Back to Basics?

[FLO]

I have been comparing November 2011 telescope sales with November 2012 and have noticed a strong trend away from the sophisticated GOTO models like the Celestron 127 SLT and Celestron 4SE towards more traditional models like the Skywatcher Skyliner 200p and Explorer 200p EQ5. That is only one month and one retailer but the shift is strong so I am guessing others will be noticing a similar pattern.

I am not sure why we are experiencing this trend but it might be a good thing because it means people are learning to star hop and observe at a more relaxed pace. And what isn't being spent on GOTO is being spent on aperture. The light gathering ability of an 8-inch telescope is around 150% greater than a 5-inch.

Steve

[ismangil]

It's people upgrading probably

I am the opposite, I just added a 130p GOTO due to playing around with video astronomy...

Still using the Dob as a main observing though.

[Stargazer Jack]

Seems interesting. Just a quick question FLO, what happened to the 250px dob auto?

[JamesF]

People have less money to spend and want to get the best optics they can for the money, perhaps?

James

[Naemeth]

Very understandable, at that aperture, it's better to be able to spend money to be able to see a certain object rarger than just having it in the field invisible because GoTo can find it, but you can't see it because your scope doesn't have the light gathering power needed.

[Solar_observer]

Just received my 200p dob from you today. Many many thanks for being a FIRST CLASS retailer.

tony

[Tom2012]

Slightly off topic here. I ordered a 8mm EP last Thursday afternoon from yourselves and it arrived next day!!! Excellent service. Haven't even had time to pick it up from sorting office yet though

[sologuitarist61]

I agree with James, there just isn't to money around these days to spend on hobbies, though it would be nice to think that people are getting back to basics.

[russ.will]

I think the effect may be regional, or at least possibly split between dark areas where you stand a hope of manually finding objects, and cities where it's more difficult - I'd love to see the stats.

As for money, that may be regioanl too.

Russell

[NickK]

Clearance have a great starter scope..

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/clearance.html

[scoobee]

I brought myself a GOTO on the bases that I was scared of not knowing what I was doing admittedly I have a lot to learn but now wished that I had brought a 200 or 250 dob

[Photosbykev]

8" vs.5" = 150% increase ? I thought it would be nearer 2.5 times increase? 50sq inches against 20sq inches

[Keiran]

Thats rather interesting, i wonder if it has anything to do with more social groups meeting up... a good star hop is always the highlight of a group obs session for me, always generates good conversations around them too

[scoobee]

8" vs.5" = 150% increase ? I thought it would be nearer 2.5 times increase? 50sq inches against 20sq inches

I would say 150% is the same as 2.5 times increase?! or am I missing something

[Photosbykev]

I would say 150% is the same as 2.5 times increase?! or am I missing something

I would consider 150% greater as only being a 1.5 times increase.

50% of 10 is 5, 100% of 10 is 10, a 150% of 10 is 15

[Goonrdolly]

Can not beat star hopping always find something new

[scoobee]

I would consider 150% greater as only being a 1.5 times increase.

50% of 10 is 5, 100% of 10 is 10, a 150% of 10 is 15

Not to harp

Its 20 to 50 sq inches

100% of 20 is 20 that will give you 40sq inches

50% of 20 is 10 that will give you 50sq inches

total 150%

[SnakeyJ]

Might it be something to do with the very effective Pro-Dob lobby here in the lounge. Absolutely no criticism BTW, but anyone doing there first scope research on google.co.uk stands a very good chance of picking up reviews and general advice herein.

Hopefully the end result is that more people get decent first scopes and go on to develop the interest, rather than getting disappointed with inferior equipment, frustrated and turned off by the whole experience.

[Chris]

We do recommend the 200p a lot on here:)

[JamesF]

Not to harp

Its 20 to 50 sq inches

100% of 20 is 20 that will give you 40sq inches

50% of 20 is 10 that will give you 50sq inches

total 150%

It's purely a semantic thing. You're talking about an increase of 150% whereas Kev is talking about an increase to 150%.

It's the language that causes the problem. The maths is clear. There is absolutely no doubt that 150% of 20 is 30 and that 250% of 20 is 50. Any mathematician will tell you that. Anyone can argue otherwise until they're blue in the face, but they'll still be wrong

James

[scoobee]

It's purely a semantic thing. You're talking about an increase of 150% whereas Kev is talking about an increase to 150%.

It's the language that causes the problem. The maths is clear. There is absolutely no doubt that 150% of 20 is 30 and that 250% of 20 is 50. Any mathematician will tell you that. Anyone can argue otherwise until they're blue in the face, but they'll still be wrong

James

I see your logic and feel a tad daft now

[fredster]

Not all retailers are pushing the 'back to basics' approach. A friend at work asked for some advice before committing to a scope purchase. I didn't even know he was interested! He had phoned a retailer advertising in AN and they recommended one of the 130mm Goto options for £369. I quickly put him straight and that lunch break he ordered the 200P dob. Sadly not from FLO, i did recommend and he did try but couldn't get a response on the phone. So RVO got the sale as he was impatient. But importantly another budding astro buddy swayed away from a tiny scope with a ridiculous sized Goto library towards a basic scope with aperture to last a lifetime.

[Capricorn]

I agree with James, there isn't the money around to spare.

One of my mounts is still manual the upgrade will be to dual motors not goto.

Equally I read too many problems with the Skywatcher goto systems to want to add one of theirs to the mount at this time.

[Earl]

The beauty of pop in an eyepiece focus and pan around is by far the best thing the manual dob provides, the natural ease of this just makes it a pleasure to use.... must get one again at some point.

[FLO]

Not all retailers are pushing the 'back to basics' approach.

Just to be clear we aren't pushing one approach over another, we only noticed a trend. We have our preferences but we try to be neutral. The Celestron 127 SLT is an excellent telescope for back-garden astronomy. Many astronomers live under significant light pollution so achieve best results observing lunar, planets, solar (only with a suitable filter!) and brighter deep sky objects like globular clusters, the Ring, Dumbell, etc. And the 127's high magnification, high contrast Maksutov optics are perfect for those targets.

We haven't noticed a bias here at SGL towards Dobsonians but if members are advising beginners looking for a good budget telescope to buy a Dobsonian, then that is good advice. No other telescope design offers as much aperture for the money. Aperture isn't everything but it certainly beats whatever comes second.

We all have preferences and there is no harm in voicing them if they are neutral and well meaning

Steve