Beginners Scope For My Partner

[Watchmen]

Hi All,

New to the site and just looking for some advise. I am currently looking for a telescope for my partner and was wondering which ones to look at and if any one has had an experiance with the one linked below and if its any good for just occasional use and star gazing maybe the odd photo on a smartphone/Sony A5100 of would it be better to look at something else max budget would be around £150 for now we both have no experiance with this so would be completely new to it all but its something we both have wanted to start doing.

https://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/cameras-and-camcorders/photography-accessories/telescopes/celestron-114az-sr-reflector-telescope-black-10214647-pdt.html?istCompanyId=bec25c7e-cbcd-460d-81d5-a25372d2e3d7&istFeedId=2f489429-2329-4fcd-941a-a6a497a10e1d&istItemId=iqtqmxaxr&istBid=t&awc=1599_1607958139_9d128207de81558ae687f4e5005358e4&srcid=369&xtor=AL-1&cmpid=aff~Genie Shopping~Comparison Engine~259955~Staircase+51+Ltd+(Genie+Shopping)

Thanks

[Zermelo]

10 minutes ago, Watchmen said:

Hi All,

New to the site and just looking for some advise. I am currently looking for a telescope for my partner and was wondering which ones to look at and if any one has had an experiance with the one linked below and if its any good for just occasional use and star gazing maybe the odd photo on a smartphone/Sony A5100 of would it be better to look at something else max budget would be around £150 for now we both have no experiance with this so would be completely new to it all but its something we both have wanted to start doing.

https://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/cameras-and-camcorders/photography-accessories/telescopes/celestron-114az-sr-reflector-telescope-black-10214647-pdt.html?istCompanyId=bec25c7e-cbcd-460d-81d5-a25372d2e3d7&istFeedId=2f489429-2329-4fcd-941a-a6a497a10e1d&istItemId=iqtqmxaxr&istBid=t&awc=1599_1607958139_9d128207de81558ae687f4e5005358e4&srcid=369&xtor=AL-1&cmpid=aff~Genie Shopping~Comparison Engine~259955~Staircase+51+Ltd+(Genie+Shopping)

Thanks

Hello and welcome to the forum.

Celestron are a decent manufacturer, but the usual advice is to buy from a dealer that specialises in astronomical equipment rather than a general purpose retailer (nothing against Curry's).

You say that partner has no experience, but do they have any particular targets in mind? For example planets, the moon, or nebulas? Would you be observing from your back garden, or would you need to transport it to another location? Be aware that producing anything but very basic photos requires a more demanding (and costly) setup.

[Watchmen]

1 minute ago, Zermelo said:

Hello and welcome to the forum.

Celestron are a decent manufacturer, but the usual advice is to buy from a dealer that specialises in astronomical equipment rather than a general purpose retailer (nothing against Curry's).

You say that partner has no experience, but do they have any particular targets in mind? For example planets, the moon, or nebulas? Would you be observing from your back garden, or would you need to transport it to another location? Be aware that producing anything but very basic photos requires a more demanding (and costly) setup.

Is there any reason as to why or is it a case of they have the knowledge behind what they are selling, just that one is a perfect price point and seems to be a fairly decent go to beginers scope (I could be wrong as me too don't know anything)

Just general viewing at the moment say moon, planets like Jupitar, Mars and Saturn and Nebulas would be a great added bonus.

We wold be viewing from our backgarden the light polution is quite a lot but in the dead of night we can see a hell of a lot of stars with the naked eye

thanks for your reply

[jacobingonzo]

I Agree with Zermelo-

Also there's a good section on FLO's site for beginners  https://www.firstlightoptics.com/beginner-telescopes.html thats worth a read-

All too often purchase of the scopes like the one you mention are underwhelming but you have made the right first step in asking on here-

The best scopes are generally out of stock at the moment and the ones you may find may well be not the best- You may well need to come to terms with the fact that to get the right scope you will need to wait till after Xmas- BUT it will pay  dividends to see the childlike look in your partners eyes when he/she sees the moon and the stars and they thank you. There are lots of questions like yours on this site will be worth looking around at previous questions and by all means ask away about any scopes you see- Second hand scopes generally are in good nick , again ask on here if you find one but if you buy from a retailer try to make it an astronomical specialist .

Listen to the advice you will get on here as they are all good folk and eager to get budding astronomers off on the right foot whatever their age

 

J

Edited December 15, 2020 by jacobingonzo

[Zermelo]

I'm not saying you wouldn't get a good item. But if things go wrong for example, a good specialist supplier will have detailed knowledge of their stock, and be in a better position to respond to any queries and issues (and may have spares).
I know it's very difficult at the moment, with stock being so low everywhere. First Light Optics have a page with the scopes that are in stock, but it isn't many.

A couple of points on that Celestron. First, when you said it was a "goto" model, did you have the usual meaning in mind, i.e. a computerised scope that will automatically point to an object you identify from a list? Because it's not one of those, and they will be out of the price bracket. Second, I believe that this model uses what's known as the "Bird-Jones" design, which is normally one that is avoided.

[Zermelo]

On a more positive note, here's a guide to some good beginner's scopes:

https://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/top-astronomy-kit/best-telescopes-beginners/

[Cosmic Geoff]

The 114az linked to could prove under-whelming in practice.  The Moon will look interesting, but with the two eyepieces supplied, planets will look like dots.  What else of interest you can see with it depends on whether you live in a dark skies area or in a town. Astronomy is not a cheap hobby and £150 will not go far.

The Forum sponsor FLO has a beginners telescope section where they show what telescopes they could supply for beginners - if they had them in stock.  If you buy from them or other astro specialist you will get much better after-sales service than if you buy from a High Street chain.

[Watchmen]

Thank you all for your responses it has helped a lot as i am so new to this and really don't have a clue I will take look at the links you have all supplied and do a bit more digging on this site to see what others have said but on a quick look i think the Heritage 130p or 150p would be perfect for exaclty what we would want to use it for as the moment and its perfetly transportable so can come on trips down to the new forest.

Can this scope be mounted on a tripod is it better to have it site on what some would say a more sturdier table?

[happy-kat]

Yes the heritage has a standard style vixen bar so the telescope can be removed from the base and mounted on a different astro tripod or even a decent photo tripod with the right adaptor.

I use mine when I'm sat on a garden chair (the telescope is on a paving slab) and sometimes place the mount on an upturned bucket.

Edited December 15, 2020 by happy-kat

[Nyctimene]

1 hour ago, Watchmen said:

i think the Heritage 130p or 150p would be perfect for exaclty what we would want to use it for as the moment and its perfetly transportable so can come on trips down to the new forest.

+1 for that. Sturdy Dobsonian mount, totally different from the likely wobbly 114 AZ mount; excellent optics, easy and intuitively to handle, folds compact and travels without issues. Slightly above your budget and nowhere available atm, but it's worth waiting. I'd go for the 150 P Flextube; you will need years of observing to exhaust it's capabilities. Many pleased members on here (including myself with the 130 P Flextube).

Stephan

[Tiny Clanger]

2 minutes ago, Nyctimene said:

+1 for that. Sturdy Dobsonian mount, totally different from the likely wobbly 114 AZ mount; excellent optics, easy and intuitively to handle, folds compact and travels without issues. Slightly above your budget and nowhere available atm, but it's worth waiting. I'd go for the 150 P Flextube; you will need years of observing to exhaust it's capabilities. Many pleased members on here (including myself with the 130 P Flextube).

Stephan

I'm one of those pleased heritage 150 owners. I suspect that my capabilities will be exhausted well before the telescope's are !

To start with I stood it on a small heavy garden table (about 50cm tall) which has cast iron sides and whilst a very stable table 😀 it was a weighty pain to shift around the garden when I wanted to avoid a tree obscuring something. I have since made it a 30cm tall three legged triangular table of its own from some scrap wood.

Heather