First scope choice quandry?

[Catweazel]

Hi all,

I have recently become interested in astronomy, and have been using binoculars and naked eye to get a rough idea of how to get around the skies; I have enjoyed it all so far:)

I am thinking of buying a first scope and, as a beginner, have been looking to various books and online reviews for advice. I don't want to do my usual thing, and blow as much money as possible, as I still need to ensure that I will remain interested. I need the scope to be as 'all round' as possible, for planets/moon/DSO's. I understand that the refractor will give sharper but smaller views of planets than a reflector, and that the reflector will be better for DSO's.

So, I have come up with these 2 'beginners' scopes:

First Light Optics - Skywatcher Evostar 90 (EQ2)

First Light Optics - Skywatcher Skyhawk 1145P

Many of the views I have read have mostly suggested a refractor for a first scope, due to ease of use/lack of maintainence. I wondered how much extra work the Skyhawk would really be for an absolute beginner, and would appreciate some advice. Also, would it be advisable to go for a stronger mount on the Skyhawk? I think it has EQ1.

many thanks in advance for any help/advice

Cheers!

CW

[Stardust]

I had a 114 a few years ago. I've looked through a few scopes but to be honest I wasn't that impressed with it. I spent a while on the collimation but just couldn't get a nice sharp image. We eventually decided it was the best we could get it, so sold it on ebay. It may have been a bad scope, who knows but based on that experience I'd get a 90mm refractor if I was to do it again.

[Capricorn]

First scope is a bit of a nightmare. You will be told just about every option and several others as well.

The Evostar 90 is a decent scope, it is a refractor and I think 900mm focal length. The lens is an achro so there may be some CA on brighter objects - Jupiter, Moon.

Being f/10 it is tolerant of budget eyepieces. The EQ2 is a bit more solid then the EQ1. However neither are that good.

The 114 is a reflector, will at some time require collimating, so you will need a collimator (£25-30). Cheshires seem to get the vote for ease of use.

Really little between them. I would suggest the Evostar. Less bother although smaller diameter.

The other aspect is that if you upgrade then the Evostar can be kept as a grab and go scope whereas you will probably sell the 114 and I doubt you would get much for it.

[nightfisher]

Of the 2 scopes you have listed i would plum for the evostar

[loopylewin]

I brought the evostar 90 in november and have had no problems with it easy to use and the mount seems fairly solid.

[Gottzi]

I have a skyhawk and love it, it Collimates well ad holds Collimaton forever. Viewing has been pretty good too, I've added better EP's though for Xmas, wish I'd had a chance to try them.

Good luck with whatever you choose and Clear skies.

[lw24]

I'd go for the Evostar, will give you nice views of the Moon, and the Planets, aswell as other brighter DSOs.

Clear Skies,

Luke

[rawhead]

You could get a Tal-1 from ebay for that sort of money (or even a Tal 2M)

A far superior scope (IMO)

Always a bit of a gamble buying 2nd hand though....

[onesmallstep]

If you increase your budget a little you could go for the Explorer 130mm Newt which offer increased lightgrasp and show more objects. As a general purpose scope it would suit all of your observing needs.

HTH!

[Adz]

A 90mm frac got me into this beautiful world of astronomy that I am now completely obsessed with

[gdheib0430]

Yeah I personally love the reflector scopes, but the 90mm refractor seems like the better choice for a beginner scope...when it comes to a reflector or for that matter the dob, I personally wouldn't go below a 6" and would prefer a min 200p dob to start out with...no eq mount to have to deal with. I personally am hitting up a dob with all the eye viewing pieces and what not for now and tossing imaging to the side for quite some time so I can just have fun looking for myself.

Oh yeah, from what I have seen with just starting out myself I have much more enjoyment and fun with my 15x50 binos over using my small reflector scope, but granted I can see the planets much better and haven't gotten any filters for DSOs, but I don't expect much of anything from a 3" reflector.

[Balder]

Wait a few months for the E-bay "unwanted present" listings

Maybe the for sale section on here may be open by then

I paid less than your first link for my SW130PM on Gumtree - bet you forgot about that, didn't you?

[Catweazel]

Thanks guys for all of your replies, advice has been most useful

I decided that I might wait for a while, and have ordered a Horizon 8115 tripod to go with my Celestron 15x70 bins for now, as this should make viewing much more stable, whilst I figure out how the skies 'work', as it were. I plan to save up some more money and probably get a bigger refractor, like a 120mm on a EQ5 mount, then I can stick a reflector on the same mount sometime in the future if I decide to change or get 2nd scope.

@Balder, no I hadn't thought about 2nd hand scopes, and you're right about the post xmas trade. I will certainly keep a look out for bargains. Thanks.

CW

[Adz]

That sounds like a great plan. I started out with 10x50's then 15x70's on a tripod. Really learnt a lot about the sky. Then a small frac. The Eq5 is very versatile but it can get a bit frustrating setting it up every time. Compared to a dob or alt az.

[Quatermass]

try before you buy and go along to one of the star gazing live events.

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