Celestron 130EQ w/o MD and which eypieces?

[Dom1961]

Hello, I am thinking of buying the celestron 130eq without the motor drive from amazon as my first ever 'proper' telescope. I have only ever had the tiny toy ones. Any opinions on this telescope for a beginner? Also the telescope comes supplied with 10 & 20 mm eyepieces. Are there any other eyepieces you recommend me getting? And is it worth buying the big celestron eyepiece and filter kit from amazon? Thanks!

[inedible_hulk]

Hi Dom, welcome to SGL. I've got the Skywatcher equivalent, the Explorer 130P, and I've been very happy with it. Can I suggest you buy from a specialised supplier. You'll be better served if you have any problems. I've bought a fair few things of the site's sponsors and their customer service is legendary http://www.firstlightoptics.com/celestron-astromaster-series/celestron-astromaster-130eq-telescope.html.

Personally I wouldn't go for the eyepiece kit. Get used to those which come with the scope first and put the money towards a couple of better eyepieces at a later date.

You might want to take a look at Dobsonian mounted telescopes too. You get a simple, stable intuitive mount and more telescope for your money http://www.firstlightoptics.com/dobsonians/skywatcher-skyliner-150p-dobsonian.html.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Dom1961]

Okay thanks! Are there any eyepieces you would specifically recommend, id like to look at the moon, planets and occasionally nebulas (if possible with this telescope), also bearing in mind i cant spend to much as im only a teenager and not earning. I live in a place where theres only a little bit of light pollution 

[inedible_hulk]

Take look at this thread: http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/43171-eyepieces-the-very-least-you-need/.

The first one you'll probably want upgrade is your high power eyepiece, as the 10mm stock EPs aren't the best. I replaced mine with a BST Explorer/Starguiders as they were in my price range on were highly recommended by more learned members of this forum http://skysthelimit.org.uk/bst%20ed%20eyepieces.html.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Alfian]

Hi, if you are thinking of buying the Celestron 130EQ, I would (as a 130EQ owner and which now very rarely sees light)  suggest you buy the Skywatcher 130P  equivalent. 

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/reflectors/skywatcher-explorer-130p.html

Only a liitle more expensive but better in several ways.

Astrobaby sums it up succintly in her contribution to this thread:

http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/231425-beginner-scope/?hl=130eq#entry2502723

She also does a review of the motorised version of it here:

http://www.astro-baby.com/reviews/Sky-Watcher%20130PM/Sky-Watcher%20130PM%20Review.htm

Most of the review will apply to the non M version.

As to eyepieces it is good advice to get used to a new scope first before deciding what EPs to get, but  you will inevitably soon be wanting to replace the standard issue EPs.  I would also advise against the EP kit where you may end up paying for EPs that you will not use much. Instead I would buy a couple of decent quality EPs of a useful focal length (25mm & 15mm ?) and maybe a good 2 x barlow lens and go from there. I would also try to avoid getting drawn into aiming for high magnifications which at first  may seem an attractive proposition! Much observing is better achieved (surprisingly?) at lower magnification and not the 200+ x that the scope may theoretically be capable of.

[Dom1961]

Thanks for the advice!! Ive looked into that, what is the difference between the 130 and the 130P? The 130 is cheaper but has a barlow lens is there anything else? 

[Alfian]

I'm not sure which advertisement you are looking at regarding the 130 with a barlow lens. My experience, though of barlows that are given away with scopes as part of the kit is that  they are of  poor quality. On the 130P (as linked), the P stands for "parabolic" regarding its primary mirror. On a "fast" F5 scope a parabolic mirror is desirable. The Celestron does not stipulate that its primary is parabolic (as opposed to spherical) and there is some difference of opinions on forums about this. The differences that Astrobaby speaks of are significant. For instance, the "spider" upon which the secondary mirror has much thicker plastic vanes compared to the skywatcher which are metal and thinner. This affects the quality of the image you see. 

If money is pressing (isn't it always!) you could have a look at some second hand scopes here:

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

Or here at Astroboot which is more of a "recycling" type of site. 

http://www.astroboot.co.uk/AstroBoot/telescope-and-astronomy-stuff.html?needle=scope

There seems to be some real bargains in both.