Which telescope to get?

[Asoor]

Hey, I'm looking to get a telescope. I'm a student so my budget is pretty limited, 150 euros max. I looked for something used and I've found a few options but I don't know which is better. I'm mainly interested in lunar and planetary viewing, nebulae would be nice but not the priority. First there's one that's 150/1400 

https://www.kleinanzeigen.de/s-anzeige/leistungsstarkes-teleskop-150-1400-/2570389530-242-1158?utm_source=sharesheet&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=socialbuttons&utm_content=app_android

there's another one that's 114/900

https://www.kleinanzeigen.de/s-anzeige/bresser-reflektor-teleskop-galaxia-s/2592898602-242-1656?utm_source=sharesheet&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=socialbuttons&utm_content=app_android

and the third one is 150/750

https://www.kleinanzeigen.de/s-anzeige/omegon-teleskop-newton-reflektor-150-750-eq-3/2584119227-242-4944?utm_source=sharesheet&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=socialbuttons&utm_content=app_android

I'm not familiar with any of those brands so I don't know if there's something I should watch out for or anything. Appreciate all advice, thank you.

[Mr Spock]

The first one looks like a Bird-Jones design and it best avoided. The second one is only 114mm but long focal length suggesting it may have a spherical mirror. The last one looks to be a good standard 150mm Newtonian and is the best choice of the three.

[Elp]

For that sort of budget I wouldn't get any telescope. A decent one which you'll likely enjoy using and keeping will cost double or triple that budget at least and the tripod is the most important part of any setup, most pre supplied ones are no good. If you're just starting out, get a decent aperture pair of binoculars (preferably one which can be mounted onto a tripod) and use a free stellarium to find your way around the skies.

Edited November 8, 2023 by Elp

[Asoor]

20 minutes ago, Mr Spock said:

The first one looks like a Bird-Jones design and it best avoided. The second one is only 114mm but long focal length suggesting it may have a spherical mirror. The last one looks to be a good standard 150mm Newtonian and is the best choice of the three.

I also found this one

https://www.kleinanzeigen.de/s-anzeige/teleskop-celestron-omni-xlt-150-dia-150mm-fl-750mm-gebraucht/2575443916-242-2048?utm_source=sharesheet&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=socialbuttons&utm_content=app_android

it's celestron so that might be something 

[John]

20 minutes ago, Asoor said:

I also found this one

https://www.kleinanzeigen.de/s-anzeige/teleskop-celestron-omni-xlt-150-dia-150mm-fl-750mm-gebraucht/2575443916-242-2048?utm_source=sharesheet&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=socialbuttons&utm_content=app_android

it's celestron so that might be something 

It is a decent Celestron Omni 150mm F/5 newtonian that has been mounted in a somewhat oversize but probably stable home build dobsonian mount.

Quite a good place to start visual observing but entirely manually driven so you will have to find targets for yourself. You will need to buy some eyepieces for the scope - I don't think it comes with any.

Not a bad deal for 150 Euros as long as the optics (the mirrors) are in good shape. It is probably quite heavy judging by how it looks.

 

Edited November 8, 2023 by John

[Asoor]

8 minutes ago, John said:

It is a decent Celestron Omni 150mm F/5 newtonian that has been mounted in a somewhat oversize but probably stable home build dobsonian mount.

Quite a good place to start visual observing but entirely manually driven so you will have to find targets for yourself. You will need to buy some eyepieces for the scope - I don't think it comes with any.

Not a bad deal for 150 Euros as long as the optics (the mirrors) are in good shape. It is probably quite heavy judging by how it looks.

 

Is it a better bet than the other 150mm?

[Cosmic Geoff]

The third one in your first post apparently has an EQ-3 mount.  That's not a bad mount (if it is the same as the Skywatcher one) and alone might be worth the asking price. 

Omegon is a brand rather than a manufacturer. One of our respected UK retailers sells the same outfit for £318, so search for reviews and draw your own conclusions.

[John]

1 hour ago, Asoor said:

Is it a better bet than the other 150mm?

The Celestron Omni 150's are made by the same company that makes the Skywatcher scopes. The mirrors in them are good and the primary mirror will be parabolic.

I don't know anything about the other 150mm you linked to but the 3-vaned secondary support does not look as good as the Celestron Omni's is, the finder is worse than the Omni's and the focuser looks to be plastic. 

It would be good if you could ask the seller to send you some photos of the Celestron Omni's mirrors to check their condition.

Edited November 8, 2023 by John

[doublevodka]

2 hours ago, Asoor said:

I also found this one

https://www.kleinanzeigen.de/s-anzeige/teleskop-celestron-omni-xlt-150-dia-150mm-fl-750mm-gebraucht/2575443916-242-2048?utm_source=sharesheet&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=socialbuttons&utm_content=app_android

it's celestron so that might be something 

This one would be my choice out of the 4, the homemade dobsonian mount looks well constructed and the scope itself looks in good condition externally so has probably been well looked after.

It will be quite heavy I suspect as it's made from quite thick plywood, but should be easy enough to move and could even be done in two parts, certainly a decent place to start with your budget.

As others have said, try and get them to send you some pictures of the mirrors/internals just to make sure all looks ok, don't worry if it's a little dusty and find out if any eyepieces are included, I suspect they are as the ad says they've tested it, but none are pictured.

[Asoor]

1 hour ago, doublevodka said:

This one would be my choice out of the 4, the homemade dobsonian mount looks well constructed and the scope itself looks in good condition externally so has probably been well looked after.

It will be quite heavy I suspect as it's made from quite thick plywood, but should be easy enough to move and could even be done in two parts, certainly a decent place to start with your budget.

As others have said, try and get them to send you some pictures of the mirrors/internals just to make sure all looks ok, don't worry if it's a little dusty and find out if any eyepieces are included, I suspect they are as the ad says they've tested it, but none are pictured.

I'll ask them for pictures of the internals, the telescope has no eyepieces included unfortunately. My main concern is that I live in an apartment and would need to take the telescope to a nearby park or something like that. Would that be feasible with such a heavy mount?

[Asoor]

I'm thinking about getting a 114/900 because of the weight difference but I'm worried that I wouldn't see anything well with one

[John]

1 hour ago, Asoor said:

I'm thinking about getting a 114/900 because of the weight difference but I'm worried that I wouldn't see anything well with one

If you find the Celestron Omni 150 too heavy in it's mounting, the telescope tube can be removed from the wooden mount and mounted on a lighter mount such as the Skywatcher AZ4.

The Omni 150 is a much more capable scope than the 114mm / 900. The 150mm gathers 73% more light than the 114mm.

 

Edited November 8, 2023 by John

[doublevodka]

2 hours ago, Asoor said:

I'll ask them for pictures of the internals, the telescope has no eyepieces included unfortunately. My main concern is that I live in an apartment and would need to take the telescope to a nearby park or something like that. Would that be feasible with such a heavy mount?

The tube itself won't be very heavy the mount will be a bit heavier but if you are reasonably fit I don't think it will be too much of a problem. If you are worried about it I'm sure they won't mind you going to see it before purchasing. It is definitely the better scope as mentioned above, do bear in mind you will need at least one eyepiece and some sort of collimation device such as a colimation cap, both can be purchased fairly cheaply 👍

Good luck with the hunt, there are some bargains out there even though some will say you can't get a decent scope cheaply, it is definitely possible and one of my favourite pastimes, much to my wife's dismay 😂

[John]

2 hours ago, Asoor said:

I'll ask them for pictures of the internals, the telescope has no eyepieces included unfortunately. My main concern is that I live in an apartment and would need to take the telescope to a nearby park or something like that. Would that be feasible with such a heavy mount?

The telescope tube will probably just lift off of the wooden mount so that you can carry them separately. From the pictures it is designed this way and most dobsonian mounts (the wooden mount is in the dobsonian style) do this.

Incidentally, in the photos the telescope tube is the wrong way round on the mount. Maybe the seller does not know much about the scope ?

[bomberbaz]

8 hours ago, Asoor said:

I also found this one

https://www.kleinanzeigen.de/s-anzeige/teleskop-celestron-omni-xlt-150-dia-150mm-fl-750mm-gebraucht/2575443916-242-2048?utm_source=sharesheet&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=socialbuttons&utm_content=app_android

it's celestron so that might be something 

With the others here, that's a great setup at that price. It will be easy to use, transport and learn with plus work well for both the planets and in dark skies, also for nebula. 

[Asoor]

1 hour ago, John said:

The telescope tube will probably just lift off of the wooden mount so that you can carry them separately. From the pictures it is designed this way and most dobsonian mounts (the wooden mount is in the dobsonian style) do this.

Incidentally, in the photos the telescope tube is the wrong way round on the mount. Maybe the seller does not know much about the scope ?

Yeah, the ad said that they're selling it because they inherited it and don't know much about it so that explains the tube being the wrong way round.

[Asoor]

52 minutes ago, bomberbaz said:

With the others here, that's a great setup at that price. It will be easy to use, transport and learn with plus work well for both the planets and in dark skies, also for nebula. 

Thank you, I decided to go with it. I'm waiting on pictures of the interior from them and if everything's fine I'll go get it

[Asoor]

1 hour ago, bomberbaz said:

With the others here, that's a great setup at that price. It will be easy to use, transport and learn with plus work well for both the planets and in dark skies, also for nebula. 

Also, this telescope doesn't come with any eyepieces so I'll have to buy some, i don't really have a lot of money so I'm looking to just get the bare essentials for as cheap as possible right now. What should I get? I think the telescope fits 2 inch and 1.25 inch eyepieces

Edited November 8, 2023 by Asoor

[bomberbaz]

10 hours ago, Asoor said:

Also, this telescope doesn't come with any eyepieces so I'll have to buy some, i don't really have a lot of money so I'm looking to just get the bare essentials for as cheap as possible right now. What should I get? I think the telescope fits 2 inch and 1.25 inch eyepieceal

I would get a svbony 7-21 zoom, cheap, covers a lot of ground, great quality and perfect for planetary viewing 

[doublevodka]

1 hour ago, bomberbaz said:

I would get a svbony 7-21 zoom, cheap, covers a lot of ground, great quality and perfect for planetary viewing 

Another vote for Svbony from me, they do some decent cheap eyepieces.

If possible you also want something fairly wide, say a 25mm plossl, their range can be seen here - https://www.svbony.com/shop/categories/eyepieces/?product_list_order_dir=Price,asc&product_list_mode=grid

There is also a facebook group for making your own eyepieces from old binoculars here - https://www.facebook.com/groups/1484777181687589 very handy if you are on a tight budget, I've tried this myself from a pair of broken binoculars and the eyepieces extracted were very good 👍

[Zermelo]

If you're on a budget, a zoom makes sense, and if you're on a budget, a Svbony zoom makes even better sense. This recent thread has some discussion:

 

[Asoor]

Thanks a lot everyone, I'll update you when they send me pictures of the mirrors

[bomberbaz]

21 minutes ago, Asoor said:

Thanks a lot everyone, I'll update you when they send me pictures of the mirrors

If there is a little muck, don't worry as they are easily cleaned. It is scratches / oxidation you should be wary of. 👍

[Asoor]

I think they look okay, right?

[John]

7 minutes ago, Asoor said:

I think they look okay, right?

It is a little difficult to tell from those photos but on balance they look OK.

The inside of the tube seems to have been carefully flocked to reduce light scattering, which is another plus for this scope having been the property of a careful and thoughtful owner.