NexStar 130SLT or 4SE Nexstar

[KISSMAD]

I'm wondering which is the better telescope!

Celestron NexStar 130SLT Computerised Telescope

What will I be able to see
- Lunar craters as little as 3.2km in diameter
- The phases of Venus and Mercury
- Polar ice caps on Mars
- Several of Jupiter's moons and details of cloud belts
- The rings of Saturn and subtle cloud belts
- Many faint comets and brighter asteroids
- Double stars and stars to 13.1 magnitude
- Star clusters, nebulae and galaxies with spiral structures

Optical Design: Newtonian Reflector
Aperture: 130mm (5.12in)
Focal Length: 650mm (25.12in)
Focal Ratio: 5
Eyepiece 1: 25mm
Magnification 1: 26x
Eyepiece 2: 9mm
Magnification 2: 72x
Mount: Single fork motorised alt-azimuth
Optical tube length: 533mm
Optical coatings: Aluminium
Weight: 8.16kg
Finderscope: StarPointer Red Dot with Quick Release bracket
Tripod: 1.25 steel tube legs
CD ROM: The SkyT Level 1, NSOL telescope control software (requires RS-232 to USB cable (not included) vailable at your local electronics store)
Other equipment: Adaptors for 1.25in and 2in eyepieces
Power Supply: 8 x AA batteries (not included)
Highest useful magnification: 307x
Lowest useful magnification: 19x
Limiting stellar magnitude: 13.1
Light gathering power: 345x
Angular field of view: 1.7

Celestron 4SE Nexstar Computerised Telescope

What will I be able to see
- The phases of Venus
- Star clusters, nebulas and structured galaxies
- Lunar craters as little as 3.5km in diameter
- Dark surface features on Mars
- Detailed cloud belts, festoons and streamers of Jupiter
- The rings of Saturn and subtle cloud belts
- Many faint comets and brighter asteroids

Optical Design: Maksutov-Cassegrain
Aperture: 102mm
Focal Length: 1325mm
Focal Ratio: 12.99
Finderscope: StarPointer
Mount: Single fork arm alt-azimuth
Eyepiece: 25mm
Magnification: 53x
Star Diagonal: Internal flip mirror for straight through or 90


Are they any good for learning Astrophotography? I don't expect to take Hubble quality pictures but I want to try Astrophotography for fun. I don't have a camera, yet.

The reason for these two are that I want to get used to using the goto feature before spend thousands on a telescope.

Which has the better "What will I be able to see"?

[rustigsmed]

what's your budget bruce?

[KISSMAD]

My budget is around the $1000 mark for the telescope. I might buy the Celestron Telescope Eyepiece & Filter Kit as well.

[rustigsmed]

where are you based?
second hand stuff can be very cost effective - be sure to check the classifieds.

eg: this will give you great visual views and is capable of deep sky imaging
also
http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=137162

[KISSMAD]

I'm 426km from your location.

The two scopes are on sale, the sale ends on the 6th.

[multiweb]

I had a 130SLT for a long time. They're pretty neat little scopes. If you have a $1k budget I'd definitely look for second hand in the classified.

[KISSMAD]

Are you saying $1000 is not enough for a telescope to learn with?

[multiweb]

No I'm saying with $1k you can get a lot more if you shop around. IMHO get a small refractor, maybe 80mm F/5 to start with if you want to go down the astrophotography path. Save your money for a good EQ mount down the road.
If you already have a DSLR you could get a polarie (http://www.vixenoptics.com/Vixen-Polarie-Star-Tracker-Mount-with-Tripod-p/35517.htm)or startrack and cut your teeth at doing widefield and learning the basics so you're not thrown into the deep end.

[rustigsmed]

yep, i'd either spend less to learn eg an 8" dob ~$500 - they give great visual views or even a pair of good binoculars. or get something like an HEQ5 with an ED80 or 8" reflector on top - second hand (like what I linked) for around $1000 or a bit over.

the quality difference between the scopes you've listed and a second hand HEQ5 setup is substantial.

[KISSMAD]

Dobsonians don't suit my needs. I don't have flat ground to put the telescope on.

I'm not keen on getting a used telescope at this stage.

[multiweb]

There is absolutely nothing wrong with a second hand rig. As Russel pointed out the rig in the classified is perfect to get started in AP. If you have any reserve buying used gear, join a club or go with someone who knows and they'll tell you exactly the same thing.

[KISSMAD]

I didn't say there was anything wrong with buying second hand telescope.

There are no clubs in my area.

[multiweb]

Never said that.

There must be some astro people around even with no clubs available. You can find them on these forums.

[croweater]

It's your money Bruce but I agree with Russel and Marc. The scope advertised is very good and will be better for visual and AP. IMO will be also be longer before you feel the need to upgrade than with the 2 scopes you are looking at. Cheers, Richard.

[dannat]

id go with the 130SLT, will be more general use than the nester incl 1 inch more aperture. imo there are better eyepiece options than the celestron kit which is overpriced, you can get one pretty god ep for the money of the kit -if you want the kit just buy GSO plossl's at andrews, same ep's less money.

get a 4mm ep -it will give you roughly 150x -keep the 25mm plossl it comes with & you'll be right.

what the other posters are trig to tell you is ou are overpaying for a GOTO mount, which in itself is overpriced…but its your money -spend it how you want

[rustigsmed]

Actually dobsonians or alt az mounts don't require flat ground. perhaps you should consider a goto 8" dob for 1400 rather than a gem.

But if you are dead keen on those options the 130 is the 'best' of the lot. Your expectations should be only for nice wide field views with basic tracking and goto capability, there will be tiny views of Saturn and Jupiter ... Did I mention tiny.. Yes you may see the rings of Saturn but it will be small . I don't think you will see any banding on Saturn perhaps at most two bands on Jupiter at the scopes 'high' power and it will be very bright. There is nothing wrong with all this if expectation is tempered. There is pretty much zero photography potential except for holding your camera phone to the eyepiece snapping the moon.

Good luck

[The Mekon]

[

If you are expecting all these features to just jump out at you once you purchase this telescope - forget it. Stars to 13th Mag? I reckon the lowest I got down to with my expensive 130 APO was 12.8. Spiral structure in galaxies? mottling and dust lanes, but no spiral structure with a 130mm.

You will have to keep this scope for some time and observe frequently to knock off the rest of this list.

[KISSMAD]

No I don't expect that.

As stated in my original post "The reason for these two are that I want to get used to using the goto feature before spend thousands on a telescope."
Most people seem to be glancing over that part of the post.

Maybe I should of just posted "I have $, what GOTO should I get that?"

[multiweb]

The answer to that question was given by Russel earlier on. The rig in the classified is ideal for what you want to do. It's 10 folds better than the two configuration you have listed and within your budget. TBH I'd buy it yesterday.

If you want to spend $1k on a goto Celestron 130SLT then you can do that too. I did that 8 years ago. It took me 2 weeks to realise that I'd never image with it and that the one or two star alignment didn't work.

But hey, don't take my word for it. Buy one and see for yourself. :thumbsup:

[KISSMAD]

I have looked at the ad that Colin has posted but it's not a goto telescope. "only difference is that it is black and doesn't have SynScan."

[KISSMAD]

Are these a better option?

SkyWatcher Star Explorer 130P Newtonian
http://www.bintel.com.au/Telescopes/SkyWatcher-Star-Explorer-/SkyWatcher-Star-Explorer-130P-Newtonian/1984/productview.aspx

SkyWatcher Star Explorer 127 Mak
http://www.bintel.com.au/Telescopes/SkyWatcher-Star-Explorer-/SkyWatcher-Star-Explorer-127-Mak/1981/productview.aspx

SkyWatcher Star Explorer 102 Mak
http://www.bintel.com.au/Telescopes/SkyWatcher-Star-Explorer-/SkyWatcher-Star-Explorer-102-Mak/1987/productview.aspx

[ab1963]

hi there
the advice on this post is rock solid and IMO and a good second hand scope is the way to to go,I waited to buy my lx90 lnt 8 inch and it cost me as much as the 4se and was even cheaper when I had sold what came with it that I didn't want,i listened to users on iis whose knowledge comes usually from experience at some expense,and I know the urge just to get a scope is huge but patience will pay off in the end.hope that helps

[Atmos]

If you want to go down the path of a GoTo SCT I would recommend Meade over Celestron because one thing I have heard resonate over the years is that the GoTo capabilities of the Meade (pointing accuracy and the like) are a lot better in the Meade variants than the Celestron. Meade also tend to be a bit cheaper.

I have owned several Meade SCTs and have never been anything but happy with how it performs. In saying that, for astrophotography I would go for a Celestron over a Meade, even having never used one. Once you get past all of the marketing mumbo jumbo on both sides, I personally get the feeling that Celestron optics have a slight edge over the Meade.

Another cheap way to go could be down the lines of an Orion GoTo Dob or getting a standard dob and installing Argo Navis.