Noob, What Scope ??

[TheGhostUK]

Morning all..

Looking into buying my first Scope, i have 3 in mind but would like to know others advise please.

what do you think about them ?

Thank you all for your time..

Mark..

1.   https://www.f1telescopes.co.uk/shop/telescopes/celestron-telescopes/celestron-astrofi-telescopes-with-wifi/celestron-astro-fi-102mm-maksutov-cassegrain-telescope/

2.   https://www.f1telescopes.co.uk/shop/telescopes/celestron-telescopes/celestron-astrofi-telescopes-with-wifi/celestron-astro-fi-130mm-newtonian-telescope-with-wifi/

3.  https://www.f1telescopes.co.uk/shop/telescopes/celestron-telescopes/celestron-nexstar-slt/celestron-nexstar-130-slt-reflector-telescope/

[Ricochet]

Of the three I would probably go for the third one as an all round choice. Numbers 2 and 3 look to be the same OTA and mount with the differences being that the AstroFi version is controlled via your phone/tablet and uses an aluminium tripod while the SLT is controlled by a handset and has a (hopefully sturdier) steel tripod. It depends if phone/tablet control is something you specifically want. In the dead of winter the big chunky buttons of a handset that can be used with gloves on might be preferable. I would also consider the Skywatcher AZ GTI version of these scopes. 

If you are mainly interested in the moon and planets then the 102mm Mak would be a nice grab and go option. It might be a bit small for an only scope but if you were to upgrade to something larger in the future it could well stay in your collection as a secondary scope. Again there is a SW AZ GTI version.

Finally, for the same budget you could buy an 8" dobsonian. Optically it will beat all of your options on all targets however the downsides are that it is a lot bigger/heavier and you will only get a manual one at this price.

[TheGhostUK]

Hi Ricochet,

 Thank you for your reply, I have been looking more at the SLT130..

Hopefully this will get me hooked.. 

there are just so many to choose from, the other two seem great but the 130 grabs me for some reason… 

but saying that, so dose the  Skywatcher AZ GTI now lol

 

Thanks again..

[scitmon]

If you can give us your preferences on what you want to observe, your budget and your size/portability preferences then we will be able to better advise you.  The temptation for "noobs" is to go big, but then they find the hassle of setting up big scopes restricts their use.

[TheGhostUK]

Hi Scitmon,

 I have been watching many youtube vids on astrophotography (DeepSky), i realise that them scopes are out off my price range so think the Moon and local planets are a great start..

Thanks..

 

[scitmon]

Yes serious astrophotography can get expensive.  Moon and planets benefit from longer focal length telescopes so a good start will be to look at the Skywatcher Skymax range https://www.firstlightoptics.com/maksutov.html or the Celestron Nextstar SE range https://www.firstlightoptics.com/se-series.html.   

 

[TheGhostUK]

Great, thank you both.

Ill check the Skymax-102 out a bit more..

or the Skywatcher Skymax-127 lol

Mark.

[Ags]

It is worth noting: using a DSLR at prime focus, the whole moon fits in the field of view of the Skymax 102, but not in the field of view of the 127 - it is too zoomed in.

[TheGhostUK]

Hi Ags

 I see, so would the best option be to get the 102 with a Barlow lens ?

[Ags]

I just wanted to give you an idea of how narrow the field of view of a mak is. As a first scope this has drawbacks - it's much harder to find faint stuff for example. 

[TheGhostUK]

Ok i got you..

Thank you ..

[scitmon]

28 minutes ago, Ags said:

I just wanted to give you an idea of how narrow the field of view of a mak is. As a first scope this has drawbacks - it's much harder to find faint stuff for example. 

Which is why I asked what you plan to be looking at.  The moon and planets are not faint targets.  If you want to try a bit of deep field as well, a larger aperture reflector like the Skywatcher 130p might be the way forward.

[TheGhostUK]

Thanks again for all your input, I have a lot to think about now but feel a little more educated thanks to you guys..

[happy-kat]

The 130p does not focus with a DSLR using prime focus, though diy on the tube or a barlow may help. The Az gti can be used with the pro flavour of the application on a wedge in eq mode which is better for astrophotography, though it probably would then want to use just a camera and lens on that mount is having a start with imaging DSO. You don't need an equatorial mount for the Moon or planets so reducing the weight is generally speaking not a concern.

[PaulConfused]

Based on the sound advice and help from this site, we bought the Smymax 127 AZ Gti the other week. An amazing scope and the goto is fabulous. We had it setup out of the box and seeking within minutes. There is a fab youtube vid about them if you like. It's on my previous thread here or if you search astronomy and nature centre on youtube it's there.

I also got a simple adaptor that allows my Sony A6000 to fit directly onto the scope.