Beginners advice needed asap please

[lulufoster]

I'd like to get my dad a scope with a camera. He's a total beginner as am I. We have a £200 budget. What would any of you recommend x

[estwing]

Welcome along..I'm afraid your budget of £200 isn't going to get you very far!...perhaps one of the AP guys could chip in here

[PeterCPC]

That sort of budget is going to make it quite difficult to get something so you can do astro imaging. What I would suggest is a Dobsonian like a Skyliner 150 and use it for visual observations. You could probably take images of the Moon through the eyepiece with a compact camera or even a smartphone. If you find that you want to progress further you will need to consider the costs involved in astrophotography because it can be a money pit. Good luck.

Peter

[happy-kat]

Any telescope chosen is a compromise, be it size, price, capability, aperature.

It is picking the one that best fits at the current time.

Have you looked at the virtuoso telescopes?

If you are sharing with your dad then a tracking mount could be useful.

Do you already own a camera you hope to use.

A webcam is very effective on imaging the Moon.

Are you in a city or in the country, how much light pollution.

[brantuk]

The virtuoso is a great suggestion at this point - I'd second that whole heartedly - it's small and economic, but a great starter for a bit of elementary imaging and observing. I'd also recommend joining a local astro club and get out with them for a few observing sessions to find out everything that astronomy entails, and what sort of gear is available. Can't beat a bit of practical experience.

[Dave Lloyd]

That does look like quite a lot of telescope for the price.

[lulufoster]

Wow. Thanks everyone for commenting. Is that the skywatcher heritage. We live in the country so it's not lit up at all where we are. So they're expensive then lol. I'll have to have a look around Google x

[brantuk]

It's this one - there is a smaller model too but I would favour the larger aperture for picking up a few extra objects the small one won't quite see:

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/heritage/skywatcher-heritage-114p-virtuoso.html

(And it's within your budget)

[Erla]

I think 200 is enough for a start. I'm using rig that cost me 150 altogether - Celestron 114 eq and webcam. Sometimes I use iPhone. Photos are nowhere as good as you see on this forum, but I'm useless at processing and still I get Jupiter lines, Saturns' ring(s). I can view some nebulea. And I live in London, so you can imagine light pollution! If I bought again, I would buy Celestron 130 (or skywatcher, no difference). They are under 200 pounds and are quite a bit more powerful than mine. I would consider motors too, it's sharming to operate a telescope by hand, but it is a pain to find objects you can't see with naked eye.

Just get what you can, and if you get hooked you'll have a lifetime to save for equipment improvements.

[lulufoster]

Thank you both for the last 2 comments. They really were very helpful. Merry Christmas all xxx