Best telescope under $200

[CocoVista]

Hello! I'm looking at buying my first telescope and am quite lost, so hoping the experts here can help me to choose something.   Portability is not an issue, as the telescope will not move.  Aesthetics is as important as functionality as it will be in a prominent area of my home.  I'd mostly be looking at the moon, and anything else that might be interesting.  Planets?  Again, i'm a beginner a dont know anything about this really.   I'm in Canada, so would ideally just purchase from Amazon.ca.  I'd be looking at ordering online for sure, and hoping to have it in time for Christmas.  Any input, advice and links from Canadian sites that I could order from would be appreciated. 

TIA! 

[vlaiv]

Hi and welcome to SGL.

You are quite limiting possible choices with your requirements. Best that I could do with following criteria:

- very cheap (it probably went over $200 - not sure what is exchange rate between American and Canadian dollar at the moment)

- nice looking to be displayed in prominent place in home (well, this is matter of taste, isn't it?)

- moon, planets and the rest

- in stock and available at Canadian retailer

I have absolutely no idea if this telescope is good as I have never seen it or read review of it, but based on what is written in specifications - it should satisfy you. Only drawback is that it will have some false color (purple halo around very bright stars at high magnifications) but not too much.

Here it is:

https://www.ontariotelescope.com/fl-ar80.html

If you are ready to loosen some of your requirements, then this is the scope that I would recommend as cheap alternative otherwise:

It is Skywatcher Maksutov 102mm on AZ-EQ Avant mount.

 

[NGC 1502]

The best scope under $200 is likely to be a second hand one.  Of course if you’re new to this you won’t know what’s good or bad so go very carefully.

Maybe you could ask advice (online) at a local astronomy club ?   They might be able to help.

Hope you find something, Ed.

[CocoVista]

23 minutes ago, vlaiv said:

Hi and welcome to SGL.

You are quite limiting possible choices with your requirements. Best that I could do with following criteria:

- very cheap (it probably went over $200 - not sure what is exchange rate between American and Canadian dollar at the moment)

- nice looking to be displayed in prominent place in home (well, this is matter of taste, isn't it?)

- moon, planets and the rest

- in stock and available at Canadian retailer

I have absolutely no idea if this telescope is good as I have never seen it or read review of it, but based on what is written in specifications - it should satisfy you. Only drawback is that it will have some false color (purple halo around very bright stars at high magnifications) but not too much.

Here it is:

https://www.ontariotelescope.com/fl-ar80.html

If you are ready to loosen some of your requirements, then this is the scope that I would recommend as cheap alternative otherwise:

It is Skywatcher Maksutov 102mm on AZ-EQ Avant mount.

 

Thank you for this information!  My requirements are just guidelines really and am flexible.   It doesn't have to be great... just semi-decent.  Exchange is about $1.35 Canadian dollar for every $1.00 US.  Quotes in USD are fine as we're used to the exchange.    The link you provided does look pretty sweet!   Would ideally like to keep the price below that if I can, but again, if there is a big difference, then i'd be willing to come up a bit.  I'm not planning on getting deeply into this, but you never know once I start looking through it.  I don't need the best, just need something that is relatively useable.  If it's good for kids, then it would probably be good for me.   This one is pretty cheap so thinking it might be complete garbage based on what i'm hearing: https://www.amazon.ca/Upgraded-Telescope-Adults-Refractor-Astronomy/dp/B07X9L6JYS/ref=sr_1_9?dchild=1&keywords=telescope&qid=1606836807&sr=8-9    I'm guessing it's junk?   

[CocoVista]

16 minutes ago, NGC 1502 said:

The best scope under $200 is likely to be a second hand one.  Of course if you’re new to this you won’t know what’s good or bad so go very carefully.

Maybe you could ask advice (online) at a local astronomy club ?   They might be able to help.

Hope you find something, Ed.

Thanks for the insight Ed!  I may do that and emailed Ontario Telescope on the weekend but have not heard back.  I generally work about 15 hours per time, so time is really quite limited, so I figured posting here might be the least time commitment to get me the information i'm looking for.    If I need to, i'll call them, but I find what starts out as a 5 minute call would lead to a 20 minute discussion.  A appreciate the advice! 

[John]

Canada has a thriving pre-owned astro equipment market as we do here in the UK:

https://www.astrobuysell.com/

As has been said $200 will buy a somewhat nicer used scope than it will a new one. Also, stocks of new scopes are very low practially everywhere this year due to the pandemic.

 

 

[vlaiv]

38 minutes ago, CocoVista said:

 This one is pretty cheap so thinking it might be complete garbage based on what i'm hearing: https://www.amazon.ca/Upgraded-Telescope-Adults-Refractor-Astronomy/dp/B07X9L6JYS/ref=sr_1_9?dchild=1&keywords=telescope&qid=1606836807&sr=8-9    I'm guessing it's junk?

Indeed - skip that one if possible.

[theropod]

The Celestron C-90 Mak can be had for $200, and is a wonderful little scope. I absolutely love mine.

[vlaiv]

Just now, theropod said:

The Celestron C-90 Mak can be had for $200, and is a wonderful little scope. I absolutely love mine.

With mount?

[theropod]

53 minutes ago, vlaiv said:

With mount?

If one counts the worthless tripod Celestron includes with the scope, then yes. I saved my allowance for 2 years to buy my Skywatcher EQM 35 Pro EQ (all the while yearning for the iOptron CEM 25P which have become hen teeth in the Rona era).

I wouldn’t expect to get a very good scope, and or mount, for under $200.

[CocoVista]

Thanks everyone!  What about this one?
 

Celestron 21049 PowerSeeker 127EQ Telescope

https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0007UQNKY/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_fabc_L0.YFbHGW099Z?psc=1

[vlaiv]

7 minutes ago, CocoVista said:

Thanks everyone!  What about this one?
 

Celestron 21049 PowerSeeker 127EQ Telescope

https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0007UQNKY/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_fabc_L0.YFbHGW099Z?psc=1

Skip that one as well.

These compact reflectors - which are really catadioptric scopes (means they combine lens and mirrors) are usually very poorly executed design and views tend to be blurry and collimation nightmare.

Just search google for Bird Jones telescopes to see what sort of problems people have with them (design itself is ok, but at those low prices - it simply can't be executed properly).

[PXR-5]

The Celestron C90 Mak is a great scope, I love mine

It can ride on a good photo tripod.

 

Around here I see a lot of decent used photo tripods.

 

Maybe buy a new C90 and look for a decent used photo mount/tripod.

Edited December 5, 2020 by PXR-5

[theropod]

The finder scope, and mounting system, included with the C-90 Mak is a sad little joke. I’m in the market for a good reliable replacement at this moment. Doing the stellar alignment for my goto with what was sent in the package is a study in frustration. I just packed up for the night because even after modifying the finder system it’s still a mile off, and makes that 2-3 star alignment a royal pain. The C-90’s narrow FOV doesn’t help here. I need a wide angle low mag crosshair eyepiece instead of the 12 mm version I have. Oh well, back to the drawing board and daylight fixes for night time problems.

[PXR-5]

2 hours ago, theropod said:

The finder scope, and mounting system, included with the C-90 Mak is a sad little joke. I’m in the market for a good reliable replacement at this moment. Doing the stellar alignment for my goto with what was sent in the package is a study in frustration. I just packed up for the night because even after modifying the finder system it’s still a mile off, and makes that 2-3 star alignment a royal pain. The C-90’s narrow FOV doesn’t help here. I need a wide angle low mag crosshair eyepiece instead of the 12 mm version I have. Oh well, back to the drawing board and daylight fixes for night time problems.

I put a Rigel Quick Finder on mine

It does have a narrow field, however with a $15 adapter, you can add a focal reducer and get about 2°, still narrow but better.

 

Of course, nothing beats a ST-80 in that price range for a wide field of view