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Best and worst Telescopes


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The general rule is buy from a reputable dealer and not a toystore/supermarket.

SkyWatcher, Meade, William Optics, Tal etc all come highly recommended. Have a look at a few websites and you'll soon see the same brands of scope on offer.

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Hi Phil

Avoid Anything in a superstore, i like my Meade it does the job and is a good all round scope for visual and imaging, but if the pounds come rolling in it would have to be a CGE pro 1400 HD.

If only

Simon

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Hi Phil

Avoid Anything in a superstore, i like my Meade it does the job and is a good all round scope for visual and imaging, but if the pounds come rolling in it would have to be a CGE pro 1400 HD.

If only

Simon

Oooohhh yeah mamma. I need to have a cold shower...

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Hi Phil

Avoid Anything in a superstore, i like my Meade it does the job and is a good all round scope for visual and imaging, but if the pounds come rolling in it would have to be a CGE pro 1400 HD.

If only

Simon

Hi,

CGE pro 1400 HD - that's a mean looking telescope!

Regards :)

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With rare exceptions the scopes on ebay should be avoided. Toy stores, definitely run away, most camera shops sell poor quality equipment and the people who work there are not that well up on astro equipment.

If in doubt get onto a dedicated astronomy forum such as SGL where you will receive nothing but excellent advice.

For me the ultimate scope is an Astrophysics 178mm Starfire on an ME mount and a big dome to put it in. A nice big field would also be sweet.

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Here in UAE, the selection is quite limited, but I am glad I selected celestron, I think they are a very respectable brand....There are no bad/cheap scopes for sale here, as far as I know. In ebay they will sell you anything and I mean anything....That said, i use ebay to order stuff all the time, including a couple of eyepieces....

It is very difficult for one to decide the first scope. For me, the advice I can give is to find a scope that is near your maximum budget and go for it. If you can find 3-4 good reviews about it, then you should buy it. Remember that in Astronomy there is always a better scope, a larger scope, that will show you more things....But there is time for that later...The main thing is to learn astronomy from books and then supplement the learning by observing.

This is a most fascinating and at the same time educational hobby.

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One has to be careful - even with major brands, especially when looking at the lower end products and 'holiday specials'.

Meade and Celestron have both imported junk to sell at holiday time - mostly mass-produced stuff from China branded with their name. The 'flagship' products are generally very good, however.

Stick to a reputable dealer - preferably one you can drive to and put hands and eyeballs on the equipment before you buy.

Be SURE you know the ins and outs of the return policy - and ask around as to how well the dealer honors their commitment to the customer. (SGL is your best resource here).

The local astronomy group is a good source of info - chances are someone their already has the item you're considering and can let you try it - or maybe tell you why they dumped it in the bin! :)

Gee, I guess I can sum it up for you in just two words:

Caveat Emptor! :rolleyes:

Dan

Oh yeah, for the record - Most of the gear I use professionally is either Celestron or Orion (USA). My personal scope is a hand-made ApoMax 133mm f/12 :eek:

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Worst telescopes, essentially those sold by department stores and supermarkets, such as Jessope, ASDA, Argos ... Tasco telescope is the benchmark for rubbish, although Seben, Bushnell should be avoided as well.

Best telescope: Hubble seems to do really well but the 10m class with adaptive optics are probably the best.

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the other way to go is get your 50 posts in, and take a peek in the for sale section,many a good scope at bargain prices to be had,and being pre-owned by sgl members you will rarely if ever get a bad one:p

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Worst telescopes, essentially those sold by department stores and supermarkets, such as Jessope, ASDA, Argos ... Tasco telescope is the benchmark for rubbish, although Seben, Bushnell should be avoided as well.

Best telescope: Hubble seems to do really well but the 10m class with adaptive optics are probably the best.

:rolleyes:

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I've heard loads of bad things about Seben telescopes (on eebay).

Spherical primary. Totally inadequate mount. They suck like a supermassive black hole on a feeding frenzy.

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Orion_the_Hunter viewpost.gif

I've heard loads of bad things about Seben telescopes (on eebay).

Spherical primary. Totally inadequate mount. They suck like a supermassive black hole on a feeding frenzy.

The phrase I like is they suck so bad they could suck a tennis ball up a hosepipe :rolleyes:

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Hi,

CGE pro 1400 HD - that's a mean looking telescope!

Regards :rolleyes:

It may be mean looking but what's it for? In visual use you can get a far more versatile 14 inch with a focal ratio that allows you to see wide views as well as through the crippling tunnel vision of a C14. This would be miles better: Dobsonians - Skywatcher Skyliner 400P FlexTube GOTO

...and have more aperture as well as a wider field. And it costs a fraction.

For imaging you would, frankly, be nuts to put a C14 on anything less than a Paramount or an AP1200 mount.

So the point is, with a bit of asking and a bit of enquiry you can get superb stuff without having to go to the real Rolls Royce and Ferrari manufacturers like Takahashi, Astro Physics, TEC, etc. Even Takahashi make one or two scopes I wouldn't buy and Skywatcher, bless 'em, make quite a few that I would, even if rich.

There are no-no brands but there are geat low cost products as well if you look into it carefully.

Olly

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A good scope is one that gets used, I always think that quality speaks for its self. There are some very nice deals to be had on second hand scopes on fleebay but buyer beware. I must admit to liking a good refractor (personal choice). Tak, tele, wo, and some Meade's/sky watches are also good. It depends on what you view etc etc. It would be so nice to say one scope does all. The closest one I've come to is the cel 9.25 but once again it down to budget. No help really was I.

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unless its the celestron astromaster then i would stay clear.

seben...avoid. Anything sold in department stores, as said already. The national geographic one I would avoid like the plaque.

Seben use spherical primaries!!!!....:0

unacceptable. full stop.

as for the best, going by what i have seen through/imaged with

TMB, TEC, Takahashi

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A Tesco Telescience is my vote for worst.........

As for best, I dont think there is one as a set make. We all have different priorities and views so one persons like is another persons poison.

The advice 'the best that you can afford' is probably what gives you the best scope at that specific snap shot in time.

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The phrase I like is they suck so bad they could suck a tennis ball up a hosepipe :eek:

Whilst that phrase isn't new to my ears, this is the first time I've seen it used in a negative way.... :rolleyes:

If we are talking entry level scopes here, my TAL-1s have been wonderful. I have one for visual and one set up for webcamming. They can be bought cheaply on ye olde baye of fleases (they can be bought expensively on there too).

My Meade SNT-10 is doing great for me, if a little on the heavy side for the LXD-75 mount. However, I'm going to set my webcamming TAL-1 up on there to see how things improve, imaging wise.

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