Heritage 130p or zhumell 130z

[Ericreichelt81]

Hi all. I'm new and trying my best to understand my wants vs needs. I live in a small city, normal light pollution. I have two small kids I'm trying to show the stars to. I have a decent camera tripod that I think I can attach a vixen mount to for either of these scopes. That said, given the choice which makes sense?

[Second Time Around]

Welcome to the Stargazer's Lounge!

Which country are you in?  The reason I ask is that, as far as I know, the Zhumell isn't available outside north America.

It seems the main differences between the Heritage and the Zhumell are firstly, that the Heritage has a helical focuser that ideally needs an easy modification, the Zhumell a rack and pinion.  The Heritage has an open tube that most buyers will cover with a shroud.  This protects from stray light and lessens the chance of the secondary mirror getting covered with dew.  The Zhumell has a closed tube.

The nearest to the Zhumell in Europe is the Bresser Messier.  I bought one for a friend to give to her daughter for Xmas, and was impressed with it.  However, it's been out of stock for some time.  In fact so are many scopes.

If you can't find one new then try used, either here or on Astro Buy/Sell.  The Heritage comes up quite often.

Good luck!

[Tiny Clanger]

There's a thread with precisely the same question here:

https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/690759-zhumell-z130-i-choose-you-probably/

However, if you want to have your telescope on a tripod, why buy a dobsonian ? You would be wasting money on a base you don't intend to use  If your tripod is really sturdy ( an expensive , heavy photo tripod ) and you are going to buy a suitable mount to go from it to a telescope (which is not a cheap thing to do )  , there are many choices of just the telescope part of a package , something like this for instance https://www.firstlightoptics.com/reflectors/skywatcher-explorer-130p-ds-ota.html

However, don't dismiss thoughts of a dobsonian used on its mount. 

I have the slightly larger heritage 150p, and it is excellent, compact and portable. I have suitable mounts and tripods which would enable me to take it off the simple, steady  dob. base, but apart from trying it once out of interest, my 150p stays on the dob mount, where it is extremely easy to use. I have mine on a small, purpose built table about 30cm high, which raises the eyepiece to my seated eye level. That height would be similar to a small child's standing height. Remember you look through a reflector from near the front (top) end of the telescope, so raising the tube on a tripod may make it impossible for a small child to look through !

Heather

 

 

 

[Second Time Around]

Quick! a Heritage 130 has just been put up on http://astrobuysell.com

[Ericreichelt81]

I'm overseas in Michigan. Quickly, thank you both. I have questions, be back soon.

[Ericreichelt81]

Back. So I like the idea of the tabletop mount, I've just been reading they don't always work out as well as one anticipated. As far as the Zhumell,the focuser seems much better, with the option of one day upgrading if desired. What about collimation though between the two? As somebody who has never attempted it,is it worth the concern between the two? I know the optics on both get great reviews, it's just when you Google them not much is said of the Zhumell, but hundreds of posts about the heritage..and yes, I'm considering the 150p if it becomes available around the time I'm ready. Simply put, I've read so much ice confused myself, 😆

 

 

[AlexK]

Welcome to the forum, Ericreichelt81!

By my opinion strictly, and mine are always about the harsh reality, but no offence meant ever!

Zhumell 130 is Light Years ahead of that Heritage toy. In every single regard. Period.
So if the money is not a big problem and you are not living in a dumpster-sized "little-house" popular lately for simple living, get the Zhumell and don't even look back! (Better yet look forward instead and get a 8" at least if you can). Zhumell is also much more future proof. When you get annoyed with that wooden semi-fork mount gimmick you can easily make a fantastic classic Dobson mount for it, or effortlessly mount it on a GEM as it has decent rings already.

The only Heritage advantage is the collapsibility, but that in fact its serious drawback as well when perceived as a fine optical instrument it supposed to be. Collapsibility is great for a truly large Dob's (e.g. 12") portability, but on a 130mm 1:5 OTA it's just an annoying gimmick and a buyers lure.

Edited April 15, 2021 by AlexK

[Tiny Clanger]

1 hour ago, Ericreichelt81 said:

Back. So I like the idea of the tabletop mount, I've just been reading they don't always work out as well as one anticipated. As far as the Zhumell,the focuser seems much better, with the option of one day upgrading if desired. What about collimation though between the two? As somebody who has never attempted it,is it worth the concern between the two? I know the optics on both get great reviews, it's just when you Google them not much is said of the Zhumell, but hundreds of posts about the heritage..and yes, I'm considering the 150p if it becomes available around the time I'm ready. Simply put, I've read so much ice confused myself, 😆

 

 

I only know about the heritage, 150, I'd not be able to offer a sensible, informed opinion on a telescope I'd not actually used myself for a while, so as the Zhumell is a US brand,  I'd suggest the US based  Cloudy Nights forum might be a good place to ask your question. You probably already know of it, but this thread on there is huge, and is about a differently badged telescope which is exactly the  same as the Heritage 130.

https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/463109-onesky-newtonian-astronomers-without-borders/

There are quite a few folk on here who own a Heritage 130 as a 'grab and go' 'scope,  with a bit of luck one will be along to comment on the collimation issue.

It is very easy to get dizzy with the huge range of choices on offer 🙂 , I'd advise setting yourself a strict budget limit, and sticking to it, its easy to be seduced into spending more , at east the current poor availability of astronomy kit means you will have plenty of time for research.

Heather

 

[Ericreichelt81]

Ty all. I'll check out the other site and read up.

[AlexK]

That CN thread must be considered the "Heritage 130 fans club". I read it all some years ago when been looking for a small enough for airline carryon traveling scope. My only positive conclusion, which could save you days of reading only pushing you back on the fence :)))), is that the 130mm Heritage is the cheapest really normal telescope at that aperture size. You wouldn't find a usable 130mm Newtonian cheaper brand new. But there are too many mechanical compromises in its design for a novice to handle or for a Pro to tolerate. So I ended up making my own 200mm travel truss reflector.  No money? Get Heritage 130. But if you can spend just a bit more better do it. Zhumell 130 is a great choice I've been seriously considering as well, but it's already a bit too long for the carryon, thus for its total price I have purchased a nice 200mm mirrors set for the DIY project.

Edited April 15, 2021 by AlexK