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Which telescope to buy.


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Hello people,

Recently I've embarked on the journey towards the world which lies outside Earth. To explore that of course I need a viewing equipment.

Since I'm a mere beginner, I have been having troubles of which entry level telescope to buy.

I intend to look at the planets as well as the Deep Sky Objects and hopefully get into astrophotography in the future.

I've shortlisted to

1) Skywatcher 130/900 EQ2

 http://www.skywatcher-india.com/Product/ProductSpecFeature/12

2) Skywatcher 150/750 EQ2

http://www.tejraj.com/skywatcher150x750.html

3) And Star Tracker 150/750 EQ2

http://www.tejraj.com/sky150x750.html

It'd be really great if someone helped me regarding this confusion.

Regards.

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Hello and welcome to SGL. Items 2 and 3 appear to be the same telescope sold under different names, the only differences seem to be the price and the number of accessories supplied. All three telescopes are equipped with the same EQ2 mount, which is probably marginal for the 130/900 but undersized for the 150/750s, possibly ok for visual use. The 150/750 is normally supplied with the bigger EQ3-2 mount.

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The Skywatcher 130/900 is a good enough telescope for basic visual observation. It is, however, an older design which will not be ideal for astrophotography. If you want to get into imaging, take a look at 130P-DS http://www.skywatcher-india.com/Product/ProductSpecFeature/101  This model has a parabolic mirror and an improved focusing system which allows for better fine focusing and also allows you to reach focus with a camera. It is also a "faster" telescope (f5 versus f7.9) which is generally preferred for photography. Many members of this Forum have used it with great success for astrophotography, and it also performs well visually for a 130mm reflector.

For visual observation, however, larger aperture will give better results - more definition will allow you to see fainter objects and obtain higher magnification when necessary. In this case 150mm will out-perform 130mm. For imaging, however, there is an improved model which would be well worth considering http://www.skywatcher-india.com/Product/ProductSpecFeature/102

A good mount is very important, and others have said, the EQ2 is not really up to it for the 150mm tube. When you go into astrophotography you will need a considerably better mount, either with motors or computerised go-to tracking. The EQ3 would work well with the 130P-DS, http://www.skywatcher-india.com/Product/ProductSpecFeature/271  (cheaper without the gps), but for a larger tube, however, something more solid would be better - the HEQ5 would be a good choice. And this starts becoming expensive - especially outside Europe or North America, where import costs and mark-up can be very high! Still, this may give you an idea of where you need to be heading.

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I need to extend my budget then because apart from those telescopes I could buy Celestron Astromaster 130EQ or Skywatcher Cassegrain Make 90/1250.

Thanks for your advice people☺

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3 hours ago, laudropb said:

Hello and a warm welcome to the SGL. Both the 150mm scopes could prove problematic on the mounts supplied.

Problematic as in for gazing or astrophotography?

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1 minute ago, laudropb said:

I think it will be a problem for visual and impossible for photography.

All right, thank you Sir for your advice.

What are your thoughts about Celestron Astromaster 130EQ and Skywatcher Cassegrain Mak 90/1250?

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Given the scopes you have been looking at the 130 eq would not be a good move. There are better options for a 130. The little 90 Mak would make for a very compact planetary/lunar scope setup but why not go for the 102 or 127.

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4 hours ago, Saket said:

All right, thank you Sir for your advice.

What are your thoughts about Celestron Astromaster 130EQ and Skywatcher Cassegrain Mak 90/1250?

It is the mount that is the problem if you wish to do astrophotography. The EQ 2 is too light a mount. It would also be at its limits just for visual with a 130 mm Newtonian scope. I have a Skywatcher 127 Mak on an AZ tracking mount. It is very good for planetary and Lunar observing and does allow short exposure images to be captured. Maks  have a small field of view and are only suitable for the brightest DSOs. It is not easy to get a set up which is suitable for both visual and photography. Perhaps you should consider starting out with a visual set up and leave imaging to a later date.

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3 hours ago, laudropb said:

It is the mount that is the problem if you wish to do astrophotography. The EQ 2 is too light a mount. It would also be at its limits just for visual with a 130 mm Newtonian scope. I have a Skywatcher 127 Mak on an AZ tracking mount. It is very good for planetary and Lunar observing and does allow short exposure images to be captured. Maks  have a small field of view and are only suitable for the brightest DSOs. It is not easy to get a set up which is suitable for both visual and photography. Perhaps you should consider starting out with a visual set up and leave imaging to a later date.

Sir one last question, which telescope would you suggest for observing out of those 5 I mentioned since I can afford those at the moment.

And if I upgrade to a better mount later in the future would astrophotography be possible in keeping that in mind which telescope should I buy?

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I do not know what camera you already own but if you have camera lenses these to can be used for imaging. You can image without using a telescope it might be that you have access to camera lenses for the dslr camera intending to use. Have a look at images other people have taken with the equipment you are considering. You might be good at DIY and could build a mount or even what is called a barn door tracker for camera and lens.

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Looking at the budget of the scopes you initially suggested, (Rs 21-23,000) and that supplier, I would for time being consider just visual work and look at the GSO 150mm Dobsonian. A useful aperture at F8 on a sturdy dob base.

http://www.tejraj.com/startracker-6inch-dob.html

The only down side I can see is that according to specification it has a 1.25" Crayford focuser, whereas the Skywatcher version of this has a 2". However the picture looks to me as if it has a 2" with the customary 1.25" adapter.

As a post post script  the GSO Dob is on the TS optics site where it also indicates 1.25 focuser, so maybe that is correct.

http://www.teleskop-express.de/shop/product_info.php/language/en/info/p7222_GSO-Dobsonian-Telescope-150C---6-inch-aperture-with-fine-Crayford-focuser.html

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