Help! - (Another) beginner needs advice

[mattski]

Hi Everyone,

I'm very interested in buying a telescope before the VAT goes up but could do with some advice on what to get.

I'm located in Chertsey and am looking for something that will:-

- Give me good views of the planets and moon and reasonable views of galaxies etc.

- Be reasonably portable and as low maintenance as possible.

- Serve as a foundation on which to build (i.e. would be nice of the mount could be retained whilst upgrading the scope at some point).

- Accommodate a Nikon D90 for a bit of photography, not main priority at the moment tho.

- Be easy to use - a goto mount would be ideal.

I've been reading various threads on here, reviews and supplier websites but I'm a bit lost as to what would be appropriate. My current thinking is as follows, couple of wildcards:-

- Celestron NexStar 5 or 6SE.

- Meade ETX125 AT.

- SkyWatcher SkyMax 127 SynScan AZ

- SkyWatcher Evostar 120mm EQ5 SynScan Goto

- Celestron Omni XLT 102 ED + mount

- Celestron C6-SGT XLT Goto

- Meade ETX 6" LS ACF (v.end of the budget range and if I was spending this much I'd probably go for a Celestron CPC800 GPS)

As you can see, there's a bit of a mixed bag. Would the EQ3-2 Goto mount be ok for the Omni XLT?

Looking forward to any advice you can offer...

thx,

Matt

[rowan46]

the omni looks good but I would get this mount Celestron - Celestron CG-5 GT GOTO rather than the eq3-2 the c6 looks nice too unfortunately the only scope i have much experience with is the nexstar 5. its a nice scope but not everyones cup of tea. I was told that that the skymax 127 mount is a little flimsy for such a large scope.

[rowan46]

forgot to add welcome to sgl

[Nexus 6]

Hi Matt,

welcome to the forum,

plenty of choice there. I have used the Celestron 6se and found it a really good scope, if you want Go To that is. Great portabiltiy, fine optics, on the bad side the tripod is not anything to write home about, as I found out on the odd windy night. I would certainly recommend the C6 as an alternative paired with an appropriate mount/tripod. Difficult to decide I know, good luck with which ever you pick.

Alan

[Capricorn]

If you want both visual and astrophotography then the SkyWatcher Evostar 120mm EQ5 SynScan Goto seems to be the one that fits.

An Alt Az mount is not ideal for AP, on long duration shots field rotation occurs and for many in your selection they are large f numbers so again less then ideal.

Check that the ETX LS is the full automated scope otherwise it is simply another goto that you have to set up and align. They do 2 models one with and one without.

[mattski]

thanks for the advice guys - the deed is done... Evostar 100ED DS-Pro outfit...

[Nexus 6]

Excellent matt, will hope we all have clear skies for you to test it out when it arrives.

Alan

[umadog]

looks good! let us know how it works out for you.