Thinking of buying a better telescope for looking at moon's craters and I need suggestions

[erseavetir]

Hello all! My father lives in Istanbul and he has the Gskyer AZ70700 Refractor Telescope. He has been really enjoying it as you can see from the photos I've uploaded in the Amazon review I've left for this item (Btw, I've just realized that this review is now the most helpful/liked review on this item which is cool):
https://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-reviews/R35LBDSUABUUAU/

My father is OBSESSED with looking at the moon's craters and he had this telescope for almost a year now and he probably never skipped a day at looking at the moon as long as the moon was visible. I've made the post below on this forum before asking for suggestions on what upgraded equipments I should buy for his telescope:

And after the suggestions and more research, I've bought these items:

1) Celestron 8-24mm Zoom Eyepiece (1.25")
2) Celestron 90° Star Diagonal (1.25")
3) SVBONY 1.25" Barlow Lens 2x Multi Coated T Adapter
4) Orion 05598 1.25-Inch 25 Percent Transmission Moon Filter (Black)

Now basically, my father's only wish in this life is to be able to zoom at the moon more and see the craters of the moon more clearly while being zoomed more. Right now, when he uses the 2x Adapter with 8mm eyepiece, things get blurry but he keeps trying to zoom more some nights and tells me that he is hoping one day it won't look as blurry on that amount of zoom I showed him a youtube video of the moon's craters zoomed in with a better telescope once and he was basically shocked and almost didn't believe me that that was possible with better telescopes though I am not sure how bigger/better/expensive those telescopes would be.

Now my father had an open heart surgery recently but he is OK now and I really want him to experience using a better telescope while he can and me being a good son, I want to buy him a better telescope now as I have a bit extra money to spend. I bought the telescope he is using now for 130$ (btw, this telescope had 5 star average reviews on Amazon at the time of my purchase which is why I bought it but I wish I knew about this forum before and asked you guys before buying that one although my father still loved the telescope a lot so I don't have many regrets about it).  I was wondering if there are better budget telescopes that are around 180-300$ that can be at least a bit better than his current telescope when looking at the moon's craters while being zoomed more with better/clearer visuals. Btw, because of the light pollution in Istanbul Turkey, only the Moon, Saturn and some big stars are visible in the sky but my father only cares about the Moon craters anyway. It's also important for me that the telescope I'll buy will support 1.25" eyepiece that my father has.

After I've read many Top 10 articles online, the Celestron PowerSeeker 127EQ seems like a good budget option for me and I hear that because it has 1000 mm Focal Length, it's a good option for looking at the moon? I wouldn't know much about that thought which is why I wanted to get you guy's opinion on this. I've also seen that this telescope is being sold in Turkish websites (such as n11, hepsiburada, gittigidiyor etc.) which would mean I wouldn't pay anything for shipment to Istanbul and that he would have the option to return it in 14 days with a full refund if he doesn't like it. However, if you guys think that this telescope wouldn't really differ much from the telescope he has now when it comes to looking at moon's craters zoomed in, or that there are better telescopes than this 127EQ that is not too much more expensive than 127EQ but better at looking at moon's craters zoomed in and still beginner/mid-level friendly when it comes to looking at the moon, then please let me know! I'd really appreciate any input on this before I make my purchase. Thank you in advance!

[Ricochet]

I would not buy the Powerseeker. I have only seen poor reviews for it on this site. It is a Jones-Bird type design where you have a fast spherical mirror which requires a corrector lens in the focuser. You can tell this as the focal length is double the length of the tube. This type of reflector should be avoided. 

Can you get a Skywatcher Skyliner 150p or some other brand of 150mm f8 dobsonian within your budget? I think that would be the best value upgrade if Turkish prices are low enough and if it is not physically too large for your father to handle. 

[Peter Drew]

+1 for this good advice.

[John]

I agree with Ricochet's advice as well - avoid the Powerseeker 127 and try and get a 150mm F/8 dobsonian by Skywatcher or GSO. The lunar views though those would be excellent and a really big improvement over the current instrument.

[Louis D]

Other option if your father wants to stick with a more compact, tripod mounted scope would be a 127mm Mak.  It would nearly double the aperture of your current scope and it wouldn't have any appreciable color like your scope's current achromatic objective lens.  Powers of up to 200x or so should be possible yielding a sharp image on the moon.

[LukeSkywatcher]

There is a lot of new members on SGL lately from India, Turkey, Singapore etc.

All of the telescopes they suggest buying as a 1st scope, are from obscure companies/retailers which us folk in the UK,Ireland etc have never head of. The fact that they provide specs on the scope helps us guide them, but i cant help but feeling that a basic 90mm refrac scope sold in these countries would be sub-standard to what is available to the rest of us. I havent checked, but im sure not many retailers in Europe will ship to Turkey, India etc.

Its a shame.

Skywatcher, Celestron, Bresser, Takasushi etc should be available worldwide.

Maybe im completely wrong and they are available?.

 

[Stu]

26 minutes ago, LukeSkywatcher said:

Takasushi

Something distinctly fishy about them.....

[LukeSkywatcher]

Takasushi seems to be flavour of 2018.

 

 

[erseavetir]

Thank you guys for the input, definitely not buying the Celestron PowerScammer 127EQ.

I am now actually thinking of only purchasing a telescope from Turkish sites (gittigidiyor.com, hepsiburada.com, n11.com) as that would be way easier for us when it comes to refunding with 14 days full-refund policy in case of something going wrong and also, the Turkish sites offer installment payment options up to 12 months in which case my budget now can be around $500 or more as well.  However, the major problem with that is that the Turkish sites don't provide as many options. _Btw, I am an international student in Canada who has been living here for 7 years but I was visiting Turkey last year which is when I bought his first telescope for those who were wondering.)

Also, when purchasing items from the US, they ask A LOT of money for shipment and there is a high chance it won't pass customs. I actually recently bought the "Wingspan Optics Explorer 12x50" from Amazon for my father as a little fathers day gift but it got stuck in customs and they asked me to get allowance papers from very high places from the capital of Turkey and those places didn't respond to my emails yet so probably I'll ask for a refund from Amazon on that. As you can see, dealing with customs can be a mess (even though I bought his first telescope from Amazon and everything was fine back then) and for some reason, I couldn't find any Europian company that ships good telescopes to Turkey as well, for now, I am stuck with Turkish websites.

Btw, I've asked the same question on another forum (https://goo.gl/5m8EG8) to get as many opinions/options as I can and they were suggesting me to get some different options. I've looked at the Turkish sites to find the telescopes you guys were suggesting but I couldn't find any of them. However, considering the suggestions I got from the other forum and you guys, I've found the telescopes below and I've listed them from most expensive to least expensive:

 

1) Bresser telescope Messier AR-127S/635 EXOS-1/EQ4
1181$ USD - 127mm/635mm
https://www.hepsiburada.com/bresser-messier-ar-127s-635mm-manuel-ekvatoral-kundakli-mercekli-teleskop-p-HBV00000A10NU

2) Celestron NexStar 102SLT Computerized Telescope
840 USD - 102mm/660mm
https://urun.n11.com/outdoor-teleskop/celestron-22096-nexstar-102slt-bilgisayar-donanimli-teleskop-P247720820

3) Celestron NexStar 127SLT Computerized Telescope
770$ USD - 127mm/1500mm
https://urun.gittigidiyor.com/fotograf-kamera/celestron-22097-nexstar-127slt-bilgisayar-donanimli-teleskop-341195002

4) Celestron 21064 AstroMaster 90 EQ Refractor Telescope
632$ USD - 90mm/1000mm
https://urun.gittigidiyor.com/fotograf-kamera/celestron-21064-astromaster-90eq-teleskop-353330616

5) Celestron Inspire 100AZ Refractor Smartphone Adapter Built-In Refracting Telescope, Blue (22403)
617$ USD - 100mm/660mm
https://urun.gittigidiyor.com/fotograf-kamera/celestron-22403-inspire-100-az-teleskop-326737247

6) Meade Instruments Infinity 102mm AZ Refractor Telescope
472$ USD - 102mm/600mm
https://www.hepsiburada.com/meade-infinity-102-alt-az-manuel-kundakli-teleskop-p-OUTAST102AZ

7) Meade Instruments 216003 Polaris 90 EQ Refractor Telescope
464$ USD - 90mm/900mm
https://www.hepsiburada.com/meade-polaris-90mm-teleskop-p-HBV000001EYJ7

 

Now the question would be, which one of these would be the best possible option for my father's needs when it comes to zooming to moon's craters more and seeing them better?

I assume because the more expensive ones may be better but because my father's needs are very specific, maybe that's not the case and that some of the cheaper options would do as good of a job on that as the more expensive ones? What do you guys think?

[John]

I think a 150mm Skywatcher or GSO dobsonian would beat all of those options for lunar observation. If I had to pick one from that list though it would number 3. This is the essentially same scope as the Skywatcher 127mm maksutov-cassegrain that Louis D suggested earlier but under Celestron branding.

 

 

[Cornelius Varley]

20 minutes ago, John said:

I think a 150mm Skywatcher or GSO dobsonian would beat all of those options for lunar observation. If I had to pick one from that list though it would number 3. This is the essentially same scope as the Skywatcher 127mm maksutov-cassegrain that Louis D suggested earlier but under Celestron branding.

 

 

Me too. The 125 SLT is the best telescope out that list for lunar and planetary viewing.

[Louis D]

The Celestron NexStar 127SLT Computerized Telescope is the way to go for your dad.  Here's some images taken with this scope under another brand.  Is that the sort of sharp, high powered imaging of the moon he would like to see?  The rest of the listed scopes are achromatic refractors similar to what he already has, and they won't give much sharper images than what your dad has right now, so he would be disappointed with them.

Too bad there's so much markup in Turkey.  It's only $400 here in the states with free shipping.  Don't get me started on the nonreciprocal trading status of the US with pretty much every other country in the world when it comes to import duties and VAT taxes. ?  John would have to shut me down again. ?

At least it tracks once aligned, so your father wouldn't have to keep nudging it to keep the moon centered.  He could even snap some images of the moon with a cell phone camera held up to the eyepiece because it would stay centered.

He could also use the computer to go after challenge objects like Uranus and Neptune.  Some of the brighter, more compact open clusters can be seen from light polluted locations once you have them centered and you apply enough magnification to darken the background.  Even some of the brighter, larger globular clusters might be visible.  I'm also certain the Orion nebula would be visible once centered.

[erseavetir]

I guess that seals the deal! 127SLT it is then! Those images looks AMAZING by the way Brown Dwarf! My father would never leave the telescope's sight if he would see that. I am hoping he won't have too much problem with it as kind of a beginner though.

I have ONE LAST question for you guys:

While searching the Turkish sites, I've also found this other similar looking telescope that is way more expensive than 127SLT but it has a 48 months installment payment option on it (unlike the 6 months installment payment for the 127SLT) so that may be an option for me as well if it's going to be WAY better than Celestron NexStar 127SLT?

This is the telescope I am talking about:

Meade Instruments 218006 StarNavigator NG 125 Maksutov-Cassegrain Telescope, Black
1,110$ USD - 125mm/1900mm
https://www.hepsiburada.com/meade-starnavigatorng-125-maksutov-cassegrain-goto-elektronik-teleskop-p-HBV0000039MOR

What do you guys think?

[erseavetir]

Also, there is one thing I am really confused about. I understand that the aperture is important when it comes to the capacity of the zoom power the telescope can have. I kinda understand that the longer the focal length is, means it can zoom more. Like a telescope with 1000 focal length can zoom with 1000/5 = 250x power with a 5mm eyepiece and if the aperture is 5" (5*50 = 250x) then that aperture should be able to handle the zoom power. Correct me if I am wrong please

However, this is the thing I am very confused about:

This Celestron 127SLT telescope says that it has 1500mm Focal Lenght but I've seen this telescope in Youtube videos and it looks like it has a very short focal length, like 500 mm or something along those lines so I am confused how they claim they have 1500mm focal length? Can someone enlighten me, please?

It's especially confusing with the Meade NG 125 telescope because they claim it has 1900mm Focal Lenght, say what! I don't get it... xD

[John]

I don't think the Meade NG 125 will be any better than the Celestron 127SLT. They are both basically the same design scope made to a similar quality so will perform in a very similar way. I don't know why there is such a price difference.

The long focal length is achieved because the light is reflected back and forth between the primary mirror and the secondary mirror/spot before exiting the tube at the back to reach the eyepiece. Here is the optical path of this design of scope:

This is how scopes that are physically short can still have a long focal length.

It's worth noting that this design needs some time to reach the outside temperature before the images will be steady for viewing at high powers. Usually 20-30 minutes are needed if the scope has been stored somewhere where the temperature is quite different from outside temperature.

Once the scope is cooled, it should be able to handle magnifications of 200x - 250x to view the moon. If the seeing conditions (the steadiness of the air) are not so good (this can vary night to night, hour to hour even) then lower magnifications will give better results.

 

 

[xvariablestarx]

Anything over 200x is good for Mars also.

[erseavetir]

Very interesting, thank you guys so much!

I'd like to also take this moment to thank each and every one of you who commented and helped me out in finding the best telescope for my father, I am really grateful for you guys for taking your time to help me and my father out, I am sure he'll appreciate all of you guy's help as well. I love you all, you guys are the best! ❤️

[Louis D]

1 hour ago, erseavetir said:

Those images looks AMAZING by the way Brown Dwarf!

My SGL ID is actually Louis D.  Look for it in the banner above where you found Brown Dwarf.  Brown Dwarf is my current activity level.  You just went from Vacuum to Nebula yourself.  FYI, I didn't take those images, but I can vouch for their authenticity because I've seen similar views through my own Celestron 127 Mak.

1 hour ago, erseavetir said:

Meade Instruments 218006 StarNavigator NG 125 Maksutov-Cassegrain Telescope, Black
1,110$ USD - 125mm/1900mm

This telescope is only $479 here in the US, so it is in basically the same price and performance range as the Celestron 127SLT.  I would go with the f/12, 1500mm focal length Celestron because the shorter focal length will allow for lower powers.  That, and it is a well known and proven design worldwide.  I haven't read any reviews of the new Meade 125 Mak.  Maybe it's the same as their older and well reviewed ETX-125 minus the internal flip mirror, and maybe it isn't.  That was an American (and later, Mexican) made telescope.  I'm sure the newer one is Chinese made.

53 minutes ago, erseavetir said:

This Celestron 127SLT telescope says that it has 1500mm Focal Lenght but I've seen this telescope in Youtube videos and it looks like it has a very short focal length, like 500 mm or something along those lines so I am confused how they claim they have 1500mm focal length? Can someone enlighten me, please?

As John points out, Maks are a type of folded telescope.  However, the genius of the Maksutov design is that using only spherical curves in the mirrors and meniscus corrector, the design basically forces false color, astigmatism, coma, and field curvature to such low levels as to be inconsequential to most visual observers.  I can attest that I see no false color even at stupid high powers and edge to edge sharpness of the image at all powers.

14 minutes ago, erseavetir said:

Very interesting, thank you guys so much!

I'd like to also take this moment to thank each and every one of you who commented and helped me out in finding the best telescope for my father, I am really grateful for you guys for taking your time to help me and my father out, I am sure he'll appreciate all of you guy's help as well. I love you all, you guys are the best! ❤️

Best of luck helping your dad to make the most of his observing time.  Cherish him.  My dad passed away nearly 2 decades ago, and I still miss him greatly. ?

[erseavetir]

Aww, sorry to hear that about your dad, I can't even imagine any of my family members passing away, that would be too much to bear for me for quite a while. 

Btw, I'll most likely purchase the Celestron 127SLT in a few days but even though I already said "my last question" before, something else came up that is making me question some stuff:

So the Celestron 127 SLT has 127mm aperture (5" * 50 = 250x zoom power) and it has 1500mm Focal Lenght (1500/12mm * 2 barlow = 250x power) so this means the telescope will be able to handle 250x give it or take. 

This is another telescope that popped recently on one of these Turkish sites:

Celestron NexStar 6 SE Telescope
1411$ USD - 150mm/1500mm
https://urun.n11.com/durbun-ve-teleskop/celestron-11068-nexstar-6se-bilgisayar-donanimli-teleskop-P237060906

They have the same focal length but this one has a 150mm aperture which would mean near 300x power and I wonder if that would make a huge difference. Would that difference justify the twice expensive payment?

I could even risk it with the customs and order the 8 SE version from the B&H website for 1200$ USD (this one is not sold in Turkish websites it would be cheaper than 6SE if I bought it on this site)
https://imgur.com/oefisoU

which has 203mm aperture (8 * 50 = 400x power) with 2032mm Focal Lenght but I wonder if these powers would be too much and unnecessary for the moon and for my father's needs.

I guess if these differences matter too much, I may consider buying that from the B&H website and maybe in the future, when I want to make another upgrade, I can buy this:

Celestron 11075-XLT CPC 1100 GPS
4,545$ USD (or 3558$ on B&H) - 280mm/2800mm (550x power :S ???)
https://urun.n11.com/outdoor-teleskop/celestron-11075-xlt-cpc-1100-gps-bilgisayar-donanimli-teleskop-P196415578

Btw, the Celestron 127 SLT on B&H site will cost 578$ USD and the Celestron NexStar 6 SE Telescope would cost 878$ USD but again, who knows what happens on customs and the refund options would be risky.

 

[Cornelius Varley]

25 minutes ago, erseavetir said:

Aww, sorry to hear that about your dad, I can't even imagine any of my family members passing away, that would be too much to bear for me for quite a while. 

Btw, I'll most likely purchase the Celestron 127SLT in a few days but even though I already said "my last question" before, something else came up that is making me question some stuff:

So the Celestron 127 SLT has 127mm aperture (5" * 50 = 250x zoom power) and it has 1500mm Focal Lenght (1500/12mm * 2 barlow = 250x power) so this means the telescope will be able to handle 250x give it or take. 

This is another telescope that popped recently on one of these Turkish sites:

Celestron NexStar 6 SE Telescope
1411$ USD - 150mm/1500mm
https://urun.n11.com/durbun-ve-teleskop/celestron-11068-nexstar-6se-bilgisayar-donanimli-teleskop-P237060906

They have the same focal length but this one has a 150mm aperture which would mean near 300x power and I wonder if that would make a huge difference. Would that difference justify the twice expensive payment?

I could even risk it with the customs and order the 8 SE version from the B&H website for 1200$ USD (this one is not sold in Turkish websites it would be cheaper than 6SE if I bought it on this site)
https://imgur.com/oefisoU

which has 203mm aperture (8 * 50 = 400x power) with 2032mm Focal Lenght but I wonder if these powers would be too much and unnecessary for the moon and for my father's needs.

I guess if these differences matter too much, I may consider buying that from the B&H website and maybe in the future, when I want to make another upgrade, I can buy this:

Celestron 11075-XLT CPC 1100 GPS
4,545$ USD (or 3558$ on B&H) - 280mm/2800mm (550x power :S ???)
https://urun.n11.com/outdoor-teleskop/celestron-11075-xlt-cpc-1100-gps-bilgisayar-donanimli-teleskop-P196415578

Btw, the Celestron 127 SLT on B&H site will cost 578$ USD and the Celestron NexStar 6 SE Telescope would cost 878$ USD but again, who knows what happens on customs and the refund options would be risky.

 

I see aperture fever has already set in. Many members on SGL have a Skywatcher Skymax 127 and are very pleased with it. The Celestron Slt 127 is the same telescope on a slighty different mount and will give you the same views of the moon.  The Celestron 6" and 8" SCT will give a slighty better image at the eyepiece but you would have to compare the three telescopes side by side to notice the difference.

[erseavetir]

lol thank you for the info. I'll let my father know about all of this and see what he thinks.

On the other forum that I mentioned before (Here is a link to it: https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/622406-thinking-of-buying-a-better-telescope-for-looking-at-moons-craters-and-i-need-suggestions/)

People were mentioning the cons of buying the SLT 127, such as:

Quote

A 125-127mm Maksutov would be great for observing the Moon; luxurious even, as it would be very easy to zoom in on the Moon.  However, would you or your father be able to get it serviced in the event of possible, future issues with the motorised go-to system, if such appeared?  I don't think that either go-to mount can be operated manually in the event of either a motor or computer failure, certainly not with the Celestron SLT mount.  That's one reason why I'd suggest the refractor kit below, and with a manual mount; as well as his having been used to using a refractor.
https://www.teleskop-express.de/shop/product_info.php/info/p2683_Skywatcher-Evostar-102-on-EQ3---Refractor-telescope-102-1000mm.html

With the equatorial, your father could track any object with the slow-motion hand controls, and the RA-axis could be motorised in future for automatic hands-free tracking.

In addition, a refractor is virtually and practically maintenance-free.  Maksutovs, like all reflector telescopes, sometimes require collimation, alignment, of the optical system, but it can be performed by the user, after researching the procedure.  If the Maksutov could be serviced easily enough, all around, the Meade would perhaps be the best choice, but either would do.  Then there are some who avoid the go-to mounts altogether and simply place a Maksutov OTA onto a manual mount of their choice, whether an equatorial or alt-azimuth.

A fully electronic, go-to, Nexstar Mak would offer plusses and cons:

Cons:

1) The need to align the scope with two stars, in order to be able to use it at all. This means longer setup, batteries always needed, difficulty to align when part of the sky is clouded, and need form your father to learn to identify some stars. For lunar observing feels unnecessary. Depending on your father's preferences and skill, this may or may not be a disadvantage.
2) No manual operation to move the scope. Considering it's meant for mostly observing the moon, not being able to manually aim and move, may or may not be a disadvantage depending on your father's tastes.

Plusses:

1) Automatic tracking, meaning the scope moves as the moon moves, helping keep a particular crater in the center of the view, is very helpful, specially to really zoom in close, and once you have done all the alignment, aiming and focusing, viewing is then more pleasant.
2)The Nexstar mount is more solid than most of the tripods seen in that store. Less vibrations then.

Granted, at f/10, that Sky-Watcher 102mm achromat would not perform quite as well as, say, a 102mm f/19 achromat, in so far as false-colour exhibited when viewing brighter objects.  It's not so bothersome when viewing the Moon, but it can be annoying when viewing the brighter planets.  Still, at f/10, it would be minimal with the Sky-Watcher. You can also buy this from your Turkish website, it's very similar to the Sky-Watcher:
https://www.hepsiburada.com/bresser-messier-r-102-model-102-1000mm-mercekli-manuel-kundakli-teleskop-p-SPORMEADE46

Of course, the Maksutov kits might be easier for him to handle and move about, as they may be lighter, and are certainly smaller than either one of the two refractor kits.  I realise that.

But then, in addition, have you thought about if it will be possible to coordinate the go-to system with the sky?  Would your father have access to enough of the sky for that?  Then, in general, it has been troubling for some to conduct the procedure itself, if not for quite a few users.  Is your father good with computers?  Then, it may be possible for him to simply move the telescope with the motors wherever he likes, and then start tracking the object.  I do not know. You can research that aspect.  Also, have you consulted with him as to your wanting to give him a go-to Maksutov?  If so, does he like the idea?

Or, would it be best to place a 127mm Maksutov OTA on a manual mount, and with a good-sized finderscope, like an 8x50?  A Maksutov will take a bit longer to acclimate to the outdoors before the higher powers can be used; about an hour, depending.  A refractor is usually ready to observe at the higher powers after about 10 to 15 minutes.  

So many things to think about, but I feel that you'll arrive at the best solution.

2

__________

After reading all of these comments, this is what I said to them:

Quote

After Adun mentioned the cons of that 127SLT telescope and said this:

"A Barlow and zoom will already improve the 70/700's lunar abilities a lot. For a new telescope to be a worthy improvement, it will take something like a Nexstar Mak, or 100mm F10 reflector for it to be worth it."

and you (Sky Muse) also keep mentioning me about the potential risks/cons of 127SLT I think that might not be the best telescope for my father then. The fact that it can't be manually used is already a big bummer. 

I guess in that case buying this for 957$ USD from the Turkish site:
https://www.hepsiburada.com/bresser-messier-r-102-model-102-1000mm-mercekli-manuel-kundakli-teleskop-p-SPORMEADE46

or risking it with the customs issues and buying the one you mentioned from the German site for 500$ USD to save money:
https://www.teleskop-express.de/shop/product_info.php/info/p2683_Skywatcher-Evostar-102-on-EQ3---Refractor-telescope-102-1000mm.html

will be a better deal. I am sure my father will like manually moving better although I'll talk to him about that and ask if he'd enjoy the auto movement with the 127SLT because I know that he not only really enjoys looking at the moon himself, he really wants to share great images that he wants to take from the telescope with his iPhone (or rather equivalent android phone with similar cam quality). And he, for some reason, REALLY wants to live stream the things he is seeing on his Facebook and I even bought him a "Cell Phone Adapter Mount" but he wasn't able to take the kind of zoomed in clear shots that he wanted.

Oh well, I'll sleep on this now and read you guy's comments about it tomorrow I guess. What would I do without you guys?

 

 

__________

Would be cool to hear your opinions on these updates as well, I am sorry to keep this thread busy and the thread on the other forum as well I guess but it's so hard to decide on this  

[cletrac1922]

Welcome from land down under

Personally I would go for a Skywatcher EQ mount with an ED80

Nice all round unit, and especially when comes to AP, and can also get a glass filter for solar viewing, as per attached pic

There is also a new Wi-Fi unit for the EQ mounts, which operates from an APP on your mobile or tablet

Recently acquired, and takes the guess work out of programming the mount

Another advantage of the APP, can just point your mobile device, where you want to observe or image, and the mount goes there

John

[Ricochet]

Personally, I think I would go for the 5" Maksutov over a 4" f10 achromat. In the event that the electronic mount broke and could not be repaired, the telescope has a standard dovetail mounting that will allow it to be easily fitted to a new mount of your choice. 

[happy-kat]

Several posts back you mentioned the 8SE, you don't want your father not using his new telescope because it is too big and heavy for him since recent health situation to actually use it.

[happy-kat]

A manual alt az mount is simple to setup and quick to use. If you can find a 127 slt or mak available from your Turkish sites on a manual mount that would be cheaper and easier to use. I personally would avoid an eq mount for visual use.