Beginner stuck for choice of scope

[Mukv]

Greetings

I wouldnt like to carry any scope of what ever size more than a few hundred meters over anything other than a mown lawn, one slip and it could mean an early night even a carp trolly will shake the delecate equipment a fair amount.

That said the choice of scope depends on how confident the OP is with reading the basics of setting up the selected equipment, some may not grasp the EQ mount system while others will understand it right from the outset but either way

it can be learned with an hour or two in an afternoon on the back lawn enough to benifit an understanding enough to use with some confidance in the evening.

The Dobsonian rout is almost instant gratification simple and quick.

In the long term the OP needs to select a path dob for visual or EQ that can be both visual and imaging.

For a quick full blood WOW fix the skyliner 150 or 200 would be a serious contender over the other options, also later either tube could be mounted on an EQ with the addition of rings! a win win situation !

I hope my 2p's worth has not added clouds and fog to your desision as you will encounter plenty of both the first time you look outside at night wanting to use your new gear

Andy

[FairDoos]

You might think of buying second-hand, and this package looks like incredible value! http://www.astrobuysell.com/uk/propview.php?view=89924

I'll definitely consider this, thanks for the suggestion,

Greetings

I wouldnt like to carry any scope of what ever size more than a few hundred meters over anything other than a mown lawn, one slip and it could mean an early night even a carp trolly will shake the delecate equipment a fair amount.

That said the choice of scope depends on how confident the OP is with reading the basics of setting up the selected equipment, some may not grasp the EQ mount system while others will understand it right from the outset but either way

it can be learned with an hour or two in an afternoon on the back lawn enough to benifit an understanding enough to use with some confidance in the evening.

The Dobsonian rout is almost instant gratification simple and quick.

In the long term the OP needs to select a path dob for visual or EQ that can be both visual and imaging.

For a quick full blood WOW fix the skyliner 150 or 200 would be a serious contender over the other options, also later either tube could be mounted on an EQ with the addition of rings! a win win situation !

I hope my 2p's worth has not added clouds and fog to your desision as you will encounter plenty of both the first time you look outside at night wanting to use your new gear

Andy

You make a point even a noobie can agree on. I have many places I can just park up and take it out the car, I was thinking of the walk to take advantage of the countryside darkness.

The Dobsonian rout is the one I might actually be taking as it can be mounted onto another stand such as an EQ like you mentioned in your post.

Would the Dobsonian 200p handle video very well? Say if I were to video the moon, which is probably as far as I will go video wise.

Thanks for your advice Andy much appreciated! 

Where can one buy accessories for the Skyliner Dobsonian 200p? Which would you recommend as a beginner that wishes to view the moon in great detail?

Thanks for all the help and suggestions I've been receiving, what a great bunch of humans you are!

[Jim Steele]

Where can one buy accessories for the Skyliner Dobsonian 200p? Which would you recommend as a beginner that wishes to view the moon in great detail?

To start off I wouldn't go overboard with accessories too soon, but a Cheshire collimator is a must, and mabye a Barlow lens to double magnification of the supplied eyepieces.

Our friends at flo should be able to advise you further

[FairDoos]

To start off I wouldn't go overboard with accessories too soon, but a Cheshire collimator is a must, and mabye a Barlow lens to double magnification of the supplied eyepieces.

Our friends at flo should be able to advise you further

Thanks Jim! I'll be purchasing the Cheshire collimator with the scope, I'll consider the Barlow lens after I receive the scope, I hope then I'll be able to see what I'll personally be needing. 

[AndyWB]

Dont get me wrong, I was planning on taking a couple of photos now and then, will this still be possible without the EQ? 

Not very well, no. For long exposure photography, you'll want an EQ mount. The problem is something called field rotation: http://www.astronomyasylum.com/telescopemountstutorial.html 

You might be able to get a few shots of the moon or planets with dob, but proper photography needs an EQ.

It is possible to mount an 200p dob tube onto an EQ mount, but be aware, it's pretty darn big; it'll need a big, strong mount or any wind will turn it into a sail. Astrophotography is more about the mount than the scope, which is why smaller refractors on big, stable EQ mounts tend to be more popular.

From reading around here, I've come to conclude that it'd be better to have separate visual and photographic setups...

[happy-kat]

Though if you look at the skywatcher pds range you might get one telescope but have two mounts.

A telescope not designed for imaging can be fiddly to get to focus and can require moving the primary mirror. The pds range is designed for imaging but may require an extension tube when using an eye piece for visual.

The eye needs apperature to see more but for imaging in real crude simple terms you just use longer shutter speeds so the telescopes might be very different depending on what doing.

But often a webcam can be used with a barlow to get going with using your visually aimed telescope and movies for plants just require a stable mount.

The best telescope is the one you can be bothered to take out there and observe with :-)

[Charic]

Dont get me wrong, I was planning on taking a couple of photos now and then, will this still be possible without the EQ?

The more I think about it the more I want the Dobsonian 200p.

As stated its better to have a tracking EQ mount for extended, long exposure photography. Many folk do very well with refractors of between 80-100mm. Magnification for photography, Aperture for visuals.

The 200p comes in two variants, skyliner Dob or Explorer EQ. Not sure how steady the EQ mount is, other members can better advise.

The best advice anyone can give you is to locate your nearest astro club. You dont even have to join. Anyone setup will be more than proud to let you look through their system. If you get an opportunity like this, it makes your purchase so much easier, as you'll know what to expect.

[FairDoos]

Not very well, no. For long exposure photography, you'll want an EQ mount. The problem is something called field rotation: http://www.astronomyasylum.com/telescopemountstutorial.html

You might be able to get a few shots of the moon or planets with dob, but proper photography needs an EQ.

It is possible to mount an 200p dob tube onto an EQ mount, but be aware, it's pretty darn big; it'll need a big, strong mount or any wind will turn it into a sail. Astrophotography is more about the mount than the scope, which is why smaller refractors on big, stable EQ mounts tend to be more popular.

From reading around here, I've come to conclude that it'd be better to have separate visual and photographic setups...

Thanks for the reply, It was only a thought for future reference so I dont think I'll be going down that route as of yet. Much appreciated for the advice.

Though if you look at the skywatcher pds range you might get one telescope but have two mounts.

A telescope not designed for imaging can be fiddly to get to focus and can require moving the primary mirror. The pds range is designed for imaging but may require an extension tube when using an eye piece for visual.

The eye needs apperature to see more but for imaging in real crude simple terms you just use longer shutter speeds so the telescopes might be very different depending on what doing.

But often a webcam can be used with a barlow to get going with using your visually aimed telescope and movies for plants just require a stable mount.

The best telescope is the one you can be bothered to take out there and observe with :-)

Thanks for the advice and reply, If I were to go into photography I would probably start with video as it seems the best with less hassle.

As stated its better to have a tracking EQ mount for extended, long exposure photography. Many folk do very well with refractors of between 80-100mm. Magnification for photography, Aperture for visuals.

The 200p comes in two variants, skyliner Dob or Explorer EQ. Not sure how steady the EQ mount is, other members can better advise.

The best advice anyone can give you is to locate your nearest astro club. You dont even have to join. Anyone setup will be more than proud to let you look through their system. If you get an opportunity like this, it makes your purchase so much easier, as you'll know what to expect.

Much appreciated, I'll get looking for my local astro club.

__

After much consideration from all the replys I've received, I'm thinking of finalising my decision to the Skyliner 200p Dobsonian.

Photo & Video would just be a gimmicky bonus for me, especially as a beginner, I'll start off simple I think, then hopefully in around a years time I can think about moving onto mouting the Dob on an EQ.

I see this as the best scope that I've come across for my price range and needs, please advise if you think otherwise!