Skywatcher telescopes, which one should i get and why?

[lennon890]

Hello,

I was wondering which Skywatcher Explorer telescope everybody would recommend, the P or the PL?

On the item page for the PL it says:

'For a more general-purpose telescope, consider the regular Explorer 150P'

What exactly does this mean?

I have chosse these two telescopes because i only have £240 to spend and i have heard that Skywatchers' are good.

The URLs for the two items are:

Reflectors - Skywatcher Explorer 150P EQ3-2

Reflectors - Skywatcher Explorer 150PL EQ3-2

I posted this question on this fourm yesterday; Jahmanson and Brianb answered my question buy i was wondering if anybody else had any diffrent opinions?

Thank You,

-Lennon890

[johninderby]

Hi

"L" just stands for a longer focal length which is an advantage for planetary, but the standard gives you a wider field of view.

John

[Rob]

John has said it all there really. However, if it is planets as well as DSO's.. go for the 150P.. It does very well on planets also. You will need to invest in a barlow, but know of a Meade 3x barlow on offer for under £25 new from a dealer you could pick up.

Sorted.

Rob

P.s I've owned 2 of the 150P's before.... super scope for the money, dont forget you will get a 2x Barlow with the scope that (to be fair) does the job on planets.

[Astro_Baby]

My sis has the 150P and its a nice all round scope. I think if I were buying though I'd go for the PL. The longer focal length and higher F ratio will mean the scope is more tolerant of cheaper EPs and collomation will be less critical.

Not having use the PL I cant say what the downsides to DSO viewing would be. I cant imagine it would be worse than the 150 though. Years ago the long focal length 6" was the king of the hill.

Ade Ashford rated it very highly in his review of it.

Bear in mind is about a meter long though so if transport storage is an issue a shorter tube might be an advantage.