Good Non-Dobsonian Telescope? (Begginer)

[MetaKnight]

I've been told so many times that a beginner should always go with a Dobsonian as bigger is better. I was at first until i discovered how big they are, so i decided against that. So what would be a good telescope in a £600 price range, taking in mind i am a beginner, But i have been looking at one for a year now and I'm finally deciding on getting one.

Also Hello, since this is my first time on the forum, im hoping to get my Telescope in the next few month in the run up to Christmas, maybe even on Christmas, but I've had so many clear nights lately that its making me wanna buy one sooner.

[CGolder]

Hello and welcome to the forum

have you considered a flextube or truss designed dob? the tube might be big but a dob takes up less floor space than a mounted scope imo.

[Merlin999]

Hi,

I am also a complete beginner and I was also thinking about getting a dob, but in the end I was worried about the size and also portability if I want to take it on holiday.

I've gone for a Skywatcher Skymax 127 MAX with Supatrak which is a nice, small telescope but at £279 is quite a bit cheaper than your budget (though of course I've also bought eyepieces, filters, dew guards and other bits and bobs so the price overall is quite a bit more than the £279). But I am sure there are other options for your budget.

I've been told the 127 MAK is comparable to the dob for planetary viewing (which is what I am mainly interested in) but the dob is much better for Deep Space Objects. I also like the MAK because it has automatic tracking which will make it easier fo my kids to view Jupiter as they won't have to nudge the scope to keep Jupiter in sight.

I guess it depends on what you are mainly interested in seeing and how you plan to use it (portability, storage etc).

I am sure someone more knowledgable will be along soon to give some better advice than mine!

[starstalker]

u could do worse than this badboy!!

Reflectors - Skywatcher Explorer 200P EQ5 GOTO

[MetaKnight]

u could do worse than this badboy!!

Reflectors - Skywatcher Explorer 200P EQ5 GOTO

That is nice, £100 over what i was planning on spending. But an 8" GOTO, sounds pretty good. Gonna try and keep that one i mind. Thanks mate.

[nitram100]

Why not get a 6 inch dob?

If size is your only real concern, a 6" dob would be highly portable and still show you loads in the sky aswell as leaving lots of money for good eyepieces.

[Astro_Baby]

Whats your big issues with a Dob ? Is its size ? Portability ? Lack of tracking ? etc

[xboxdevil]

Daft though it sounds my 12" dob takes up less floor space than my etx125 on it's tripod!!

[LukeSkywatcher]

The SW Heritage is a 5.1" Dob and takes up no space at all really and is extremely portable. You will also have a lot of change out of £600.

[Chris H]

If a dob is too big then I don't think the Skywatcher Explorer 200 is an option either. Maybe consider the Celestron Nexstar 6SE or as mentioned above the Skymax 127 MAK.

[LukeSkywatcher]

Most Newts (if not all) on an EQ mount are gonna take up a lot more storage space then the same size Newt on a Dob mount.