[gaseous (Patrick)]

I'll preface my answers by saying I'm purely visual and have avoided EQ mounts like the plague, so others with more experience in these matters may correct me if I'm speaking through my hat.

The caps lock is to highlight my answers - I'm not yelling .



"* Non computerised is a great starting position to help learn. CORRECT

* A GOTO mount is handy, but for someone wanting to learn, it can come after. SURE. IF YOU STAY WITH DOBS, YOU’LL POSSIBLY WANT GOTO SOONER RATHER THAN LATER
* A equatorial mount is necessary for long exposure photography. CORRECT
* A 8-10" Dobsonian sounds like good bang for buck CORRECT, FOR VISUAL.
* Second hand would offer even better bang for buch, however with not prior knowledge we might get into trouble. CORRECT, ALTHOUGH WITH A NON-GOTO SCOPE, BOUGHT THROUGH IIS, THE CHANCES OF A SIGNIFICANT ISSUE ARE PRETTY SLIM. I WOULD EXPECT THAT PEOPLE WHO OFFLOAD DODGY GEAR GET A BAD REPUTATION PRETTY QUICKLY

So from there, we are starting to think we will spend all our money on a telscope and reuse an existing solid DSLR tripod for 6months, then think about something a little smarter in the tripod space. He has already spent 12months looking through binoculars and a borrowed 600mm SLR lens, so hoping some of that will translate to a telescope.


So the questions we have:

• There were a few refractor recommendations. We couldnt work out why? Why would you refractor vs dobsonian? REFRACTORS ARE GENERALLY A LOT SMALLER/PORTABLE THAN A DOB, AND ARE USUALLY MOUNTED ON AN EQ OR COMBINED EQ/ALT-ALT MOUNT, SUITABLE FOR LONG EXPOSURE PHOTOGRAPHY AS THE MOUNT WILL TRACK WITH THE ROTATION OF THE EARTH. WHILE YOU CAN GET AN IMAGING NEWTONIAN, A LOT OF NEWTONIANS ON ALT-ALT BASES (IE, DOBS) ARE MAINLY USED FOR VISUAL, AS THE LARGER APERTURE PROVIDES MORE LIGHT GATHERING THAN A SMALLER REFRACTOR, AND THEREFORE A BETTER RESOLVED IMAGE FOR DIMMER DSO’S. YOU CAN STILL GET LOVELY SHARP VIEWS THROUGH A SMALLER REFRACTOR, BUT APERURE IS KING FOR VISUAL ONLY WORK (SO THE OLD SAYING GOES).
• I assume equatorial by itself is a mechanical thing and you have to adjust the counter weight to get it right? where as GoTo with tracking is electrical, and a little more set and forget? AN EQ MOUNT CAN BE MOTORISED OR NOT, BUT YOU’D STILL NEED TO GET THE COUNTERWEIGHTS CORRECT REGARDLESS.
• I believe not all GoTo are equatorial/tracking, is this right? MOTORISED EQ MOUNTS WILL TRACK WITH THE ROTATION OF THE EARTH, MOTORISED DOBS (GOTO) WILL ALSO TRACK, BUT THEY DON’T ALLOW FOR FIELD ROTATION AS THE SKY WHEELS ABOUT THE CELESTIAL POLES, SO LONG EXPOSURE PHOTOS ON A GOTO DOB WILL SHOW THE IMAGE AND STARS BLURRED DUE TO THIS ROTATION.
• We see some dobsonian have more like a frame and not a complete tube, I assume the only advantage of these is compact for travel, and they would then start to introduce the disadvantage of extra light getting in? CORRECT, SLIGHTLY MORE SPACE SAVING, BUT YOU CAN BUY A LIGHT SHROUD TO WRAP AROUND THE EXPOSED FRAME TO PREVENT LIGHT GETTING IN.
• Can you get a scope like this, and later add a GOTO mount - https://www.bintel.com.au/product/st...ian-telescope/ DUNNO ABOUT THE CELESTRON DOBS, BUT THE SKYWATCHER DOBS CERTAINLY HAVE THE CAPACITY TO ADD THE GOTO SYSTEM LATER. BEAR IN MIND, THE GOTO UPGRADE COST IS 50%-75% OF THE ORIGINAL SCOPE COST, SO IT’S A LOT OF COIN TO UPGRADE. YOU MAY BE BETER OFF SELLING THE NON-GOTO DOB AND GETTING A NEW GOTO MODEL FOR THE SAME OUTLAY
• Can you get a scope like this, and add it to a DSLR tripod - https://www.amazon.com/SkyWatcher-S1.../dp/B00Z4HVTT0 ONE OF THE RESIDENT CAMERA JOCKEYS WOULD NEED TO ANSWER THAT."