First scope advice please (need something portable but good)

[barbusg60]

I was just wondering what your views are on this,

First Light Optics - Vixen A80MF Refractor

Its in the clearance section at FLO, I have a revised budget of around £300.

I have been thinking about a 200p as that gets the most reccomendations but think I may struggle to store it anywhere safe, and the mrs freaked when she saw pics of it!

Is the above scope any good as a first one?

I want to get this right and get something I will be happy with and not want to change straight away.

I think I mainly want to see our solar system first, then mpve further out and am not bothered about photos, unless I could use my iphone somehow?

Thanks in advance,

Rob.

[Capricorn]

From what I recall the scope is good, sure I read a write up of it somewhere recently by someone and it was good.

Problem: The one your link is to is for the scope only, you will need a mount as well and when bought seperately the cost is higher.

One other point is that 80mm is a lot less the 200mm, you are looking at 1/6 light collection in the 80mm.

As an alternative how about the Evostar 90 with EQ3-2 mount at £235, or if funds stretch the Evostar 102 at £309 on the EQ3-2.

The 90 is a little bigger and the 102 bigger again.

The drawback is that the Evostars will show a bit more CA then I suspect the Vixen will. More on the 102 then the 90.

You will however get a bit more diameter and the mount is already in the package.

I expect that you will want a couple more eyepieces at some time. So factor in for these.

[richbyers]

look at my avatar scope - skywatcher heritage 130p dobsonian- its about £140 with two eyepieces and books and it folds down to the height o about 2 ft

its light enough for this 21yr old male to carry one handed but im a nerd and aint strong so its just doable

its a great scope to begin with and you also be able to grow into it and not out of it too soon, been doing this for a few years and havnt got sick of it yet

rich

[Hemsy]

I was in a similar position as you and chose the Skywatcher Heritage 130. Has more light gathering than the Vixen and Evostar (picked one up as well) and comes at a reasonable cost leaving extra cash for accessories, Trust me, you 'll need some funds for eyepieces and maybe a new Barlow that may exceed the cost of your scope. Important factor for me was space and having to squeeze what I bought into a tiny cupboard, The Heritage did just fine, really compact and useful scope for starters and kept the mrs happy. I would go down the DOB route, more aperture for your money and fairly easy to set up.

[steve_bham]

I've just got my grubby hands on the sky watcher 120mm F5 refactor. I knew when I brought it that it would have CA, but was pleasantly surprised at how little there is. The scope cap also has a smaller cover you can remove the reduce appature but increase focal length.

All in all for 250 quid it's a very capable and portable scope.

[boabsta]

I would recommend a skywatcher 127 skymax maksutov. They're a bit more expensive new but there are a few going for about 250 2nd hand. That would leave enough for a decent eyepiece. They're relatively maintenance free and quite compact. I've had a 130 reflector and the mak is just so much clearer. For planetary it is superb and also gives excellent views of Orion nebula.

They give a lot of detail and I'm sure you'll be happy to keep it for a while as I have done.