A Question asked a lot. Beginners setup.

[Hagar]

As stated above this question is asked an awful lot on this and every other forum.
Based on the prices of some equipment a lot of the answers are now quite out of date. What I am really asking is what do you think is the best way to go when providing this sort of advice to someone new to the field they are looking at.
I have broken the poll into 2 parts, Visual Astronomy and Astrophotography. Both of these have seen many of us change scopes etc on a very regular basis and in some cases we have made purchases which were less than suitable for the task at hand.

Lets not get into a war based on brands and prices but rather give some explanation as to why our choice has been made. Take into account things such as future upgrading, what to expect etc etc.

This probably should have been split int 2 polls one for visual and one for astrophotography. Please consider the Dobsonian telescopes for Visual only in this poll or at least write your reasoning for any inclusion of a Dob for astrophotography.

This poll is set to run for 60 days after which I will attempt to summarise the results.

Thanks

[Hagar]

My Answers:

Astrophotograpy:
ED80; Relatively easy to use, works out of the box. large field of view, well colour corrected.
EQ6: Although more expensive than some it allows for years of use and quite a lot of telescope upgrades.
DSLR: Simple operation without to big a learning curve. Great results, multiple uses, Astrocam or happy snaps etc.

Visual:
8" Dob. Very easy to use, easy to man handle and transport.

[thunderchildobs]

I always say first join a local astronomy first before spending money. Go to their field nights / camp any see what other people are using and ask questions. That what way they can see what the scopes and how they are used. They can then determine what scope best suits their needs. If possible hire a scope from a club. A badly chosen scope can do more harm than good.

[Screwdriverone]

my choices;

8" Dob and Webcam (go together for visual and planetary pics)

Ed80 and Heq5 (with modified webcam also from above) for DSO photography.

One choice or the other depending on what you want to do, visual or AP.

To get started though, you probably cant beat bang for buck on an 8 inch dob which could easily be converted into an AP rig later on with a good EQ mount.

My $0.0182 plus GST.

Cheers

Chris

[sadia]

Starting with visual I would go:
10" Dobsonian:

Moving into Astrophotography I would go:
Mount EQ6 or similar including G11: (Reuse your old 10" Dobsonian OTA)
ED80: I been very happy with this scope :)
Cooled CCD: I believe i am the odd one out recommending CCD over DSLR, but I personally found CCD (OSC) easier to use for astro imaging over DSLR. My decision might be influenced by the fact that I have never user DSLR before trying astrophoto.

[lacad01]

Ditto to Doug's post on the gear. Why?
8" DOB - sets up in minutes and within most peoples budget
ED80 - portability, entry level for imaging, ok for terrestrial, and if game makes a nifty super telephoto ;)
EQ6 - budget workhorse GEM able to take the weight if you expand (within limits of course) before moving on to something more expensive if need be.
DSLR - multi purpose beastie

Except for DSLR, all the above is dual-purpose imaging or visual. I can mount the 8" on the EQ6 for tracking/goto visual or videocam. I can mount the ED80 on a heavy duty tripod for quick grab and go.

...but that's just my 2 cents worth :)

[that_guy]

Is it possible to fit a 8" dobsonian on a EQ3 mount??

[wavelandscott]

I picked 8 inch dobsonian reflector and ED80...but my first advice is almost always...go to a viewing night and look through some scopes before you buy one.

That aside, here is why I suggest the above for beginners...

ED80 (on an Alt/AZ mount)...It looks like a telescope. You can get nice views of moon, planets and it also works in the daytime. It is easy to understand, carry and use and for folks who aren't really sure that they want to own a telescope I think it makes a lot of sense.

8 inch Dobsonian mounted reflector...while not specifically true today I still think of it as "the biggest small telecope" that you can get. Lots of great views for all objects (moon, planets, double stars, DSOs) but it is much bulkier than the ED80. The relector and collimation are not necessarily intuitive for folks without some support. The downside compared to the ED80 is that it is a "night time only" telescope...

Both are good value in the price department...

[PCH]

No, it would be too flimsy. Sorry !:thumbsup:

[mental4astro]

The best beginners scope you can get is the biggest you can afford.

That's it.

Nothing more to it.

If all you can get is a 114 Newt., great. Or a 60mm refractor, :thumbsup:.

Sure, if we want to suggest scope types, that's another matter. The biggest and the easiest to use: a dobsonian of any size.

Today there is so much on offer, it can be difficult to know if the choice you make is a good one. As an example, 'Goto' scopes are relatively inexpensive. However, the smaller scopes they are coupled on to are not much chop. The price chews into the apeture size and you end up with a scope that will not deliver the goods and with questionable mechanical reliability.

You will learn more, more quickly about the sky, what is up there, how to use you scope and see more without a goto system. Tricks, bells and whistles can come after.

[gavinadams]

I picked other in the poll.

I'm a beginner and very happy with my scope purchase.

I got a Celestron Nexstar 6SE.

The advantage of 6" SCT is that it's easily portable.
Not as expensive at the 8" or large SCT's.
The goto mount as a beginner is easy and fantastic.

Cheers,
Gavin

[jjjnettie]

8" dob
10" dob - what can I say, they are ideal for beginners and experienced alike. You need to make the effort to learn the night sky too. Which is very important in the long run.

fork mount goto - I love my iOptron go to mounts. A piece of cake to learn how to use. And if you want instant gratification, that's the way to go.

and I chose "other" for the camera - how many of us started off our imaging using just a compact or advanced compact camera. Most come with a video mode too so you can start practising with .avi's too. Why spend a fortune of specialised gear when you don't even know if that is the track you will be taking??

[Paul Haese]

I always say if you want to buy a telescope buy an 8" Newtonian and some affordable eyepieces. Learn the night sky a bit and decide if this standing outside in the cold is for you. Then if you want to go further let me know.

This effectively gives people a chance to explore and learn the love of Astronomy before introducing them to the frustrating aspects of it such as imaging.

[Miaplacidus]

Er, binoculars.

[casstony]

ED80 on alt/az mount for quick looks at moon/planets and daytime use, or/

8"/10" dob if you can observe with others - having to ask for help is a good way to get introduced to other observers, or/

8" goto scope if observing alone - makes it easier to find stuff. Nexstar 6SE is also good since it's much cheaper than the 8SE and you can buy a used 8" sct for the mount when the opportunity arrises.

[el_draco]

If you are a complete new comer to the hobby, I highly recommend a decent pair of binoculars, no larger than 80mm and a set of good atlases.

Getting a handly on the large scale structure of the night sky is very important before diving into hunting a quasar. Binos are multi-use, easy to get around with and offer a VERY pleasant way of exploring the sky.

[stephenb]

Agree!

[Hagar]

Thanks everyone so far. With a month to go on the servey the results are really starting to add up to quite a meaningful list of equipment suitable for beginners to look at. The comments are also great giving good and valid reasons for the choices made.

Great stuff.

[mldee]

I'll go with Scott's comments.

[BlackWidow]

Well I agree with most of what has been said. I have not been in this hobby for long myself and started out with a !0" DOB. I have had lots of fun with it and for price was the best bang for buck of all. However I have another spin on this situation. Once I had purchsed this scope it was VERY difficult to get the wife to agree to let me spend a greater amount of money on the scope that I now own. She could not see the need or understand my simple want.

My advice is that if your situation could end up like mine my advice would be as follows: Show your wife the most expensive scope you can find and then select the scope you REALLY WANT. Make sure the scope you want is thousands cheaper than the one you showed her. She will be very happy with you for not wanting the best their is when you are starting out. DO NOT show her any low cost items.. You will then be set for life with a scope that will do all you will ever need. You will never need to pressure her again with demands that what you have purchased will not do what you want in the future... :-)

Well thier is always a funny side to things as well :-) Shhhhhh it's our little secret


Cheers
Mardy

[leon]

Save the dollars for the moment and pick up a good pair of Bino's, you will soon know if you really like the night sky.

Leon

[Moon]

The Backyard Astronomer's Guide. Great book!

Website (http://www.backyardastronomy.com/)

James

[tonybarry]

I'd consider myself a beginner. I bought as my first scope an EQ-1 8" Newtonian f/4. Then an ETX-80. Then an LX90-8".

For me, the important things are:-

First; goto, preferably a goto that's Alt-Az,, with GPS and LNT because it will set itself up and point you to the things you can't find when you can't find anything.

Second, as big an aperture as possible.

Third, portable.

After that, you know if you are hooked.

Regards,
Tony Barry

[Hagar]

Results seem to indicate a couple of very valid points:
1. Best to start with a managable telescope. 8" or 10" Dobsonian telescope. It seems to be a solid recommendation that you learn the sky, by doing this with a manual scope you will certainly stand well with the ability to jump around the sky easily and this ability is also very usefull when you step up to larger or goto telescopes.
2. Learn from others. Use the knowledge and skills found in your local astronony group to further your knowledge and skills and in doing so you have the ability to try out many scopes firstly to see if the hobby is what you expected and work out the best scope for you.
3. There seems to be a strong recommendation towards an 80mm ED refractor for your first imaging scope. These little scopes are by far the most under rated imaging scope on the market today and certainly produce the goods.

The one comment I will make with regard to imaging is spend as much as you can afford on a good tracking mount. Buy the biggest and best you can. You will see lots of figures on what a mount can be expected to carry and in most cases they do it effortlessly. With imaging in mind use about 2/3 of the rated capacity as a maximum and you will not have any problems. High end mounts can and often do meet every expectation with loading capacities but a lot of the cheaper mounts struggle a little at full load.

Thanks to everyone who contributed to this poll and maybe your comments will help a new and inexperienced astronomer from making some very expensive poor choises.

Thanks again