Help Choosing a Refractor

[jeremy1]

Hi Guys. My mate says he is thinking of getting his wife a telescope as she wants to look at the night sky. Now obviously he does not want to be buying a monster scope but one she can just get out and do a bit of viewing. I have said to him that a refractor might be better as they dont need collimating like a reflector. So my question is what would you guys consider a decent scope that will be easy for the beginner and will give some decent views of planets and maybe some DSO's

[Islander]

Tal 100RS - cheap and very good for the money

[Starlight 1]

SW120 ED

[Jon Sales]

Skywatcher 102 Synscan GoTo or the Celestron 102 SLT GoTo

[jeremy1]

Thanks Guys I will have a look at some of these and let my friend know.

[John]

Thanks Guys I will have a look at some of these and let my friend know.

Perhaps Ace Astronomical will have one or two in stock in their Yate branch so your friend can see one "In the flesh" ?.

I think they had a TAL 100 in the window last time I was there.

[Moonshane]

all of the scopes mentioned will need a good mount to operate well. perhaps a short tube ED might be better? something like a used 72 Megrez or ED80 as these will need a less hefty mount; if large overall gear is not your intention?

I am biased, but feel that a 6" f8 dobsonian provides a smaller/more convenient overall package plus a decent aperture at a lot less money than the others. it won't be fussy re collimation either if not knocked about.

[jeremy1]

I suppose I'm quite lucky in that respect as the shopping center is only accross road for me so I quite often look in the window.

[Ganymede12]

My Sky-Watcher SK707AZ2 is a nice starter scope. Easy to store, easy to use under £100 so room for a book, reveals the rings of Saturn quite well (no Cassini division though). It's in my profile picture. The only downside is that it's a bit small aperture wise. (So I'm hoping to upgrade to a SKYLINER 200P)

[Hitesh]

Have you looked into maksutov telescopes? Skywatcher have a good line. They are really portable and lightweight

[jeremy1]

I've not looked at a maksutov to be honest. As regards a Dob I would think that they would need collimating just as much as a Newt.

[Moonshane]

I take your point but the 6" dob is f8 so has a wide range of collimation error before it appears at the eyepiece. maybe they have a mate who could collimate it every now and again?

Maks take a long time to cool but I agree are very compact.

[Hitesh]

Maks do take about 30 mins to cool but to be honest just leave the scope out and by the time you're ready to observe the scope has cooled

[Chris]

I had a 90mm Mak whilst I was at Uni and it packed a big punch for its small dimensions, they have a high f/ratio which is good for planets, I was pleased with the planetary views and amazed at the lunar views, they need no collumnation, and they give a corrected image so you can use them for day time viewing, they also give excellant contrast in light polluted skies.

[Tribal-Wolf]

I would have said a 127 Mak on a goto az mount would be a good choice, not a refractor but pretty portable.

[Gary70]

Skywatcher EvoStar are decent refractors, if you want an aperture over 90mm maybe the startravel are a nicer short tube option. depending on the mount they are gonna be sub 400 pounds (sorry only got $ on this comp) for 120mm.

Plus they make for good grab and go scope for him.

Not bad terrestrial scopes either

[Qualia]

Nothing personal, but I'd recommend you the celebrated Tal 100rs.

And here are just a few reasons why:

The celebrated TAL 100RS refractor!!

http://stargazerslounge.com/showthread.php?t=58003

The star tests are nearly perfect, as good as the Zeiss 12" refractor that I operate at Griffith Observatory

http://www.telescopes.ru/product.html?cat=1∏=1

The colour contrast...is stunning through this telescope.

http://www.backyard-astro.com/deepsky/2004_07_10/a.html

...el mejor refractor acromático de 100mm que ha pasado por mis manos.

http://www.observarelcielo.com/images/stories/elcielo/Sala_de_pruebas/Refractores/tal100rs.pdf

...the TAL is a revolution, I mean revelation!!

http://stargazerslounge.com/showthread.php?t=170440

I can honestly see little advantage in moving up to an Apo model.

http://www.cloudynights.com/item.php?item_id=2032

...beautiful piece of kit.

http://www.rusoptics.com/?module=catalog&action=viewproduct&id=117

...if this was the only scope I could own I would be happy

http://www.astro-baby.com/reviews/TAL%20100RS/TAL%20100RS%20Review.htm

You might also be interested in this little link:

http://stargazerslounge.com/showthread.php?t=185415

[spaceboy]

Another vote on the skymax 127

[rory]

id say a small mak would suit. (compact) maybe a a//z rather than a e/q. keep it simple. like the skymax.

[ollypenrice]

Since the moon and planets will make up a big part of a beginner's observing I'd avoid any of the short tube fast F ratio achromats (the SW 'Travel' series) because of severe chromatic aberration on bright objects.

The Maks will do well on the planets but are a bit 'tunnel vision' for attractive clusters.

The Tal I have never tried but I'd like to!

Olly

[jeremy1]

Loads of suggestions. Cheers guys

[sologuitarist61]

Yes I think the skymax 127 would be a good choice.