Hello can you help

[ChrisG]

Hello, great forum here, i have a question though. Hopefully i'm going to be getting a Zenith 8in newtownian reflector (is this any good) around Christmas and was wondering if anyone can post a couple of pics of the kind of images i will be able to get with this kind of Telescope.

[Cornelius Varley]

The Zenith telescope is sold on ebay and is in the same category as Seben, Event Horizon, Sylvan and Optron plus possibly a few more names that sell this telescope and the 150/1400 reflector. Save up a bit more money and buy a good telescope from a trusted brand such as Skywatcher, Celestron, Meade or Orion. You will not be disappointed with one of these brands.

Peter

[John]

Peter is spot on with his advice ChrisG - the Zenith and it's kin are not a good investment.

It's far better to get a smaller aperture, but decent scope from a reputable brand such as the ones Peter lists.

[LukeSkywatcher]

The Zenith telescope is sold on ebay and is in the same category as Seben,

From my understanding, you really should avoid buying Seben scopes. Basically they are utter ****.

Skywatcher, Celestron, Meade or Orion is a hell of a lot better investment.

[BazMark]

I would definitely avoid that scope. These companies count on people wanting a REAL bargain (and who doesn't) and thinking the're getting one. Trouble is they give the hobby bad advertising because when used these scopes are a big put off as they don't give the beautiful views they should for their advertised specifications.

If you have a fixed budget of around that needed for the scope you mentioned I'd opt for something like the Skywatcher Explorer 130 or 130p

Reflectors - Skywatcher Explorer 130P

There's plenty of satisfied users of these scopes on this forum.

[ChrisG]

Thanks for the advice, i'm hoping to attach my DSLR to whatever i get, will i be able to do this with a 130P and what kind of shots will be possible? Sorry for all the questions, it's just raw enthusiasm

[brantuk]

The 130P has a direct dslr attachment thread - well mine does anyway - all you need is a T-ring for the camera and you'll be snapping away

[Astro_Baby]

I'd not get your hopes about about astro photography. Ita tough row to hoe with a lot of potential problems. Connecting DSLRs to a scope is seldom ever as easy as you may imagine no moatter what scope you have.

I;d definitely avoid ebay scopes - too many people get burned paying over the odds for a junk scope - get a deent brand like Slywatcher, meade, Celestron, TAL etc and you will (a) get better views and ( have a quality scope.

[Shibby]

It's often hard to achieve focus on a 130P with DSLR - I never could with my Nikon.

If you want to get into astrophotography, the mount is of utmost importance.