Is this a good beginner scope?

[Molly990]

Celestron NexStar Evolution 8 EdgeHD with StarSense Is this a good telescopes for beginners?

[Robindonne]

[RT65CB-SWL]

For lunar & planetary viewing Mak’s and SCT’s are hard to beat.

Two of the biggest ‘downsides’ of owning either a Mak or SCT are… dew magnets, (a dew shield is a ‘must have’ accessory)… and they take a long time to cool down if taken outside, from a warm to cold environment. I usually allow 30 to 40 minutes before viewing. Don’t let that put you off, as no ‘scope does all in this hobby.

One of the biggest ‘upsides’ is that the eyepiece is at a comfortable position for viewing when sat on a chair/stool or standing.

Image above of my C6/SCT and ‘re-modded’ ETX105 mounted on a Tele-Optic Giro.

Edited May 7, 2021 by Philip R

[JOC]

It's not the only good scope for beginners though.  The 8" telescope in my signature was my first scope and I've never regretted the decision.  Also a manual skywatcher 200P Dobsonian is a very popular beginner scope too.

[Cosmic Geoff]

Beginners generally start with something much cheaper.  The Evo 8 Edge HD+ Starsense is a fine scope that many might envy, but a few cautionary notes:

This is a fairly 'techy' instrument, and while it ought to be easy to use, if you find you don't get on with the GoTo tech, you will drop a wad of money when you sell it on.  Historically the more expensive SCT outfits do not hold their price well.  I assume that if it comes with Starsense you don't get the basic handset so you have to use the Starsense handset.  This means that you don't have the option of doing a two-star (or three-star or one-star) align during dusk whrn the Starsense does not work well,

The Edge HD version is really intended for advanced imagers, and while it is said to give slightly better performance visually, this may not be obvious to a beginner.

I have not found the cooldown time to be a problem - if it is for you, just stick the outfit outside an hour before you intend to use it. And you do need a dewshield (it ought to be part of the kit IMHO).

[Louis D]

I looked through one being run by a beginner at a star party a few years ago, and the image of Jupiter it was showing was much sharper than the views through other 8" SCTs on the field that night.  Apparently, the optical corrector in the rear baffle really helps bring out low contrast details.  The owner had paired it with Delos eyepieces and was running it with a tablet wirelessly.  It all seemed to work seamless together for him as he selected other objects from the tablet to slew to.  It made me think about getting one for fun.  Highly recommended if you've got the money.

[The Lazy Astronomer]

Before appropriate advice can be given, the following questions need to answered:

1. Do you intend to get into imaging, or are you looking for a scope purely for visual use? If a mixture, do you know which you think you'd intend to do more often?

2. Do you know what your main area of interest is (moon, planets, galaxies/small nebulae, mid to large size nebulae)?

3. Where will you set up to use it - i.e. do you have somewhere to use it from home (garden/balcony/rooftop/etc.), or will you have to (or want to) take it somewhere further afield?

If you can provide answers to the above, any advice can be much better tailored to your wants and needs ☺

[jonathan]

On 07/05/2021 at 16:34, Louis D said:

It all seemed to work seamless together for him as he selected other objects from the tablet to slew to.  It made me think about getting one for fun.  Highly recommended if you've got the money.

Ah, telescopes working seamlessly at a star party...  how rare that happens, in my experience!  What you need to be aware of here is that a) telescopes do not always work seamlessly, especially in public, and b) people may have different attitudes or needs when it comes to keeping their telescopes in good working order - everyone's eye sight will be slightly different, different focusing needs, different eyeball capabilities, so the view through one telescope may look slightly different to several different people, and finding the telescope and setup that suits your personal eyesight is half the battle; it could be that the other people's telescopes were a little out of whack, maybe not perfectly collimated (optics aligned), or their eyepieces were not as good or best suited to their telescopes, whereas the beginner's telescope was still in very good alignment from new.  There's also atmospheric conditions - one night a telescope could appear to perform brilliantly, another night (or even just a few minutes later, if the atmospheric conditions change such as whispy clouds coming across or departing) it can seem quite poor; and certainly some telescopes will struggle if the seeing conditions are not perfect.

So what I'm saying is that there are numerous reasons why on one particular night some telescopes may appear to perform better than others, it's not always purely that one telescope is better than the others.

Personally I'd probably say no to StarSense and the Edge HD, it's a nice telescope but rather OTT for a beginner, and a manual option is going to help a lot with a beginner's understanding of how things work (very handy when the auto gizmos fail!). Probably better to start with something a bit more basic, a regular GOTO perhaps, motorised tracking only, or a smaller telescope with manual slow motion controls (no motors = very simple setup and less kit to lug around).  Consider a refractor telescope for hassle-free maintenance, they require no alignment of the optics like reflectors do (occasionally, or after a knock), easy to store and very handy to get outside quickly.

Edited May 12, 2021 by jonathan

[Louis D]

Keep in mind, some beginners go big at the start due to age and wealth.  I know of several folks who bought a Harley Road King as their first bike rather than a Jinlun Rebel to learn on.  Others have bought a 20" Obsession Dob fully loaded rather than an 8" Sky Watcher.  Yet others bought a cabin cruiser for their first boat rather than an inflatable dinghy.  My point is, different strokes for different folks.

[Stu Todd]

Aye, true.

OP stated a "beginners 'scope" so I would give the age old advice of a 6 or 8" Dob, and a star chart. A good scope is one you will use. Binoculars are more enjoyable than an expensive dream.

The NexStar Evolution 8 EdgeHD is a lovely telescope, easy to set up and align, but you need to know what "polar alignment" is, roughly how to do it, and what "transparency and seeing" has to say about your clear evening sunset...

@Molly990, think on how much of a beginner you are, what you are wanting to achieve, and (maybe non-relevant), budget.

You can do actual science with a very cheap set-up too!

 

[Padraic M]

First question is - do you have this scope and you're a beginner? Or, are you a beginner and  you're thinking about buying this scope?

If the former, then this is a mighty fine scope. I have the non-EdgeHD version and it is more capable than I am. An 8" SCT is a specialised long-focal-length scope that works well for planets. You'll also enjoy looking at surface details on the moon, but it is actually probably too long even for lunar observing. It's not ideal for deep-sky objects. It's not a beginner's scope, but if you already have it you'll enjoy learning how to work with it.

If the latter, then I would not recommend you buy this scope. There are much better options for beginners that start at 10% of the price, and aren't heavy or difficult to use.

The EdgeHD option is designed specifically for astrophotography, and will add little benefit for visual observation. You didn't say whether you wanted to get into observing or photography, and there's a world of difference between the two.

Most advice for beginners is to start either with a small (4") refractor, or a Newtonian. Both are good general-purpose scope types that are easy to learn on, and aren't too demanding on either your skill levels or your mount.

You could even push the boat out and buy a decent Goto mount (EQ if you want to take photographs; Alt/Az if you'll mostly do visual) and sonething like a Skywatcher Evostar 80ED with an EQ5 mount or similar; or a Skywatcher 150P Newtonian (or the PDS version if you think you'll get into photography). Either of these set-ups would cost less than half of the NexStar Evo 8 HD and would be way more suitable for a beginner or intermediate.