First Telescope

[igglepiggle]

Hello.

I am after some advice as to what a decent first telescope would be.

I have been using a decent pair of binoculars for the last 2 years and I am amazed at how much extra you can see with these but would now like to step up and use a telescope also.

My only real expierence with a telescope is with a cheap one that we got our son which is ok but very unstable so when trying to focus the whole scope moves which is very annoying.

As for my expetations I would like to see the planets in some more detail and if possible some DSOs though obviously I am not expecting Hubble images.

Is ebay worth a try for second hand scopes or should I buy new?

Thank You.

[lw24]

I'd stay away from ebay, as it's only useful if you know exactly what you want.

We'd really need you to state an approximate price range, so we could start narrowing down the choices.

Clear Skies,

Luke

[PreludeToADream]

I'd really avoid eBay. There are occasional bargins but they're few and far between. What sort of budget do you have? Do you want something motorised or is manual fine?

Dobsonians always make for a great first telescope, such as the Skywatcher Skyliner 200P: First Light Optics - Skywatcher Skyliner 200P Dobsonian

[igglepiggle]

I guess I was looking at spending around £300 but maybe more if needed for a decent telescope.

There are so many different scopes and price ranges that at the moment I am not sure what one I should be aiming at.

I have no preferance over motorised or manual though.

Just been looking on ebay if there where any close by to me but not sure exactly what I was looking at spec wise.

[rwilkey]

As mentioned above, avoid ebay if you can, many ridiculous claims on there regarding magnification and capabilities, also half the sellers haven't got a clue as to the specs of the telescopes they are selling. The Sky Watcher Dob 200mm is well within your budget, why go second-hand, also FLO is one of the best suppliers, they will give you bags of advice: First Light Optics - Skywatcher Skyliner 200P Dobsonian

[Quatermass]

Do you want to use the telescope for observing and imaging or just observing on its own is an important question to be considering.

Sent from my GT-S5670 using Tapatalk

[igglepiggle]

The review sounds fantastic for the Skywatcher if it can see what it says it can.

Was just looking on ebay and googleing the brand / model but still was not sure what I was looking for.

There are quite a few Meade telescopes on there but also quite a few that I could not find any info on.

[Charon]

You have had good sound advice, I would certainly avoid Ebay in this case.