Is a 10x50mm finder scope any good???

[msinclairinork]

Hi all, found a 10x50mm finderscope for £35 its right-angled too, would it be worth it or even better than say a standerd 6x30??? remember here folks that im still a bit of a novice so would this make things easier or harder to find? Any advice would be greatfull.

Thanks,

Michael

[brantuk]

Depending on the make/quality - the size is a good one for a large scope - should give decent wide views of the star field. If you tell me where it is I'll gazump you for a punt - so best not lol

[msinclairinork]

Hi Brantuk,

Thanks for replying. It is unbranded as far as I can see. It would be for a ED80 do you think it would be suitable? As far as I tell i think they have a few in stock anyway..i found it in scopes'skies astroboot section.

Also while av got you here..im needing tube rings and a dovetail to match to a eq5 from a Orion ED80, dont suppose you know of where would be best to find them?? I was thinking the skywatcher ones would do? Also i found some cheap tube rings in that astroboot section..but their 90mm is that what id be looking for? or is it a case of it would be 80mm id need?

Also if you happen to know, what diffrences in dovetails there are? as im seeing ones of diffrent sizes but i dont really understand why?

Am i milking this one post a bit??? hehe

Thanks matey!

Michael

[ollypenrice]

The only thing about an angled finder is that it may give a left-right inverted view, which would drive me nuts. I like them either correct or top-bottom inverted. I'd check this out first.

The size is good. It doesn't matter what scope you have, the finder still has to show something!

Olly

[John]

...Also while av got you here..im needing tube rings and a dovetail to match to a eq5 from a Orion ED80, dont suppose you know of where would be best to find them?? I was thinking the skywatcher ones would do? Also i found some cheap tube rings in that astroboot section..but their 90mm is that what id be looking for? or is it a case of it would be 80mm id need?

Also if you happen to know, what diffrences in dovetails there are? as im seeing ones of diffrent sizes but i dont really understand why?...

The Orion and Skywatcher ED80's use 100mm tube rings. The Celestron version of the scope uses the 90mm size.

Just a standard short dovetail would do for an ED80 - something around 6" - 8" long to fit Skywatcher / Vixen dovetail fittings is how they are described I think.

[perrin6]

Personally I think I would find a 10 X 50 finder field of view too narrow when trying to locate a remote region ie. one with no bright stars nearby. I use a homemade 6.5ish X 30mm with about 8 degrees field, which shows 7th mag stars under my light polluted skies and I sometimes struggle to find a particular area. I think 7 X 40 would be about right for me so need to browse some secondhand shops for an old pair of binos.

[msinclairinork]

Excelent thanks chaps, this has cleared it up for me, i dont think ill bother as olly mentioned i think this one will be inverted and i can imagine that to be a pain. Thanks also for clearing up what dovetail and tube rings i need. Big help thankyou.

Thanks again guys!

Michael