Should I buy this telescope?

[Navixc]

I am new to astronomy and I want to make a good use of my money to buy a telescope under $185.

I live in India and I found this https://fotocart.in/product/startracker-80eq-refractor-f400mm-refractor-telescope/ telescope which is 10990INR or about $133. The brand is not popular like celestron,  meade,etc 

So I am confused whether to buy it or not, or get something better.

[mikeDnight]

I would go for what I know is good, and that would be Skywatcher. They are optically good and mechanically good too, and you have the reassurance of them being a known quantity.

Would this be your first scope? 

[malc-c]

No one can tell you what to get, especially as you don't mention what interest you, the quality of the skies where you live, or if you can travel to a nice dark site.  Its basically an 80mm F5 refractor on a budget.  Like all things it will give you views of the Moon and bright nebula or galaxies under nice dark skies, but like all things in life you get what you pay for.  All cars will get you from A to B, but don't expect the smooth luxury a Rolls Royce offers compared to a no frills Ford, the same goes for telescopes.  

The problem is that unless someone has exactly the same scope none of us will be able to tell you how good or bad it is.  The problem is that you can always look at getting something better as you are always comparing whats available at any price point... even when you have a $1000 budget you can always get better mounts or optics...  

Personally, as per the post above I would stick with a brand that is known worldwide, and that means  Celestron if you are using that same supplier.  The 114 EQ is as basic as it comes but if you could stretch to the 130 that would be better....

[Louis D]

The problem with these budget scopes isn't so much the objectives, which can be quite good, it's the rest of the system.  They may have plastic focusers, plastic body diagonals, internal aperture stops, and wobbly mounts.

I would contact and work with Tejraj & Co. which is sort of the FLO of India.  They are a long standing, legitimate Indian astronomy retailer who should be able to answer your questions and find something within your budget.  If you need help post-sale, they'll be there to help.  Look at their house brand Star Tracker telescopes.  There are several sub-15,000INR options available.  It's best to support these dedicated astronomy retailers because they have been disappearing around the globe over the last 20 years with few replacements.

[sagittariancat]

Before committing to the purchase, it is worth reading reviews of the telescope to get an idea of what other customers have experienced. If you find that the reviews are overwhelmingly positive, this could be a good sign that it is worth the investment.

[Guest]

If there is an astronomy club around you go look at what they have.  Get familiar with the different kinds of scopes.  Its far better to get hands on time and then buy. 

[fullmoon]

10 hours ago, Mike Q said:

If there is an astronomy club around you go look at what they have.  Get familiar with the different kinds of scopes.  Its far better to get hands on time and then buy. 

100% agree, it's a mistake I made and wish I'd sought advice here before my purchase.

[RT65CB-SWL]

Hi @Navixc and welcome to SGL. 

Unfortunately no telescope does all in this hobby. Before parting with your hard-earned money, you need to decide what you intend to view the most. I mainly observe/view the Sun, Lunar and planets. At the time of posting have four 'scopes in total... two refractors and two catadioptrics [one Maksutov or Mak / one SCT]. For the Sun I use the refractors with a Solar/Herschel wedge and for the Moon and planets I use all of them. They are...

• TeleVue Ranger 
• Meade 2102-AT
• Meade ETX105
• Celestron C6/SCT