Did anyone else struggle to decide....

[TheShape]

Right, I'm getting my all wound up and annoyed (maybe I annoy you too). Thing is, I can afford to buy a scope and mount (got them picked already) for just under £1500. This is all I need to start (observing) then add the camera, reducer etc later (for Astrophotography). What I'm wondering is, am I alone in finding it hard to decide if I'll still be keen after a year. Will I be 'blown away' by what I see in the skies. Obviously everyone on the forum is a keen astronomer, but did you ever initially struggle to part with your money. 

I read books,  magazines, watch YouTube all the time about space and planets. I just find myself currently able to 'submit payment' on my basket. 

It'd be nice (if anyone is still reading) to see your comments and hear your stories about getting started (and parting with your cash). 

Feeling indecisive for sure. HELLLPPP. 

[bottletopburly]

started off with a s/h 200p  quickly consumed by the dark side ,tend to go for second hand  now just to make your money go further 

[CraigT82]

I've never struggled to part with my money for astro kit, quite the opposite in fact!

I guess you just wont know if your keen after a year, it will depend on so many factors like how often you're able to get out, how easy your kit is to use,  how good your initial results are (imaging) and how quickly you see progress.

I think the key to the hobby is adaptability... you need to be able to take what you can in this game, be it 5 mins between clouds before dinner or a whole night out in sub zero temps.

If the kit you're buying is big and heavy, a pig to set up properly and not so easy to use then you'll struggle to last the year.

The good thing is that astro kit can fetch good prices second hand, plenty of us to sell to if you decide it's not your bag.

[John]

I started the hobby (many, many years ago ) on a very small budget so my gear has been built up gradually over the years. By the time I had a decent budget available I knew I was hooked so was reasonably confident that I'd enjoy better quality kit.

I have bought the majority of my stuff from the used market so I knew that I could sell it on at little loss if it did not suit me or if the interest waned.

 

[Knighty2112]

Can you get what you want second hand? That way if you don't have the passion for it a year or two down the line then you've not shelled out as much money. Will this be your first scope, or have you got a beginner scope already? 

[jabeoo1]

January & February are good months to pick up some second-hand gear.  This very gear will have done to others what you fear your purchase is going to do to you.  

I would decide if you like the idea of visual less or more than imaging?  That way if you decide to delay the imaging then it is immediately obvious that an 8" dob for a few hundred quid could more than cover your interest for a long time.  

You say you feel indecisive, have you read Making Every Photon Count ?  That might just allow you to feel more decisive about jumping into the deep end of imaging. 

[domstar]

Hi. Just coming up to my first year and I'm more and more into it. I find I like the excitement of seeing a blue sky and hoping the clouds don't come over. I like the chilling in the dark and contemplating what I have just seen. I imagine it's a bit like night fishing with the peace and silence, the patience and occasional successes. The objects in the night sky are great, but I focus on doing something that sorts my head out and learning and improving at something.I think I'm in it for the foreseeable future. Hope you like it too.

[CraigT82]

4 minutes ago, domstar said:

I imagine it's a bit like night fishing with the peace and silence, the patience and occasional successes.

I like that!

[RayD]

Ever since I can remember I've been fascinated by images of the Horsehead Nebula (Barnard 33).  I can still recall my reaction when my first 900s sub popped up on my screen and there it was, unmistakably there.

The danger isn't will you still be keen after a year, it's will your Mrs be happy to forfeit the family holiday to pay for a new camera 

[alacant]

Hi. It depends what you're -not- getting. You can always sell stuff that folk here want and cut your loss if and when you decide it's not for you. Anything mainstream with a good reputation will shift. Another good way is to visit an astro-club. Everyone is an expert at astro-clubs and their telescope is always the best choice for you, but at least you'll get to have a look and see if you like it. All for the price of a round of drinks. HTH

[parallaxerr]

What is the equipment you have decided on? That may well dictate the level of wow you get. 

[brantuk]

Hi TS - I would suggest you limit your budget for your first scope. £300 will get you a very nice capable instrument like a 200P Newtonian on a Dobsonian turntable rocker box. You'll learn all you need to know with such a telescope and be better able to judge your own level of interest and how much money you want to invest further into it.

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/beginner-telescopes/skywatcher-skyliner-200p-dobsonian.html

On the other hand - if you're a lottery winner and £1500 is a throw away amount of interest made each week from your winnings - then it's probably not an issue if you only use your new scope once and store it in the attic for the next 20 years lol. Hth

 

[ronin]

Going to upset a number but in visual terms "Wow" does not happen to my thinking. At least not in terms of the image you see. One exception is actually the Moon and everyone complains about the moon. A bit of a strange situation. I hear more Wow's when people see the moon that all the rest combined. Shame the left on the moon bits of the lander were not a bright silver, just once in a while they might have given a reflection.

Any "Wow" tends to be in terms of what you are seeing. Is M42 a greyish fuzzy patch with a few stars visible in the centre or is is a stellar nursery where you can see the new stars becoming visible and starting to blow away the gas and dust of their nursery nebula. The idea of the second may get a "wow". Not as much as the moon will however.

I always recall an astronomy researchers comment on M31 = "Bit underwhelming isn't it." I actually think they it summed it up perfectly. Visually it is somewhat underwhelming, but what it is, our nearesr neighbouring galaxy that is hurtling towards us, is a different matter. Which do you expect to get the "Wow" from? What you see or what you are seeing ?

What are you buying? Would I be right in saying something reasonably impressive.

On CN a long time ago (not necessarily in a galaxy far, far away) there was a question - Do you see more in an 80mm refractor or a 10" reflector.

Sounds simple doesn't it, actually sounds a bit pointless. But if you take the 10" out only when you are likely to get in a good decent nights decent observing, then it may not get out much whereas the 80mm might get out 5 to 8 times as often, once a week or twice a week, for the odd hour here or there.

Oddly there is someone on SGL that is noticable by their absence since getting a "big" scope. Is it they are out under the stars at every oppertunity and too busy to post, or it hasn't lived up to expectations and they do not know what to say.

What is it that you are expecting to see?

Have a read of this: http://www.deepskywatch.com/Articles/what-can-i-see-through-telescope.html

This is another: http://bigtelescope.blogspot.co.uk/2015/02/christmas-and-telescopes-how-to-avoid.html  Try the Orion Nebula comparison.

[cloudsweeper]

I've found that the more I learn and experience, the more I want to do it, but there's no telling how any of us will feel in a year, five years, whatever.

Cost? - no problem.  Only buy what you can afford.  It doesn't have to be expensive to start with - you can always sell on and upgrade later if you get hooked.

Doug.

[Size9Hex]

I started with binoculars which didn't break the bank and were going to be more versatile (wildlife, travel etc) than a scope if I were to quickly realise I didn't enjoy star gazing. After a few months I knew I was still enjoying the hobby and would probably stick with it so bought my first scope and fairly quickly a few other bits to go with it. So far I've mainly only bought things that show me something that my current kit can't, so I've not bought anything recently (despite temptation!), although I might upgrade to better quality kit over the years. £1,500 does seem a lot for dipping your toe in the water. There are some seriously good scopes (speaking as a visual observer but not as an imager) for a lot less than this. Good luck with your choice.

[SonnyE]

My story is short but intense.

I struggled with 'Do I really want/need to go into outer space?' Struggled with that for about a month. Looking through what glass I had, Bino's, Spotting Scope, Camera lenses....

Then I wound up making 3 wish lists on 3 different vendor sites while I was learning what I wanted to do.

When I had the lists groomed to my final, I pulled the trigger on the whole list. Then picked up bits afterward.

Here I am about a year and a half later, out back any night that is clear (which is most), and have a routine down that has me ready by dark.

Yes, took a giant leap and did it all at once. But spent about 5 months deciding. If you are going to want to do Astrophotography, do yourself a favor and do your shopping to that end initially. Simply put, you can do visual astronomy with imaging equipment. But only imaging quality equipment will really scratch that itch to take pictures. I began at a huge 47" long, 150mm (6") refractor telescope. Wound up down at an 80mm ED triple APO with a carbon fiber tube, for all the right reasons. And still happy with all but my CCD camera, I wish I'd have gotten better.

I am fortunate that I live in a really good location, too.

[Tim]

You sound like me, 9 years ago. I'll try and find my original post here.

[Tim]

Nov 2007

If it helps, I'm still here and still learning

[TheShape]

The £1500 is for a Skywatcher ed80 ds pro (apparently good for normal observations, but picked for Astrophotography).  The mount and tripod is a Skywatcher eq6 goto (future proof).

I did have a celestron 130EQ astromaster from Amazon (which I figured would not be stable enough for Astrophotography). It went back, while I had a return window.

I now currently own some 10x50 bins. Any clear night, out I go, finding my way around the sky. 

I have recently found (and like the look of) meade etx80, and etx90 which are very versatile, but obviously aimed mostly for observing. Far cheaper than £1500 too. 

[Tim]

Yeah, but Meade..................................

[SonnyE]

Looks good, if this is it.

I can say I bought a diagonal for my kit thinking it might work out for my camera. It did, and it didn't.

It didn't work for my CCD. But it works for my eyepiece camera. So I kept it.

It of course works fine for my eyepieces...

[RayD]

8 minutes ago, TheShape said:

The £1500 is for a Skywatcher ed80 ds pro (apparently good for normal observations, but picked for Astrophotography).  The mount and tripod is a Skywatcher eq6 goto (future proof).

I did have a celestron 130EQ astromaster from Amazon (which I figured would not be stable enough for Astrophotography). It went back, while I had a return window.

I now currently own some 10x50 bins. Any clear night, out I go, finding my way around the sky. 

I have recently found (and like the look of) meade etx80, and etx90 which are very versatile, but obviously aimed mostly for observing. Far cheaper than £1500 too. 

Don't think we can fault your choice of kit if you've set aside the money for it.  Go on, do it, you know you want to.

Thing is you should only ever regret the things you haven't done, not the things you have.  If you don't do it, you may well look back in 10 years and not have the money, wishing you had at least given it a try.  If you do give it a good go and really don't like it, then you can sell the gear and recover much of your outlay, but then be safe in the knowledge that you did try but found that it wasn't your thing.

[Moonshane]

Unless you have very dark skies I fear that an 80mm first scope will be underwhelming. For imaging it will be very good.

I concur with the suggestion of buying a bigger used scope first if trying visual initially.

[TheShape]

39 minutes ago, SonnyE said:

Looks good, if this is it

That's the one mate. A bit cheaper on Rother Valley Optics too :-) 

[noah4x4]

I was frustrated, disappointed, even angry with my original £200 130mm eq Newtonian telescope so I dashed out and spent £1,900 on an Evolution 8 with Starsense, which was, without doubt, THE cutting edge technology of that moment (n.b. prices have since reduced). Then when I still couldn't see or image what typically appears in most astronomy magazines I became really despondent until Starsense and GoTo first plonked Saturn smack in my EP and at last I tasted some achievement.  Then I bought a copy of "Turn left at Orion" which managed my expectation by illustrating what I should see via various types of scope/size; after which I became hooked. Frankly, the 8" OTA was the minimum required to satisfy my aspirations, but I still didn't learn....

I later bought a Nexstar 4SE as a 'grab & go' simply because I initially perceived  the Evolution insufficiently portable to take 100 miles to my nearest dark sky site, or rather I was deterred by the extortionate cost of the branded Celestron case for its 8" OTA. But the smaller 4" mak-cass has proved to be an unwise and rarely used purchase as once I had discovered the robust plastic wheeled cases that one can cheaply buy in B & Q into which the larger Evolution will fit in its original foam packaging I realised that despite being the much larger scope, the Evolution with its built in battery etc was just as portable/flexible, plus it delivered to my high visual and slightly more limited astrophotography expectation. The SE4 is a fine scope for its money, but it is incomparable to the Evolution.

In summary, my advice today to beginners would be buy a 6" or 8" manual Dobsonian for circa £250. Then if you enjoy that entry level experience, aim to upgrade to at least an 8" GoTo even though the budget required then leaps to £1,300+. One might obviously go bigger,  but I decided 9.25"  was too heavy, and the 8" Evolution is perfect for me.

 I feel that compromising on a modest aperture (4") simply to gain technology such as GoTo etc at a price of say £500 doesn't offer the incremental visual leap expected over cheaper scopes. Hence, I think it better to initially invest little, and then if smitten, invest big. Don't compromise in the middle ground as you will simply end up paying loads of cash for technology with little visual gain. It is the latter that offers the "wow". But once above 8", and with the benefit of available technology,  it's like owning a Jaguar rather than a Fiat.