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ojrickers

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ojrickers

ojrickers

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Hi everyone,

I'm new to this forum and I have been looking at what kind of scope to get . I have always been interested in the universe and planets in our solar system and I want to see them through my own eyes!

I have been looking at the Skywatcher models and have read a lot of good reports on them.

I would eventually like to start imaging with either a web cam or camera, and I will mainly be concentrating on planets and the moon. There are so many options out there, and I would like to get the best possible views for my money. I have a budget of around £450.

I would use the scope in my back garden but would also travel in my car to less light polluted areas so should be easy enough to set up.

I am not sure if I should go for a Newtonian Reflector or a Dob. Obviously I would like to get the biggest aperture for my budget (I hope i'm right in saying that!). Please can someone point me in the right direction?

Thanks in advance!!

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stevetynant

stevetynant

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I'd agree with ant here although you won't be able to do astrophotography with the skyliner unless you buy yourself an heq5 mount at the very least and then your talking £700 just for the mount. The skyliner is about £270 which would leave you slack in your budget for extras and the cost of those are not to be underestimated. Good luck with your choice

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ojrickers

ojrickers

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Thanks to both replies!

Can't wait to make the purchase at the end of the month (commission time :smiley: ), just need to decide.

The Skyliner 200P does look like a good option. So there's definitely no way to take images with this scope?

Thanks guys

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VigdisVZ

VigdisVZ

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If you're serious about photography the mount is way more important than the scope. Aperture really is secondary here to stability here (even if both are nice to have) Also, too much focal length and its hard to squeeze those large nice objects into view in their entirety.

You can image the moon (and planets like jupiter somewhat) without a motorized scope. Any objects fainter than that requires you to have a scope that can track the object across the sky.

Unfortunately the low end mounts that do this can be a waste since theyre not robust enough to hold a large piece of scope while remaning stable in wind etc, the slightest vibration will ruin the picture.

One suggestion could be to get the scope and a simple cheap mount for visual observation (you will still be able to take sick lunar images with this) and save up for a EQ5 (or better, EQ6). You could still enjoy smaller GO-TO mounts for sure, but the problem is that you might feel them inadequate for your needs pretty soon and once you upgrade some of the money on the old one might go to waste.

Chosing THE right equipment on a budget is a real pain, but I hope we can provide you with enough feedback to help a bit.

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malc-c

malc-c

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Welcome to the forum,

You have a decent budget, but it will be hard to find a scope that ticks all your boxes for that money. At the base end of astro-photography is imaging the moon and brighter planets using a web cam. You can do this with a Dobsonian, letting the target drift across the field of view, but to really get better detail, it helps to have the target stationary in the field of view, which means that the mount needs to be driven to counteract the Earths rotation. The motorised goto dobs tend to be very expensive and way out of your price range.

An alternative would be the Explorer 200P on an EQ5 - typically £415, and then add the dual axis motor kit for £95. This will perform really well for webcam images of the Moon, and large planets, and you might get away with using a dSLR camera for some of the brighter deep sky objects. The 200P also performs really well visually with decent eyepieces. However, as already stated, if you want to do serious imaging than the HEQ5 mount is the preferred mount of choice as an entry mount for imaging

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Sammyb

Sammyb

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I think the 200P explorer is a good all rounder. You get a lot of scope for your money. Thats how I started off a couple of years ago. As soon as you start to mention imaging on this forum it starts to get expensive ! However you can do some imaging to start off with without breaking the bank.

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ojrickers

ojrickers

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Such good advice, I like this forum! :smiley:

Yes, the explorer 200p on the EQ5 is within my budget and can be upgraded with the dual axis motor at a later date, sounds like a good option as I don't think i'll be spending much more money than that, and just enjoy what results I can get out of it.

All the best

Oliver

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LukeSkywatcher

LukeSkywatcher

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I am not into imazging (per say) so i really cant advise on what scope budget you need for it. All i do know is the mount is the biggest cost and the whole setup is EXPENSIVE.

£450 is a nice budget to have for a VISUAL scope. You can certainly buy a 200mm Dob and have a nice bit of cash left over for a few extras. You can certainly try your hand at imaging the Moon and the planets with this scope using a web cam. You should even get a good webcam for the job and still be within your budget.

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rowan46

rowan46

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This one is again a compromise http://www.firstlightoptics.com/omni-xlt-series/celestron-omni-xlt-150.html

Not as big apparture so not as good visually as the skyliner but the cg4 is a little more solid than the skywatcher eq3 equivalent and you might with some practice and the addition of the aforementioned motor get some product out of this

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LukeSkywatcher

LukeSkywatcher

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Such good advice, I like this forum! :smiley:

Yes, the explorer 200p on the EQ5 is within my budget and can be upgraded with the dual axis motor at a later date, sounds like a good option as I don't think i'll be spending much more money than that, and just enjoy what results I can get out of it.

All the best

Oliver

There you go.

SW 200p on an EQ5 is within budget and will allow you in the future to upgrade it with motors to do more deep sky imaging.

I read here recently that for imaging, you really dont need the biggest aperture. Once all other elements of the setup are in place..................aperture for imaging really is the last thing to consider.

I hope i have that right.

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Ganymede12

Ganymede12

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Good choice :)

Taking images through the Skyliner 200P isn't impossible at all! I have taken many stunning photo's of our Moon using a PH047 Ultra Afocal Digital Camera Support. http://www.scopesnskies.com/prod/Astro-Engineering/Ultra/PH047.html

This just holds a digital camera to the eyepiece for you. It's very good for very basic astrophotography.

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66mikeg

66mikeg

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The Explorer 200p is a cracking scope for the money and if you don't have any immediate ambitions for photographing deep sky the eq5 is adequate and can be upgraded with drive motors, probably more suitable mount than a dob for planetary or lunar photography. See Quatermass's photos. The dob mob will probably drum me out of the brownies for daring to suggest this :evil:

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malc-c

malc-c

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I think that the OP should either make a visit to one of the larger telescope retailers, or pop along to his local astronomy society and see the scopes in the "flesh" so to speak so he knows how big the 200P is, and an compare different scopes on his shortlist.I still think that whilst we can all suggest different makes and models, choosing a scope is a personal thing. Sometimes, although they might all perform well and do the job intended, the look and aesthetics also come in to play, as well as practical things like storing the scope when not in use.

Whilst we can all make suggestions - the final choice has to be one only he can make

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Moonshane

Moonshane

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most of the lunary/planetary imagers on here seem to use either a large SCT or a large newtonian. contrary to advice above, for planetary imaging aperture does matter as aperture = resolution. also focal length/ratio needs to be long to get the best results. that said, some people get excellent results with small Maks and SCTs as well as smaller newts.

the difficulty comes with combining visual and imaging. I have simply taken the visual route even though I am a keen photographer generally. I find it very satisfying.

if you can afford a driven mount then I'd suggest a 6-8" newtonian as a good all rounder. if you want to get into visual only then a 10" dobsonian would be great.

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pvaz

pvaz

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As you already noticed from the advice above it's nearly impossible to have 1 setup that excels at both imaging and visual.

My usual advice is to go 1 step at a time. Besides 450 won't be enough for deep sky imaging. I would go with a 200p dob and save the rest for the extras (a couple of EPs, an atlas, a telrad finder, a red light torch, neutral density filter for the moon, an adjustable chair, warm cloths...). Then if you start enjoying the hobby it won't be as hard to justify spending over 1k on a good imaging setup.

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Matt Scunthorpe

Matt Scunthorpe

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Welcome to the forum. As others have said above, i would stick to visual and basic photography for now, until you get the hang of the scope, then you can always upgrade! I have the 200p on EQ5 and cannot fault it. I have taken some lunar and solar shots with a DSLR without too much trouble (no motors though) that are in my gallary.

Most of all, get out and enjoy it first, be bummed to spend £100s and 100s on something you then realise you don't enjoy.

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ojrickers

ojrickers

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I'm actaully attending a meeting of Chester Astronomical Society on the 20th and agree that seeing different scopes will help, and I also plan to visit proper scope shop soon.

Due to my long interest in the Universe and all things Physics releated, i'm sure that whatever I buy will be well used. :biggrin:

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