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Looking to buy new first telescope


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Hi,

I've been looking into astronomy stuff for a long time but I have never owned a 'scope, which is something I am hoping to change relatively soon. I've been researching but since I don't really know anyone who owns a 'scope, I don't really have anyone I can ask advice to. These forums are great for just that!

So I've been looking at what is available in my price range, which is about $300 CAD. From what I've read, refractors will not give me as much aperture at that price so I've discarded them. Many state that Dobsonians are probably the best for beginners but I will not be observing from my kitchen table and will have to take the 'scope into the field somewhere so I think the nature of the Dobsonian's mount/pedestal would be bulky and awkward. So I've arrested my choices on the following three reflector telescopes:

  1. Celestron AstroMaster 130EQ
  2. Orion SpaceProbe 130EQ
  3. Levenhuk Strike 135 PLUS (on EQ mount)

I hear Celestron and Orion are pretty much on par as far as quality goes but I've had a very difficult time trying to compare the Levenhuk to the other two.

I live in Canada (where it gets cold for many months) so I think a reflector will be better than a refractor. I am also planning to do some astrophotography down the road so ideally I'd like to know if I will be able to take modest shots with any of those scopes. Finally, I don't really want to get one with a motor drive... the whole coordinates thing is somewhat new to me so I'd like to learn how to do it manually before I get a computer to do it for me, but it may be something that I will eventually want to get. Can I buy the motor separately and attach it to the EQ mount later?

Anyone's opinion is appreciated on the scopes (if you know others that could serve me better than please feel free to let me know).

I look forward to sharing my experiences with you all!

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At current exchange rates $300 Canadian equates to about £183 UKP, not sure what the prices are like in Canada for those scopes so I'll just have to go by UK prices (which may be more expensive).

I think what you will be buying is a scope at this stage on a mount that can only just bear it for visual use. This is just the way most manufacturers do it, you buy it for the scope and upgrade the mount later, or buy a sensible mount and the scope you want, but you would end up paying more simply because you are getting more mount than in a bundle deal. I hope that makes sense.

For AP you will need a driven mount, doesn't have to be goto and you don't need to use the co-ordinates markings on the scope, except perhaps when doing polar alignment, which you will need to do for any AP unless you buy a super-duper smart goto mount.

EQ is the easiest way to get into AP, alt-az severely limits exposure time (when driven, usually by goto).

So, my advice would be to check out those scopes and compare them to something like a Skywatcher 150P on Celestron Omni CG-4 mount or Skywatcher HEQ5, as those are the kinds of things you should be aspiring to for AP. A fast scope helps a lot with AP, and that's why a fast 80mm or 66mm refractor is popular - it sits well on a reasonable mount and requires much shorter exposures. Look at the speed of the scope - it is the same as for a camera lens - the smaller the f number the faster the scope, and the faster the exposure. Also, faster scopes usually allow higher magnification, but require higher quality eyepieces than, say, a typical f10 SCT or long scope.

I'm sure someone will bring up the Skywatcher Heritage 130P as a portable dobsonian, the main drawback of this scope is that because it's so compact you really need a table to put it on, otherwise you'll have to be sitting (squatting) on a nearby toadstool to use it if it's placed on the ground. Certainly portable though. An EQ mount has weights and at the lower end of the scale usually needs wingnuts to bolt the accessory tray in place, which is what keeps the legs in position. These factors tend to make the EQ2 size mounts a little more awkward to transport as you have to fiddle with the nuts and bolts in the dark; the next size up (EQ3-2, CG-4) have an accessory tray with a central screw bolt and a large plastic nut, much easier to keep together and assemble, but obviously heavier. I would not wish to carry either size of EQ mount much further than a few yards at a time.

Out of your choices I would be inclined to go with the Celestron AstroMaster 130EQ, mainly because Celestron is a name I know and trust, never heard of Levenhuk (it doesn't look anything special from a quick Google), and Orion are an unknown to me too; also it comes on the CG-3 which is hopefully a decent mount but I've never tried one, it is an f5 so reasonably fast. There is one thing that I'm not so keen on and that is the erect image optics - this is an extra few surfaces that correct the image for daytime viewing, though quite why you would want to do this on an EQ mount.. but I digress. Extra surfaces in the light path will make for a dimmer image, maybe not important for lunar or bright stars, but when it comes to faint objects you need everything you can get. This is probably where the Skywatcher Explorer 130P will beat the Celestron AstroMaster 130EQ; the EQ2 mount may be slightly more wobbly than the Celestron CG-3, but mounts can be upgraded. Optics can be upgraded too, but you may need to replace quite a lot if you wanted to remove the erecting part (not sure if it's integral to the mirror or focuser etc). Something to consider, anyway. When you buy a reflector aperture and light transmission are king!

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Thanks Jonathan. Yes that makes sense. Unfortunately those mounts are out of my budget reach right now so the cheaper mounts will have to do. I may start with simple observation before I get into AP but I hear what you're saying about needing the better mounts.

Thanks for the advice!

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Ummm... been looking into this some more. I thought I had my heart set on the Astromaster 130EQ but the PowerSeeker 127EQ I can get for about $100 cheaper with only a difference of 3mm in aperture size. I hear the lenses that come with the PowerSeeker however are not that great. Can I upgrade the lenses on that scope later? Is it just a matter of buying the body (i.e. tube) and upgrading lenses after that?

This is so confusing...

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Hi Hawkian,

Yes you can upgrade the eyepieces as you go along, and there is a multitude of eyepieces available on the market at any price range you can think of! There is also a large market for used eyepieces on sites like astro buy and sell.

The different tube lengths of those two orion scopes results from their differing focal ratios. The 130eq is an F6.9 scope (meaning it's focal length of 900mm is 6.9 times the objective diameter of 130mm), whilst the ST version is an F5. Longer focal length scopes are considered 'slow', whilst shorter ones are considered 'fast'. Slow scopes give more magnification than fast scopes for any particular eyepiece, but the flipside of that is that you get a smaller field of view (FOV) in the slow scopes.

Generally speaking, fast scopes are more suitable for viewing large but faint objects (galaxies and large nebulae), whilst slow scopes are better for viewing bright but small objects (planets, double stars)

If you want to get into astro photography, then the easiest and cheapest way to do that is by imaging the planets (mainly jupiter and saturn) using a webcam, and that's something you could definitely do using any of those scopes and mounts.

Craig

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Hey CraigT82,

Thanks for the post. This was totally what I needed. I want a first scope. I also want to know that I can upgrade it in the years to come. And if it means that I will not be satisfied with with after 2-4 years then so be it. I'm looking short term right now. Your post is exactly the kind of stuff I need.

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No problem, happy to help!

One thing to keep in mind is that there is no 'the one' when it comes to telescopes... there is always a compromise, hence the multitude of scopes you can see in the members signatures! I think a 5 inch reflector is a fine introduction to the hobby and it scopes like the celestron astromaster and the orion space probe are popular starter scopes so there's a whole load of upgrade options available (better eyepieces, better finder, better mount & tripod etc...)

I've just noticed that the orion space probe 130EQ has a spherical mirror whilst the space probe 130ST has a parabolic mirror. Generally spherical mirrors are cheap to produce and are to be avoided as they introduce spherical aberration (fuzzy images) whereas parabolic mirrors do not. But if the 130eq gets good reviews then maybe the spherical mirror performs ok

Craig

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  • 1 month later...

Hi Hawkian,

I am not sure whether you already decided on something. I hope that this information will be useful anyway. I was recently very active on pinterest and found some beginner telescope reviews.

Here is the link: http://www.pinterest.com/telescopeplanet/top-5-telescopes-for-beginners/

One of the reviews is about Celestron AstroMaster 130EQ. However, if you are willing to invest a bit more, in my opinion, Meade Lightbridge 8" would be a perfect choice for a beginner. :smiley:

Cheers, Lars

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