Hi LewisM
Thank you for that . Yea, when I looked at the Shorttube at Bintel, I did tell myself, nothing comes for free or cheap esp in Astronomy .. you get what you pay for. So yea I have mentally set myself to not expect telescope standards from the shorttube
Being majorly short on cash (and space since live in a studio though would be moving in couple of moths) I just thought of getting a decent pair of binoculars. However when I went to Bintel, I saw the shorttube and thought to get that instead of binoculars.
Your comment about picking the shorttube over binoculars helps in my decision to get the shorttube over binoculars
For anything more I will go to my Meade 12" Dobsonian (collapsible) which will join me in 6 - 8 months .. just depends on how fast I can save $1200
I am planning on getting the velborn videomate 638 ($199) from bintel to mount the shorttube. That is currently what it is displayed on and looks sturdy enough and is quite a tall tripod.. I think around 160cm.