Skywatcher Star Discovery P150I yes or no?

[footix2]

Looking to make my first steps into astronomy. I've always had an interest in it but never owned a scope before. 

My research has led me to 6 inch reflectors and I'd like to do planetary and DSO viewing. I've shyed away from equatorial mounts to begin with due to complexity. I want sonething that is easy so I can get the bug. 

I would eventually like to do astrophotography and I understand that this one isn't ideal for various reasons (mount, prime focus). This isn't my main reason for buying though so not a massive issue, as I don't even own a camera currently 🤣.

Any other scopes I should be considering alongside this one? Budget is £500 max.

 Thanks

Edited December 2, 2020 by footix2

[wulfrun]

I'm open to be corrected on this since I'm something of a newbie myself but I suspect you may find it less useful on DSOs. It's a long focal length, so getting a low power & wide-field view could mean you can't fit a DSO in, depending what exactly you're attempting. I have one and so far I've found it pretty good at higher magnifications. Yet to try it on anger on much in the DSO targets due to interminable cloud cover!

Might be worth looking at the "P" or maybe "PDS" instead of "PL"? I'll let the experts weigh in though so don't decide just on what I said.

Edited December 2, 2020 by wulfrun

[Xilman]

Should be fine for your initial purposes. Learn how to make good use of it and only then think about upgrading once you have a good idea of what you want to do next which you can not do with your initial equipment.

Also consider buying 2nd hand.  I picked up the 10" version on eBay for half your budget.

You will likely need a few accessories, none of which are likely to be expensive and/or which you already own but they may need to come out of your budget.  The obvious ones are warm clothing, a red light (a regular torch with some coloured film over the front  ---I have found sweet-wrappers held on with a rubber band to work well) and at least one star atlas (two in my opinion, a simple planisphere for orientation purposes and something like Norton's which shows all the naked eye stars and a good selection of the brighter deep sky objects), a notebook and pen/pencil, and a small table on which to place the foregoing.  A Bahtinov mask (look it up if you don't know what that is) is extremely useful in my opinion but perhaps not strictly necessary. It will cost perhaps £20 but save a great deal of effort and frustration when it comes to focussing your scope. A 2x Barlow lens may well be a worthy investment. Oh yes, a thermos flask to hold a hot drink may not be essential but it sure is welcome an hour or more into a January night!

Some like to have planetarium software on a phone/tablet/laptop. Personally I am clumsy, forever dropping and/or knocking over things in the dark, and prefer not to risk expensive and fragile electronics.  Call me old-fashioned if you wish --- guilty as charged.

[Zermelo]

Hello and welcome to the forum.

Do you mean the 150PL, i.e. this one? 

If so then, yes, definitely more suited to visual than imaging. But with a max of £500 I would suggest you start with visual and see how you get on.

The PL version, having a longer focal ratio, will be slightly better suited to solar system targets (for which magnification needs to be higher and field of view isn't an issue). The F/5 versions of the 150 will give slightly wider views for the same eyepieces, and so better for DSOs. They are also a bit more stable in breeze, but less tolerant of cheaper eyepieces. But either would be a good starter scope.

[happy-kat]

Hi

The star discovery P150i has the same mirror as the f5 150p just a few bits are made differently so they are lighter for the star discovery mount, it would be a good all rounder. The mount is great with freedom find feature, handy if your power goes flat. This particular telescope you can't quite get enough inward focus if using a mirrored dslr, though webcam for planetary/Moon imaging is likely not effected, though you did mention imaging isn't your primary focus. A warm hat is very handy, a planisphere is a lovely tactile thing and also useful if not familiar with the sky.

[popeye85]

This was my first scope and I still have it so here's my thoughts.

For the tech you are getting this is fantastic value for money. It is a great beginners scope and will serve as a great introduction to the night sky, not to mention Easy to set up and holds a massive database of targets you can find at the press of a button.

Compared to a dob though you will be getting less apature for your money, and aperture of king! However this rule only applies if you can see enough stars to hop to your target-if you suffer from light pollution then a goto will probably benefit you more than the extra apature.

Usually I advise against Goto's as they tend to rob you of the opportunity of learning the night sky however this is not the case with this scope due to the freedom find. However, that being said if you are going be serious about learning the night sky then why not just get a dob?? . As a side note please remember that you do need to know a few stars in order to set up the goto.

The other possibility is that it comes down to storage space and portability and by this category there is only one winner. I will attach a couple pictures to show the difference in size, however the difference in weight is also substantial!

Basically what I'm saying is that as a first scope go for a dob if you have access to fairly dark skies plus have somewhere to store it. If a dob if not suitable then yes, yes, yes. I would highly recommend this as a first scope.

 

[Xilman]

Ah, My apologies.

 

I thought you were referring to the Skywatcher Dobsonian, which I heartily recommend to a beginner.

Sorry if I caused any confusion.

[footix2]

22 minutes ago, popeye85 said:

This was my first scope and I still have it so here's my thoughts.

For the tech you are getting this is fantastic value for money. It is a great beginners scope and will serve as a great introduction to the night sky, not to mention Easy to set up and holds a massive database of targets you can find at the press of a button.

Compared to a dob though you will be getting less apature for your money, and aperture of king! However this rule only applies if you can see enough stars to hop to your target-if you suffer from light pollution then a goto will probably benefit you more than the extra apature.

Usually I advise against Goto's as they tend to rob you of the opportunity of learning the night sky however this is not the case with this scope due to the freedom find. However, that being said if you are going be serious about learning the night sky then why not just get a dob?? . As a side note please remember that you do need to know a few stars in order to set up the goto.

The other possibility is that it comes down to storage space and portability and by this category there is only one winner. I will attach a couple pictures to show the difference in size, however the difference in weight is also substantial!

Basically what I'm saying is that as a first scope go for a dob if you have access to fairly dark skies plus have somewhere to store it. If a dob if not suitable then yes, yes, yes. I would highly recommend this as a first scope.

 

I'm in Cumbria so I do have access to pretty dark skies (and driveable to Galloway Dark Skies Park and also Kielder) so a Dob is certainly a future co siderstion. Not sure I have the space to store it mind that's a bit of a monster. 

[ScouseSpaceCadet]

Popeye85 has hit the nail on the head...

I have the 150i tube which was bought as a customer return, then hacked, drilled and chopped to suit my needs. It's a capable little telescope.

 

Footix if you have ready access to dark skies, then a 6" GOTO reflector will show you a great deal. Enjoy.