and the mount will really need to have at least an RA motor to track the sky.

[MjrTom]

I have to agree with Shane on this.

If you can stretch to another £50-£100 it opens up your options tremendously

[x6gas]

The first thing that people will ask you is what you primarily want to do. The trouble is that most people new to the hobby don't know what they want to do until they've had a go at a few things!

I haven't used a Celestron Firstscope but I'd be really surprised if it was any better than your binos and if I were you I'd save your money...

I have a 70mm Celestron Travelscope which I bought as a guidescope for my astrophotograph set up and it is actually not bad for the money (though the tripod it comes with is utterly useless. But my advice would be to buy a Skywatcher ST80 which can be obtained on a basic mount for a little more than your budget. The advantage here is that either of these - but especially the ST80 - can be used as a guidescope if in future you get the astrophotography bug... and it is also quite sought-after and so easy to resell. You would not be able to sell the Firstscope IMHO.

The other option is to save a bit more and go for the largest Dobsonian you can afford...

[5thelement]

Thanks for the advice everyone...i realise my budget is quite minimal, but i dont want to end up with something that is merely a toy. From what i've read it looks like the best bet is to go for the biggest reflector within my budget? the more light gathering power the better obviously.

I like the look of the ST-80 - thanks for bringing it to my attention!

I've also been looking at this one

AstroMaster 114EQ Telescope (item #31042) / AstroMaster Series Telescopes / Telescopes / Products / Celestron.com

[iceblaze]

Hello 5thelement,

My friend owns that little first scope, and I can tell you first hand that its pretty much useless for anything else but looking at the moon. Perhaps you should save up a few more bucks, and look at something like the Orion StarBlast 4.5". I know quite a few astrophotographers that keep one of those scopes around because they give great views for such a tiny little dob.

They have both the table top model and EQ model:

Orion StarBlast 4.5 Equatorial Reflector Telescope | Orion Telescopes

Orion StarBlast 4.5 Astro Reflector Telescope | Orion Telescopes

or you can just get the tube itself for only $150!

StarBlast 4.5 Imaging Telescope Optical Tube | Orion Telescopes

HTH

-James

[iceblaze]

I've also been looking at this one

AstroMaster 114EQ Telescope (item #31042) / AstroMaster Series Telescopes / Telescopes / Products / Celestron.com

If your budget is that wide then definetly go for the Starblast 4.5"

(Celestron tends to use lots and lots of plastic on their AstroMaster series...)

[MjrTom]

I would happen to agree with this. The starblast looks a better scope to me

[cantab]

What brand are they sold under in the UK? (Since I think over here there's a different company called Orion Optics, so the American Orion probably can't use that name over here.)

[John]

What brand are they sold under in the UK? (Since I think over here there's a different company called Orion Optics, so the American Orion probably can't use that name over here.)

They are sold over here as Orion. SCS Astro in Somerset stock them:

Orion Telescope & Binocular - SCS Astro

I think the Widescreen Centre in London do as well.

Many of their scopes are clones of Skywatcher ones but, unfortunately, the Orion products tend to be quite expensive in the UK.

As you say though, not to be confused with Orion Optics of Crewe, UK.

[MjrTom]

Same name

One is Orion the other Orion optics uk

[iceblaze]

Many of their scopes are clones of Skywatcher ones but, unfortunately, the Orion products tend to be quite expensive in the UK.

Hello jahmanson,

While I understand the pound is worth more than the American dollar, the Starblast is still relatively the same price on that SCS Astro site!

Orion StarBlast 4.5 EQ Reflector - SCS Astro

Orion StarBlast 4.5 Astro Telescope - SCS Astro

Also, is it just the shipping you guys are worried about to not order from telescope.com directly?

That 4.5" OTA for $150 is making me contemplate ordering one right now, although I probably should just hold out for their 8 inch OTA at $309...

-James

[MjrTom]

Hello

It's not the shipping costs that sting us but the import duty and VAT.

I can't remember the exact figures but import duty is about 10-15% then on top of that they put 20% Value Added Tax as well

By the time you factor these into the equation it looks less appealing