Beginners scope - variable budget

[GreyArea10]

Hi all

I'm new here and after many years of threatening to buy but being put off by cost, I have a rather large birthday coming up and my particularly excellent wife has suggested that now is the time to purchase a scope. We have 3 months so hopefully there is is plenty of time to overcome the current shortages however whilst I have my own opinions on where I might land as regards a scope I thought I'd ask the usual beginners question but in a slightly different way.

I guess that this is driven by my other hobby of playing the guitar where on guitar forums there is a groupthink answer to every beginner question (Squier classic vibe and katana amp for those that are interested) which whilst it's a good guitar it's by no means the best and isn't the right answer for everyone. I have noticed a similar although not quite as obvious trend in the threads here where beginners ask and a 200 Dob seems to be the default answer.

And so to my question, what scopes would you recommend to a beginner if they were looking to spend £500, £1000, £2000 or £2500? If, and I guess that this is probably a fairly usual position for beginners, solar system visual is the initial starting point but a scope that will cope with DSO visual and possible be okay as a route into imaging it that became of interest in the future. I am well aware that one scope won't do all so the best compromise is what I'm after. The other factor to take into account is that I live in a Bortle 6 area and whilst my back garden is reasonably shielded it's still a city back garden and so transportability to a dark site that is 20-30 minutes from home is probably an necessity.

Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

[Peter Drew]

The 200 Dob is the default recommendation, not because it's necessarily the best telescope but certainly the best value.  Personally, I would advise a beginner to spend nearer £500 than £2500 as at this stage it's usually unclear in which direction the interest will lead.  I also think it's best to avoid too much compromise by trying to mix visual with imaging as it involves very different priorities.  To sum up, I would advise something like a 200 Dob for starters to be followed eventually by replacement or adding to by something dedicated to a particular interest.    Welcome to SGL.    🙂 

[johninderby]

A typical beginners question is for a scope that does it all. Unfortunately things don’t work like that. Generally for visual there are scopes suoted to lunar / planetary observing and scopes suited to DSO observing. That’s why most here on SGL have two or three scopes. Some have a LOT more but that’s another subject. 😁

An 8” dob is about as close as you will get to an all rounder though and so is often suggested to a beginner. With a dob you are paying for the optics not a fancy mount so will give the best views for the money.

Many wnd up with a dob, a Mak or SCT and a refractor for different types of observing or for astrophotography. 

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/beginner-telescopes/skywatcher-skyliner-200p-dobsonian.html

Or a step up 

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/bresser-telescopes/bresser-messier-8-dobsonian-telescope.html

Edited December 16, 2020 by johninderby

[Cosmic Geoff]

I would suggest that rather than maxing the budget you start with a modest setup and replace or upgrade it as your interest develops.  My most expensive and capable scope is one I would never have considered buying when I re-started my interest in astronomy a few years ago.  I bought a supermarket refractor and have gone through several upgrades and changes of interest since.

Beware the word 'compromise' - outfits designed for visual are rarely suitable for astrophotography in any form. A case in point is the C8 SE - r.r.p. £1600 - a great OTA for visual observing and planetary imaging, but with a mount designed for portability. On the SE mount it is difficult to use the C8 for planetary imaging and useless for deep sky astrophotography, for which the OTA is not well suited anyway.

Also decide whether you want to start with the most basic form of mount (Dobsonian or manual alt-azimuth) or start with a GoTo mount that will allow you to find faint and obscure objects quickly and easily. In other words, do you think the fun lies in looking for objects or looking at them? You will no doubt get conflicting advice on this issue.

For £500 you can afford a very adequate Dobsonian, or a GoTo outfit which still has enough aperture to keep you entertained for quite a long time.  If you can find anything in stock. 😂

Edited December 16, 2020 by Cosmic Geoff

[Tiny Clanger]

I endorse what the other three say.

The guitar analogy is not a very useful one I think, better to think this is the equivalent of asking 'What string instrument should I buy ?' without the questioner knowing if they want to play in an orchestra, or a heavy metal band, or a string quartet, or play solo folk tunes ...  So, Viola da gamba ? Double bass ? Lute ?  Pedal harp ? Ukulele ? 😀

Telescopes really are that diverse, because their uses are that diverse, and no single telescope, however much you pay for it can possibly do it all. I first bought a dobsonian, spent several months using it, love it's simplicity, portability and light gathering , but found I'd like more magnification for the Moon and planets which do not require the same light gathering as distant objects, so I bought a Maksutov, not instead of the dob, but to supplement it for that specific purpose. The right tool for the right job.

It's not easy to predict what you will most enjoy observing until you do some observing, and folk recommend dob.s because they give us beginners a simple flexible way in,  and maximize the aperture you get at a particular price point.

Heather

[MattG]

There seems to be a lot of people askiong the same questions at the moment (run up to Christmas I guess), this is a really useful thread. Thanks all for the input!