Help re 'starter' telescope on a budget.

[Janie]

Hi all, I'm hoping you will be kind enough to help. We have a telescope and last night a friend came to have a look through it. He was suitably impressed of course ....and would  now like to buy himself one. He has a budget of only around £200 and I have absolutely no idea what to suggest, being a novice myself.  Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

Many thanks to everyone - I'm passing all the information on to my friend......... who also appreciates all your help. Best wishes to all.   Janie x

[xvariablestarx]

Since no scope can do everything, find out what your friend wants to look at.

[Anthonyexmouth]

For £200 you cant go wrong with a Dobsonian 

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/dobsonians/skywatcher-skyliner-150p-dobsonian.html

[Macavity]

It is hard to anticipate subsequent enthusiasm... How s/he might progress? ?
For the aspirational - Dedicted to be an Amateur Astronomers, a Dobsonian!
For a general "look-see", a short tube refractor plus tripod, an easier start? ?

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/startravel/skywatcher-startravel-102-az3.html

Not a "perfect" telescope, but it taught me LOTS after a many year lay off! ?

[pipnina]

1 hour ago, Anthonyexmouth said:

For £200 you cant go wrong with a Dobsonian 

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/dobsonians/skywatcher-skyliner-150p-dobsonian.html

Bear in mind that at F8 it will be neither easy to carry about or easy to get wide FOV from! It has the same focal length as my 250PX with almost half the size of the primary!

I might recommend the cheaper skywatcher heritage 130 as a starting scope, and maybe an eyepiece to get either higher mag with more comfort than the standard SW 10mm or wider views (i.e. a 30mm plossl).

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/dobsonians/skywatcher-heritage-130p-flextube.html

It's also small, light and compact. Better for grab-and-go than a bigger and longer dob.

[Alien 13]

3 minutes ago, pipnina said:

Bear in mind that at F8 it will be neither easy to carry about or easy to get wide FOV from! It has the same focal length as my 250PX with almost half the size of the primary!

I might recommend the cheaper skywatcher heritage 130 as a starting scope, and maybe an eyepiece to get either higher mag with more comfort than the standard SW 10mm or wider views (i.e. a 30mm plossl).

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/dobsonians/skywatcher-heritage-130p-flextube.html

It's also small, light and compact. Better for grab-and-go than a bigger and longer dob.

I agree, its also a scope you will probably want to keep even if you did upgrade because its so portable.

Alan

[Nyctimene]

+1 for the Heritage 130P Flextube. Very compact and easy to store and move, excellent optics, holds collimation well and is very versatile. As a grab-and-go scope, it has replaced my 80/400 mm Vixen FH refractor completely. Have a look at Neil English's review here (you may skip the math part):

http://neilenglish.net/a-newtonian-travel-scope/

and the huge CloudyNights thread (the OneSky Newtonian is the same scope, just another brand (U.S.)):

https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/463109-onesky-newtonian-astronomers-without-borders/

 Best value for money; and many pleased owners here on SGL!

Stephan

 

[Ricochet]

I see that you have listed your location as High Wycombe. As such you (and/or your friend) may consider Tring Astronomy Centre to be close enough to drive to. They definitely used to have both the Skyliner 150p and Heritage 130p on display which would help your friend ascertain how important the portability aspect is. They're pretty good at answering the phone so a quick ring should confirm whether both models are still on display. 

[Janie]

Thank you so much for all your help. I'm passing it on to my friend.

Ricochet.......... yes both my friend and I are in the High Wycombe area - so a trip to Tring sounds like a very good plan  Thank you all again. Best wishes, Janie