Skywatcher 130P vs Skywatcher 150P

[Naemeth]

Good afternoon everybody,

I'm in a bit of a quandary here as to which scope to get:

Skywatcher 130P Heritage (Flextube Dobsonian)

OR

Skywatcher 150P (Dobsonian)

Logic says that you should always go for the biggest mirror you can afford, but to do that I will have to wait until my next birthday (May 16th 2013), which seems an awful long time away for only x46 more magnification. To me anyway, x260 for a potential looks great, and I should be able to get some decent views out of it (plus I may be able to get it in the next few weeks too ), it is also portable (I don't have a car), which is a great plus for it.. however, if I wanted to upgrade, I'd have to buy a whole new scope (either the 150P or 200P).

I live in the UK, so on most nights even 200x is being optimistic, I want the one I can get good use out of, and think that they both look good, my question is, which one would you go for if you were me, wait a year and get the slightly bigger one which is also more difficult to transport (trying to get to a dark sight without a car with a 6" Dob, fun....), or get the smaller and more portable one...hmm...

If you want a short version:

130P: Pros - Easy to transport, Get it soon, Good views, Good starting scope. Cons - Require upgrade for more magnification

150P: Pros - Great views, Will not need upgrading. Cons - Difficult to transport, have to wait a year.

Thanks for listening

[Alastair Rae]

Waiting a year seems a bit like taking delayed gratification a bit too far. You don't mention if you've got any other opticals to use in the meantime.

Also, I wouldn't get too worked up about the top end magnification - check this.

[Naemeth]

It's lack of money not delayed gratification. Forgot to mention I have some 10x50 cheap-ish Binoculars, but nothing else.

[Welrod50]

I'm guessing the light gathering on the 150 will be better. You will be able to see the fainter DSO's a bit better. Why wait a year? Do it now. Think of the pleasing views you will miss out on and never get back in the next year of having no scope!!

Convinced yet?

Scott.

[wyx]

I had the same dilemma as you, went for the 130p in the end because i thought that whatever i buy i would want to upgrade at some point (i.e. 200p) and whereas if i bought the 150p i would sell it on quite quickly but the 130p will always have a use to me regardless due to its portability as i go camping quite alot.

Sent from my GT-I8150 using Tapatalk 2

[CFC]

Get it now. I wouldn't wait a year.

[swamp thing]

Tricky one this. If I had to start again in this hobby I would choose the 150p as my starting companion. But I wouldn't want to wait a year for it so would probably go with the 130 I think

[DOBBY]

Try my son's trick... if you give me money for xmas now..you won't have to worry about shopping in the snow...hoping I'll forget...BTW..come xmas you'll need extra eyepieces etc.

[Scott]

either scope you'll want to upgrade eventually. if you get the 150p and upgrade then the 150 is either sold on or put away rarely to be used again but if you get the 130p, when you upgrade you'll always have a portable scope to travel with. it's a head scratcher but i'd get the 130p now. a year can seem like forever when your waiting for something. just my opinion.

[Scott]

Try my son's trick... if you give me money for xmas now..you won't have to worry about shopping in the snow...hoping I'll forget...BTW..come xmas you'll need extra eyepieces etc.

now this sounds very familiar..

[Naemeth]

Thanks for the help, it's so difficult to decide, but I may go with the 130P. I mean, any EPs I do get wont be useless for a 150P or 200P will they? (which is to be honest the highest I will go to, or the highest I'll need to go to)

[swamp thing]

any EPs I do get wont be useless for a 150P or 200P will they? (which is to be honest the highest I will go to, or the highest I'll need to go to)

Famous last words.

[Naemeth]

In the UK at least... I think...I hope... my bank hopes....

[rowan46]

the best scope is the one you use the most. Bigger apparture will give you better views but if you can't get the use of it there really is no point going bigger

[RikM]

Forget about the quoted maximum magnifications, on most nights and for most objects, the maximum you will use will be about the same as the diameter of the objective in mm. So 130x for a 130P or 150x for a 150P. It's also more about light gathering than magnification anyway.

As has been said before, whatever you get, you will want to upgrade to a bigger scope in future. You also need to budget for a Cheshire eyepiece for collimating (aligning) the mirrors.