Which Omni?

[LightweightTim]

Hello Everybody,

I am a complete beginner, nevertheless I've decided on a manual mount. The thought of finding and following an object appeals more than just observing...

Anyway, there aren't that many entry level scopes without md or goto, and to be honest, I like the look of the Omni's - but which one, the 150 reflector or the 127 sct? Once I've done the planets I want to see other things

I have no mobility problems and the light here is reasonable. Looking at the field of view calculators the 127 appears to have the larger view. But the 150 is £100 less - which could be spent on other stuff!!

I've read as many reviews as I can but, not surprisingly, no direct comparisons

Any thoughts?

Clear skies - LightweightTim

[rowan46]

the 150 gives the wider field of view it also has the larger apparture. If portability isn't in your criteria I would go for the 150.

have you looked at dobsons?and also skywatcher this one will be significantly better than the omni 150

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/dobsonians/skywatcher-skyliner-200p-dobsonian.html

its manual its bigger and its less hassle to set up as you don't need to polar align.

The only reason to my mind to get an eq mount is to do photography the cg4/eq3 mount do not make good photography mounts however if you wish to get the omni to try photography I would consider the skywatcher alternative

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/reflectors/skywatcher-explorer-150p-ds-eq3-2-eq3-pro-goto.html

As The scope is better optimised for a dslr

[damnut]

Hi There,

Good advice above, also treat yourself to a couple of books, 'turn left at orion' and 'sky & telescope pocket star atlas' these will help guide you round the sky. Stellarium is a good addition and can be found here ;-- http://www.stellarium.org/.

To give you an idea of what to expect from these scopes try these links :

http://www.12dstring.me.uk/fov.htm (remember to click on 'switch to visual')

http://www.telescope-simulator.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=45

I would go along to a local astro group and have a look at the kit other folk have and then make an educated decision to what suits you best.

[LightweightTim]

Thanks Brown Dwarf,

They're both worth a look - and I thought I had narrowed it down to two...

Photography not really my thing, that being said, does the SW150 still have the edge?

[LightweightTim]

Thanks Damien,

There is a local group at Rosliston - I'll check it out before parting with the hard earned, I'd hate to buy something and regret it

Cheers, Tim

[rowan46]

for photography the skywatcher scope pips the omni scope. the cg4 mount is slightly better than the skywatcher equivalent eq3 but if you don't particularly want do photography the 200p dobson blows them both away visually

[LightweightTim]

Interesting...

I hadn't considered a big dob. Thanks again