Which one is better ?

[johninderby]

Perhaps just forget about a scope for a little while. You can always get one later on when you’ve had the chance to clear your mind of the overwheling choice. 

Information overload. 😬

Edited September 5, 2020 by johninderby

[dweller25]

You could buy a relatively cheap but high performing dobsonian now which will allow you to dip your toe in the water and later put it on an equatorial mount with tracking motors, thats what I did.......

Edited September 5, 2020 by dweller25

[Alkaid]

Yes, unfortunately the choice of scope can lead to ‘paralysis by analysis’. There really are just too many to choose between and many of us get hung up on that.

There was a time when I used to analyse all the options, which one is better etc, being irrrated that some models were totally out of my price range etc. Trouble is, you just end up going mad with it all instead of actually doing what matters, getting out there and relaxing with a scope.

My honest advice would be: Just buy a scope, something from Skywatcher or Celestron, either new or used. Have fun with it! The interest will naturally grow from there and when you’re ready, you sell that scope and get another to try out. It’s all part of the journey.

[Nair al Saif]

I have either the evostar 90Eq or the starquest 102eq And the 6inch dobsonian

ill probably choose the maksutov

Edited September 5, 2020 by Nair al Saif

[Nair al Saif]

What was everyone’s first scope? What would be your one scope to rule them all? Under 250

Edited September 5, 2020 by Nair al Saif

[AstroNebulee]

3 minutes ago, Nair al Saif said:

What was everyone’s first scope? What would be your one scope to rule them all?

My first scope was a celestron cometron 76mm, then went to a astromaster 130eq, then to a skywatcher explorer 150p eq3-2 and bought a skymax 127 to compliment it best of both worlds then, sold my cometron and astromaster to help towards funding the latter purchases, no one scope will rule them all unless you have bottomless pockets and can afford them. Clear skies 

Edited September 5, 2020 by LeeHore7

[John]

My 1st scope was a 1960's 60mm refractor but there a so many better choices now that I would not really recommend one. My 2nd scope, and my 1st "proper" scope was a 6 in newtonian which I made a simple dobsonian mount for. I observed Halley's Comet with that in 1986.

Under £250 ?

6 inch dobsonian or, even better, a used 8 inch dobsonian

You are probably going to get a wide range of answers to this though, which might not help you in your choice.

[dweller25]

My first scope : 8.5” Astro Systems Newtonian : 1986

Altaz first....

Then the same scope but changed to an equatorial mount.....

[banjaxed]

Why not get a pair of 10 x 50 binoculars, they will give you some great views and you don’t need to worry about mounts etc.

[RobertI]

My first scope as a teenager back in 1980 was a 6" F8 newtonian. What is the best all round scope now for a beginner? I reckon a 6" F8 Dobsonian!

(or possibly an 8" F6 dobsonian) 

Edited September 5, 2020 by RobertI

[johninderby]

As you will have noticed most people on this forum have several scopes. No one scope does it all so expect to end up with two or three in a few years time. A mak is a great choice for lunar and planetary and an inexpense achro can be good for low power widefield and DSOs. 

So if you were to get the mak now you could pickup a low cost achro later on that would fit on the same mount as used for the mak.

Then later on if you find you prefer a certain type of observing buy a better scope that would suit you.

 

Edited September 5, 2020 by johninderby

[Nair al Saif]

Yeah! It’s now do I buy the mak first or the dobsonian!

the one thing that I dislike about the dobsonian is that it doesn’t counter the earths rotation so tracking  at 200x magnification is difficult!

[sputniksteve]

5 minutes ago, johninderby said:

As you will have noticed most people on this forum have several scopes. No one scope does it all so expect to end up with two or three in a few years time. A mak is a great choice for lunar and planetary and an inexpense achro can be good for low power widefield and DSOs. 

So if you were to get the mak now you could pickup a low cost achro later on that would fit on the same mount as used for the mak.

Then later on if you find you prefer a certain type of observing buy a better scope that would suit you.

 

This is my plan.

[johninderby]

7 minutes ago, Nair al Saif said:

Yeah! It’s now do I buy the mak first or the dobsonian!

the one thing that I dislike about the dobsonian is that it doesn’t counter the earths rotation so tracking  at 200x magnification is difficult!

The key to easy tracking with a dob is widefield eyepieces. And yes when observing the moon do sometimes use 500x mag. You get used to “nudging” the scope to keep something in the fov. 

Edited September 5, 2020 by johninderby

[sputniksteve]

3 minutes ago, Nair al Saif said:

Yeah! It’s now do I buy the mak first or the dobsonian!

the one thing that I dislike about the dobsonian is that it doesn’t counter the earths rotation so tracking  at 200x magnification is difficult!

I used to own a 12" Lightbridge. I loved it, but when the kids came along I stopped playing for a while. Like an idiot, I sold the thing in 2014 (for way cheaper than I should have!) which I think was a symptom post cardiac arrest brain damage!! 

It was a great scope, but I got tired of having to nudge it every 30 seconds or so to get options back into the FOV. It was also huge, and a bit of a burden getting from the garage to the garden. In addition, star hopping was a great way to learn my way around the sky, but the novelty wore off. 

My plan now is to start with the Skymax 127 on the AZ-GTi mount, get a good quality 8mm eyepiece, or maybe a zoom ep. Later, I will get the EQ mod and then buy something like an achro which will fit on the AZ-GTi when I want to do DSO stuff. 

I've always preferred planetary for visual stuff, but might like to have a go at some photography too. 

[vlaiv]

Dob can also track - if you are good with DIY - it might be a cheap option as well.

EQ platform is a solution for planetary observation with dobs. Commercially available ones are not cheap, but you can build one yourself - just look up plans online.

[dweller25]

1 hour ago, Nair al Saif said:

Yeah! It’s now do I buy the mak first or the dobsonian!

the one thing that I dislike about the dobsonian is that it doesn’t counter the earths rotation so tracking  at 200x magnification is difficult!

Are you sure it’s difficult ??

I have manually tracked whilst drawing planets with a dob at x200 - it was not hard, I just used a wide angle eyepiece.

If you are looking for the best views a 6-8” Dobsonian will show more detail than a 5” Mak

Edited September 5, 2020 by dweller25

[Alfian]

It's sounding like easy tracking is a priority so an eq3/2 (steel legged) based set up would work. You can add motor drives at some point if wanted.The 127 Mak would do you nicely for planetary etc. You could add a wide field scope later. Its worth mentioning budgeting for eyepieces. Maksutovs are light (read cheaper) on eyepieces whereas something like an f5 wide field reflector or refractor gets more picky (read more expensive). It's not worth me talking about my first scope as it was bought for me and I wouldn't recommend it, but if I was now to buy a "first" scope that would cover most needs and be easy on eyepiecesit would be a 6" f8 dob. I currently have a collection of scopes that reflect how things have developed for me and it seems to be the way for many SGL members so I would agree with the idea of jumping in and getting going and see where things take you.

[Nair al Saif]

Would an 8 inch dobsonian go on an eq5?

[vlaiv]

17 minutes ago, Nair al Saif said:

Would an 8 inch dobsonian go on an eq5?

Probably no. I used 8" dob tube on Heq5 mount and it did not give me much confidence. Tube of 8" Skywatcher dob is 11Kg, and payload capacity of Eq5 is about 9-10Kg, so less than OTA weight.

There might be lighter 8" F/6 tube out there - maybe Bresser one is lighter? Nope, it is 11.5Kg as well (just checked).

[johninderby]

An Orion Optics VX8 OTA is about 7kg but isn’t cheap but will work on an EQ5.

https://www.orionoptics.co.uk/VX/vx8-8l.html

Edited September 5, 2020 by johninderby

[vlaiv]

4 minutes ago, johninderby said:

An Orion Optics VX8 OTA is about 7kg but isn’t cheap.

https://www.orionoptics.co.uk/VX/vx8-8l.html

It is indeed lighter than other options.

F/6 version is said to be 8kg and that is without any other gear attached to it - you'll need rings and dovetail and finder at least. I think that could easily get to 9Kg and again weight limit of Eq5.

[Nair al Saif]

Update: Thanks to everyone’s help but I have decided a telescope is not for me. 289 pounds for a subpar view of the moon. I’ll always watch the moon/stars unaided and maybe think about buying telescope but I doubt so.

Ill share the wisdom from my questions to help other sgl members.

Edited September 6, 2020 by Nair al Saif

[Nair al Saif]

Update: Thanks for everyone’s advice but I have decided that a telescope is not for me. It’s too expensive. 3 steel pipes cost 99. A subpar view of the moon can be achieved through a 8 inch dobsonian for 289 pounds? It’s not worth it. Instead I’ll paint what I see. So as I star at the waning gibbous moon tonight I wonder what could have been if I bought a telescope. The moon shines as if a symbol to mock me. A telescope is not for me.

So what does Nair al Saif do , where does iota Orionis travel off too now? Moonlapses through iphones, paintings of the moon and general observing of planets and stars unaided. I’ll share my advice to the newcomers and teach them what I have learnt. 

I will still always love astronomy, just like the way I love the sea.

 

[Robindonne]

Dont give up.  Wait for an used offer that wont cost money when you later resell it.  
 

guaranteed that plenty of moments will come when you feel sorry to not be able to magnify that sky if you give up now