Advice on telescope

[Kon]

Hi,

I am a total novice but very excited to own a telescope. I have been doing some searches and I am between two minds....Skywatcher Skyliner 200p or explorer 150p. I like the idea of the 200p since it is easier to setup with my hectic schedule and kids. I have not had much experience with either but due to covid19 it is hard to attend any stargazing groups. I understand that for visual the 200p is much better but I quite like to do some astrophotography. I have been playing with my DSLR.

will it be hard to get any decent photos of planets with the 200p? The 150p on a motorised mount should be able to do deep space. What sort of observations can I make with the 200p and 150p apart from planets? Will nebulas, clusters  be clear or only long exposed photograph and post processing reveal them?

 

thanks a lot!

[Gfamily]

Both would be great scopes for observations; but it has to be said that neither is going to be ideal for astrophotography. 

The issue with Newtonians is that the standard design places the prime focus from the main mirror inside the focuser tube, so you can't get that prime image on the dSLR sensor. 

You might consider getting a Skywatcher PDS telescope as that is designed to be used for imaging. However, the other consideration for imaging is the quality of the mount - and you would ideally use a much more capable mount for imaging with a 150mm Newtonian. You may be OK imaging planets with the 150 PDS on a motorised mount, as they are bright and are usually best imaged using a video capture that is then processed and stacked, but other imaging would be more difficult.

If you do want to try imaging, an option would be to use the motor driven equatorial mount, and fix the dSLR with its own lens on a ball head directly attached to the mount. You won't get the magnification, but the demands made on the mount will be much less, so you're going to have a much higher chance of getting satisfactory results.

In terms of visual observing though - both telescopes will be great for the Moon and planets of course, but will also work well for star clusters, the brighter nebulae and some of the brighter galaxies. 

Edited September 20, 2020 by Gfamily