Jump to content

<£100 - Is it worth it....?

Stuart B

Recommended Posts

Stuart B

Stuart B

Posted
Posted

Hi all, 

I am an amateur (have an 8" Dobsonian) who is considered "the expert" in my circle of friends (who aren't into astronomy) due to the nice looking scope and knowing a little bit about where to look in the sky.

I have a problem in that a friends wife wants me to recommend "a good telescope for under £100"......

I've said that my best advice would be to buy him some reasonable binoculars and give him some cash to put towards a scope (and for him to have a look through a few scopes eg acquaintances and the local astronomy group); however there is that sense of wanting to give a big box / gift for the wow factor.

Is there anything, second hand?, that could be bought for under £100 that wouldn't be a waste of money......

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • Replies 26
  • Created
  • Last Reply
GyCx

GyCx

Posted
Posted

All depends on what they want to do, I started out with a £40.00 second hand Tasco reflector.  It was awful, but I saw Jupiter through that scope for the first time and I was bitten.

I would start out with a 114 - 130 mm reflector on a budget Equatorial mount.   I have seen second hand Skywatcher 130mm on EQ2 mounts for less than £100.00 on Astro buy and sell.

Start at the bottom and work your way up learning as you go.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Reeny

Reeny

Posted
Posted

A travel scope will be useful to keep if / when he gets hooked and upgrades at a later date.

This one was recommended as a beginer / first time / or childs scope to get someone started.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Celestron-21035-Travel-Scope-Telescope/dp/B001TI9Y2M/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1383496000&sr=1-2&keywords=celestron+telescope+70

Only £49, and it comes with a carry bag, cheap eyepieces etc

The other £50 could be spent on eyepice upgrades and a barlow.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
ollypenrice

ollypenrice

Posted
Posted

I would consider only Dobsonian mounts since bottom end EQs or tripod altazimuths are utterly exasperating. Since a 200P Dob costs £200 new I dare say a used one would come in very close to budget and these scopes are well worth having. Or the Heritage at just over budget.

Other than that, binoculars and a guide book. This is a more sensible way to start and the bins can be used for other nice activities like birding, wildlife spotting etc.

Olly

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Rihard

Rihard

Posted
Posted

Hi all, 

I am an amateur (have an 8" Dobsonian) who is considered "the expert" in my circle of friends (who aren't into astronomy) due to the nice looking scope and knowing a little bit about where to look in the sky.

I have a problem in that a friends wife wants me to recommend "a good telescope for under £100"......

I've said that my best advice would be to buy him some reasonable binoculars and give him some cash to put towards a scope (and for him to have a look through a few scopes eg acquaintances and the local astronomy group); however there is that sense of wanting to give a big box / gift for the wow factor.

Is there anything, second hand?, that could be bought for under £100 that wouldn't be a waste of money......

For a beginner, my advise is the Skywatcher 1145P as £124 new

I bought one for my niece some time ago, it has a reasonable aperture and it's very bright at F/4.4, with one of those we have enjoyed great views of stars (the pleiades were a big WOW!) and the Orion Nebula from a dark enough village was amazing! 

I could see great details on the Moon, very clear banding on Jupiter and the rings of Saturn were also pretty neat, I would say stunning, so I'd say it's also quite good for planetary observations and for the price is a very good all rounder product for a beginner. 

If you want something more substantial, consider the Celestron 130P (F/5) or the slower and longer focal Skywatcher Explorer 130 (F/6.92) both at £135.

Hope this helps. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Moonshane

Moonshane

Posted
Posted

hi Stuart

I'd strongly recommend buying something used. to my eyes, dobs ae the most intuitive and stable scopes you can buy and are great as a first scope. if lucky you can get a 6-8" dob used for £100 but consider adding a red dot finder too in the budget as not being able to find anything can be very frustrating.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Schorhr

Schorhr

Posted
Posted

+1 on the Heritage, allways a good way to start as it eliminates the major problems (too small aperture to see as much as expected, stable mount--- Problems regarding collimation and eyepieces at f/5 are overrated)

Used or even new there are many 114/900 or 130/900 available but all on a weak mount. Making a dobsonian out of those is an option, but probably not as a gift ;-)

The problem with the 76/300 dobsonian and 70mm short refractor is that both won't be ideal to show planets well, the refractor's mount is questionable, and the short dobsonian has an aperture ratio of f/4.

For ~30-50gpb: Binoculars.

Fo 100gbp: Stretch to a 130mm Reflector, favorable not the ones on weak EQ2 or fake EQ3.

The problem is the Heritage 130p is rarely available used... for a reason! ;-)

It comes with usable accessories and with a 13gbp 2x barlow it's all that's needed for widefield to planets for the beginning.

Good luck finding and recommending a nice telescope :-)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
hoops86

hoops86

Posted
Posted

A travel scope will be useful to keep if / when he gets hooked and upgrades at a later date.

This one was recommended as a beginer / first time / or childs scope to get someone started.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Celestron-21035-Travel-Scope-Telescope/dp/B001TI9Y2M/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1383496000&sr=1-2&keywords=celestron+telescope+70

Only £49, and it comes with a carry bag, cheap eyepieces etc

The other £50 could be spent on eyepice upgrades and a barlow.

I would stay clear of this option.

The optics are very good for such a cheap scope. However the mount / tripod will make you want kill yourself! Its just horrible and so frustrating! It was my first ever scope and i will always love it for getting me into this great hobby. However it has a very short life span and needs upgraded instantly to something usable.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Reeny

Reeny

Posted
Posted

The flimsy tripod did get a slating in the amazon reviews.

There are plenty of other options and good advice above to chose from.

The reason I suggested a travel scope is the practicality (quick set-up / quick dismantling)

Also - that is the new role our old scope will be taking on.

On a side note - I would be slightly huffed if someone bought me someone elses second hand gear as a Christmas present.

If I chose it myself, I wouldn't mind so much.

But it's not really worth wrapping up and putting under the Christmas Tree if it is second hand is it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Naemeth

Naemeth

Posted
Posted

In this hobby I don't think there is anything wrong with second hand. Most things I've bought second hand look brand new anyway because they are looked after so well - eyepieces are usually kept in a foam lined case and so are free of dust.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Schorhr

Schorhr

Posted
Posted

In this hobby I don't think there is anything wrong with second hand. Most things I've bought second hand look brand new anyway because they are looked after so well - eyepieces are usually kept in a foam lined case and so are free of dust.

While I agree, for someone new to the hobby this might be different, and I have received some really icky second hand telescope parts in the past.
Link to comment
Share on other sites
AlexB67

AlexB67

Posted
Posted

With hindsight I would have definitely considered  buying second hand. The Heritage comes and goes at 60 pounds or less even is not uncommon. That being said, when starting a hobby new and you do not know what to watch out for, it can be a gamble with associated risk  to buy from places like ebay. More often than not sellers ask for over inflated prices for second hand Dobs on ebay too, so you need to be a bit careful. 

Depending where you live I would consider buying from a more reputable site like astro buy and sell

http://www.astrobuysell.com/uk/

or once you have over 50 posts you can use the classifieds ads here.  If you spot anything there will be plenty helpful ones to have a look at any advertisement you find and check it for you.

Good luck :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
BellP

BellP

Posted
Posted

I have just bought a SkyWatcher 705AZ3 on ebay for £37 (plus a small train fare to pick it up), I am just getting back into Astronomy myself, I know this is not a fantastic scope, but it has had some favourable reviews, feels pretty solid and I believe the AZ3 mount is quite good(certainly substantial) on it's own, my reason for buying was I wanted to try a small refractor before going large or deciding I might want a reflector instead, the cost obviously helped, wil give it a go see how I get on.

I hope this was in some small way helpful.

Pete

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue. By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.