Which telescope

[malc-c]

Thanks for the additional info.

The pro's and cons for a got system have been debated since they first became readily available for the masses.  Some people like to use them as a teaching guide to help them become familiar with the sky, others it saves time and effort.  The stepper motors also have more precision than the DC ones used in a cheaper dual axis drive, but the dual axis drive could be a compromise, in that once found you can easily let the mount track the object for you.  Goto mount have that added ability to allow PC interfacing should you later want to go down that route.

One of the biggest issues at the moment is availability... Most suppliers are out of stock of nearly all telescopes, and it could be summer time before new stock arrives, which no doubt will go straight out to fulfill backorders.

Back to your original question... for me I would suggest a newtonian scope with as big an aperture as you can afford and store.  You can then invest in a decent 3x barlow lens and get acceptable images of the planets, but used without a barlow, get decent bright images / views of DSO's.  For me I wanted to image DSO's so opted for a 200P, which with a barlow gave me an 8"  scope with a 3000cm focal length.  Using a cheap webcam I got some decent images of Jupiter's belts and the GRS.  But removed the barlow and equally get nice images of galaxies and nebula.

The 150PDS EQ3 pro goto comes in at £620 https://www.rothervalleyoptics.co.uk/skywatcher-explorer-150pds-eq3-pro-goto-telescope.html  - It's not shown as out or delayed stock so you may be lucky

If you want a goto dob then it seem the 200P flextube is the "smallest" aperture, but is stretching that budget at £778 https://www.rothervalleyoptics.co.uk/skywatcher-skyliner-200p-flex-tube-synscan-goto-dobsonian-telescope.html  Naturally if you went old school and did away with the goto, then you could get a lot more scope for your money with the 10" 250Px coming in at around £518 https://www.rothervalleyoptics.co.uk/skywatcher-skyliner-250px-flex-tube-dobsonian-telescope.html

Another alternative is a refractor - The 120 Evostar /  EQ3  pro goto comes in at £685 https://www.rothervalleyoptics.co.uk/skywatcher-evostar-120-eq3-pro-goto-telescope.html - a 4.47" (120mm)  f8.3 would on paper at least be a reasonable balance between planetary and DSO.. How well the optics perform I can say as I never used one to compare.  Again, if you did away with the goto, you could go one size larger and get the evostar 150 on an EQ5 for £765 https://www.rothervalleyoptics.co.uk/skywatcher-evostar-150-eq5-telescope.html   

Other retailers are available and prices may vary...

Hope that has given you some food for thought

 

[Spier24]

1 hour ago, Waddensky said:

It's not just you, there are many stargazers that use GOTO. It's just that it's relatively expensive, and if your budget is tight I'd rather invest in aperture than other bells and whistles. But again, nothing wrong with a GOTO if you've experienced the advantages and enjoyed them.

I'm with Heather: the hunt is part of the fun for me, as well as sitting outside with only a bunch of mirrors and lenses.

 

That's definitely something I've noticed, I'm actually surprised in the price difference. The best GoTo scope that's within my budget for me is the that Celestron 6 slt. Don't get me wrong, a 150 Schmitt cassegrain with a decent focal length should get some nice views of various objects. 

But yeh, you definitely see price difference when you can get a 250 Newtonian for over £100 less.

 

Edited January 2, 2021 by Spier24

[malc-c]

20 minutes ago, Spier24 said:

 

 I'm actually surprised in the price difference.

 

You're paying for the tooling for the cases, PCB design and manufacture and the IP of the developers who coded the hand controller and motorboard firmware... When you consider what's gone in to developing the synscan system, without any consideration of the cost of the legal stuff such a patents and protection of their IP, the cost of testing to insure it complies with the strict regulations of the countries they sell to,  and the fact that at the end of the day they, along with the importers and retailers all need to put bread on their tables, the additional cost  is IMO reasonable.  

[Spier24]

Really appreciate the amount of advice from everyone on here. After some consideration I've decided to go with a celestron nexstar 6 slt. Seems like it'll give me the a decent all round experience whilst also having a GoTo system.

[Spier24]

9 hours ago, malc-c said:

Thanks for the additional info.

The pro's and cons for a got system have been debated since they first became readily available for the masses.  Some people like to use them as a teaching guide to help them become familiar with the sky, others it saves time and effort.  The stepper motors also have more precision than the DC ones used in a cheaper dual axis drive, but the dual axis drive could be a compromise, in that once found you can easily let the mount track the object for you.  Goto mount have that added ability to allow PC interfacing should you later want to go down that route.

One of the biggest issues at the moment is availability... Most suppliers are out of stock of nearly all telescopes, and it could be summer time before new stock arrives, which no doubt will go straight out to fulfill backorders.

Back to your original question... for me I would suggest a newtonian scope with as big an aperture as you can afford and store.  You can then invest in a decent 3x barlow lens and get acceptable images of the planets, but used without a barlow, get decent bright images / views of DSO's.  For me I wanted to image DSO's so opted for a 200P, which with a barlow gave me an 8"  scope with a 3000cm focal length.  Using a cheap webcam I got some decent images of Jupiter's belts and the GRS.  But removed the barlow and equally get nice images of galaxies and nebula.

The 150PDS EQ3 pro goto comes in at £620 https://www.rothervalleyoptics.co.uk/skywatcher-explorer-150pds-eq3-pro-goto-telescope.html  - It's not shown as out or delayed stock so you may be lucky

If you want a goto dob then it seem the 200P flextube is the "smallest" aperture, but is stretching that budget at £778 https://www.rothervalleyoptics.co.uk/skywatcher-skyliner-200p-flex-tube-synscan-goto-dobsonian-telescope.html  Naturally if you went old school and did away with the goto, then you could get a lot more scope for your money with the 10" 250Px coming in at around £518 https://www.rothervalleyoptics.co.uk/skywatcher-skyliner-250px-flex-tube-dobsonian-telescope.html

Another alternative is a refractor - The 120 Evostar /  EQ3  pro goto comes in at £685 https://www.rothervalleyoptics.co.uk/skywatcher-evostar-120-eq3-pro-goto-telescope.html - a 4.47" (120mm)  f8.3 would on paper at least be a reasonable balance between planetary and DSO.. How well the optics perform I can say as I never used one to compare.  Again, if you did away with the goto, you could go one size larger and get the evostar 150 on an EQ5 for £765 https://www.rothervalleyoptics.co.uk/skywatcher-evostar-150-eq5-telescope.html   

Other retailers are available and prices may vary...

Hope that has given you some food for thought

 

 

 

You've given me some food for thought there, my plan right now is to go for the celestron 6 inch Schmitt cassegrain on the GoTo mount. 

 

I do like the look of that flextube one but unfortunately I don't think my budget will stretch that far. Would you mind telling me how that 150 you showed me works? As it seems to be a combination of a normal mount and a go-to mount.