Too much choice! A tongue in cheek rant.

[GasGiant]

So I've been happily pulling out the Dob and doing some general mooching around the sky. Its been dreadful weather but managed a couple of times.

Ive managed to snag Jupiter which was very nice and also Saturn briefly before she ( are planets female? ) disappeared.  

Thoughts turned to imaging and potentially buying a second scope with matched mount to take some snaps.  WOW ! I'm lost. There is just soooo much kit to look at, its no wonder people get confused.  Its all nice and shiny and enticing me with is optical glow. but.....

I see you can buy a reasonably 'set up' but what about future proofing?  If I buy a reasonably prices set up, how long will it be before I outgrow it and then want the next fix. Does it ever end?  😆  

Looking at something like the explorer 150 p ds. Looks good, reviews on youtube etc seem favourable and its in budget but then, Oh, I need a camera, I need filters, I need a laptop, I need this I need that. Then I looked at the 200 and then OOooo, whats this, the 250, HHmm!

Oh my days😂 I cant afford to waste money on kit I will outgrow but then what ?

Anyway, this is just a random moan.  I presume other people here are at the same stage as me.

Like every other hobby I have had I will likely waste a load of cash!!  My misses says my motto should be BUY HIGH, SELL LOW🤷‍♂️

Too much choice. First world problems, eh 😁

[Elp]

If you want to keep it simple and get one answer, get a ZWO Seestar. Won't do planets due to the focal length, but you'll image and "see" far far more with it out of the box with little to no prior knowledge or experience.

Id have one if I didn't already have my imaging setups, it was certainly the most exciting product announced at NEAF earlier in 2023 and is selling like hot cakes.

Edited December 31, 2023 by Elp

[GasGiant]

It does look a great bit of kit for the cash ! 

Id like an allrounder, I guess.  But not only that, Im interested in learning about editing and stacking etc 

Maybe the second hand market is the place to look. People selling bundled kit they got fed up with 🤣 

Edited December 31, 2023 by GasGiant

[Elp]

You see people selling up quite often, but it'll cost you a lot more and be more involved, though you might prefer the tinkering, I certainly do.

[Louis D]

After a few years of taking a few crappy snaps, I realized that I'm more than happy looking at the hundreds to thousands of images being churned out by amateurs worldwide on a weekly to monthly basis.  I let them spend their money and time on capturing and processing them.

[John]

When I look back at astro equipment brochures / catalogues from the 1980's I realise a) how little choice there was back then and b) how high the prices were back then !

Today's situation means that more thought needs to go into buying decisions but we do have the likes of SGL and other forums to help in making these decisions.

On balance, I think the situation is pretty good today 🙂

[JTEC]

Gasgiant, I sent you a PM.  If you hook up with your local Astro Soc - also mine - they have the facilities and the expertise to help you first hand with your questions.

[Cosmic Geoff]

1 hour ago, GasGiant said:

Id like an allrounder, I guess.  But not only that, Im interested in learning about editing and stacking etc 

There is no such thing as an allrounder. 

If you buy a Seestar S50 you have the option of editing and stacking its output to your heart's content, or just using the image sent to your smartphone.

I suggest you invest in Steve Richards' book "Making Every Photon Count" before you reach for your credit card to buy any separates imaging gear.

[Zermelo]

1 hour ago, GasGiant said:

also Saturn briefly before she ( are planets female? ) disappeared

I'd say Saturn is definitely male, though these days you can't be too sure.

[DaveS]

Did I see the doomful word "imaging"? Beware of the slippery slope into the financial black hole of bankruptcy.

In all seriousness imaging begins with the mount, if you haven't got that sorted then nothing else will work, something at the HEQ5 (Other capable mounts are available) level is about the minimum for imaging without having to spend hours (And ££££) fettling.

[Mr H in Yorkshire]

2 hours ago, GasGiant said:

Too much choice. First world problems, eh 😁

You should try buying a yoghurt. My wife asked me to get a particular type - do we really need 2000 different varieties? I was literally given a headache and still got the damn thing wrong. Now we make our own.

[Bugdozer]

3 hours ago, Cosmic Geoff said:

There is no such thing as an allrounder. 

Shh! Don't let the Dob Squad hear you! 😁

[cajen2]

5 hours ago, Zermelo said:

I'd say Saturn is definitely male, though these days you can't be too sure.

Well, he IDENTIFIES as male, certainly....

[GasGiant]

12 hours ago, Mr H in Yorkshire said:

You should try buying a yoghurt. My wife asked me to get a particular type - do we really need 2000 different varieties? I was literally given a headache and still got the damn thing wrong. Now we make our own.

My misses can go in the store, spend 5 minutes looking at all the different varieties of product X and then end up buying exactly the same one she always does. LOL. Drives me mad 😂

[MartianHill]

4 minutes ago, GasGiant said:

My misses can go in the store, spend 5 minutes looking at all the different varieties of product X and then end up buying exactly the same one she always does. LOL. Drives me mad 😂

You are lucky, my missus can go into a store, see something she likes but then go and check all the other stores for something better only to go back to the first store hours later to buy the item !

Edited January 1 by MartianHill

[John]

12 hours ago, Bugdozer said:

Shh! Don't let the Dob Squad hear you! 😁

What have you got against dobsonians ? 

I'm sure very few on here would advocate them as the answer to every astronomical need 🙂

 

 

[Bugdozer]

2 hours ago, John said:

What have you got against dobsonians ? 

I'm sure very few on here would advocate them as the answer to every astronomical need 🙂

 

 

I have nothing against dobsonians, they're great. But there are very few threads where people have asked what scope they should get without at least one person recommending one. I am highlighting that the "there is no ideal all round scope" quote persists alongside dobs being recommended for almost everything (including areas like planetary where they aren't always the best choice). I offer no judgement about which view is correct, merely that the two views are incompatible. 

[Tomatobro]

I still cannot decide if the SeeStar is the astro equivalent of the emperors new cloths or not. The only way to find out is to buy one and find out for myself.

Some of the pictures on the web look too good given the spec of the scope.

[happy-kat]

It's a triplet which gives it a head start.  I like seeing the images and Cuiv has done a couple watchable videos on it

[Pete Presland]

There was an interesting review and thread on Cloudy Nights just before Christmas  Seestar S50 - first light and review - Smart Telescopes - Cloudy Nights What the Seestar can do does look pretty impressive to me, especially for the price. 

My C9.25 though is the perfect "all rounder" for me, great planetary/Lunar imager and viewer. Pretty good white light scope with the right filter. Very pleasing all round visual scope as well.

[PhilB61]

I have to agree imaging is a minefield of choices; mono or colour camera, cooled? planetary or deep sky, reflector or refractor, EQ or Alt/Az mount, filters, guiding, electronic focusing , software etc , etc

Much opportunity to make mistakes and spent too much money on all the wrong stuff…

It can also be a lot of faff, frustration and at times disappointment but then when it all comes together it feels totally rewarding to have taken an image of a distant galaxy or nebula with equipment you own from your own back garden, regardless that it may not look like something from Hubble/James Webb.
I still a count myself as a beginner imager having been at it for a couple of years so I am sure others with much greater experience will also chime in.
My advice would be before spending any money, if at all possible try to experience the process of imaging, its nothing like visual astronomy, especially if you only have experience of a manual Dob were you can be up and viewing in a matter of minutes. I know a couple of people who bought all the imaging gear but just didn’t appreciate the amount of work involved in setting everything up and didn’t enjoy the imaging sessions , so  all their equipment sits unused.
Myself, I really enjoy the whole process of researching what I need/want, acquisition of the hardware and software and putting it all together so that it works for me.  I also enjoy the actual process of imaging, pre and post processing etc, the only thing I don’t really like is the often long breaks between clear imaging nights here in the UK.

Sorry I’ve not given any advice to actually help you narrow your choice, I think you would have to first decide between planetary or deep sky, as they both have very different requirements and then maybe we can help further…
 

[jjohnson3803]

On 01/01/2024 at 07:28, Tomatobro said:

I still cannot decide if the SeeStar is the astro equivalent of the emperors new cloths or not. The only way to find out is to buy one and find out for myself.

Absolutely.  I was very, very close to joining the stampede, but held back for some reason. 

I think it's probably a fine device for what it does, but what exactly does it do, given my location, lack of enthusiasm for post-processing, and so on.

Edited January 2 by jjohnson3803