Picking out a new telescope

[mixedcolors]

While I'm no stranger to having a telescope, I am when it comes to buying one for myself. My dad bought me a telescope many, many years ago and it was my first, I loved it more then anything then. I still have it, but it was a cheaper model and now its really no good, or I should say, its not a powerful one. I'm looking into buying a good quality model. I've done research and have narrowed down to a few.

I do however need some advice from those who are well knowledge of telescopes. I'm looking for something that is between $200-$500, should be able to see planets clearly and would like to see deeper space stuff if possible. While transportation is not a great issue I do live in apartment building so I can't be lugging something that's huge around.

I hate to beat a dead horse because I'm sure this question as been asked hundreds of times as to what the differences are in refractors and reflecting telescope. I know the differences, but have not used them enough to say which is better, so any advice on that would be good.

I am realistic in that I won't get the BEST with the price range I'm sticking to, but I am looking for the best telescope within my limit.

This one seems good.

Orion AstroView 90mm Equatorial Refractor Telescope | Orion Telescopes

This one has gotten good reviews and I'm wondering if anyone has personal experience with this telescope.

Orion AstroView 6 Equatorial Reflector Telescope | Orion Telescopes

This one has pretty high reviews but I've read a lot of negative things about it to.

Celestron AstroMaster 114 EQ Reflector Telescope - Telescopes at Telescopes

I'm open to any and all suggestions for the right one in my range.

[umadog]

You have selected equatorially mounted scopes. There's nothing wrong with that, but they are heavy for the aperture. If they're not sturdy (heavy) enough then they will be wobbly. The 90 mm you list looks like it might fall into the wobbly category. I mention the heaviness because you say you live in an apartment. We very often recommend alt/az mounted Newtonians (Dobsonians) because they're light and cheap yet sturdy. An 8" Orion Dobsonian can fit into a carry bag and you could be set up in one trip downstairs. Where do you live?

[DOBBY]

For a 'scope with a sturdy mount...that doesn't need leveling...takes less space to store...& is more intuitive to use (left/right + up/down)... I'm with Umadog... Orion SkyQuest XT8 Classic Dobsonian Telescope | Orion Telescopes

[ollypenrice]

I'd go for an 8 inch Dob as well. All your money, or almost all, goes on the optics and, though the mount is simple, it's a bit of design genius and works better than anything else below four times your budget. However, only you really know about the portability so you'd need to see one.

Expensive refractors are great. Cheap ones aren't.

Olly

[mixedcolors]

I did actually look at the Dobsonian telescopes, and liked what I saw but because I've never seen one in person I assumed it was a big heavy telescope by the looks of it, so I would like to view one in person. I've tried looking for any astronomy stores in my area, and might have found one, maybe they carry them?

A good point about the ones I've chosen being equatorially mounted, I do a lot of photography as well and have grown to hate those kind of mounts as they don't have good steadiness.

Do Dobsonian telescopes have good finders or would I need to upgrade? I know some telescopes that come with finders suck.

I live in New Hampshire

[stevetynant]

the only problem I have found with my DOB finder scope is that when your looking at anything close to the zenith you have to be a contortionist to bend down low enough to use a conventional scope. I have a Reigl on order and may also consider a Right Angle finding scope which would alleviate this issue- but all in all its not a big deal really - you could also I guess raise the height of the scope by using a small mount / table set up but then your moving more gear again.

good luck with your choice- speaking from experience - I've only ever owned one scope- the best thing I love about my Dob is the pick up and go nature of it - unless you have a permanent viewing platform for setting up - it really is a huge bonus.

[sabana]

The Apartment bit is of major concern. Whilst Dobs do give bang for buck they are not transportabe without effort. I woud go for a Celestron Nexstar 4SE. You've got the power then to see a long way into the Cosmos for a very compact size.