Tme for a new scope- advice?

[despot67]

Just a couple of enquiries?

Has anybody got any comments on a celestron first scope? I think they are a 4.5" refelector? as one seems to be going cheap on ebay.

Also I have had a look at this from the link on the forum site:

Skywatcher Explorer 200P EQ5

This is pushing my budget but seems a beauty and specified enough to keep me happy for a while so anything that saves buying a bigger scope earlier than planned would save me money in the long run. Also would it be suitable for astro photography ( I have a eos 550D DSLR as my camera so is quite high spec. also a variety of lenses.

Thanks for any advice.

[pbyrne]

Go with the Skywatcher, the extra mirror size will greatly enhance what you can see and will bring thousands of objects within reach.

The Celestron is a good scope, but you will soon find yourself yearning for something bigger.

Just my humble opinion anyway.

[Capricorn]

The 200P will be the better choice, although understandably costing more.

May I suggest that for the immediate time you forget the astrophotography side. :eek:

AP is not an inexpensive aspect. Even with the 200P you will need adaptors, motors and probably an electronic release unit for the EOS. Probably an extra couple of hundred there alone quite easily. Modding the EOS will be more if you have it done.

Then the EQ5 will prove too light so a HEQ5 will need to be considered, or EQ6.

Wait until you have some experience ofthe visual side and using the equipment before you start looking at AP. The people that do this seriously have set ups that cost £3000-5000 easily.

Starts to add up

[rowan46]

I would get used to using a scope visually first and for visual astronomy the skywatcher is better. astro astronomy needs different equipment priority and neither of these is a good package for astrophotography. the 200p is a great scope lots of people here love them but on an eq5 its not up to photograhy visually its miles better than the celestron first scope. you can get the 200p on a dobsonian mount for £269 again It wont be ay good for photograpy but its £90 saved towards the cost cost of an neq6 pro synscan which is what you will need to for astrowork with a 200p

[iamjulian]

If you definitely want to try astro photography then the 200P and EQ5 is a good place to experiment. I had about the same and the 550D. But I soon found that you have to be really dedicated, and spend lots more time and money to get really good results (which you will soon crave).

A dob would still allow you to photograph the moon, and the planets with a webcam. But not really deep sky. But you can get a bigger aperture for what you would have spent on the mount. Decide what you really want to do before deciding which type of scope.

[angusb1]

You could go for a secondhand equatorial mount like this and then look for a secondhand 6" reflector like this to go on it. £300 and you could do basic astrophotography or visual. Bear in mind if you want to do astrophotography it is critical that you find out the maximum weight that any given mount will carry and do not exceed half of that payload with the weight of everything except counterweights (camera, adaptors, scope rings, dovetails etc). You would need to buy some eyepieces as well if you wanted to do visual observing. 3 or 4 super plossls and a barlow would probably be good enough to get you started for planetary and DSOs, there are no end of threads on here about what is suitable. If you're in doubt post a question, there are plenty of helpful people here and everyone was a beginner once.

[despot67]

I would get used to using a scope visually first and for visual astronomy the skywatcher is better. astro astronomy needs different equipment priority and neither of these is a good package for astrophotography. the 200p is a great scope lots of people here love them but on an eq5 its not up to photograhy visually its miles better than the celestron first scope. you can get the 200p on a dobsonian mount for £269 again It wont be ay good for photograpy but its £90 saved towards the cost cost of an neq6 pro synscan which is what you will need to for astrowork with a 200p

So please excuse the ignorance but what is the diference between the dobsonian mount and the one listed on the site that states £369? am I best getting the better mount?

[perrin6]

Yeahhhh - get the 200p - it'll show wonders that will astound you (once you get the hang of finding stuff by starhopping etc - the main hurdle to overcome).

[rowan46]

the eq5 is a german equatorial mount the dobsonion is a kind of alt azimuth mount they are designed to do slightly different things the german equatorial moumt (gem) is meant to be aligned to celestial nort when that is done locate your star and you should be able to keep it in the eyepiece by just moving the right ascension (ra) control for higher magnification eg planetary its very useful and for dso photography its essential to have a gem A dobsonion mount require you to push to your target and with small nudged the view is kept in the eyepiece. Both have their strengths and weaknesses. The eq5 would be fine for the 200p and visual work but would not work very well as an astrophography mount as it doesn't have motors and wouldn't be able to take the added weight of guidecope etc. So I would suggest as you would be using it as a visual instrument rather than for astrophotography you might be better saving yourself a little money and getting a dob mount they are cheaper, easier to set up and easier to use for a beginner. beginners are often recommended dobs for this reason. in fact for almost the same price as the eq5 and 200p combo flo are offering a 250px dob or as i suggested the 2oop on a dob mount will leave you a little change for a couple of eyepieces the scope is the same wether its on the dob mount or the eq5

[despot67]

So please excuse the ignorance but what is the diference between the dobsonian mount and the one listed on the site that states £369? am I best getting the better mount?

Ha I see, just checked on their website and the dobsonians are cheaper, the one I was looking at was a more traditional tripod affair but cost £369 ish? so how come these are more than a dobsonian?

Also the dobsonian mounts dont look as portable and also do you have to kneel down to use them?

[despot67]

the eq5 is a german equatorial mount the dobsonion is a kind of alt azimuth mount they are designed to do slightly different things the german equatorial moumt (gem) is meant to be aligned to celestial nort when that is done locate your star and you should be able to keep it in the eyepiece by just moving the right ascension (ra) control for higher magnification eg planetary its very useful and for dso photography its essential to have a gem A dobsonion mount require you to push to your target and with small nudged the view is kept in the eyepiece. Both have their strengths and weaknesses. The eq5 would be fine for the 200p and visual work but would not work very well as an astrophography mount as it doesn't have motors and wouldn't be able to take the added weight of guidecope etc. So I would suggest as you would be using it as a visual instrument rather than for astrophotography you might be better saving yourself a little money and getting a dob mount they are cheaper, easier to set up and easier to use for a beginner. beginners are often recommended dobs for this reason. in fact for almost the same price as the eq5 and 200p combo flo are offering a 250px dob or as i suggested the 2oop on a dob mount will leave you a little change for a couple of eyepieces the scope is the same wether its on the dob mount or the eq5

I think at that price I will save a bit extra and get the 250p - wow alot of scope for the money.

What kind of viewing would the 250p be able to do, I imagine jupiter etx would be quite a nice view?

[rowan46]

don't be put off by the apparent size gem tripods weigh a lot the dob mount is mainly mdf so its very light. you shouldn't have to kneel for a dob and the reason they are cheaper for the apparture is the mount is much cheaper to make. the eq5 is a fine mount but if I was observing from my back garden I would get the dob there is a saying on astro forums "apparture is king" this is true of visual astronomy unfortunately for astro photography its the mount that is most important and the eq5 isn't a good enough mount for photography with a 200p as the scope is too big by the time you've added all the extras you will need . its not that one is inherently a better mount they have different performance criteria one is better for visual one is better for photography. you can use a gem for visual work and they do work well but you get more scope for your money on a dob however its a lot more difficult to take photo's with a dob