Decision finally made on my first telescope!

[triton1]

I think it's horses for courses I went for the cg5 and 200p and haven't looked back.Yes it takes a little while longer to set up but once done the ability to track objects won it over for me and I,m visual only I just did not like having to continually nudge the scope all night long.(I am now sprinting for the door)

[antony_courtney1987]

1 hour ago, Robp said:

The main weight of a Newtonian is in the mirror. On the Dob mount this will be at the base.

As Brantuk states the better the mount the more stable it will be but then the cost goes up as well. You get into the zone of specialization so by that point you should have a solid aim you wish to achieve. Planetary imaging, galaxy imaging, nebula imaging and visual all have different ideal kit requirements.

If you are ever over my way your welcome to come take a look, it is a bit far though

Thank you

[antony_courtney1987]

5 minutes ago, triton1 said:

 I just did not like having to continually nudge the scope all night long.(I am now sprinting for the door)

HAHA yes i can see how that could get frustrating.

[triton1]

Shhhh. The dob mob might be about

[Robp]

You could always compromise on the visual and go for a 130pds and pick up a used eq5 mount. The mount would handle the scope better and it is more suited to astrophotography whilst still giving ok views. It may come in a bit cheaper as well. 

There's a massive 130pds thread on here 

 

[Ouroboros]

I agree with much of what has been said about buying a Dob over an EQ5.   The 200p is a reasonable scope at a relatively inexpensive price. It's also a scope you can transfer to another mount as you upgrade.   Personally, however, I have strong doubts about the EQ5 mount.  It was my first mount and it took me about 2 years to realise it wasn't up to the job.  I set out with the intention of both observing and imaging.  It's adequate for observing and tracking an object. But the mount was sold to me on the basis that it was also highly suitable for imaging deep sky objects. It isn't .... in my opinion.  I know people do get good results from them, but I was usually disappointed at what I could achieve in the time available to me.  I still have the mount and I still use it from time to time with my ED80 when I want to observe away from home or just want a quick look-see. For this purpose it's fine, although for these uses a Dob would probably suit my needs better. Just my two penneth. 

[Astro Imp]

Having carefully read this thread it seems most points have been well covered.

I would stress that the two branches of this hobby, visual and photography, are very different and a rig that does one well will be a compromise for the other.

From experience I would not start visual observing using a Newtonian on an equatorial mount. I've made that mistake and though I have persevered am now in a position to change to a Dob, probably a 10" truss.