About to take the plunge, have read too much now on which newbie scope, and have now confused myself lol.
Bottom line is, have approx $700 to spend, need it to be portable due to outback trips in the bush. Have looked at 2001 saxon eq5 (2nd hand), celstron nexstar127slt (new), Celestron NexStar 4SE(new) I think the 8" dobs are out due to not having a table or flat ground to mount them on;
my travel compartment will be a set of outback drawers in the back of an 80 series land cruiser. Do not mind dis-assembly and assembly.
Sorry, should of said, the drawers are approx 1m long by 50cm wide by 21cm high; though, if it ends up being a question of transportability, I'm sure I can find/make space somewhere else I just thought the 8" dob would be too big?
You might be surprised with an 8" Dob, might not quite fit in your storage box, but an 8" solid tube Dob isn't that big - if you have a scope shop or astro club/society/group nearby I'd suggest you go to a meet and look for yourself.
You'd definitely see more deep sky stuff with an 8" Dob than with your other options
Thanks for the input guys, I'm not going bush specifically for gazing, me n the family regularly go 4wding/campertrailerin'; it has been the last few trips that me and the missus have been looking at the night sky wondering wouldn't be good if we had a telescope lol.
I was wondering if would be more worthwhile buying a maksutov cassegrain, due to portability, sealed unit, tripod mount etc..
Skywatcher Celestron 6" SCT OTA with Bresser EXOS2 (EQ5 equiv.) heavy duty equatorial mount/tripod from andrews, comes in at $1200, or the celestron nexstar es6 $1400.
Am prepared to spend almost double my original costing to get best of both worlds...almost lol.
If I wasn't camping so much I'd go the dob, however, I need to be able to pack it away whilst camping so that it doesn't get stolen (yes, it does happen out bush). Would a refractor be better?
Still am looking for more observational, but with the ability to do basic photos with my olypmus tg-2. Also, I do have a wife and kids that would like quickness of viewing lol.
Skywatcher Celestron 6" SCT OTA with Bresser EXOS2 (EQ5 equiv.) heavy duty equatorial mount/tripod from andrews, comes in at $1200, or the celestron nexstar es6 $1400.
No no no no no no no!
You do not recommend an equatorial mounted telescope to a beginner. Because I started with one and it drove me f****** insane! A beginner has to start out with something simple. And the OP wants compact. That to me sounds like a 80-100mm refractor on a simple alt-azimuth tripod mount. "Point and squirt" simplicity.
Someone with their first scope is trying to learn their way around the sky. But, with an eq scope as well they need to try align the mount with the SCP. Which has no guide star. SO they have to eyeball it with a magnetic compass. Then the alignment still isn't good enough. So then they have to learn to drift align it to get their expensive setup to work as intended. By this point they still haven't seen Jupiter.
And then they just go. Bugger it and go back inside and do this...
lol, thanks adrian, that's the kind of response I was looking for, I just wasn't sure about what you can see with a refractor compared to the other types. Unfortunately, it's the wet season up here in Cairns, so cannot go and try out other types of scopes.
To true , but Paul has about 4 months to learn how to drive one ,, sorry Paul , but I only receintly moved from 6 years in Darwin , I know how bad the wet season is ... .
Good luck on whatever you deciede , lots of help to be had here .
oh yes ,,,, mate .
Brian.
Quote:
Originally Posted by AG Hybrid
No no no no no no no!
You do not recommend an equatorial mounted telescope to a beginner. Because I started with one and it drove me f****** insane! A beginner has to start out with something simple. And the OP wants compact. That to me sounds like a 80-100mm refractor on a simple alt-azimuth tripod mount. "Point and squirt" simplicity.
Someone with their first scope is trying to learn their way around the sky. But, with an eq scope as well they need to try align the mount with the SCP. Which has no guide star. SO they have to eyeball it with a magnetic compass. Then the alignment still isn't good enough. So then they have to learn to drift align it to get their expensive setup to work as intended. By this point they still haven't seen Jupiter.
And then they just go. Bugger it and go back inside and do this...
I'll put in my 2 cents worth - I bought a refractor on a GoTo equatorial mount (HEQ5Pro) in August last year - my first scope. Now, it's true that learning to use an eq mount is tricky, but its also fun, and it did not stop me from being able to see lots. This forum was an enormous help, and I'm still learning the tricks and traps of an eq mount.
Whats more, the views I've been getting of the planets have been spectacular with a 120mm refractor.
So, my advice is that if you like a bit of a mental challenge and you have patience, don't be totally put off an eq mount. But if you prefer a quicker path to viewing, a Dob sounds like the way to go.
Yeah, same boat as you, I think a dob will happen at some stage, but at this point in time I need the portability. I don't mind the learning curve of difficult things, however, what has been the limits of what you have bought, wish you could have etc..
Highly portable, they are short, fast to setup, no collimation or adjustment needed. They are truly a grab and go scope. If you outgrow the AZ mount, no problem chuck the tube on an EQ goto mount. This is mine (a similar model from the same factory) on an EQ5 Pro.
The downside, they are an achromatic refractor so you will see a little blue fringing on very bright objects.
How about a big set of binos like the APM ones for sale in the classified (which I don't mind admitting I quite fancy too). Simple, quick to setup and quite versatile... Not going to be a planet killer - but to be honest you don't need to go bush for that.