Which is better, a 80mm refractor or a 114mm reflector telescope?

[Elp]

Everyone asks about what scope to get. They should be saying my light pollution level is X, what do you recommend if I want to see Y and my budget is Z. If LP is high you won't see much of anything deep sky no matter the aperture (small budget anyway) and be limited to solar system and stars (concentrated star clusters will also be difficult).

Edited February 1, 2023 by Elp

[Guest]

I would like to suggest finding a local astronomy club and go look at telescopes before you spend any money at all.  See whats out there and get some hands on time with them.  Look at different objects with different scopes and see which one trips your trigger.  Then you will know what kind of scope to get 

[Rusted]

6 minutes ago, Mike Q said:

I would like to suggest finding a local astronomy club and go look at telescopes before you spend any money at all. 
See what's out there and get some hands on time with them. 
Look at different objects with different scopes and see which one trips your trigger. 
Then you will know what kind of scope to get.

Best advice so far.

If an astronomy club or society is within reach you will gain access to instruments to make direct comparisons.
There is also the likelihood of lots of expert advice and even the chance of a telescope to borrow. 
Most societies/clubs have a website these days. With a contact person listed to approach.
Hopefully they will be warmly approachable and not try to drown you in their "expertise."

[sagittariancat]

This really depends on what type of stargazing you plan to do. Generally speaking, refractors tend to be sharper and have better contrast than reflectors, so for casual stargazing, a 80mm refractor may be a better option. However, if you plan to do more advanced stargazing, such as deep sky observing, then a 114mm reflector may be a better option because it can gather more light, allowing you to see fainter objects.

[LDW1]

6 hours ago, bomberbaz said:

How are you find the svbony, you seem to get a lot of scope at a very reasonable price. Dual speed focuser is great for the price. 

I like that scope, right now Telescopes Canada shows them at $349 C + tax and shipping that s where I bought mine for that price, last summer. But with new stock the price might go up a bit, I think through the Svbony site it might be $20-30 more but the shipping might be higher. As I said with my 40mm Panoptic and my collection of Morpheus eps the stars are pinpoint and the views are great.

[LDW1]

2 hours ago, sagittariancat said:

This really depends on what type of stargazing you plan to do. Generally speaking, refractors tend to be sharper and have better contrast than reflectors, so for casual stargazing, a 80mm refractor may be a better option. However, if you plan to do more advanced stargazing, such as deep sky observing, then a 114mm reflector may be a better option because it can gather more light, allowing you to see fainter objects.

With deep sky don't count on it !

[LDW1]

4 hours ago, Elp said:

Everyone asks about what scope to get. They should be saying my light pollution level is X, what do you recommend if I want to see Y and my budget is Z. If LP is high you won't see much of anything deep sky no matter the aperture (small budget anyway) and be limited to solar system and stars (concentrated star clusters will also be difficult).

What if they intend to travel around to several sites each with different sky conditions on any given nite ?

[Elp]

Just now, LDW1 said:

What if they intend to travel around to several sites each with different sky conditions on any given nite ?

True, but the likelihood is that they'll have a base of operations where they do most of the work

[bomberbaz]

3 minutes ago, LDW1 said:

I like that scope, right now Telescopes Canada shows them at $349 C + tax and shipping that s where I bought mine for that price, last summer. But with new stock the price might go up a bit, I think through the Svbony site it might be $20-30 more but the shipping might be higher. As I said with my 40mm Panoptic and my collection of Morpheus eps the stars are pinpoint and the views are great.

A bit more expensive in the UK but posted I paid equivalent of $460 C.

It looks perfect for my needs and I had grown weary researching plus the svbony just seemed to be perfect for the price. (Sub £300 GBP)

[LDW1]

3 hours ago, Rusted said:

Best advice so far.

If an astronomy club or society is within reach you will gain access to instruments to make direct comparisons.
There is also the likelihood of lots of expert advice and even the chance of a telescope to borrow. 
Most societies/clubs have a website these days. With a contact person listed to approach.
Hopefully they will be warmly approachable and not try to drown you in their "expertise."

Right now the OP is asking for some, hopefully, expert advice on this forum. Many astronomy groups don't have any better astronomers than right here and many try to push their own high end gear. Looking through a higher end scope hopefully won't push the OP to buy high priced right from the start. Half of the great experience is starting out with a good  but not necessarily high priced scope and move along from there when they know what direction they want to go. One or two times at an astronomy group gathering shouldn't focus all their thoughts, it should just give them a bit of a confused taste of what it is all about. Reading from forums, researching, using their own common sense should be the key. They are doing it right being on this site as well as others !

[LDW1]

15 hours ago, bomberbaz said:

A bit more expensive in the UK but posted I paid equivalent of $460 C.

It looks perfect for my needs and I had grown weary researching plus the svbony just seemed to be perfect for the price. (Sub £300 GBP)

You will like that scope as a first scope and its all there scope wise. But there is lots to learn, a good solid mount / tripod, say a Twilite I, then there are eyepieces but not necessarily high end but at least 60-70° FOV, I would also recommend one of Svbony's zoom eps a great zoom for a decent price. The learning curve goes on and you will get there just like the rest of us. Good Luck and have fun, thats what its all about !   Note:  Sorry I have directed this spiel to the wrong fellow astronomer but it does apply to the OP !

Edited February 2, 2023 by LDW1

[Skipjack]

Hi and welcome to a great hobby 

I'd go with the refractor, any day of the week - if it's one of those 400 mm focal length ones that is. 

It's more flexible and give you a wider field - which tends to trigger the interest even more. That is a welcome bonus. 

The short tube 80 (if it that is what you looking at) may easily also be used for terrestrial observations, should you lose interest in Astronomy. It fits in a backpack, and can follow you wherever you go, day or night.

 

 

Edited February 2, 2023 by Skipjack

[LDW1]

With the 90mm Svbony not only are you getting a nice scope with great views and price but as a little bonus you pick up an additional 10mm of main objective and any increased views.