Confused all over again!

[Jon Sales]

Visited an astronomy shop this morning.

Thought I had made up my mind what I wanted but after seeing what's on offer i'm so confused i'm tempted to give up before I've even started!

[Shibby]

Don't you dare! You've come to the right place - if you're confused I'm sure the good members of SGL can assist!

What are your goals, what do you want to achieve with your new kit?

[John]

It's easy to get into a state of "paralysis by analysis"

I think many folk buying their first scope are, understandably, viewing it as a purchase that will need to last some time so agonise about getting everything "right".

Perhaps you need to keep things simple and have a look at the scopes that people seem to be having the most fun with. For me the 200mm F/6 dobsonian would be in that category - good views of pretty much everything.

Not good for imaging of course but thats where the compromise needs to be made, in the case of that scope.

If it turns out not to be "the one for you" they are very popular so you would readily find a buyer.

Thats just a shot in the dark though as I don't know your ambitions etc.

[Jon Sales]

I was going to get a Newtonian GoTo of some sort but after being in the shop I like the look of the Nexstar 6sct.

Space is at a premium at my place so I can't get anything too large like a big Dob as much as I'd like to.

I like the idea of the Dob but also like the convenience of the GoTo.

I will get into AP but not at the moment because of the cost of the mount etc. The sct I could use for short exposures with my DSLR.

So confused at the moment and websites don't help.

I love using my girlfriends DS2080 but the optics aren't all that really but it's only a small scope so I don't expect too much from it. The Autostar is ready to use tho and a doddle to set up.

[Tribal-Wolf]

Nexstar 6sct is a good scope but is a large outlay if you intend AP later. I think I am always guilty of over analysing things so I now just go with my gut feeling. I was unsure I had made the right choice when I bought my scope but I don't know what else I could have bought that is more suitable so my gut was right and now I love the flextube dob.

[Jon Sales]

Not too sure about nudging it every few seconds tho or finding stuff with it.

[E621Keith]

If in doubt, buy the biggest dob you can afford.

The Nexstar 6SE is a good scope, but if you are considering AP in the future, you should put your money in a good equatorial mount such as the HEQ5.

[Jon Sales]

AP isn't priority at the moment.

To be honest I'll probably buy a seperate set up for this so I can keep observing at the same time.

[Russe]

Yes, put your money in a good mount - HEQ5 pro and get a small ED frac. This way you'll have a transportable scope you'd always use, can do AP with, have the comfort of GOTO and later, after winning the lottery and buying a new home, you could go bigger!

[rowan46]

I have a nexstar 5 the 6 is much better it ticks a lot of boxes. It's portable it doesn't take up much space at home, it gives pretty good views and it has goto, however it s over twice the price of a skyliner and doesn't have as good views. If space and portability is an issue the nexstar wins if price and views is what you want the dob wins both are good scopes.

At f10 the views on the nexstar feels a little squished on the larger dso's however it also doesn't need very expensive eyepieces to get the best out of it and is very good on planets. The dob 8" and above however gives brighter views on everything and frames the larger dso's a little better it's not as good on planets as a nexstar at higher power because the nudge at high power requires a fair bit of practice. The views however are just as good under high power if not better.

[Jon Sales]

Might have to get the Nexstar 6SE our the other scope I was looking at is the C8 NGT as the mint loops write capable for AP in the future with an 80ED on top.