first refractor?

[Wattsy]

hi guys i'm looking to make my first refractor purchase and was wondering what you guys would recommend.i'm looking for quality of image rather than aperture as i'd like to use it to begin imaging as well.

cheers

matt

[Uplooker]

I think you need to be more specific as to your budget, objects to be viewed - planets or DSO

[John]

We do need some more information - there is such a huge range of refractors and prices available !.

If image quality is your primary goal then one of the ED doublets or even a triplet will achieve that but the price is high.

[Wattsy]

oops sorry chaps thought i'd put a budget in looking to spend around 200 to 250 pounds

[John]

Have a look in the classifieds section quick - nice Celestron ED100 in there not far off your price - best refractor in that budget range by a mile !.

[JamesM]

Unless you're looking to buy a used scope, that amount of money would not be enough to but a scope good enough for imaging. I'm assuming you already have a motorised mount for it to sit on to help with this? Scopes that are fine for observational work are not necessarily the same quality of scope that is required for imaging.

Clear skies

James

[Wattsy]

ah right go for just observing then imaging will have to wait until i win the lottery

[GazOC]

At f9 the ED100 is a little slow for imaging but for visual, as John says, it can't be beat at that price if you are after a refractor.

[John]

Sorry Matt - I missed the reference to imaging

The ED100 is still a darn fine scope though

[Wattsy]

don't worry i seem to have had a bit of a swing and a miss with the query didn't realise you couldn't do imaging and observing well with such a low budget lol

[GazOC]

You could go for a S/H ED80. Not as impressive visually as the ED100 but its a faster scope at f7.5.