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beginners telescope

squally74

By squally74
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squally74

squally74

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hi everyone, really struggling to choose a starter telescope. I have a limited budget of about £200 and am getting confused with all the advice out there. Was thinking of getting a skywatcher 130p, but really not sure. Am a total beginner but dont want to waste money on something that I will need to update in a very short space of time. Please help me!!!!

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Catweazel

Catweazel

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Hi Squally, welcome to SGL.

It may be better to post your question in the "beginners telescope help & advice" section, as you might get a better response. I would say that if you have a budget, then you will be constrained by it, in which case a 130p would be an admirable starter scope, lots of members here have them, and I'm sure they will give you more of an idea of what, realistically, to expect :cheesy: Best not to worry about what you may want or be able to afford later on, as you will drive yourself nuts :angry9:

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Rihard

Rihard

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hi everyone, really struggling to choose a starter telescope. I have a limited budget of about £200 and am getting confused with all the advice out there. Was thinking of getting a skywatcher 130p, but really not sure. Am a total beginner but dont want to waste money on something that I will need to update in a very short space of time. Please help me!!!!

Hi Squally,

Welcome to the lounge :)

I see you are a total beginner in the tough process of buying a new scope and you have a £ 200 budget. We've all been there and you are in the right place to learn more :)

Before the SGL members will say more, you may wish to include some details about what would you like to do or see with the telescope. This way it's gonna be way easier to give some more helpful advice :)

Things to consider when choosing the scope are:

* Portability

- do you need a grab & go setup?

- or are you setting up a fixed observatory i.e. in your roof or garden?

- is weight / size a problem for you?

- Do you live in a light polluted area or do you have a car?

* Will you only observe or also image with it?

- Are you also thinking about day time use?

- Would you like high magnification or you like wide views? Sometimes low magnification / wide views can be more rewarding then just zooming into a planet and seeing a lot of detail.

* What would you like to see?

- Mostly Moon / Sun / Planets (Solar System)

- Or Mostly Nebulae, Stars / Clusters, Galaxies (Deep Sky Objects)

- A bit of both

* Have you owned / used any kind of telescope/binos before,

- what did you like / dislike?

* Do you know some constellations or can you recognise what you see in the sky?

- or you are willing to learn now with your scope

- or you are not willing to learn that you just want to observe / maybe image stuff ?

The Skywatcher 130P is a fairly good product (I've used a smaller version, the 114P and the views of Jupiter, Pleiades and Orion Nebula were absolutely wonderful, so I'm confident the 130P will give some good views too)

but there might be other valid choices for a £ 200 budget so I'm sure with more details you will get some good advice :)

Keep us posted.

Clear Skies

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VigdisVZ

VigdisVZ

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You could do far worse than the 130p heritage. It will give you a good scope to learn your way around the sky with, while you consider where to go next.

You might want to get the book "Turn Left At Orion" with your scope, as it's a very good guide on what to find and what to expect.

There are many many more options, but if you're set on the 130p, there is nothing wrong with the scope.

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catman161

catman161

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For just £70 more than your budget you can get the skywatcher 200P. Absolutely fantastic scope IMO. Loads more light gathering capacity. Although less portable but not impossible to move around. I take mine to darksites in a vauxhall corsa.

Skywatcher Skyliner 200p Dobsonian

Celestron Skymaster 15x70 Binoculars

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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JamesM

JamesM

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Got to agree with catman161 good suggestion above. The problem I see with the entry type kit is not the scopes themselves (one or two are pretty good performers) but the mounts that they sit on which are clearly made to a price. Their basic fault is lack of rigidity, meaning that every time you touch the scope be to get a better focus or turning the tracking knobs to maintain the object in the eyepiece, (especially with planets at high magnification) will have you pulling your hair out in no time, as you attempt to perform these tasks whilst waiting each time for the whole assembly to settle down. Better to save that extra and get the 8" dobsonian which is the U.K's most popular scope because it is the size of scope that you will upgrade to (saving you money) and because as a new person to astronomy, it is vitally important that you enjoy the best view that you can in order to maintain your interest for the longer term. The dobsonian alt-azimuth mount is in my view a better platform to observe in being a little more rigid than that equatorial ones at this price point. Of course later on there will be nothing to stop you putting a set of rings on this scope and mounting it on a more substantial equatorial mount which may offer you the benefits of motorised tracking along with Goto to help you find more elusive objects. Hope that helps!

Clear skies and enjoy the forum

James

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todd8137

todd8137

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hi everyone, really struggling to choose a starter telescope. I have a limited budget of about £200 and am getting confused with all the advice out there. Was thinking of getting a skywatcher 130p, but really not sure. Am a total beginner but dont want to waste money on something that I will need to update in a very short space of time. Please help me!!!!

lots of people will tell you to get the 130p ,now save more cash do not be in a hurry to get a scope ,the stars will always be there, and a bit more cash will get you a better bigger scope now do you no were m33 is what constellation. It's in or NGC 4023 is no I suspect not get a few books on the subject learn your way round whilst save in money up

or do what most do rush out ,get a 130p and in the end you will love or hate it 75% of people upgrade very soon after the choice is yours but as you say upgrades are expensive

pat

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nephilim

nephilim

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Hi, I bought the Skywatcher 130m EQ2 a couple of months ago & im very happy with it, the supplied EP's are 25mm & 10mm plus a 2xBarlow lense, the 10mm is a bit naff so needs upgrading IMO but the 25mm is fine, with a half decent 9-10mm EP u'll have a good view of Jupiter & the 4 moons plus some cloud banding, also with that or the 25mm great views of the moon. The EQ2 mount is a little flimsy but i dont seem to have that much of a problem with it ( I'v started putting a sand bag on the tripods tray & works very well ( altho it's not a pre requisite) as a starter scope you could do much worse. The EQ mount takes a little getting used to but once it's polar aligned you'll find tracking objects with the slo mo controls a doddle & its good practise if u want to up grade at a later date. IMO its well worth the money!! Good luck.

Steve.

PS Welcome to SGL. :smiley:

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inedible_hulk

inedible_hulk

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Hi Squally, welcome to SGL. I'm a beginner like yourself. I opted for the 130P. It's great and I'm really enjoying using it. I chose it over the highly recommended Dobs for two reasons, it's easier to pack up and store, but more importantly it gave me opportunity to learn how to use an EQ mount. I can't really fault the mount for its price, it's actually quite intuitive and, although there is some shake when focussing, it settles down very quickly. The supplied eyepieces are ok to start with, though the 25mm is the better of the two. Astro Baby has done a good review http://http://www.astro-baby.com/reviews/Sky-Watcher%20130PM/Sky-Watcher%20130PM%20Review.htm

I hope this helps :)

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