Good travel scope?

[Manok101]

I was thinking of getting a smaller telescope for travel, and maybe some pictures as well, is there a such thing as non electronic tracking? I've got a decent budget but don't want to blow the bank, I'm just out for fun.

[rowan46]

there used to be a clockwork mechanism for mounting cameras but I believe they are no longer made. your best bet for mounting a small scope and camera is the astrotrac system which runs off aa batteries or if you ditch the scope and just mount the camera and lens there is the vixen polarie or ioptron startracker which are very portable

[E621Keith]

Can you give us a better idea of your budget and also weight and size requirement?

Travel scope can fall into several categories

1. Airline carry on - under 5kg

2. Airline checked baggage / public transport- 15kg

3. Vehicle (small enough to fit into a car)

Assuming you want a scope for airline travel and imaging, you best bet is a small APO riding on an Astrotrac.

For visual

Cat 1 travel scope, 80mm APO or smaller riding an Astrotrac + photo tripod. You can use a Polarie or iOptron Startracker If you use a smaller and ligher 60mm.

Cat 2 travel scope, 6" CAT (C6, Skymax 150 ..) or 3"-4" APO riding on an Alt-Az mount or a heavier photoguider mount (e.g. Astrotrac travel system, Vixen GP2 photoguider ...)

Cat 3: Most amateur telescope under should satisfy the requirement for cat 3. SCT less than 14", Newt less than 10", Refractor less than 6" ...

[Spanishfly]

http://www.teleskop-express.de/shop/product_info.php/language/en/info/p3431_Skywatcher-Startravel-80---80-400mm-Autotracking-Teleskop.html

Here is my grab ´n´ go. Very light and it tracks - but no GoTo.

[Manok101]

I'm looking to spend between 5-800$ (us) and was thinking of a refractor of some kind. I can spend more, I already have a camera or two that I can attach. I can spend a bit more if I need to.

[E621Keith]

No knowing your weight requirement, I will assume you want a telescope with basic tracking that is airline portable.

For a budget of $800

Orion ED80 $500 http://www.telescope...ts?keyword=ed80

Orion Astroview $250 http://www.telescope...c/34/p/9822.uts

RA motor $80 http://www.telescope...s?keyword=motor

If you can forget tracking, an Alt-Az mount will reduce weight by a significant amount.

Vixen Porta mount http://www.optcorp.com/product.aspx?pid=277-18246

Kenko KDS - http://www.amazon.com/Kenko-121065-KENKO-ALT-AZ-Mount/dp/B002EBBBGK

The Kenko KDS will be better if you already own a good camera tripod, because camera tripod usually fold into a more compact package than astro tripod

If you want to image, you will need to spend much more on the mount. The cheaper camera guiders such as the Borg Sightron nano tracker($300), IOptron Startracker ($350), or Vixen Polare ($400) don't have the capacity to handle a scope such as an ED80. They will only handle a DSLR with a lens. If you want to image with a scope you will need a photoguider with greater capacity such as Astrotrac ($600) or Losmandy Starlapse ($700), but these will leave you without money for the scope.

http://www.optcorp.com/ProductList.aspx?uid=439-1287