Cant Decide what to Purchase

[astrotyke]

Hi there guys, this is my first post on this forum.

Ive come here for some advice/comments to try and make my mind up please for my new scope

As it was my birthday a couple of days ago ive decided to treat myself to a new scope,

Budget will be about 400, but i could increase this a bit for the right bit of kit.

Ive had a 114mm reflector for years, got given it as a presant but in fairness it came with a cheap EQ mount which has so much play in it etc its unusabable, so ive not used the scope for a while.

Im wanting to upgrade form this, main interests will be planets, dso, but also enjoy moon observing.

I suppose my only limiting factor is storage space, i dont think ill have room for say a 10" dob, so was looking at the Maksutov-Cassegrains.

Photography would be a possiablitlity in a year or so.

Im going down to Rother Valley optics tommorow to have a look and to start my seach really

Cheers, Chris

[NGC404]

"Im going down to Rother Valley optics tommorow to have a look and to start my seach really"

I,m sure Ian will help you make the right choice

[kidlands]

Let us know what you get Chris.

steve

[Carbon Brush]

Just make sure you don't turn up late in the day. I have made that mistake. They have been busy with getting parcels out, so not had time to address my enquiry properly.

[smudgeball]

Budget will be about 400

...and you're VISITING a telescope shop ?

I hear that budget creaking already

Good luck though.

Hope you get something you'll be happy with.

Let us know what you get

Regards

Neil

(oh and welcome to SGL by the way)

[astrotyke]

Just make sure you don't turn up late in the day. I have made that mistake. They have been busy with getting parcels out, so not had time to address my enquiry properly.

noted, I was thinking of going down in the morning, prob get there for 10ish

Even though my 114mm reflector isnt the best, its a tasco one, it still works, so I might have a think about remounting that one at some point as i can still use that for observing.

Ill let you know how it goes:)

[astrotyke]

...and you're VISITING a telescope shop ?

I hear that budget creaking already

Good luck though.

Hope you get something you'll be happy with.

Let us know what you get

Regards

Neil

(oh and welcome to SGL by the way)

Cheers Neil, so you think I will spend a lot more then lol, I probably will, but im trying to convince myself that I don thave to buy anything tomorrw:)

[twotter]

A virtual fiver says you'll walk out with a Skymax 127 AZ Goto

[smudgeball]

Just try and decide what you really want to use the scope for.

There are plenty of posts on here from people in similar situations and you'll notice a theme in the replies.

Topics covered are price, portability, storage, expectations, astrophotography etc.

If you arrive happy with what you want from the scope you'll be fine.

(and one thing you'll notice is that there isn't a "one scope fits all" )

I always quote this one as it serves me well.

"...... the best telescope is the one that gets used ...."

Neil

[astrotyke]

Yes, I aggree there isnt one scope that fits all, I was looking at the Skymax 127 AZ Goto twotter, but wasnt sure how much beter this would be over my 114mm reflector, as the aperature isnt that much bigger, maybe im been unrealistic for my budget. how ever, that scope in terms of physical size fits into my limited storage.

Not sure how id find a goto scope having only ever and an eqmount before

[smudgeball]

I'm happy with my GOTO

Two Star Auto align works well.

Some people like GOTO some don't.

Imagers like the big sturdy EQ mounts.

Obviously an ALT AZ mount will be limited in what it can do, but you'd be surprised.

I've had my webcam on looking at Saturn with some pretty good results, but my SCT really excels at lunar and planetary with good storage being the plus point for me when I pack it away.

In fact I can be set up / packed up in twenty minutes.

All depends on what you want to do.

I did consider the 127 and was swayed by a bit more aperture near the end.

Neil

[AndyH]

Good luck.

I'm sure they'll sort you out.

A 5" Mak would be a nice scope, if you go that way.

Cheers,

Andy.

[astrotyke]

Yea, i think thats the way im thinking of going at this momment in time, just have to decide about the mount, ive never used a goto scope before, and i used to enjoy finding objects myself which I wouldnt be able to do with a full goto scope.

Did anyone have the same feelings when they bought a goto scope?

[AndyH]

I've tried 'em(goto's) and I must say I prefer either a sturdy alt/az or manual eq mount(perhaps with a motor on the RA axis). A good finder helps, hugely.

There's nothing quite like star hopping and getting to the target. Gives a sense of accomplishment. Not that I'm poo-pooing goto's. Tis just I prefer the old fashioned way.

Andy.

[astrotyke]

how sturdy are the goto mounts compared to say an eq mount.

What would be the next option up from the SW 125?

[Eclectic_Mixer]

I bought a SW127 GOTO and am very happy with it (as are most people who have), but if i did it again I would consider the SKYMAX127 on an EQ3-2 mount.

Geoff

[astrotyke]

interesting Geoff, would you say you regreated buying it in goto mount, or is this for other reasons.

[smudgeball]

Not that I'm poo-pooing goto's.

And a good job too

[Eclectic_Mixer]

interesting Geoff, would you say you regreated buying it in goto mount, or is this for other reasons.

Not regret as such, its a great scope esecially for Moon and Planets, but I've bought the web cam and i think i'm on the AP slippery slope ( I'm sure there is a pill I can take to stop it ) and the EQ mount would be better for tracking fainter objects. I suppose if I want I could get an EQ mount as a permanent fixture in the future an use the GOTO when i want to take it on hols. Take a look at the Optivision website they have both scopes in their catalog for comparison.

Good Luck

Geoff

[astrotyke]

Ah right, are the goto mounts not good at tracking deep sky objects, how good are they for photography

[neilmack]

You need to decide whether photographic capability is a 'must-have' and whether you will want to image planets, deep-sky or both. A Mak-Cass would be good on planets, but they tend to have narrow fields, and slow photographic speeds, and so they're not well adapted to deep sky photography.

Most of the less expensive Goto mounts on the market are alt-az, and therefore unsuited to long-exposure photography. One possible approach is to go with a Mak-Cass on a computer controlled alt-az, which ought to tick all the boxes as a visual instrument, and look for a second-hand equatorial later on.

Good luck!

[astrotyke]

You need to decide whether photographic capability is a 'must-have' and whether you will want to image planets, deep-sky or both. A Mak-Cass would be good on planets, but they tend to have narrow fields, and slow photographic speeds, and so they're not well adapted to deep sky photography.

Most of the less expensive Goto mounts on the market are alt-az, and therefore unsuited to long-exposure photography. One possible approach is to go with a Mak-Cass on a computer controlled alt-az, which ought to tick all the boxes as a visual instrument, and look for a second-hand equatorial later on.

Good luck!

Cheers Neil, as of yet, Im not planning on doing much deep sky photography, but as with all these things, my mind could change lol

might be a daft question but what is the difference between the mount that comes with the skywatcher 127 which is an Alt-Azimuth mount and acomputer controlled one. I think this one can be connected into a computer as far as I know and controlled with software.

[neilmack]

but what is the difference between the mount that comes with the skywatcher 127 which is an Alt-Azimuth mount and acomputer controlled one.

Sorry, that was a confusing choice of words on my part!

For all practical purposes any Goto Mount can be described as computer controlled, whether the control is part of the outfit (as with the Skywatcher you're looking at) or an external PC such as is required on Takahashi mounts. I'm reflecting the sort of terminology we used years ago!

[astrotyke]

well i had a nice trip down to rvo, got a good look at some of the scopes there, had a good look at the skywatcher 127, think i might get my name down for one, there is a few weeks waiting list for them at the momment.

only thing is, i spothes this Celestron Nexstar 127 SLT Maksutov Telescope | Telescopes | Rother Valley Optics on there web page, looks like the same scope but wondered if the mount might be better.

why cant there only be 2 scopes to choose from lol:)

[nicnac]

for four hundred i would go for this

Reflectors - Skywatcher Explorer 150P EQ3-2

it will do what you want it to and you will have cash left over for some bits