Telescope for beginner

[Sadiestorm]

Hi Everyone, 
I recognise that I am yet another beginner asking for advice here so I appreciate any advice you take the time to give. I have been fascinated by space and astronomy for a long time and have decided that it is a good time to take it further than just compulsively reading about it and having an entire twitter account purely for following NASA, astronauts and publications to do with space.

I have spent countless nights researching and have narrowed my list down to 4 telescopes and I was wanting to ask for feedback. Here's a little bit about what I am hoping to do and my situation. 
1. I live in London in an apartment and for my regular viewing I will be bringing the telescope up to the roof. I am also hoping to go every other month or so down to the South Downs Dark Sky site to get away from the light pollution. So it needs to be portable.
2. I am hoping for an all round telescope for viewing purposes - lunar, planetary, bright deep sky objects etc (although I realise much of this will depend on getting away from the light pollution of London). If in the future I can invest in upgrading the mount + get the necessary motors and have a basic little astrophotography setup, even better but not essential. 
3. I am not adverse to steep learning curves in terms of how to set up and use various mounts. I am also not adverse to GoTo mounts but for now I would much rather put money into a decent OTA and upgrade to a good mount/goto system later. 
4. My budget is probably £400ish

My list of options:
1. Skywatcher Explorer 150P EQ3-2 
2. Skywatcher Skyliner 150P Dobsonian
3. Orion Astroview 6 EQ 
4. Orion Spaceprobe 130ST EQ

Let me know any thoughts. Even if you completely disagree, I just want to learn 😃. I am very happy to have other telescopes suggested as well. 

Edited to say: I have considered binoculars for their portability and ease of use. However, I actually have some decent ones back in NZ that I used at night quite a bit when I lived there so I would much rather upgrade to a telescope.

Edited November 13, 2020 by Sadiestorm

[Alan64]

Of the four, the "Skyliner" 150P, at f/8, would be the easiest to maintain, and collimate.  Newtonians require collimation on occasion. 

Incidentally, it's always heart-warming to me personally to see an upgrading from binoculars to a telescope...

The "Explorer" 150P and the "Astroview 6" are the same; a toss-up.  The "Spaceprobe" 130ST is a somewhat smaller version of those two.  All three Newtonians are at f/5, and would be more difficult to collimate, and more difficult to reach the higher and highest powers of which the telescope is capable.  Some also mention the difficulty of operating a Newtonian mounted on an equatorial.  The telescopes, however, can be rotated within their tube-rings to place the focusser in a more comfortable observing-position, as needed.

There are also other telescopic designs to consider; a refractor which requires little to no maintenance(collimation)...

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/evostar/skywatcher-evostar-102-eq3-2.html

A Maksutov, which is the closest a mirrored-telescope may come to the optical-performance of a refractor...

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/maksutov/skywatcher-skymax-127-eq3-2.html

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/maksutov/skywatcher-skymax-127-synscan-az-goto.html

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/maksutov/sky-watcher-skymax-127-az-gti.html

Maksutovs have long focal-lengths however.  They are like microscopes, but for the night sky.  Low-power, wide-field views are nigh impossible with a Maksutov, but then a telescope in the first place is for seeing faraway objects up close.  Else, one would use their eyes or a pair of binoculars.

[KP82]

Out of the four options you listed, my vote goes to the SW 150P dob. It's the easiest to use and will produce stunning views of the night sky.

If you plan to upgrade to a GOTO/tracking EQ mount for a bit of imaging in the future, why not take a look at this one:

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/bresser-telescopes/bresser-messier-6-inch-planetary-dobsonian.html

It's another 6" f/8 newt on a dobsonian mount, but its tube rings will allow easier conversion to an EQ mount compared to the skywatcher.

A 4" short focal length refractor on an alt-az mount could also be a good choice as it's a lot more portable and easier to use. But it can produce quite a bit of CA on bright objects.

A 102-127mm SCT or Mak will be the most portable solution, but its use is very limited (lunar & planetary). Its aperture isn't big enough for many faint small DSOs yet its long focal length will seriously limit the fov it can produce.

Edited November 14, 2020 by KP82

[Alan64]

5 hours ago, KP82 said:

Out of the four options you listed, my vote goes to the SW 150P dob. It's the easiest to use and will produce stunning views of the night sky.

If you plan to upgrade to a GOTO/tracking EQ mount for a bit of imaging in the future, why not take a look at this one:

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/bresser-telescopes/bresser-messier-6-inch-planetary-dobsonian.html

It's another 6" f/8 newt on a dobsonian mount, but its tube rings will allow easier conversion to an EQ mount compared to the skywatcher.

A 4" short focal length refractor on an alt-az mount could also be a good choice as it's a lot more portable and easier to use. But it can produce quite a bit of CA on bright objects.

A 102-127mm SCT or Mak will be the most portable solution, but its use is very limited (lunar & planetary). Its aperture isn't big enough for many faint small DSOs yet its long focal length will seriously limit the fov it can produce.

It's good to see that mounting system paired with a 150mm f/8.

[happy-kat]

Hi

You mention observing from the apartment block roof, how many stairs will it mean lugging a telescope and mount up? A mak or refractor on an altaz mount may be easier to get to your observing location.