Brand New and need help!!!

[Glyn172]

Tried a Celestron nexstar 114 and looking to buy a new Telescope, ive had a Skywatcher 150p recommended and ive read the reviews and it looks good, but should i go with a refractor or a reflecter i honestly dont know. i have got a budget of about £350 on the 26th April which gives me a bit of time to research any advise.

Ive already got a celestron neximage which has got a 1.25 webcam so that would also be useful to get the new scope with the right size viewer, but not essential.

so once again thanks for any advise i promise its been appreciated.

Glyn

[brantuk]

Hi Glyn - "you'll get more bang for the buck" with reflectors as the same money will buy a larger aperture (important for light gathering) than a refractor.

The 150p is a great scope and it'll leave you a few bob from that budget to get accessories (e.g. motors, ep's, filters, etc). I started with a Skywatcher 150p (after binocs) and never regretted it - you may even squeeze a 200 outa the budget if you get it on a dob mount.

Hope that helps

[RichieJarvis]

Hi Glyn,

It all depends what you want to do in Astronomy. If you want to imaging DSO's, its a completely different setup than if you want to view faint-fuzzies with your eye.

The refractor/reflector debate is really a matter of personal choice. On the refractor side, aperture and good optics cost lots of money. On the reflector side, a good Newtonian design shouldn't cost you too much, however, it will require regular collimation.

Your current Nexstar is a cracking scope though - what does it not do that you want to see in a new scope? It might be a little easier to help you if we knew what you were after.

Thanks,

Richie

[LukeSkywatcher]

You can not go wrong with reflectors. You get more apeture for less money because its cheaper to make big mirrors then it is to make small lens.

[ollypenrice]

I agree with Richie and would add that small increments in aperture and quality are - in my view - not worth taking. I would advise you only to take big steps in upgrading because there is a law of diminishing returns operating here. Getting more observationally expert with what you have is more useful than making a small upgrade in kit.

Olly

[LukeSkywatcher]

I agree with Richie and would add that small increments in aperture and quality are - in my view - not worth taking. I would advise you only to take big steps in upgrading because there is a law of diminishing returns operating here. Getting more observationally expert with what you have is more useful than making a small upgrade in kit.

Olly

This is also true. Not MUCH difference between a 114mm and a 150mm.

[RichieJarvis]

Also - bear in mind that the focal ratio of a Nexstar is alot longer than a 150p, so the Field of view will be different for each eyepiece. The coatings on the Nexstar should also help, so I would not expect to be able to see much difference brightness wise between a 150p and a Nexstar in the eyepiece.

Best thing is to tell us what sort of skies you have (how light polluted) and what you want to get out of your hobby

Cheers,

Richie

[orionhunter]

if you want to do imaging then the 150p/200p SW dob isnt the best choice. which is a pity as they are really good, and excellent value for money.

ive got the SW 150p dobby and i love it. highly recommended.

[LukeSkywatcher]

Yes a Dob is not the scope for you if you want to do astro-imaging................

[Glyn172]

Hi thanks for all the info, i will try and reply to a few. The light polution is quite bad where i am as the motorway is less than half a mile away, junction 7 m6 and a main road is directly behind the house that backs on to mine so not brilliant. The reason i was looking at the 150p was the EQ mount so it would be easier for tracking. Yes i would like to do more photography than just gazing and i know i'm never going to be able to afford to spend thousands also i havent got a very big garden so the scope will have to be carried out even though i will probably be able to set the pc up in the shed. Hopefully that might give you a bit more of an idea of my circumstances i know i wont get the best pics but i would like to tie three hobbies together if possible, Astronomy, Photography and Computers.

Thanks again

Glyn

[RichieJarvis]

Hi Glyn,

Sounds like where I first started from! My first piece of advice is this - light pollution is not a problem for imaging anymore - you can cut out alot with filters, although of course it does raise the cost!

Before I start on a Deep-sky imaging set of instructions too much, one question is do you want to image Deep-sky objects or Lunar/Planets?

If you want to image the Moon and Planets, then the Nexstar is a good step in the right direction - it will give you a good base, and you don't have to worry about Light Pollution, as the planets and the Moon are nice and bright.

If you want to do Deep-sky imaging then the mount is the number one top component that you need to think about. The problem here is that good mounts cost money. Now, Nick Howes (NickH on here) is currently trying out a portable setup for Star Parties which might well fit your bill - an EQ3 with Synscan fitted. If it works well and tracks as it should, then that is about the cheapest mount you can get away with. All that being said, the EQ mount that is supplied with the 150P is the EQ3 that I am talking about - it will need the Synscan upgrade though which is £300 I believe - or you can get normal motor drives if you want to save money and don't want GoTo.

The 150P itself though is not really an imaging scope, although I know of one chap on here (Steve Richards) who made a clever modification to a coma corrector so that it fitted down further into the focus tube so that it would work (that was a Skywatcher 200 - but the principal is the same.) The problem with Newtonian for observing is that the focus point for an eyepiece is not the same as it is for your camera.

All this means you have 3 choices really:

1. Buy a cheap reflector and modify either it or your camera and accessories - probably not a good idea

2. Buy a special reflector for imaging (which has a slightly shorter focal length to make it camera compatible out of the box) - it can still be used for observing with an extension tube as well by the way. I am selling a 6" imaging newt myself, which I started out with a few years ago

3. Buy a cheap refractor - in the imaging game, short tube apo-chromatic refractors are really the way to go, and there are some good ones out there!

By the way - if I were you (and having made many kit mistakes in the past) - I would plumb for option 3!

Hope that helps,

Cheers,

Richie

[david o]

Hi Glyn,

If astro-imaging is the way you want to go then I recommend that the first thing you get, before laying out any of your hard earned cash on kit, is a copy of Making Every Photon Count by Steve Richards (Steppenwolf on this very forum).

It takes you from the beginning and will guide you through everything. Including choosing the right kit, so you'll avoid expensive mistakes buying the wrong stuff.

Highly recommended and easy to read.

HTH