SW Explorer 130 vs starquest 130 vs explorer 150

[Redmike]

Hi all, newbie here from UK. I have a small dob but rather than go bigger (6") as many people have recommended I'm leaning towards a reflector /tripod combo, partially for portability and storage and also  the option to upgrade individual items should I want to at a later date.

I'm drawn towards the SW Explorer 130 (OTA or eq2) or SW explorer 150 (OTA eq3-2 or AZ4) or the SW starquest 130 (EQ/alt mount) and have a few questions.

1) the two 130's are very similar in price and similar specs so what is the difference and with just naked eye viewing, what difference could I expect to see between them?

 2) is the  explorer 150 worth an extra £200 to the 130 explorer in terms of what I can see?

3) How does the p version differ from the pds version in terms of operation and view quality?

4) Ive looked at buying as a combo and buying as a separate OTA and tripod and I know they are available with EQ and alt az mounts and I know the difference between the mounts but does anyone know which is more stable, the combined EQ alt az of the starquest 130, the EQ of the explorer 130 or the eq3-2 of the 150?

5) if I did buy any of them just as an OTA, what tripod would you recommend? Budget would only be £200 - £300 depending on which scope I purchased. I know that mount is the most important thing in a lot of people's mind but difficult to do with such a small budget.

INFO

My budget is sub £500 and astrophotography is not of great importance, certainly not to the level of some pictures I see on her but I would like to image what I can see in the view and maybe just do some basic tracking & editing etc as I don't think I have the time or patience to take 100's of shots at 30 seconds then sit in front of a pc and stack and edit ( or whatever the technical term is). I do have a DSLR which I would like to use but as I say above it's not the most important thing to me. 

What do I want to see? As much as I can 😊

If you have read this far then thank you. If you can offer constructive comments and advice then thank you even more 👍

Edited February 1, 2022 by Redmike
Typed scope, meant to type mount

[cajen2]

Come on, folks, help this guy out! I have no experience of those mounts, so can't comment, but I can see the problem!

[Marvin Jenkins]

I can answer one question right away, the PDS versions have a two inch dual speed focuser that allows enough back focus if you ever had the crazy idea of putting a camera on it.

I have an Orion 130 and a SW 150 PDS and my dark skies there is quite a bit of difference between the two.

Marv

[cajen2]

19 minutes ago, Marvin Jenkins said:

I can answer one question right away, the PDS versions have a two inch dual speed focuser that allows enough back focus if you ever had the crazy idea of putting a camera on it.

I have an Orion 130 and a SW 150 PDS and my dark skies there is quite a bit of difference between the two.

Marv

And of course the PDS would be much nicer and more accurate to focus......

I'm afraid, Redmike, the advice will be to go for the larger scope and the most expensive mount....such is the way of the astronomer's life....😥

One other thing, RM, is if you aren't particularly fussed about astroimaging, an alt/az mount is a lot easier to set up and use than an EQ.

Edited February 3, 2022 by cajen2

[Marvin Jenkins]

I started with the 130 newt on an EQ2 as a bundle. I had no idea how bad the EQ2 is with that newt. I did all the tricks like rebuilding the tripod with spacing washers, filling the legs with sand….. the mount head has so much flex it takes about 3 to 4 seconds after touching the scope for the wobble to stop.

Definately an alt az if AP is not your goal. Sorry I can’t help with that as I only have experience with EQs. If I could do it again I would get a SW Skytee ll on an EQ5 tripod. That way I would have been future proofed and had the ability to mount a second scope when funds allowed.

Marv

[Redmike]

Based on budget and not wanting to get in AP just yet I think I will go with the 150pds leaving me with approx £200 for the AZ4 then upgrade to EQ if and when needed for AP. Thank you to those who contributed to this thread.

Clear skies.