Help me choose

[dusty777]

Hello, all,

I am a newcomer and need advice on making a choice. Years ago I was thinking about getting into stargazing, and I was encouraged to buy a 10" Dobsonian telescope. It was out of my price range, and eventually I lost interest. I am just now getting back into wanting to do some stargazing. A book I recently read said a beginner should start with binoculars. I am trying to decide among the following choices: a 25x100 Zhumelli set of binoculars for $229, a20x80 set of Zhumelli binoculars with professional tripod for $149 (I know nothing about Zhumelli, I just saw the sales on them, if there is a better choice, please let me know); or starting to beat the bushes again looking for a used dobsonian,. I know technology has to have changed over the years, and I don't know if there is something better out there now than a dobsonian. Any help would be sincerely appreciated.

Duisty

online77@comcast.net

[rogergps]

Hi,

I bought a set of binos last year to start me off and it was the best thing I did. Just bought my first scope but can't imagine I will ever stop using the binos. I would actually recommend buying a smaller set to start with. I found 10x50 to be a great spec. They have a good field of view, they aren't too heavy so you really can do without a tripod for 90% if not all of their use. From what I gather 20x80 or 25x200 are going to be quite heavy so anything over 5mins and a tripod will be needed. It is great to just be able to look around with a smaller set. Also, you'll be able to use a set of 10x50s for plenty other things. (daytime wildlife etc). I got a set of Nikon Action EX 10x50 for around £150 (I think) and I couldn't recommend them highly enough. It still amazesme how much I can see with them.

Cheers

Roger

[Ogri]

What's nice about binoculars, is you use them with what they come with. But that doesn't build up an eyepiece/filter/etc range over time.

I get on really well with my old pair of Russian 7 x 50's.

Dad picked up a cheap pair of 10 x 50's on offer at Lidl, and they are surprisingly good. Then I got him 15 x 70's for his birthday, equivalent to these Celestron - Celestron Skymaster 15x70 , and they are very, very nice indeed!

I have a short tube Skywatcher ST120 refractor on an AZ3 mount Startravel - Skywatcher Startravel 120 (AZ3) which is a lovely 'scope, very nice for DSO's, not bad for moon and planets, and absolutely awesome as a daytime spotting 'scope. Tough to drive much magnification over 150 x though (which is ok, within its limitations I more than got my money's worth). It's capabilities as an 'all rounder' 'scope helped swing me to getting it as my first 'scope, plus the travel possibilities, as I can get it packed onto my motorbike. The old adage 'The only bad 'scope is one that doesn't get used' rang very true for me.

Then I recently picked up one of these secondhand off here at a very decent price Dobsonians - Skywatcher Skyliner 200P Dobsonian . A very nice 'scope, and I'm enjoying getting to grips with it - having the ST120 allowed me to get a selection of eyepieces and filters started prior to getting it too.

So what to recommend? Well it depends on budget. Binoculars are always useful, but you don't have to spend a fortune to get 90% of the benefit or better (in fact some of the expensive ones can be a bit dire, I've seen dreadful optics in brand name pairs that should know better).

Are you more interested in DSO's than moon and planets? Or vice versa? Or a bit of everything?

You could do worse than get a reasonable pair of binoculars that aren't very expensive, and something like this Dobsonians - Skywatcher Skyliner 150P Dobsonian ? Excellent value, capable of many years of good service, letting you get into the hobby and build up those little essentials, while having something very competent.

I was sort of after a 10" dob myself, then Johns 8" came up for sale and I couldn't resist it. Frankly though, I'd have been quite happy with the 6" (apart from it being a bit close in performance to my ST120 - and when I got the ST120, I was torn between it and the 6" dob, and it was the size, portability, and daylight usability that swung me to the ST120).

It sure is difficult deciding, isn't it?

There are some very poor value 'scopes out there, so if you post a link here to what you are thinking of getting, the very experienced hands here (far more experienced than myself) should be able to put your mind at rest.

Hope that helps, and best of luck gearing up with equipment that will give you many years of highly enjoyable use. There's a lot of wonderful kit out there these days, and we are more than a bit lucky to be so spoiled for choice.

By the way, once you have a clear idea of what you are going for, don't rule out picking stuff up secondhand (nearly all my eyepieces I bought off here secondhand too - the For Sale section becomes visible after you have managed 50 posts).

[dusty777]

Hello, rogergps and Ogri,

Thank you so much for your responses. Great food for thought!

My wife decided to buy me the Orion XT10i. I was really surprised, we should be ordering it within the week.

We had seen it on Orion's website for $699 and free shipping, but when we went on there, they said there was an surcharge of $50 on the shipping that we would still have to pay, there were only knocking off $9.95. They consider that free shipping. I don't.

Do you know if anyone else sells that same telescope other than Orion?

Anyway, thanks for the info.

Dusty

[pvaz]

great choice! I'm almost sure they are the only seller in US. Here that same model is quite more expensive.