Best telescope for around £250?

[wisewoman]

Hello,

I've decided to treat myself to a new telescope. I'm totally out of touch with whats out there and whats good and whats not. I'm looking to spent up to about £250 -£300 ish pounds - so not loads of money.

i know I want an equatorially mounted one that either comes with a motor or to which i can add a motor later.

I like the idea of these ones that have a 'go to' system where it automatically takes you to an object of interest. However I am quite capable of finding the objects myself. I suspect that I could get a better telescope if i went for one without the fancy 'goto' systems would I be correct with that suspiscion or not?

Then there's the reflector or refractor debate... I dont intend to cart it around so im not worried about knocking mirrors out of alignment.

I've been looking at Celestron (60LCm) and Meade (eg ETX80) but then I've seen others such as Seben and Skywatcher - What brands are reputable and which ones should I avoid?

Any help much appreciated!

Thanks

Melissa

[ismangil]

The downside of EQ mounted Goto is your budget goes there instead of the scope. Remember you also have further accessories like better eyepieces maybe Barlow to enhance your experience.

Stay away from Seben, the others you mentioned are fine although their beginner's refractors are a tad small.

Do you have a dark sky? If yes you may get away with a small refractor. If not, I would suggest getting the biggest aperture. For less than £300 you can get a 8"/200mm however it is Dobsonian not EQ or goto.

You can get alt-az goto at the cost of reducing the aperture, so something like a 3.5" Maksutov.

-- Perry Ismangil

[dave6666]

hi as i am new to this forum please dont take my views to seriously but as i have bought a sebsen as my first scope i soon got rid of it very quickly it was very cheap tacky not very well built. i secome to the newbie syndrome of thinking that if i got cheap and didnt get into it i havent lost much.finding out how wrong i was.sounds like you know a bit so keep with the brands you trust. i have a celestron which i love

[John]

The scopes you have linked to have small apertures and will, in my view, leave you underwhelmed quite quickly. The optics are actually not capable of showing you many of the objects in the GOTO mount's database.

This 130mm newtonian by Skywatcher has GOTO and a decent aperture. A better investment I reckon:

First Light Optics - Skywatcher Explorer 130P SynScan AZ GOTO

[ismangil]

Hello,

I've decided to treat myself to a new telescope. I'm totally out of touch with whats out there and whats good and whats not. I'm looking to spent up to about £250 -£300 ish pounds - so not loads of money.

i know I want an equatorially mounted one that either comes with a motor or to which i can add a motor later.

Is there a particular reason you specified Equatorial mounts? Their advantage is tracking faithfully, useful only for deep sky astrophotography. However an EQ mount suitable for that will cost £700 upwards.

With motorized alt-az mount you can do short webcam imaging of planets if you have a long focal enough scope to get the magnification required.

-- Perry Ismangil

[ronin]

The downside of EQ mounted Goto is your budget goes there instead of the scope

Not a downside a simple fact, neither Celestron, Meade or Skywatcher give the computer, motors and drive away for free. What do you expect?

Downside of a Dob is no motors, computer and you have to nudge/push/pull it to see anything that then drifts out of view unless you keep kicking it the right way.

Looked at it that way a goto has advantages.

Have 3 goto's and no dobsonian mounted scopes, still do a lot of astronomy.

Person has asked for about an EQ and asked about a goto, why are the posts not answering this?

Not really providing much help after all.

Then there's the reflector or refractor debate... I dont intend to cart it around so im not worried about knocking mirrors out of alignment.

A reflector will go out of alignmnet in general use so it will have to be aligned periodically.

Refractors cost more at the end of the day.

I haven't looked but look at FLO and see what they offer in the way of an evo star 90, 102 preferably on an EQ5 mount. It would have to be the achro and the cost may be over you budget.

Also look for the Skywatcher 150PL on an EQ5. A reflector so will need aligning at times but not so critical as the 150P. Basically more time between having to do it.

I say the EQ5 as it is bigger and more solid then the EQ3-2. Motors are available for the EQ5, also the EQ3-2

You can get goto options in EQ mounts, cost more and above what you say.

Alternatives to the Evostar refractors are various ones on the Opticstar site. Will be others just no idea who.

No real alternatives to the reflector as SW have basically got the section.

The ETX 80 is small, well 80mm, and an achro refractor, will do most things OK. Not sure I like Meades idea of putting a barlow in it. Just seems pointless as it will not be great and there are better ones at a reasonable cost.

Really you have to go search a few retailers web sites and see what falls into your requirements.

Search for First light Optics, Rother Valley Optics, Opticstar, Green Witch, Sherwoods, 365Astronomy, Harrison Telescopes, Modern Astronomy, Skys the Limit.

That will pass an hour or two.

Avoid the Sebens.

[ronin]

useful only for deep sky astrophotography.

Useful for visual as the object stays in the field of view.

Means you can look at it longer or swap with someone else and it is still in view. EQ's are VERY useful for visual.

[nightfisher]

I think it would be best if you were to be more specific as to what objects you would like to view with new scope........lunar/planet or dso`s this would help with choice of instrument

[Rossco72]

I would look for something 200mm or so, probably a reflectoe (Newtonian) and an undriven EQ mount which you can add to later or replace.

If you can stretch your budget then:

First Light Optics - Skywatcher Explorer 200P EQ5

Otherwise:

First Light Optics - Skywatcher Explorer 150PL EQ3-2 / EQ3 PRO GOTO

On the Equatorial Mount I wouldn't really advise going below an EQ3-2.

Cheers

[ismangil]

Person has asked for about an EQ and asked about a goto, why are the posts not answering this?

Because OP has limited budget, and there is no EQ Goto at that price point.

[wisewoman]

The scopes you have linked to have small apertures and will, in my view, leave you underwhelmed quite quickly. The optics are actually not capable of showing you many of the objects in the GOTO mount's database.

This 130mm newtonian by Skywatcher has GOTO and a decent aperture. A better investment I reckon:

First Light Optics - Skywatcher Explorer 130P SynScan AZ GOTO

Thanks for that - I think I'm now leaning towards having a better scope instead of a 'goto' system.

[ismangil]

Thanks for that - I think I'm now leaning towards having a better scope instead of a 'goto' system.

The 130p quoted above is actually one of the better scope, and the goto, used correctly, may help you learn the sky.

The book Turn Left at Orion, lists hundreds of objects that can be seen in scopes even smaller than that!

Having said that, of course the larger the scope more details of the same object will be seen.

[wisewoman]

Wow - food for thought Thanks very much.

Think I've defintely gone off the GOTO feature.

Yes I wanted a motor driven EQ as I thought it would be useful in looking at the moon and planets - they always move so darn fast!

My biggest love however is for those Deep Sky Objects - nebulae, galaxies, clusters etc. I would like to eventually try my hand at astrophotography (another reason for wanting a motor) but trying to decide on the telescope first.

"Is there a particular reason you specified Equatorial mounts? Their advantage is tracking faithfully, useful only for deep sky astrophotography. However an EQ mount suitable for that will cost £700 upwards. "

Yikes - didnt realise that a good motor for deep sky photography would be so expensive!

Have been researching this all day !! I could be watching Babylon 5 or Star Trek instead!

Cheers,

Melissa (off to look at more scope sites..)

[nightfisher]

if you feel you want to do astro photography be warned it takes a large budget, to get decent results the mount is regarded as the most important aspect and would be in excess of 5 or 6 hundred pounds

[ismangil]

Yes I wanted a motor driven EQ as I thought it would be useful in looking at the moon and planets - they always move so darn fast!

You can have a tracking only Alt-az mount, this will be easier to setup and cheaper as well. Look for the 'Supatrak' range from Skywatcher, such as:

First Light Optics - Skywatcher Explorer 130P SupaTrak AUTO

Have been researching this all day !! I could be watching Babylon 5 or Star Trek instead!

I never did figure out what happened at the end of B5... Did they or did they not find out about the true Vorlons...

[wisewoman]

Thanks for the info about the tracking Alt-Az. I'm feeling tempted by the Sywatcher 150PL at the minute - but researching what the equivalents are in Meade and Celestron.

As for B5 - don't get me started!! It's the only series that has made me wish it were possible to wipe my mind so that I could watch it anew.

"I never did figure out what happened at the end of B5... Did they or did they not find out about the true Vorlons..."

I liked how the Vorlons were actually quite evil !

Sadly there were a few threads that were never completely tied up - I believe JMS had plans to do more films etc but it never happened as Americans didnt get it?!

[Rossco72]

Astrophotography comes in many formats, webcams for planets and the moon, DSLR for some widefield shots and CCD for detailed rich DSO's like you see on the picture of the week.

Be warned though that these guys are working on kit which is probably £10k and up!

For the moon and planets webcams are great and an Alt Az or even a Dob will do great.

On your fairly modest budget, I suggest you concentrate on visual and maybe webcamming.

Cheers

[Parus major]

The results that my 150PL has been giving with a webcam are keeping me happy. It's a well respected OTA but I think it's capable of a lot more than people think, I've certainly been surprised by some things I've seen with it using £20 Celestron Omni Plossl's.

The weak point of buying the setup one is the EQ3-2 is a little wobbly with this telescope on it. Not badly, the wobble is only as far as just past each side of the field of view but it's enough to cause ample swearing when focussing.

Options (within a newtonian sphere) are in a random order -

Buy the OTA only version and a higher spec mount either second hand or new.

Buy the 150P Dobsonian which has the same Tube Assembly and as above for the mount and getting tube rings

Buying the 150PL and EQ3-2, living with it or change the legs on the mount since that's where the wobble is.

Go for the 200P EQ5 since that should be as wobbly

Buy a motor for the EQ3-2 and the Skywatcher focuser motor upgrade so you don't have to touch it at all.

Now, I know I've made it sound like the EQ3-2 isn't stable but it is just that the length of the tube makes it more obvious that it's got a vibration sensitivity. The mount is rated to 7Kg and the 150PL is 5.6Kg so there is a comfort zone.

Is the EQ3-2 good for motor driven webcam AP? YES but I'd think about getting the autofocusser handset to make your life very easy.

[Rich MedRev]

I would take a good look at the explorer 200 on an EQ5, decent aperture for getting in range for many DSO's and a good solid mount which in time is motor upgradable.

Please bear in mind with your budget that you will want a decent wide eyepiece for DSO's unless planetry nebs are your thing and high mag is required.

Dont worry about collimation as it is very easy once you've had a go, better still if you are uncertain for your first attempt get someone local to help you, I'm sure there will be willing volunteers on SGL.

[wisewoman]

Have found a Skywatcher explorer 200P /1000 with EQ5 mount and tripod second hand for £299 ! I'm seriously tempted. Owner says its only been used a couple of times. Good deal do you think?

[Rossco72]

It's a good scope on a decent mount for your budget.

If you can get a look at it first and just make sure the mirrors are good then there shouldn't really be much else to go wrong. (A little dust is ok, but you don't want cracks or chips as these scatter the light)

Cheers

[John]

They are very good scopes with up grade potential. I think they cost nearly £400 new now so that's not a bad price if the scope is in excellent condition. Have you seen one though ? - a lot of folks first comments on unboxing a scope like that is "I didn't realise how big it was !".

If you have tight storage space and need the scope to be readily portable you might want to think carefully.

[wisewoman]

They are very good scopes with up grade potential. I think they cost nearly £400 new now so that's not a bad price if the scope is in excellent condition. Have you seen one though ? - a lot of folks first comments on unboxing a scope like that is "I didn't realise how big it was !".

If you have tight storage space and need the scope to be readily portable you might want to think carefully.

I was thinking about the portabillity. I wont be carting it around with me that much - maybe occasionally - I'm guessing it wouldn't take more than 10 minutes to put up or take down?

I would probably store it assembled in my garage in the corner. Its dry and the permanent cold over winter wont be an issue for the mirrors will it?

Thanks

Melissa

[Rich MedRev]

I was thinking about the portabillity. I wont be carting it around with me that much - maybe occasionally - I'm guessing it wouldn't take more than 10 minutes to put up or take down?

I would probably store it assembled in my garage in the corner. Its dry and the permanent cold over winter wont be an issue for the mirrors will it?

Thanks

Melissa

Melissa,

the cold wont be a problem and the garage is a perfect place to store the scope so long as it has decent air circulation and is not likely to be exposed to exhaust emmisions. Obviously dont try and move the setup conected, always take the tube off the mount before moving it.

HTH