£1500 gets you...

[A McEwan]

This has struck me over the last few weeks, as I've been looking through a lot of classifieds and ebay listings. I'm amazed by what £1500 can currently get you in the astronomy kit world!

For example, today with my (non-existent) £1500 I could buy...

A used Astro-Physics Star 12 120mm f8.5 ED refractor - yes, that's a real Astro-Physics refractor!

A used TeleVue 102 refractor with case

A used TeleVue 85 with soft case and all original accessories

A brand new Equinox 120ED refractor with case and accessories

A used Takahashi TSA-102 with rings and dovetail

A used William Optics 80mm f5 ED Apo with LOMO optics (!) and £500 change!

That's without dipping into the Newtonian bargains and h-alpha equipment or other esoteric items. I mean, all the above are in the very top tier of quality optics, and for that level of quality and pedigree, £1500 (or less) is not a large amount of money. NB the Equinox 120ED possibly doesn't have the same level of "prestige" as the other entries, but I know from experience that it's up there in terms of performance.

Could it be that for the keen amateur with an interest in visual observing and an affinity for mid-sized refractors with optimum performance, they have never had it so good?

Ant

[nightfisher]

You are quite right Ant, in terms of available astro gear we have it very good compared to a few years back, but for some of us £1500 can still be a fair old chunk of beer vouchers (not that i drink)

[Pete Presland]

there is certainly some value for money in the 2nd hand market, i have only bought one brand new scope since coming back to astronomy in 2005.

[Mr Spock]

You can also get a new 14" Dob with change

[A McEwan]

All true! Yes, £1500 is a decent amount of cash, but as an investment for a main telescope for someone already committed to the hobby, it's probably the sort of amount that a number of people would be willing to pay. I also didn't include the number of good quality mounts out there, nor the big Dobsonians that can be bought for that money. What really struck me was the fact that those items are mostly by Big Name Suppliers; the kind that a few years ago would have seemed that little bit further out of reach (on the used market) than they are now.

Ant

[ollypenrice]

There's some very tasty stuff there. I'll have anything beginning with T out of that lot!

Olly

[ronin]

It is nice equipment, but try telling someone entering for the first time to go spend £1500 on used equipment and they suspect you have a bolt or two loose.

[A McEwan]

It is nice equipment, but try telling someone entering for the first time to go spend £1500 on used equipment and they suspect you have a bolt or two loose.

I know! And yet a lot of us have spent an awful lot more than that working through cheaper kit to get to the point where we will seriously consider purchases like that! Part of the "journey" I suppose... Not saying that good equipment has to cost that much, but those items are pretty yummy!

Ant

[John]

I agree those are some great scopes for the £'s. Some times it's cheaper to pay more, in the long run 

There have been a number of Skywatcher ED120's for around £700 as well, which I think are also very good buys. 

When I was beginner back in the 1980's £1,500 would buy you far, far less, relatively speaking, than it does today. 

[swamp thing]

I'm amazed that £1500 seems like so little money to some. That's a huge amount of expendable money to have as far as I'm concerned.

[A McEwan]

I'm amazed that £1500 seems like so little money to some. That's a huge amount of expendable money to have as far as I'm concerned.

Steve, this is the point really:

I agree those are some great scopes for the £'s. Some times it's cheaper to pay more, in the long run 

When I was beginner back in the 1980's £1,500 would buy you far, far less, relatively speaking, than it does today. 

Ant

[Marki]

I agree those are some great scopes for the £'s. Some times it's cheaper to pay more, in the long run 

There have been a number of Skywatcher ED120's for around £700 as well, which I think are also very good buys. 

When I was beginner back in the 1980's £1,500 would buy you far, far less, relatively speaking, than it does today. 

I must admit the ED120 - Equinox 120 looks a very appealing buy, epsecially secondhand. I've read a lot of very complimentary reviews regarding the quality of the optics. I reckon the 4.75" to 5" is a nice sweet spot in size for a refractor for non-permanent/portable set-ups. One of these is a distinct possibility in my future.

Coming only relatively recently to the astronomy world, I haven't seen the great step changes in terms of affordability and quality some of you have, but I am nevertheless amazed at what even a moderate (I know, a relative term!) outlay will get you kit-wise, and what worlds of wonder such kit opens up to the amateur.

[MND]

Maybe as the economy is picking up a lot of people are upgrading and getting rid of existing kit. Unfortunately I'm a bit of a pack rat and don't tend to get rid of my old stuff.

[ollypenrice]

How large a sum £1500 is depends on who you are, of course. I recently the met the chief engineer of a private yacht which takes on fuel at a cost of a quarter of a million dollars a fill-up. Not joking.

What does £1500 buy you? A mid range racing bicycle, good but still mid range. One third of a second hand Rolex watch. Return tickets London to Sidney for a family of three. How do we judge these things? Remember, though, that the depreciation on a used Takahashi is minimal. You'll get most of your money back...

Olly

[nightfisher]

Please..........please stop talking of posh fracs like Takahashi, i really would like one but at present £1500 is as hard to find as £15, so i will have to be content with my Takaswifty 60mm 

But as said, some people on here are fortunate enough to be able to shell out £15,000 for a scope

[Jim Steele]

But as said, some people on here are fortunate enough to be able to shell out £15,000 for a scope

seriously?!?! Crikey that's alot of cash! my financial advisor (the wife) would never sanction that kind of money. I suppose it's all relative, I could never afford a expensive apo hence the tal. Does the job and more, some argue it's got more style than an ed scope. Best thing was it cost me less than £250 new

[Peter Drew]

For me, the issue is £1500 to spend or £1500 to invest. Spending can end up as "lost", i.e. smoking, drinking etc whereas investing can be just transferring the £1500 value to something else that can later be redeemed practically in full, such as a secondhand high quality telescope.    

[The Flinty Fox]

Don't know about £1500 but I'm still amazed at what can be got for £300. I've had my 150p for 2 years and still have to convince myself it all cost less than £300. Its a lot of scope for the price.

My 2p

Paul

[John]

For me, the issue is £1500 to spend or £1500 to invest. Spending can end up as "lost", i.e. smoking, drinking etc whereas investing can be just transferring the £1500 value to something else that can later be redeemed practically in full, such as a secondhand high quality telescope.    

Thats my justification for the Istar 6" F/12 and the investment I've made so far in getting it mounted properly, or reasonably properly. The Istar came on the market at a price that I just could not resist 

I calculated how much interest I could make on the capital if I had invested it carefully and the result would not even buy a cheap moon filter (which I don't use anyway). No contest !

[Stu_2011]

I have a William Optics Lomo 80, one of the scopes mentioned above. Cost about £900. It is fantastic. Visually it is better than my Esprit 80 I reckon, great contrast, inky black sky, pinpoint colour free stars - I'm never selling it!

The guys over on CN reckon they are as good if not better than a similar sized a Takahashi.....

Great bargains to be had secondhand.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[lardy]

Great bargains to be had secondhand.

How true stu ..... All my scopes apart from the TMB 92ss are secondhand, and a 92ss came up on ABS about a week after I ordered it from the US....and I still had to wait for 3 months due to limited numbers being made.....

[ollypenrice]

You can't take it with you, boys and girls, and being the richest man in the graveyard brought satisfaction to no-one. (That said, I did chuckle to read that some ex-tycoon, now owing millions to all and sundry, said on his death bed, They say you can't take it with you... but I have!!

Olly

[laser_jock99]

How large a sum £1500 is depends on who you are, of course. I recently the met the chief engineer of a private yacht which takes on fuel at a cost of a quarter of a million dollars a fill-up. Not joking.

Olly

True- if you think astronomy is an expensive hobby try boating. My last boat had a 1000 litre fuel tank.... 

[todd8137]

I never go the second hand route but food luck with your purchases

PT

[DirkSteele]

It never has been a better time to be an amateur astronomer that is for sure.  Whether your budget is £200 or £20,000, what can be had for the money today is beyond anything I could have dreamed off when I bought my first scope with paper round money over 20 years ago.  That 4.5" Newtonian on a terribly shaky mount cost £225.  Which using the nonsense inflation tracking RPI index would be £320 in 2014 money (though real inflation would put that above £400).  Think about what you could get for £320-400 today! Not just more aperture, but electronics as well.  Back in 1993 GoTo was a dream only professionals and very wealthy (certainly not paperboys) amateurs could afford, now that would be in reach for that budget with a 4 or 5" scope.  And that is a wonderful thing, because the prices today open up this hobby we all love to even more people as it is more affordable than ever.

And BTW, like Olly, I will take any of those 2nd hand scopes that begin with a T....Or an A