New here, need opinions on telescopes!

[Located]

Hiya there SGL, I'm new here and a little new to this stuff but I am interested in purchasing a telescope. Ones I've had in mind is the; Skywatcher Explorer 130p (https://www.firstlightoptics.com/beginner-telescopes/skywatcher-explorer-130p.html) which retails around £250 I think? I also looked at the Celestron 130EQ though heard Skywatcher was the better option.

I did find one on FB which is only down the road from me and provides a few extra accessories also with a motor drive. (https://ibb.co/qFKJDc1 what he provides) and is only 250 quid so I'm not sure if thats a snatch or not. 

There's also a SkyWatcher Explorer 200P with EQ5 mount on FB for 300 quid which retails for 660 if I'm right so maybe that could be my best option? (It does look really nice and I am very interested to purchase it, just want to hear from you guys first, maybe as its 300 quid cheaper than retail it may be the best for myself and you guys may agree) 

Obviously I'm not 100% sure if it's a good choice though I'm on a budget for 200-300 quid. Any responses would be great and look forward to them all! 

Glad to be here at SGL and can't wait to get started! 

Edited August 2, 2021 by Located

[barbulo]

Hi and welcome to the Lounge!

Pay attention to the maximum weight capacity of the mount: The closer to its maximum, the worst stability. 

Edited August 2, 2021 by barbulo

[Carbon Brush]

Hi and welcome to SGL.

A word of advice on buying used equipment. Facebook, fleabay and the like are risky.
There is quite a bit of poorly looked after or damaged junk out there. As well as new products that are good only for landfill.
If you are new to the hobby, you can easily get bitten.

Take your time. Look at the classifieds on SGL. Generally equipment is honestly described on SGL and you can research the seller history.
A second choice is UKABS.

On SGL, you can check out member equipment reviews. The best scope is the one that gets used most.
Looking at the two you highlighted, the 200 has far more light gather than the 130 so will show you dim objects. So it is better.
BUT if you have to carry it down two flights of stairs from the storage cupboard in your attic flat....?

A good start is to describe your viewing and storage arrangements. Easy access? Light polluted?
What do you hope to see? Are you considering travel to dark sites?

Keep asking and enjoy the journey.

David.

 

[Stu]

@Located the first thing to understand is what you want to achieve with the scope, and one big question is whether you are interested in observing or imaging? Another is if lunar/planetary is of more interest or deep sky observing? What are your skies like at home? Are you likely to need to transport the scope each time you use it?

Scopes can get big; the 200p on an EQ5 is on the borderline of what is useable on that mount, certainly for imaging, so there is a lot to consider.

Have a think about these and let us know, perhaps there are alternatives to look into.

[Peter_D]

All good advice given. When selecting a mount for a telescope, you have to consider both the weight and the length of the telescope (OTA). The longer the telescope, the more prone it is to vibrations and it will have a longer 'settling time'' after each adjustment of the focuser.

In the past, good quality scopes were generally over-mounted - the mount could handle the scope and any accessories you would add later. Now, you see scopes bundled with EQ mounts that are just borderline for the scope from the outset.

[Cosmic Geoff]

The 130mm EQs are not awful, if they are all you can afford.  But beginners often find the EQ mount more of a liability than an asset.  A manual alt-azimuth mount would be much easier to set up and manage.

A 200mm Newtonian should be a fine scope, and the (manual) EQ-5 is a fine and useful mount.  But the combination is awful - I should know because I used to have this combo.  The eyepiece can be hard to reach and gets into awkward positions - potentially including 7 feet off the ground! - and needs a careful choice of finderscopes if you want to find anything near the zenith.  The last straw was never being able to find the M81 & M82 galaxies with it.

[M40]

Hello Located and welcome to the site. I haven't had either of the telescopes you mention, but the Skywatcher 130P you mention has some good reviews and is currently in stock at FLO as is the 130M if your budget goes that bit further. The difference between the two appears to be the motor in the 130M but you can get that as a bolt on later. The 200P I have had and is a great telescope, but it is big. You will need somewhere to store it.

Before you do anything though, have a quick look at this topic... 

 

 

Don't forget that you will want a few extra bits and bob's to go with it so leave a little wriggle room in your budget.

Enjoy your journey

 

 

 

[Spile]

If it were me, I'd consider getting/making a Dobsonian base for the 200P and selling the EQ mount.

[Located]

Hey all, I appreciate the responses on here. Looking at the responses, the 200p is looking like a good scope though I'm not sure if you guys are keen on the EQ5 mount, unfortunately I think purchasing the scope and mount separately goes way out of my budget so I'm not sure if I'm better off purchasing the 200P and EQ5 for now and upgrading in the future. Is it worth going down to the 150p with the EQ2 mount or? 

Edited August 2, 2021 by Located

[Bluemoonjim]

M40's pointer to the 'What can I expect to see' article is relevant. So many first time scopes end up on ebay etc because actual viewing can't possibly live up to expectation created by the images that are used to promote some of the lower end 'scopes. The disappointment, combined with the challenge of finding targets often leads to a quick abandoning of what can be a lifetime of interest. So, unless you have a little experience, I would go for ease of use and quality of image. For your sort of budget you can pick up one of the longer focal length Skywatcher Achromats (90mm to 120mm objective range) either on eq or alt mount. These, in my opinion, are so much easier to use, setup  move, maintain (no collimation to worry about). They're great first time observing scopes that can take you a long way into the hobby. But that is only my opinion and, of course, I could be wrong 🙃

[Located]

Okay thanks for that, will take a look into it. At this moment in time I'm now completely lost what to buy because I genuinely thought the EQ5 and 200p was a good combo but I didn't check weights and all that haha. Maybe I should take a step back to the 130p on the EQ2 mount. Really unfortunate that the EQ5 and 200p is a bad combo.

I may just go for the 130p with the EQ2 mount that I showed images of above, possibly a better options for my situation. 

Edited August 2, 2021 by Located

[Tiny Clanger]

16 minutes ago, Located said:

Hey all, I appreciate the responses on here. Looking at the responses, the 200p is looking like a good scope though I'm not sure if you guys are keen on the EQ5 mount, unfortunately I think purchasing the scope and mount separately goes way out of my budget so I'm not sure if I'm better off purchasing the 200P and EQ5 for now and upgrading in the future. Is it worth going down to the 150p with the EQ2 mount or? 

If you are thinking of spending £200- £300 now, and maybe upgrading in the future, and want a 150mm aperture Newtonian, It would be uncharacteristic for me not to suggest a heritage dob https://www.firstlightoptics.com/beginner-telescopes/sky-watcher-heritage-150p-flextube-dobsonian-telescope.html

£250, 150mm ,  same mirror as the Explorer 150. Easy to store, quick to deploy , it has a standard dovetail rail on the side which means you can transfer it to an alt/az mount on a tripod (an az4 or az5 would work fine )  if you prefer to try that in the future . Like any bargain package it has some less good points ( the focuser is not lovely) but for the price it is a (literally) wonderful 'scope. I bought mine as my first proper instrument a little over a year ago, sinve then I've bought a maksotov and a couple of refractors, but the hetitage dob is still my favourite and best .

Heather

[Tiny Clanger]

There's lots of chat on here about the Heritage 130 and 150, try a search on either name in the search box top  right on this page.  Here's a previous discussion on the 150 heritage, where I gave some links, I'm too lazy to type it again

Heather

 

[doublevodka]

3 minutes ago, Tiny Clanger said:

There's lots of chat on here about the Heritage 130 and 150, try a search on either name in the search box top  right on this page.  Here's a previous discussion on the 150 heritage, where I gave some links, I'm too lazy to type it again

Heather

 

I'd go +1 on this one, I've got the equivalent of a 200p on an eq3-2 amongst other things and it's an unwieldy beast that I wouldn't recommend for someone starting out

The heritage 150 is a much loved dob and can be improved with a couple of well documented cheap tweaks too

Although, stretching that budget slightly could get you the new version with electronics https://www.firstlightoptics.com/heritage/skywatcher-heritage-150p-flextube-virtuoso-gti.html I'm a big fan of goto alt az for the convienience factor if you don't mind some electronic help 👍

[Sabalias]

I have the Explorer 150 PDS and I've not been disappointed with the scope at all; however, I did decide to sell my EQ5 Pro and upgrade to an HEQ5 because I was right on the limit of what the mount could handle for photography (which is something I wasn't expecting to get involved in when I started out).

Stu

[Located]

Appreciate these fast response guys, yeah I read somethings about the 130/150 heritage and does look good but was looking to have one on a mount. Would it still be recommended to maybe consider this and a mount or switch to something completely different? (Celestron, Skywatcher or even stick to the ones with dob mounts) 

Edited August 2, 2021 by Located

[Sabalias]

3 minutes ago, Located said:

Appreciate these fast response guys, yeah I read somethings about the 130/150 heritage and does look good but was looking to have one on a mount. Would it still be recommended to maybe consider this and a mount or switch to something completely different? 

I may have missed something in the previous comments but, ultimately, your decision needs to be influenced by what you want to do. Will you want to take photo's of deep sky objects or just carry out visual observing? For the former you can very easily spend a fortune but for the latter you can get away with spending much less. So if you are only planning on visual observations a good dobsonian setup with some nice eyepieces can be more user-friendly and easier on the wallet. Very generally, I think the following points are truisms:

• Wide aperture = lots of light-gathering
• Long focal length = greater magnification
• Better quality eyepice = clearer image (and probably wider field of view)
• Mount capable of taking greater weight = more stable platform; but........
• An Alt/AZ mount is far easier to manoeuvre manually than an EQ mount

Stu

[Tiny Clanger]

If you are thinking of serious astro photo use , you will want an EQ mount, and the heritage does not have tube rings (and I doubt they would fit as aftermarket add ons and still allow the tube to close properly) so would be no use , due to the way an EQ mount shifts the focuser as it rotates. Serious EQ mounts are not cheap. I inherited a  Celestron 114 newt on a cheap EQ and it was horrid. You really  get what you pay for in this game.

If you are interested in visual observing , with maybe just the odd 'phone pic of the Moon etc , and alt/az mount (or a dobsnian base) is intuitive to use, and keeps the focuser accessible .

 

 

[Located]

6 minutes ago, Tiny Clanger said:

If you are thinking of serious astro photo use , you will want an EQ mount, and the heritage does not have tube rings (and I doubt they would fit as aftermarket add ons and still allow the tube to close properly) so would be no use , due to the way an EQ mount shifts the focuser as it rotates. Serious EQ mounts are not cheap. I inherited a  Celestron 114 newt on a cheap EQ and it was horrid. You really  get what you pay for in this game.

If you are interested in visual observing , with maybe just the odd 'phone pic of the Moon etc , and alt/az mount (or a dobsnian base) is intuitive to use, and keeps the focuser accessible .

 

 

Thanks for the response, yeah preferably I'd love to get into astrophotography, I did have the skywatcher what I was on about and the celestron 130EQ though was told that Skywatcher was the better option, just not sure what to get from them as the 5EQ and 200p was a bad combo so not sure if a 130/150p with EQ2 would be better. 

Thanks again! 

[Carbon Brush]

Astrophotography can be akin to tearing up £20 notes and not looking through your scope. It can be that frustrating.

Enjoy the night sky first. Get used to handling a scope and mount. Start photography by sticking a smartphone to the eyepiece and work up from there.

I have the equivalent of a 200P on EQ5. Though it is a goto mount. It is a reasonable solution if you want goto and EQ. Not for anything more than 20-30 sec photos though.
Then you have all the faff of balancing the mount.
Nice visual package though.

Remember this is 3 journeys minimum between house and garden.

1/  Tripod/mount assuming you can store it assembled. Otherwise 2 journeys.

2/  Scope body & finder - assuming you can store it assembled.

3/  All the other bits. Counterweight. eyepieces, torch, table for the bits, battery if a goto mount, chart or planisphere or tablet...........
A bag or box for all of this?

They don't tell you all this in the sales literature😕 and all scopes/mounts look the same size on a web page😁

HTH, David.

Edited August 2, 2021 by Carbon Brush
Spelling 7/10

[Located]

7 minutes ago, Carbon Brush said:

Astrophotography can be akin to tearing up £20 notes and not looking through your scope. It can be that frustrating.

Enjoy the night sky first. Get used to handling a scope and mount. Start photography by sticking a smartphone to the eyepiece and work up from there.

I have the equivalent of a 200P on EQ5. Though it is a goto mount. It is a reasonable solution if you want goto and EQ. Not for anything more than 20-30 sec photos though.
Then you have all the faff of balancing the mount.
Nice visual package though.

Remember this is 3 journeys minimum between house and garden.

1/  Tripod/mount assuming you can store it assembled. Otherwise 2 journeys.

2/  Scope body & finder - assuming you can store it assembled.

3/  All the other bits. Counterweight. eyepieces, torch, table for the bits, battery if a goto mount, chart or planisphere or tablet...........
A bag or box for all of this?

They don't tell you all this in the sales literature😕 and all scopes/mounts look the same size on a web page😁

HTH, David.

Thanks for the response David, yeah it does look quite nice and the guy provided a video of it. https://streamable.com/i1fyxg never seen the blue tint online though pretty sure it's still the 200p with EQ5 mount. Looks really nice and tempted to go purchase it. I understand the journeys I have to take with this scope to the garden etc and I'm happy for that as I'm not too bothered to do this, will give me some exercise 😂

[etsatlo]

To throw my 2 pence in I tend to agree with what others have said.

Though a Newt on an EQ does offer good value for money and is often recommended, like others I've been bitten by one. Newts will eventually require collimation (no issue but a niggle to bear in mind) and EQ mounts are a pain to align or setup plus the counterweights can add additional hassle let alone weight. 

I recently got a Sky-Watcher Skymax 102 Mak AZ pronto from FLO for £260 so same ballpark price wise. 

Its compact, light, the AZ mount is small and easy to use and the tripod offers remarkably sturdy and vibration-free viewing. The views are crisp and the focusser is lovely to use. 

One upgrade I'd recommend highly (speaking from recent experience) is to get a proper finderscope to compliment the red dot finder. Makes it so, so much easier to find things which is the whole point! Red dot can get you in the brightest stats vicinity but from my urban site very tough to find things fainter. 

I got a 6x30 right angle one from FLO for £45 and worth every penny. Means I can actually follow the star hopping instructions in Turn Left at Orion which I would also highly recommend for showing realistically what you can expect to see and how to find them (picked up 2nd hand off eBay for a fiver)

Wish you the best of luck!

[almcl]

I will buck the trend of advice here, slightly and say that I have a SW 200p and EQ5 mount and used it quite happily for visual and, once I had added motors to it, for Astro-photography with a DSLR.  True, not all my images worked, but quite a few did and I was quite pleased with the results. After a few years I did upgrade to a better mount and more recently to a different scope and finally to a dedicated Astro camera, but I definitely don't regret the EQ5's purchase (I bought new when prices were a bit lower than they are now) and still use the EQ5 mount when imaging with a Canon 200mm lens, for which is more than adequate.

Edited August 2, 2021 by almcl

[Carbon Brush]

Another benefit of asking on SGL. You know that scope is quite a few years old.
Skywatcher did tubes in blue, then black, then diamond (sparkly) black, then green dovetail bars. I think that is correct.
Those who know more than me (easily found) can fill you in about dates and colours, it is a very good calendar. My guess is >10years, but wait for someone who knows more.
The eyepiece holder is limited to 1.25" eyepieces, which is not that much of an issue, but addressed on newer scopes. Are these included?
Some folks prefer the newer 2 speed focusser.
To me a right angle finder is a must on a newt scope. But this is very much a personal choice.

The big one, which may be a showstopper is the condition of the main and secondary mirrors.
But mirror condition and cleaning is another subject.
A simply mucky mirror is easy to deal with. A mirror that has had mould growth left for a while may be wrecked.
Again, if you look at scopes on sale here, you will see pics showing dust, scratches, etc.

HTH, David.

[Carbon Brush]

Where in the country are you? Just add it to your profile.

If we knew the general area, you might find someone saying 'take a look at.........just 20 miles away from you'