New Telescope

[minte222]

Im just about to buy a new telescope. im looking for a good all rounder for both close planet viewing with lots of detail and colour and deep space viewing. ive got a budget of £400, any tips on what would be a good one to go for.

[malc-c]

Best advice... read the similar threads in this forum... it's all been covered in detail, with suggestions from new and old.

Whilst anyone on here could do the donkey work for you and post links to all the scopes found that are at or around your budget, choosing a scope is a personal thing. If you want something that you can later use for basic astro-photography, then things like the choice of mount and the quality of mount come into play.

Personally, if I was limited to your budget I would be looking at the Explorer 150P on an EQ3-2 mount. Typical cost around £240. Add the dual axis drive system the total comes in at around £330, leaving £60-£70 for a couple of accessories. But that suits me... you might prefer to go for a dob which would give you more aperture, but only a basic mount.

[Damo636]

As a first scope with your budget i would recommend a Skywatcher Skyliner 200p Dob. You would have money over for a Telrad and a couple of additional decent ep's. It's a nice size aperture and really easy to use. It will show you some lovely views of planets and DSO's. I bought mine based on recommendations from this forum. On the other hand if you are interested in astro photography then you will indeed need a scope on a quality driven mount.

[E621Keith]

I'd second the dob. If you want to observe DSO, nothing beat large aperture and the dob has the largest aperture for your budget.

[Orion_the_Hunter]

#3 for the Dob

[John]

Another vote for an 8" F/6 dobsonian. Please don't expect to see colour in deep sky objects like you see in the photos though - the vast majority are shades of fuzzy grey, even in large scopes !.

[malc-c]

see what I mean.... for me dob's don't appeal... but they do for the other three posters - Its down to personal preference

[ronin]

Find a club and pay them a visit when they have an observing night. CAll or email any possible club before hand.

Have a look round and see what you fancy and what suits. Some people will let you have a look and maybe a few words on using them.

I go with Malc-C view of the 150 but would say the 150PL. Dobs are fully manual and if you had dual motors on the EQ3-2 the thing will track objects. To me this makes it easier. Another side is that many try photography at some time and an EQ mount is what you need for any trial of that.

[swamp thing]

Hi

You won't go wrong with the Dob that has been mentioned, unless you have real storage issues.

Dobs are very portable, quick n easy to set up, simple to use and cheap.

Difficult traits to beat for a first scope.

As ronin says see you local society have a try of a few members scopes they'll probably be more than happy to show em off.

Regards Steve

[helios99]

I went for a 8" F/6 dobsonian to learn and easy to move

[minte222]

Thanks all for the advice. it seems the two top recommendations are the Dob and the 150p, i will have to read up on both and see which would be best for me. Thanks again for all the help, this has really helped me narrow it down.