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Hmmm thought i'd know this by now...


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Well, after months of evaluating scopes for myself, someone asked me today to find a scope for their son (i think he's about 12-13yrs old).

"eaaaaaasy" i thought, i've been looking at all sorts for months, i understand the merits and drawbacks of different scopes, i understand the accessories needed etc. But then she threw the curve ball - the budget is around £80.

Normally my reaction would be "get some binos", but i don't think they'd be happy with it. They, like most newcomers are after detail and magnification, and i can't help but feel they'd be let down with a set of 10x50s, however useful they may be for learning/widefield.

My first thought was the celestron 76mm dob, though playing around in stellarium, its relatively low mags wouldn't give a decent view of jupiter, which is my benchmark at the moment. Granted, you'd see a tiny disc, and the moons, but probably struggle to see the bands, and certainly nothing more.

It'l be great on the moon, and maybe m31 and m42, but much else and it'l struggle. Don't get me wrong, it's great for its price, and probably better than a cheap pair of binos (depending on your preference), but i can't help but feel it'l be a little underwhelming, and condemned to a life under the bed within a week (did i mention he has ADD?).

So i've thought long and hard and come up with 2 alternatives - either increase the budget and go for the 130p heritage (not preferable, money is tight), or go with an astromaster 70az. I think the astromaster is the better option. It's simple, requires no collimation, good for grab and go, and will give decent powers for lunar/planetary, whilst giving good hints of the brighter DSOs. There is also the refractor factor - it's the typical thing people think of when they think telescope.

Anyone have any other alternatives/suggestions?

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If they absolutely have to stick with the budget, then the Astromaster 70az would be the best choice in my view, but it's not very powerful, at the end of the day you get what you pay for. It will not give the 'wow' factor I am afraid.

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If they absolutely have to stick with the budget, then the Astromaster 70az would be the best choice in my view, but it's not very powerful, at the end of the day you get what you pay for. It will not give the 'wow' factor I am afraid.

Pretty much what i figured, otherwise i'd have bought one instead of continuing to save for a 200p :):D

Guess i'l have to sit them down and talk about what is realistically possible.

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jimmy, if you go toward the astromaster route for them,its worth pointing out that they will definatly need to either buy a finder/telrad/red dot or which ever they choose OR a low mag e/p for locating things.

the finder attatched to these are seriously pants . cant be used wotsoever .

just thought id let you know .

(lol, i just noticed youve a astromaster too, so you'll know what im talking about eh.)

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