Telescope comparison - raw images - help and advice sought

[SuperAli]

I've recently developed an interest in astronomy and for the last few months have spent a lot of my time reading up on the subject. All of my seeing to date has been through a pair of 10x50 bins. I'm now starting to research telescopes with a view to making a purchase sometime during the coming months.

I'm prepared to spend up to a maximum of 400 GBP. I’m unlikely to upgrade my scope within at least five to ten years so there's a need to get it right first time. I will be happy however to purchase additional eyepieces, filters etc for my chosen scope down the road, that shouldn’t cause the wife to much additional stress :-) . I'm interested in viewing everything: planets, nebula's, galaxies, star clusters etc etc. I don’t mind if the telescope is big and cumbersome either, if it is going to give me more detail, i'd rather have it that way. Part of my viewing will be from my balcony inside a city, so plenty of light pollution, but i will also be making regular jaunts into the countryside in search of those darker skies. Also, my wife has a nice Canon 450D so down the road i'd like to get into astrophotgraphy.

Like most beginners (probably), i'm confused as to what exactly i am likely to see from one telescope to the next. I understand the difference between refractors and reflectors and what their strong points are, but what i would really like to know is what a variety of subjects (for example: the Moon, Saturn, Jupiter, various galaxies, nebulas, star clusters etc etc) will look like when viewed through different telescopes of varying specifications. Does anyone know of anywhere online that shows examples of a variety of subjects through varying telescopes, but photographed through the same camera and settings, with the same eyepiece and on the same night, but just the raw images with no editing to them? This is what i would really like to see. I think a review of that sort would give me more confidence in making up my mind as to which telescope i'd be satisfied with.

I can search google, or youtube, for images of what the moon, Jupiter etc looks like through, for example, a Skywatcher Explorer 130m Newtonian Reflector, a SkyWatcher Explorer-200P/1000 Reflector, or a Celestron Omni 102 XLT Refractor etc etc. The problem is, the photo's were taken on different dates in different places by different astronomers of different ability using different eyepieces/filters etc. Its very difficult to get a proper grip on what to expect from one scope to the next. I can also never quite tell if the photo's I’m looking at have been touched up in photoshop or some specialist astrophotography software.

If anyone can provide me with a link to such a review I’d be very grateful. Or if a review of this sort was ever featured in the Sky at Night magazine please let me know which issue and I’d be happy to purchase the back issue.

Also, if anyone has any advice to offer me on this subject it would be gratefully recieved.

Thanks

Ali

[Rigel-7]

I tried to find this info in vain when I was looking before xmas. The problem is it is difficult to capture what you see through the eyepiece. There are some webcam movies on youtube but they either don't do justice or they have been post processed.

Your best bet is to go to your local astro club and ask to have a look - in my club they had most scopes incl. the explorer 200p, 150p, 130p and a number of CATs and refractors. If my club is anything to go by they really are very friendly and helpful.

The "Turn Left at Orion" book contains a number of sketches which are representative and I believe a number of members here have uploaded sketches.

[rowan46]

if you want to see what an object looks like through an eyepiece look at the sketches forum as all photo's are photoshopped. If you want to know which is the best scope for viewing under 400 gbp and size being no problem. Hands down it's the 200 dob. however if you are going to use a dslr on your scope you need an eq mount this rules out the dobsonion. I would suggest this one it's the same scope on an eq mount

First Light Optics - Skywatcher Explorer 200P EQ5

At a later date you can add the tracking motor and with some careful polar alignment and stacking you should get some product photo wise. It's unlikely to make pic of the week but it should be good enough to impress a few friends. welcome to sgl by the way.

[DOBBY]

What the eye sees & what any camera 'sees' are so totally different there is no point in trying to compare them. Your budget gives you a wide choice of 'scopes for visual use & also if you wanted to use a web-cam...for using a DSLR camera & longer exposure on DSO's you need to start with an sturdy EQ mount & some form of tracking.

As Rowan said... a 200p on EQ5 will get you observing... you can capture with a webcam too...then up-date with motors when funds are available.

Making Every Photon Count ... is a must read if you want to go down the A/P route.

[Ags]

In strong light pollution only a few objects look good, mostly the planets and the moon - so the first question is: is your balcony south-facing? Be aware that seeing conditions from the balcony may not be ideal with waves of hot air rising off the building and causing blurring. This will be most apparent at high magnification... on planets.

A photograph cannot capture the experience at the eyepiece - a planet is going to be smaller than you expect, and detail is subtle and only visible in fleeting glimpses.