Telescope advice for beginner

[malau]

Hi All, This is my first post :). I did some research about how to choose a telescope but Im having issue to choose the good one. My budget is around not more than $700. I mainly want the telescope can see stars/galaxy, saturn/mars...etc preferably can take photo from telescope. Is that achiveable?

I am currently thinking Skywatcher BKP150x 750 EQ3 Deluxe, Skywatcher SW500S but cant tell which one is better. I also heard about go-to and did some research about that... however I still cant get some concept of it.

Can anyone suggest me something? I dont mind spend another $100-200 for accessories such as eye piece I guess?

[Grease]

Hi David,

:welcome: I am only recently new here myself so I won't offer you any advice as I don't know enough to give any. Just wanted to welcome you. Good luck with the scope researching. The knowledge on this site astounds me so I'm sure someone will point you in the right direction.

[The Mekon]

David,
Don't be in a hurry to spend your money. The scopes you mention will show stars (what scope wont?) the rings of Saturn, brighter galaxies, and could with a lot of perseverance and effort be used for photography if only in a limited way.

See if you can attend a viewing night and look through some scopes of the same or similar type, and compare with others around. You will also learn what goto will help you with. (though I reckon everyone should start out by reading charts and finding their way around the sky)
good luck!

[noeyedeer]

get a dob ... learn the sky with it an then get something more towards photogaphy. honestly it's an investment but a cheap one especially with your budget.

go visual and see what's out there and then spend the money on an astro setup ... which won't be cheap plus you have the visual experience to know what's around when you spend hours photographing the subject

[noeyedeer]

you can certainly take pics of the planets with a dob. many have ... Saturn wont be around for much longer but Jupiter will be .. and Mars.

honestly an 8" dob will keep you happy ... and if you have a dslr or whatever you might be suprised

[omegacrux]

Hi and welcome David
I'm biased I like dobs , plonk it on the ground and start viewing easy
Many beginners have trouble with eq's , the ep and finderscope end up at angles all over the shop
An 8in Dob shows good views of Saturn , Jupiter and the moon .
My first view of Orion with an 8 inch Dob , wow

Hope I haven't muddied the water for you
What ever you get enjoy

David

[malau]

Thanks everyone and I feel beloved :rofl:

I also considered dob however I will take the telescope to rual area. I saw it has flat base and worry about if that will be an issue? I mean say I have to sit the dob on grass area. Are there any tripod for that?

I also have issue with accessing this website from home (actually some other website) so I can only reply you guys during office hour :P

[malau]

Hi The Mekon, Thank you so much. Do you know where I can get some info about viewing night?

[Hajji]

I'm also new to this myself. I bought an 8" GSO dob recently for $400 and it is great. It gives you a very nice view of all the planets and moon. Accessories have costed me about $500 so far, but it has been worth it. Of course if I ever upgrade to a larger scope I can still use the same accessories.

Enjoy the sky :)

[AG Hybrid]

I started out with a scope just like the one mentioned. A 150mm Skywatcher newt on a EQ3 mount. To be honest. I wish I started with an 8" Dob. They are priced the same at about $400 except the dob is MUCH easier to setup and use. The 8" shows more detail and see's fainter objects then a 6" as well.

That being said. You said you have $700 to spend. Consider getting 10" dob. Still fairly manageable and transportable and should come within budget. The Bintel/GSO variety come with an assortment of eyepieces too. Maybe spend another $60 for a laser collimator and you may not get the urge to upgrade your scope for a few years. 10" is a serious photon collector. At a dark sky site you can hunt for galaxy clusters with it.

[malau]

Thanks so much. Do you bring it to other places as well or just use it at home? Because Im not sure if I can change the mount to EQ or something else...?

How about Bintel BT252-B 10" Dobsonian?

[AG Hybrid]

Yep. I take my 12" which is a actually alot bigger then a 10" up into the blue mountains for our monthly meets @ Katoomba airfield or the surrounding lookouts. Your in Sydney. Perhaps you should join us. We always like new people to join us. Our group is growing quite fast actually.



A very good well priced scope. Bintel give excellent service and advice too. Should be transportable without any trouble in a hatch back car. They also have them on display too in their store at Glebe.

[malau]

Wow Thanks for the quick reply.

Just wonder for the Bintel I mentioned can I dont use dob mount but change it to EQ or others? If so how can I choose the right one for it?

Btw when is the next meeting see if I can join you guys :)

[AG Hybrid]

I don't do astro imaging but if I was to pick it up I would start with a Skywatcher ED80 and a EQ5 Pro mount. If your a beginner in Astronomy I would definitely not recommend starting in Astrophotography. Its a fast train to the "this is too hard" and dropping the hobby for 10 years.

With some tweaking to the dob tube structure, you could turn a 10" dob into a imaging system but you would need a substantial mount like a Skywatcher NEQ6.\


In regards to when we meet, its usally about the time of the new moon each month. Usually on a Saturday. Just check the forums Starparties section of the forum. We usually have a post regarding "Blue Mountains" or "Katoomba Airfield".

[malau]

Really thanks again. At this moment I mainly wanna see the sky first and like what you said photo will be next step. The only thing Im worry about is how to "mount" when I use somewhere else if it is DOB therefore have to sort out mounting first..

Will check Starparties section soon :)

[ManUtdFans]

So many people suggested Dob, but what is the disadvantages of Dob over telescope with EQ mount/tripod?

[ZeroID]

A Dob is easy to use for a beginner and gives great views due to it's large aperture. It is the 'Best bang for a buck' scope and the easiest and probably best way to start.
I converted my 10" (homebuilt) to mount on an EQ6 mount by making a lightweight frame but most solid tube 10" dobs are really too heavy for a mount. Most astrophotography is done with refractors or specailly adapted reflector scopes. Smaller, lightweight and sometimes modified optics. It also is an expensive path.
You can take photos with a dob within certain imitations and modern DSLRs can do a dang good job. The real disadvantge with a dob is that it cannot track a moving star for very long without some rotation effects being apparent in the picture. There are ways around this but if you go seriouslyinto astrohotography you will need a different setup with a guided tracking mount. A Dob does not really work for this.

[astromark]

You are asking the questions and have the answers...
I can only add to the chorus. The best scope to use is the scope that works best..
Yes I know that sounds silly but it is so true it needs to be said.
Get yourself to a star party and talk with owners.. I am sure you will quickly 'see' that the dobi's work best.. simple cheap and easy.. and the eight or ten inchers do work so well.
You question the flat base for in field viewing.. ( longish grass ) I can assure you they are well equipped for this..
As for the photography option.. No, dobi's are not the best platform, but cameras are so good today all you need is a mounting.. Talk with some that do this..You will learn much.. I advise for good deep sky object photography all you need is a well mounted modern camara. Not wanting to blow your budget but It is easy to spend a great deal of $ on stuff you do not need.
Spending a fine evening with people that know what they are doing is the very best way for you to get into astronomy..

[ManUtdFans]

Why Dob is not good for AP?
I guess the DSLR is attached to where the eye piece is. So for other EQ/tripod scope they are working the same?

I think I might missed something.

[killswitch]

Dob/Alt-Az cant compensate for field rotation so you are limited to short exposures. Whereas an EQ mount rotates with the sky.

[astromark]

~ OK I will try to explain; For good deep sky photography you need a tracking mount.. motor driven to follow for a period of min's your photo subject..
The longer period gives a better image.. However, " yes but no." You can just replace your eye piece with a camera..and it's never that simple... and may not deliver what you want.. And / But most dobi's are not motor driven well enough for this.. and before you even think of heavy tripods for azimuth mounted or wedge type mountings.. As I said the telescope might NOT be the best method of photography of deep sky objects.. Galaxies and clusters and just wide field shots.
Almost any SLR digital camera can be fitted at a reasonable cost with good optical lenses..
I can only suggest that you NEED to talk with and be shown what can be done and what can not..
A few seconds of un driven wide field action may be all you want..
It can be a hideously costly excessive task to outfit a scope with a camera..
For a well built Smite Cassie with 'Go to' and all that you would want you are starting to spend $ 5,000 +
As has been said to you.. Jumping in at the deep end is the best way to wast money..
Astronomy is and can be a very absorbing hobby.. Learn what you want to do without wasting $$$... :)

[norm]

Ok,

I'm going to play devils advocate here and tell it as is:

A dob is arguably the best bang for your buck. Go 8", 10" if the size doesn't concern you.

Yes dobs are unusual looking scopes, look cheap, but visually wise are better than a traditional refractor of the same cost.

You can plonk it on grass, dirt, etc, doesn't even need to be on perfect flat ground.

Can be a bit cumbersome to lug around (although the base and scope can be separated when travelling).

Refractor (based on your budget) probably wont give as much bright views of night objects. Bit if you get bored with the hobby and it doesn't turn out the way you expect you can always use it for terrestrial viewing.

Astrophotography - You can take some snaps of the moon and with modded webcam, pics of say Saturn, Jupiter process them with say registax . However for serious astro work you will need to spend good money on a decent mount.

As the others have mentioned, try to go to a viewing night and meet some folks and look through the various scopes. In fact try to meet up a couple of more times before you commit.

Some people get hooked into the hobby and it will provide them a wonderful lifetime journey. Others get into it, only to realise after a few months of lugging the gear out, then back in, cold nights, late nights etc the novelty wears thin.

Good luck with the decision :)

Norm

PS: Google Andrew Communications @ Greystanes, they sell DOBS at decent prices as well.

[Steffen]

Let's make a note to invite both David and Alan to our October 5th viewing night at the Airfield. There will be a variety of scopes there, and nothing dispels misconceptions about what's important and what's not like some good old first-hand experience.

Cheers
Steffen.

[mr bruess]

go for a 12ich dob.It has the best value for money.
it has good apeture to see galaxies etc.A refractor is limited by aperture .
Some basic wide field eyepieces from andrews communications like GSo
SUPERVIEWS WILL DO A GOOD JOB FOR BEGINNERS.

tHEN LATER ON WHEN you SAVE UP WITH A BIGGER BUDGET YOU CAN GO FOR SOME SECOND hand TELEVUES.

[malau]

Instead of saying thank you to you guys individually I may just do it in this post.

Thanks for everyone information and learn a lot and have much support (especially those field trips later) from you guys within few days.

Apart from field visit I may also go to the shop and have a look (my friend also interested in this).

The majority of my friends are into photography only and for me I just want a telescope can see the stars clearly. However we started in love with taking photo of the stars/milkyway (not via telescope). In the future I know I want to take some photo of the stars via telescope :)

Thanks everyone once again :thanx:

p.s. I still unable to go to the forum when Im home and I checked the somewhere in the connection between my ISP and here seems blocked the connection..

[ManUtdFans]

As the Dob has no mount, to put it on the ground/grass, then you have to on your knee to view the sky? Or you need to build a trolley yourself?

[Kunama]

The "dob" is actually the mount itself, referring to the specific mount type which holds a Newtonian reflector Optical tube assembly. If you buy a "Dobsonian" scope from a store it should be ready to 'plonk' down on grass and use. (You will have to collimate the optics, which simply means align the mirrors so the central axis of the primary lines up with the secondary which in turns lines up with the axis of the focuser assembly. With a dob you will use it standing, sitting or climbing a trestle or ladder depending on the size of the scope and angle above the horizon your target is. On Newts the focuser and therefore the eyepiece is near the top of the tube as opposed to cassegrains and refractors where it is at the bottom.

[ManUtdFans]

From ease of view perspective, Dob is not as convenient as other type?

[Steffen]

That depends. The Dobs mentioned here are all comfortable to use. The eyepiece doesn't move into awkward places, it just goes up and down.

Some of the huge Dobs people are using require a ladder to reach the eyepiece, but you better leave that for your second scope ;)

This random Youtube clip shows you the ease of use of a normal size Dob:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vNOuw1_RJk

Cheers
Steffen.

[ManUtdFans]

For an "ordinary" size Dob(ie for me), will not be so big beyond 6 inches, then it will need me to be bend my back all time whenever to view thru the eye piece?

[Steffen]

I don't know how you get that from the video. You basically look slightly down into the eyepiece, you can sit comfortably while doing so. No bending back.

Maybe you refer to looking through the finder scope? In that case you have a point, the SkyWatcher straight-through finder scope sucks in that regard. The right-angle ones included with GSO Dobs are much nicer to use.

Cheers
Steffen.

[astromark]

~ As I watched this.. and then looked at the options 'U-Tube' put up..:screwy:
There 'IT' was The Orion 16 XXG and now I want one.. ~ Can I dare ask if the cost of shipping to NZ is included in the quote.. :):rofl:

[astromark]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=iHqSN3uMjvg#t=28
~ Now...:shrug: do I dare ask How many of these $ does it cost ?:thanx: