Quote:
Originally Posted by wavelandscott
I want to further reinforce this recommendation...if at all possible get to a viewing night or two before spending your money.
An evening (or two) invested in this way will no doubt give you a chance to get your questions answered and also give you a chance to try out some gear before you use your money.
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Agree 100% - BUT, (the ominous big but!!) if you can't access viewing evenings/ star parties...acquaint yourself thoroughly with review sites such as IIS, Cloudy Nights etc etc. There will be items which are outstanding and consistently reviewed as such at a variety of budgets. A few spring to mind...Televue 13mm T6 Nagler, Televue 24mm Panoptic and (not EPs but...) Orion ED80 refractor, Telrad etc.
It must be remembered though that many EPs are reviewed by users of varying experience and objectivity so one must take any recommendation or criticisms with that in mind.
By checking out these various sources you'll pick up lots of information on the journey too!
I have found however that the equipment which is consistently reviewed favourably (ie 100s of reviews) tends to be because it is deserved.
This is my experience with optical gear in general - astronomy accessories and camera gear.
BUT, (the big but again) - if you can get "hands on" - do it!!!
All the best
Doug
