What one to buy?!!

[Spoz]

Hi folks, I’m new to this forum. I’m looking to purchase a telescope for my son and I to do some star guazing. I have been looking around but no idea what telescope to buy as my first one. I’m looking for one that will automatically track stars/planets etc that I can attached my phone/dslr to. My budget is somewhere between £100-£250 is it possible to get what I’m looking for. Or am I being unrealistic. Any help greatly appreciated thanks.

 

colin

[barkis]

Hi Colin, let us welcome you to SGL. 
I'm afraid your present budget falls a bit short for the setup you are hoping for.
Perhaps you should reduce your specifications a bit, and  put the tracking ingredients on the back burner
for a while, as that can add a lot more money to the bill.  You might consider a  F5 Newtonian reflector as a first
scope, mounted on an Alt. Azimuth mount wit slow motion manual controls. A tripod can come with the telescope.
You could get advice from First Light Optics, who sponsor SGL, they can be reached from within this Forum,
right at the top of the front page.  Just click on the Header, and you will reach the site, lots of goodies there. 
You can also look at used equipment markets,  you can get some good deals from those. However, before
committing any money to any purchase, seek advice from the membership on the forum to ensure 
you potential purchase is a sound one.
Best wishes, and enjoy your membership of SGL.
Ron.

 

 

 

 

Edited November 6, 2022 by barkis
Small addition.

[Nik271]

Welcome to SGL! I'm afraid your budget is too low for tracking but you there are other options. Have a look here for a brief guide.

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/beginner-telescopes.html

 

If you are predominantly interested in the Moon and planets then a long focal length refractor or small 4 to 5-inch (Mak/Schmidt )-Cassegrain on a sturdy tripod will be very suitable.

Actually you don't need tracking for photography of the moon and planets because they are bright and you can use fast shutter speeds where the movement of the sky does not matter.

[Cosmic Geoff]

This is a common request. I suggest you read the replies here made to similar queries, and come back if you need an answer to a more specific question.  £100-£250 seems too low for a tracking mount.  Either simplify your requirements or be prepared to spend a lot more money.

[SthBohemia]

There are umpteen other threads within SGL asking advice on the same question as yours, browse through them. Soon you will be inundated with the glories of a 4-6" dobsonian from the 'Dob Brigade'.

My one cents worth (possibly worth a lot less than one cent). Download Stellarium from the web (it's free). Within it you can actually input a great variety of scopes and get a rough view of what you MIGHT see from various scopes. Maybe purchase the book, "Turn Left at Orion". Learn ya way around the night sky with some cheapish binoculars...

A scope to purchase? Maybe a Celestron C90, a good starter, they sell for $US100-150, go for one made within USA as Celestron then did exercise some quality control. Or maybe any of the scopes made by TAL. Beware of most of the advertising hype over the web regarding, 'The best telescope to purchase 2022', tis simply advertising hype from Chinese manufacturers.....