|
Cheap Telescopes
Yesterday my sister sent me a message asking me about telescopes for her two girls (13 and 12).
Now, I am certainly no expert and only gave her guidance on what I have learned over the last couple of years.
She asked me about some telescopes she found on Ebay. All four models were around the $60 - $70 mark and on their descriptions showed pictures of Jupiter and Nebula. The images shown were way better than what I have EVER seen in my 10" dob so alarm bells rang straight away. Most models were 3" diameter.
My basic advice to her was stay away from those and run very fast. The bare minimum I suggested was to pool the money, add a little more and buy a 4" dob. That way they can share it.
My fear (which I relayed) was that they'd probably lose interest looking at the moon (with viewing limitations of those cheap ones) and then be sitting in the shed for ever with no real use and an utter waste of money. They looked plasticy and cheap. Most come with a 20mm and 6mm eyepiece.
They own a pair of binoculars so I recommended that instead. I wonder how many people get conned with this and then be so disappointed with the product they buy and lose interest in the hobby.
|