Quote:
Originally Posted by highlander2287
I want to get into some star watching with my wife and surprise her with a telescope. I would like to be able to view some deep sky stuff so have been doing a bit of googling and research for suitable scopes within my budget range of about $1500-$2000. Have tried to narrow the choices down by looking at scopes with the most positive reviews from owners. At this stage I would mainly be wanting to look from my backyard. Not looking at travelling to locations. Have narrowed it so far to a short list of 200/1000 skywatcher, celestron 8se (although a bit dearer) and a 10" dob. At this stage I am leaning towards the 10" dob and if so down the track maybe getting a dob goto setup to help with location objects. So I was just after any thought or advice on this information. Any advice appreciated.
|
Just to throw a spanner back in the works after rereading your ad I think the 14” collapsible SW telescope that just came up for sale in the classifieds would fit the bill. It’s within budget, it’s a great choice for DSOs and it may be close enough to you for an inspection.
It’s not GOTO but that came up later in the discussion and if thats important to you then forget the 14” but ask yourself what part of GOTO is important. If it’s the tracking then no the one for sale won’t have it. If it’s the ability to find objects then consider PUSH-TO in the form of NEXUS II and a tablet.
See
https://www.astrodevices.com/shop/in...age/8/Nexus-II
and
https://www.astrodevices.com/shop/in...le+Encoder+Kit
Check with Serge at Astro Devices to ensure correct selection. Go with the highest resolution encoders you can afford.
As I said I’m not a GOTO fan as I prefer to locate objects on my own but I do have PUSH-TO on a smaller mount and the NEXUS II combined with iPhone or iPad is great for learning where objects are located because you see where the ‘scope is pointing on a moving map display. You can zoom in or out and when you search for an object there are pointers on screen showing you which way to nudge the telescope. Just keep your screen red and dim and it won’t interfere with your night vision.
Note a 14” telescope will gather 2x more light than a 10” and 3x more than an 8”. I know it sounds like aperture fever creeping in but I am just trying to get you the most for your money and save you buying another larger telescope latter. I also think the PUSH-TO system is great for learning if you don’t want to do it with charts and reference books and can be added aftermarket when you have the funds. Maybe it’s not for the beginner but not every beginner is the same and it would be a shame if after 10 years of use you would have your GOTO show you hundreds of objects and yet you still don’t know the sky. I’m not saying that will happen to you and if you have your heart and mind set on GOTO then go for it and you will likely enjoy it but as I said before try not to sacrifice too much aperture.
A 10” telescope can be a lifetime ‘scope and my only reason for this post is to bring to your attention another option with would have normally been beyond budget but now affordable. A 14” may be too much telescope for a beginner or it may not it depending on the beginner. You could always complement it with a small refractor on a smaller GOTO mount but you’ll soon realise aperture wins (except for widefields where a small refractor excels) If I hadn’t recently invested in a 16” I’d be getting the 14” for myself because of its compact (collapsible) design.
I apologise if this has complicated your decision making and maybe it will sell before you decide. I highly recommend going into store at BINTEL and have a look at different telescopes and talk to the staff there as they are very helpful and you may just walk out with something different. There is no right and wrong telescope and if it gets you under the stars it’s all good. Be warned now you will end up with multiple telescopes of different designs one day and you will enjoy them all for different reasons so it probably doesn’t matter what you start with. Who said buying a telescope was easy! (Same goes for eyepieces but that’s another story).
Whatever you choose, enjoy!