Hi all

[bolerus]

hi guys.

so, where do I start. I bought my daughter a "how cool is this" telescope from tesco, and we looked at the moon with it and enjoyed messing around.

It has perked my interest, I should probably say at this point, that amongonst my other hobbies is photography, and every time i buy a new piece of kit, the first picture is always the moon

So, I guess in reality if /when I buy my telesecope I will be looking for something I can use for Astrophotgraphy.

I have found (on ebay) a

1000-114 New Seben Telescope with Automatic Motordrive

and a

CELESTRON ASTROMASTER 130EQ MOTOR ASTRONOMICAL TELESCOPE

both are around the right place for my budget.

If any body can direct me to another good one around the same budget (150 - 200 to start i think) id be gratefull or have any comments on the two i mentioned.

I am sure if I search around I coudl find information on these forums, but I have to start getting my 50 post count up so I can browse the buy/sell section (im a sucker for a good members sales section)

thanks

Mike

[bolerus]

oops probably shoudl have mentioned, I have a Fuji s5 DSLR (same body as the Nikon 200) and can pick up t-ring convertor to fit a 1.25 eye piece for around £50

[Doug]

Hi Mike

A warm welcome to the SGL, IMHO I would not touch a Seben they have a bad rep

out of the two leaves the CELESTRON ASTROMASTER 130EQ MOTOR ASTRONOMICAL TELESCOPE if you want to do Astrophotography you would be better getting a Newtionian scope 150mm or a 200mm a scope that can track

good luck and clear skies

[bolerus]

any sugestions for a manufacturer (or soemthing i can google lol)

[Cornelius Varley]

Don't even think about buying a Seben telescope. The Skywatcher 130/650P uses the same optics as the Astromaster but is better built (the Astromaster has a lot of plastic parts in its construction).

Peter

[JamesM]

Hi Mike and first of all, welcome to the forum. From an administration point of view, the Buy & Sell section no longer exists I'm afraid. Having said that there are other used astronomy sites out there including the well known UK Astro Buy & Sell here. The only concern here is that you will need to know what you're buying and what to look out for.

Regarding your choices, I would personally forget the Seben model. On Ebay, there are many scopes of all different names that quite honestly, are not up to standard being either very heavy or poorly made with inconsistent quality control. Granted, they look like the real deal but when compared with what's on offer by the brand manufacturers, there is quite a difference. Now your Celestron 130 choice is in fact not a bad scope. However the flimsy mount lets it down being a bit too 'twitchy', by that I mean every time you touch the scope it seems to take a while to calm down. Now I see that you elected the motorised version which will certainly cancel out one excuse to touch the scope which will also be useful when sharing the views with family and assisting you in getting very fine focusing. One known problem with this scope though is the red dot finder, which is both fiddly to align with the scope and the light is way too bright to use without disrupting your night vision. There is no means of dimming that light down and because it's design is integral to the scope, finding an alternative will mean you need to choose one with its own bracket to be able to attach it to your scope.

As an alternative to the above and on a like for like basis, I would like to suggest that perhaps you take a look at the Skywatcher Explorer 130M here. It has a better red dot finder, the motor has a multi-speed handset and in my view has a slight better build quality feel about it. You will also notice from the above link, that it also received a good review from the Sky@Night magazine. There is consensus that the 130P version ('P' meaning parabolic mirror) is a slightly better performing scope due to the mirror but I can't find a motorised version, maybe someone will else can give you more information.

Lastly with regards to astrophotgraphy, it is possible to perform widefield imaging uing your existing camera equipment/tripod. If however you intend imaging by utilising your new scope, then attaching a webcam rather than your camera would be a better option to capture the planets and the moon. Imaging deep sky objects (DSO's) such as galaxies and nebulae is a different matter all together and requires a much more accurate mount that can facilitate the attachment of an autoguider (provides better tracking accuracy) which regrettably will fall outside your existing budget. If imaging is going to be a future passion, getting hold of Steve Richards' "Making Every Photon Count"(FLO £19.95) would be a wise investment and will tell you what you need and why you need to obtain good consistent images. Hope the above helps.

Clear skies

James

[bolerus]

Thank you James, that is certainly something like what I was looking for.

that Skywatcher Explorer 130M that you linked looks good (recomendations beat fluff every day) and is actually cheaper than the one I was looking at on ebay

with regards to my camera gear, at the moment my longest lens is a 500mm mirror lens, (which I have used on the moon with a 2xadapter to get 1000mm images) and the shots are ok but I want to try and improve them, (if you can post pics here)

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f311/bolerus/newmoon.jpg

and I can see that I would be interested in more.

For example the bright star I haev seen (I think it is sirius)

and I am aware that a bigger apperature will open up things I dont even know is there.

My only concern (I am sure other have had this) I dont want to spend a fortune on a good telescope (or a bigger fortune on a big lens)

Go outside, look at the stars and galaxies , oooh a few times, take a few pics, then realise that I have seen all I want to see, if that makes sense, which is why I was thinking of the budget area of 150 - 200.

But, will I buy the skywatcher for example, and then quickly want something much more powerfull.

maybe I need to make a friend and go look through there scope (anyone live near stoke, or redditch or kidderminster and would like a total stranger buying them a beer or bottle of wine or a pizza and want to introduce a newbie into the hobby ..... id be very interested (you never know somebody might fancy the idea) )

are there any places that hire out scopes?

[rowan46]

I don't know anyone who hires out scopes but it's not a bad idea to look through a few scopes. Take a visit to you local astro club I am sure some friendly soul will let you have a look most astronomers are quite keen to show off their wares.

[JamesM]

Hi Bolerus, many local astronomical societies lend out scopes to their members precisely for the reasons you mention, so it might worth looking at your nearest club's website to see what they do. If there isn't a club close enough to you, you might want to see if there are any observing clubs out there or if there any local observing groups on this forum (look under the heading 'community' on the forum's front page and you will see a blue banner with the title 'Social Groups'). It always best practice to have a look through several scopes before you buy, in order to help you formulate in your mind what all the specifications actually mean at the eyepiece.

You asked the question of whether you will be satisfied with this aperture of whether you might end up wanting more. This 'condition' is well known to many sufferers on here as 'Aperture Fever'!:D There is no cure, just the usual symptoms of constantly scanning astro websites and magazines for the latest 'toys' whilst salivating profusely, to the embarrassment of friends and family. Minor accessory purchases can help alleviate the condition in the short term but the symptoms soon reappear! In all seriousness, no one can answer that for you as it very much depends on what your personal expectations are and what you are interested in. Doing some visual research mentioned above will most definitely help you make up your mind BEFORE you buy anything. Hope that helps.

Clear skies for now.

James

[Charon]

Welcome to the forum.

[sologuitarist61]

Welcome to the Lounge - make a good choice from what you read here and forget about Seben.

[Digz]

I don't think you will go far wrong with a 150 or 200 newt on an EQ mount. My normal advice for starting in AP (astrophotography) is get the best mount you can afford, but in this case that might be too much as it sounds like you want to suck it and see. On that basis a good all rounder for visually and occasional moon shots is a good idea.

A SW 200 newt will have a focal length of 1000mm and with a Barlow can easily be doubled, thus it's like using a 2000mm lens on you camera - plenty for the moon and to practice.

There are lots of things to consider with AP I.e. whether its DSO work or planetary and these things can affect the type of kit needed. A 'simple' scope to start will see if your interest is truly piqued and will get lots of use.

Hope that helps......

[bolerus]

Thank you every body for all your advise.

to JamesH, yeah I know that fever well, its very similar to upgrade fever with the camera, and the Ex mrs Bolerus would quake in fear when ever i uttered the words "I have seen a new lens", or "I like the options on the new Nikon D*** body"

[Digz]

Thank you every body for all your advise.

to JamesH, yeah I know that fever well, its very similar to upgrade fever with the camera, and the Ex mrs Bolerus would quake in fear when ever i uttered the words "I have seen a new lens", or "I like the options on the new Nikon D*** body"

Haha I know that all to well, or rather the wife does whenever I see anything new.....

[knobby]

As with your camera gear, you'll never think its big enough or long enough !

you can find out loads here, check the imaging section. they can advise you on mounts , tracking etc.

try a club near you to see if they have an open night, probably your best bet.

Welcome and good luck

[boabsta]

I would like to add, as youve no doubt seen on ebay, astro gear holds its price well on the second hand scene. Occasionaly some used items even go for more than new!

If you feel the need to upgrade you will most probably get a fair chunk of your initial outlay back by selling old kit. You never know, once you out yourself to your freinds as having a scope they might decide to try it as well and buy your used gear from you. I know when I first braved my mates laughter I was suprised that they all want to tag along.

Oh and Ive had the sw 130m and would recomend it for beggining with. It is a braw scope and it will force you to learn how to polar align the mount and how to colimate the mirrors. Sounds daunting at 1st but isnt that bad and does make a difference once you know how to do both. There are guides all over these forums for both.

As for the direct dslr mounting, you realy have to have the mount set up as solid as possible as lens shake is a nightmare. I have an eyepiece with t-mount but havent had a chance to use it yet due to cloud and work but have high hopes for it.

As I have said before and will say again, you havent seen the moon until youve seen it through a good scope. Even at 1000 on your cam wont come close. My 1st scope was a wee 76mm celestron and the moon blew me away.

Anyway as others have said you will get a load of advice on here. I wouldnt say any one person has all the answers but there are a lot of people here who will give you all the little pieces of your jigsaw of learning and it does come together nicely

Welcome to the forums and enjoy

[bolerus]

lol boabsta i like your kit bag sig, complete with flask etc.

I nearly bought a D90 myself, but opted for the fuji S5 (after finally upgrading the trusty d70)

would the sw 130 be any good for distance wildlife stuff, I do plan to use remote shutter which will help the shakes a little.

and one final thing (for this post) can you use an errector lens (is that the right lens, to make the images the correct way up) with the Skywatcher ?

[boabsta]

Hi Bolerus, the fuji looks like a decent camera, shame it doesnt have sensor vr as that would solve a lot of problems.

I would imagine that the 130 could do for wildlife but im no sure how good the end results will be. It loses enough light to make a slightly longer exposure needed in all but the brightest of days. I only know this as I got bored waiting for a clear sky to test mine so set it up in the house to have a look at some local hills. Fair enough I could see a farm I never knew was there down to individual wires on the fences but it was like looking through mist. It was a clear day but through the scope it was deffinitley grayer and not as bright. If your wildlife is on the move I think it would be hard at best.

As for an errector lens, if its for photo you could always just rotate the pic. If for visual then I dont see why not.

I use a remote shutter release and still suffered from blurring. I will also add Im no expert but learning as I go.

I hope this helps and if you do get some good pics I hope you share them

[E621Keith]

lol boabsta i like your kit bag sig, complete with flask etc.

I nearly bought a D90 myself, but opted for the fuji S5 (after finally upgrading the trusty d70)

would the sw 130 be any good for distance wildlife stuff, I do plan to use remote shutter which will help the shakes a little.

and one final thing (for this post) can you use an errector lens (is that the right lens, to make the images the correct way up) with the Skywatcher ?

If you want to shoot wildlife, its best to opt for a refractor. Refractor flip image the same way as a camera lens, while Newtonain don't. Your camera has a pentaprism in the view finder that acts as a erector lens. If you use a Newt with erector lens with your camera, you will get a upside down, left to right image.

ED80 is a good choice for imaging and should serve fairly well as a camera lens too. If you are interested in a dual use telescope, then you should have a look at the Hutech/Oasis Studio Borg telescopes. They have many option for customisation for wildlife including adjustable aperture and helical focuser. Their prices are similar to equivalent Nikon telephotos.