wanted, beginer telescope, about the 5" mark

[peterc_drs]

Hi all

wanting to get into planet and star gazing and looking for a beginners scope of about 5inch's, been looking at the Celestron Nexstar 130 SLT, can any one give me any advise on this please..?

Thanks in advance

Pete

[peterc_drs]

appologies Kai, and thanks for the move to this area

Pete

[GordonCopestake]

The 130SLT is a great beginners 'scope. There are quite a few reviews if you look on the net. The tripod isn't the most stable though. Whats your budget and interest? If you let us know how much you have to spend and what targets you are interested in we can point you in the right direction.

[russ]

Synta's latest 130 f5 newtonian are certainly getting good reviews. Although the SLT mount isn't the most stable mount in town. If you can do without GOTO take a look at Celestron's new Omni XLT range. The SLT 130 costs £279 but the Omni XLT 150 only costs £20 more. Not only do you get a more capable scope but also a very nice mount that can be upgraded to GOTO when funds permit.

Or if you heart is set on a 5" then they do a Omni XLT 125 5" SCT.

Regards

Russ

[GordonCopestake]

I do like the look of the new CG4 mounts Russ, but i've never seen one yet. But the old EQ3/2's were great with little 'scopes on. Plus there is a GOTO upgrade available for the CG4 (maybe) that can be added at a later date

[peterc_drs]

thanks for the responces guys, my budget is about £250 and my aims are to observe our planets and some deeper space stuff, though being a newbie, i don't know what performance to expect from the £250 mark really...

[Kai]

appologies Kai, and thanks for the move to this area

Pete

No problems Pete

[Stormwatch]

I love my 102 SLT, I don't think you can go wrong with that or the 130 SLT.

[GordonCopestake]

Whilst you dont get the aperture with the 102SLT you do get a maintence free 'scope. No collimation or any of that malarky. 4" f/6 is a nice size for wide field scanning although it wont do as well on small targets (like the planets) as some larger 'scopes.

[Stormwatch]

Whilst you dont get the aperture with the 102SLT you do get a maintence free 'scope. No collimation or any of that malarky. 4" f/6 is a nice size for wide field scanning although it wont do as well on small targets (like the planets) as some larger 'scopes.

It's also extremely portable. And there's no central obstruction.

I must admit, I've never managed to see the Cassini Division with my 102 SLT yet since I got it a few months ago, even with a 4 or 5mm EP so perhaps it's not a perfect planetary scope. That said, I've read recent reviews of much bigger scopes where the reviewer says they couldn't see Cassini either, so maybe it's jut the way the rings are sitting just now.

[GordonCopestake]

That plus cassini is very sensitive to seeing. You need a good clear night to see it

[peterc_drs]

thanks again guys for the responces, am looking at the options, but with the Celestron Nexstar 130 SLT not being that great for planetry viewing out of the box (i really like the goto functionality of that model), can i change the eye piece on that or another model to improve things later..?

[Stormwatch]

thanks again guys for the responces, am looking at the options, but with the Celestron Nexstar 130 SLT not being that great for planetry viewing out of the box (i really like the goto functionality of that model), can i change the eye piece on that or another model to improve things later..?

Of course. The Celestron SLT models are known for having pretty poor eyepices packed with them, but excellent optics. So upgrading the eyepieces leaves you with a great setup.

That said, I rather liked the eyepieces that came with my 102 SLT, didn't see much worse in them in such a small scope compared to more expensive EPs.

Peter, if you get a 130 SLT or a 102 SLT you'll be happy. Trust me.

[peterc_drs]

thanks again guys for the responces, am looking at the options, but with the Celestron Nexstar 130 SLT not being that great for planetry viewing out of the box (i really like the goto functionality of that model), can i change the eye piece on that or another model to improve things later..?

Of course. The Celestron SLT models are known for having pretty poor eyepices packed with them, but excellent optics. So upgrading the eyepieces leaves you with a great setup.

That said, I rather liked the eyepieces that came with my 102 SLT, didn't see much worse in them in such a small scope compared to more expensive EPs.

Peter, if you get a 130 SLT or a 102 SLT you'll be happy. Trust me.

Thanks man, i think i'm gonna get the 130SLT, and maybe upgrade the eye piece if / when i think i need to, thanks again to every one for there help and warm welcome to the forum