80mm refractor recommendation for noob.

[coliea]

Hi folks

After years of 'umming' and 'ahhing' I’ve finally decided to bite the bullet and have crack at this astronomy malarkey. After trawling the Net for reviews and advice I eventually stumbled upon this forum, which seems to be populated with lots of knowledgeable people... so I thought I’d register and pick your collective brains.

My initial research has me leaning towards an 80mm refractor as my first piece of astronomical kit (hey, if it’s good enough for Sir Patrick Moore it’s good enough for me) and I was wondering if you could recommend a well engineered make/model along with a reputable dealer in the Midlands (I’m based in Worcester) or online? I prefer to buy kit from the outset that is well built and that will do me for years – something I can add to rather than sell on and upgrade. I also thought I’d initially stick to the moon and planets until i have found my way around the sky, oh, and I’m a keen photographer so I’d like to take a shot at astrophotography also.

Taking these conditions into account (along with the fact that I live in an area with quite high light pollution, my initial research seems to point to the 80mm refractor. I also prefer the idea of a closed tube at this stage and was thinking along the lines of a William Optics 80mm APO refractor.

So there you have it – my initial thoughts and I’d be happy to hear yours. What do you think of my choices for a beginner, or would you recommend a different course of action?

Thanks for your time, and clear skies (as I believe they say ).

Regards

Col

[centroid]

Hi Col

As you would rather a 'closed tube design' scope, then its a Refractor or SCT, However, the SCT is a lot more expensive and your thoughts of an 80mm APO is a good 'move'.

The WO or Skywatcher Pro both originate from the Synata Optical Company in China, and enjoy a very good reputation among the amateur fraternity.

Many of us have one of these scopes, in my case the Skywatcher ED80, and it never fails to impress me.

Of signifcant importance is the mount, as stablilty as smoothness of operation is a key factor in your enjoyment while using the scope.

Dave

[John]

I'd second Dave's recommendation of a Skywatcher ED80 - optically superb (as good as the William Optics) and pretty solidly built although the WO scopes are in a different league finish-wise.

Alternatively the Skywatcher Equinox 80mm seems to have the build quality of a WO and is still reasonably priced.

John

[Neon]

Hi Col,

I'm not as experienced as Centroid, but the scopes he recommends are all good particularly the ED80.

Like yourself I'm fairly new to astronomy and started off buying a reasonable pair of binoculars (Bushnell Astralis from eBay £29.99) along with a sturdy tripod which I now use with my scope. I found the bins to be an excellent way to learn the heavens and saw a great deal with them that I thought impossible with only 15x magnification.

Like yourself I wanted refractor for similar reasons, and I also wanted a portable scope due to my location. So I chose an Antares Sentinel 80mm, which is very similar to the William Optics 80mm. This was thanks to the excellent review by Ian Candler who I coincidentally brought the 'scope from second hand. I've made a note of my experiences changing from binocular to telescope astronomy here.

If you go straight for the option of buying a telescope, rather than buying a pair of binoculars, I'd strongly recommend you make sure that one of your first eyepieces is a wide angle long eye relief type of at least 32mm, just because navigating the heavens with a 'scope is much harder than with bins and if your trying it with a 5mm Plossl it'll be very frustrating.

Hope that's some help.

Mark

[ottUp]

Taking these conditions into account (along with the fact that I live in an area with quite high light pollution, my initial research seems to point to the 80mm refractor. I also prefer the idea of a closed tube at this stage and was thinking along the lines of a William Optics 80mm APO refractor.

So there you have it – my initial thoughts and I’d be happy to hear yours. What do you think of my choices for a beginner, or would you recommend a different course of action?

Thanks for your time, and clear skies (as I believe they say ).

Hi Col.

Personally, I am very fond of small refractors and, given the right expectations, I think they are good beginner scopes. You will certainly not see the faint objects that a big scope can show you, but you can see the first couple of hundred objects, plus wide-field views that are hard in larger scopes. More important, you will probably do more observing with a small, highly-portable scope. My 60, 80, and 100mm refractors are used far more often than my larger scope, because that is what my available time allows.

You have noted two brands that have good reputations, and neither of those would disappoint. Just for variety, let me suggest another to investigate:

http://www.stellarvue.com

They are a little more expensive than the WO scopes, but in another order of quality - a scope you would have for the rest of your life. High quality optics, built like tanks. I have two and love them; if I could afford another scope it would be another (larger) Stellarvue.

Don't forget to allow, in your budget, for a good mount. An excellent scope on a poor mount is a poor scope.

- Richard

[coliea]

I'd second Dave's recommendation of a Skywatcher ED80 - optically superb (as good as the William Optics) and pretty solidly built although the WO scopes are in a different league finish-wise.

Alternatively the Skywatcher Equinox 80mm seems to have the build quality of a WO and is still reasonably priced.

Dave, John, Mark and Richard - thanks a lot for the excellent advice. The Skywatcher ED80 certainly does seem to be an ideal starter scope for me, and following on from John's recommendation of the Equinox 80mm I found the following Sky at Night review which certainly supports his opinion: http://tinyurl.com/2xf8cu

I like the idea of being able to hold on to a good quality 80mm refractor and adding a larger scope in future much like Dave has done (I checked out the website Dave - some great photographs on there). I agree with Mark's point that a good pair of bins can be a great introduction as I've been using Jason 10x50s up until now, and I'll have a look at the Stellarvue kit that Richard mentioned.

With regards to "a good mount" Richard, could you recommend something that would be a suitable initial pairing for an 80mm refractor and would allow me to try my hand at astrophotography? I see various equitorial mounts mentioned online and in the press but am a bit baffled by the EQ5, EQ6 jargon. Could anyone shed some light on this for me please?

Finally.... I think I'll take myself into Waterstones today and buy a good book

Thanks again guys - much appreciated.

Col

[ottUp]

With regards to "a good mount" Richard, could you recommend something that would be a suitable initial pairing for an 80mm refractor and would allow me to try my hand at astrophotography? I see various equitorial mounts mentioned online and in the press but am a bit baffled by the EQ5, EQ6 jargon. Could anyone shed some light on this for me please?

Finally.... I think I'll take myself into Waterstones today and buy a good book

I'll let others more local to you chime in with brand names, since mounts tend to be re-branded in different countries. The EQn labels refer to a series of mounts (by Orion, I think) of increasing sturdiness that have become defacto standards by which the sturdiness of mounts are measured. Some general comments:

• 
  [li]Under-mounting is the most common and worst mistake that beginners make. The best optics in the world on a shaky mount is a poor telescope.[/li]
  [li]Your 80mm would be very pleasantly stable, yet still quite portable, on an EQ3-class mount, for visual use. Here is a photo of a Stellarvue SV80s 80mm on a Stellarvue M4 mount, an EQ3-class.[/li]
  [li]That would do for casual photography - snapshots of the moon, or using webcams to do planetary photography.[/li]
  [li]For long-exposure photography, the mount needs to be far more stable and, IMHO, an EQ-3 would not be enough. Anything can be made to work, of course, but the serious photographers I know (and I am not one) advise spending more on the mount than on the telescope. EQ4 class or higher. Here a photo of a 76mm Televue Pronto on a Losmandy GM8, an EQ-4 class mount (at a solar star party).
  (Frankly, my advice would be to forget long-exposure photography for now. It's so much harder than you think that it will frustrate you. When you're ready for that, buy the extra equipment you need, and give your old stuff to another beginner, or keep it for your "grab-n-go" setup.)[/li]
  [li]Just for fun, this is sturdy: 80mm on an Losmandy G11 (an EQ6-class).[/li]
  

Regards

Richard

[John]

In the Telescope House clearence section:

http://www.telescopehouse.com/acatalog/copy_of_Clearance.html

about 2/3 rds of the way down they have an Orion ED80 on a Skyview Pro mount for £399. That is a nice combination and would be pretty stable and give you the potential to add motor drives for astro photography later on. The Orion ED80 is the same scope as the Skywatcher ED80 but in dark gunmetal grey colour and the Skyview Pro mount is about the same as a Skywatcher EQ5 or a Celestron CG-5. Telescope House have a pretty good reputation.

John

[Stardust]

I love small refractors, I've a Televue 85 and a WO 66SD both great scopes. I had a Televue Pronto for a very short time great scope, built like a tank. Only went as the 85 came up, there is one on ebay just now, I would expect it to make around £300 ish. The ED 80 always gets good reviews and few might come up used soon if skywatchers new range sell well. Wouldn't mind an ED100 myself. The package mentioned from Telescope House sounds worth a look or better still a shifty round Astrofest next month would at least let you look, feel and compare brands. Some bargains can be had too.

good luck

DAve

[Whippy]

I'm saving the pennies as we speak for Astrofest Dave, but you know how it is, something always comes up...

Have to say that there's so many happy users of the Skywatcher/Orion ED80 that it'd be hard not to recommend one! Richard's recommendation of a Stellarvue would be a good alternative except that they're so hard to come by in the UK . The Widescreen Centre and Altair Astro are the only two places I know of that sell them here.

Tony..

[Stardust]

Hi Tony

and what delights are you planning on for the afore mentioned astro extravaganza?

I'll have to have a word with WO for dropping the ZS110, I was really impresed with yours.

DAve

[Whippy]

Erm.. Beer, food and Patrick Moore mate . I'm booked into the session with the man and with any luck, meeting up with some fellow members for some lunch n' stuff. Are you going Saturday?

Tony..

[coliea]

(Frankly, my advice would be to forget long-exposure photography for now. It's so much harder than you think that it will frustrate you. When you're ready for that, buy the extra equipment you need, and give your old stuff to another beginner, or keep it for your "grab-n-go" setup.)

Regards

Richard

In the Telescope House clearence section about 2/3 rds of the way down they have an Orion ED80 on a Skyview Pro mount for £399. That is a nice combination and would be pretty stable and give you the potential to add motor drives for astro photography later on. The Orion ED80 is the same scope as the Skywatcher ED80 but in dark gunmetal grey colour and the Skyview Pro mount is about the same as a Skywatcher EQ5 or a Celestron CG-5. Telescope House have a pretty good reputation.

John

Thanks for taking the time to clarify this for me guys. I think I'll heed Richard's advice and learn to walk before I try running.

Regards

Col

[coliea]

Your 80mm would be very pleasantly stable, yet still quite portable, on an EQ3-class mount, for visual use. That would do for casual photography - snapshots of the moon, or using webcams to do planetary photography.

Regards

Richard

I have a Canon G7 and Lensmate adapter and found the following setup on Flikr quite interesting: http://tinyurl.com/yrjzzg

What do you think of this setup for an initial dabble in casual astrophotography? I've already checked with CNC Supply Inc who can deliver a 58mm to T-thread adapter to the UK for around 15 quid. That would leave me needing a Scopetronix Maxview 40 eyepiece... oh... and a telescope/mount of course

Col