Skywatcher 250p Goto Flextube alternatives?

[McEloff]

Hi all,

Any chance I can get some feedback on what my options are for a first scope?

I am happy to ignore AP for now, and only concentrate on visual for this scope. No preference between planets and dso's at the moment, so want to be as versatile as possible on that. I do want goto on it though to maximise viewing time. 

I am not fussed about the flextube part of it, but Skywatcher doesn't seem to do the solid tube in a 250 goto anymore? I know Bressier, Orion etc exist, but they are all more expensive.

Is there any alternatives I am missing in this price range?

The only 'issue' I have read about so far on this scope is how the f4.7 will affect my choice of eyepieces. I was planning on starting off with just the Baader Zoom and a Barlow. I am aware that it may not be ideal, but lots of people seem to get along fine with it in this scope, and I can always get something like the ES 82's at a later stage in the sizes I end up using most in the zoom.

Any advice or input appreciated! 

[Cosmic Geoff]

Alternatives? Depends on whether you are determined to get a large GoTo Dob or are prepared to consider other alternatives.   Compared with other designs, GoTo Dob outfits do not seem to get used for much other than visual observing, which is fine if that is all you want.

Buying a smaller outfit would leave you more funds to  buy something else if (like another recent poster here) you buy a 'scope outfit with one thing in mind and then find your interest takes you in another direction.  Even a smaller instrument would give you plenty of amusement before you run out of things to look at.  

A SCT, while inherently more expensive, would be much more compact and lighter, and also offer more potential for planetary imaging.  They are often available used at a large discount,  reportedly because people buy them for deep-sky imaging and then find that they are not well suited to this role.

[PaulM]

Consider buying used/second hand

my 14" flexi SW was the same price as a new 250

I can also  image the moon and planets with a DSLR camera so getting into how to stack images and process

 

[McEloff]

1 hour ago, Cosmic Geoff said:

Alternatives? Depends on whether you are determined to get a large GoTo Dob or are prepared to consider other alternatives.   Compared with other designs, GoTo Dob outfits do not seem to get used for much other than visual observing, which is fine if that is all you want.

Buying a smaller outfit would leave you more funds to  buy something else if (like another recent poster here) you buy a 'scope outfit with one thing in mind and then find your interest takes you in another direction.  Even a smaller instrument would give you plenty of amusement before you run out of things to look at.  

A SCT, while inherently more expensive, would be much more compact and lighter, and also offer more potential for planetary imaging.  They are often available used at a large discount,  reportedly because people buy them for deep-sky imaging and then find that they are not well suited to this role.

Thank you for your feedback, appreciate it.

I'm considering everything and anything at the moment.

I did favour an SCT initially (Nexstar 8SE or even a C8 on an AVX mount), with a Newtonian SW 200P on an HEQ5 Pro mount a close second, but as I am  happy to forego AP for this one (as even those will be a compromise) and storage/size/weight is not a major issue for me, I figured I would maximise aperture for my money and thus I swung over to the Dob. The money 'saved' can be used on eyepieces etc.

I've been looking at 2nd hand options, but just not found what I've been looking for yet, but will keep on looking...

[McEloff]

28 minutes ago, PaulM said:

Consider buying used/second hand

my 14" flexi SW was the same price as a new 250

I can also  image the moon and planets with a DSLR camera so getting into how to stack images and process

 

Thank you, I am considering 2nd hand, just not found what I'm looking for yet...

It'll be a bonus for me if I can snap a few pics of the moon or whatever with whatever scope I get, but it's not a can of worms I want to open just yet!