No idea what telescope to buy...

[Chooka (Pete)]

Hi all, first post here so go easy on me

After many years I've finally decided to follow my heart and get a telescope, now I have a budget of $700-$1000 max, and I do have an idea of what I'd like to be able to do.
Must be able to observe and photograph the moon
observe and photograph some of the planets, Saturn in particular.

My question is would I be able to take (semi)decent photos of the moon and some planets with a 8" dobsoninan and a digital camera? Something good enough to have blown up and put on a wall?

or maybe something like this? http://www.ozscopes.com.au/telescope...tor-drive.html

Thanks in advance.
Chooka

[ArcaneMagik (Craig)]

Everyone else here will be able to give infinitely better advice than me, but I will give it a bash.

For entry level astro, refractors seems to be the easiest from what little I have seen, just for the simple issue of getting things into focus is you go afocal photography (Camera mounted on the focuser rather than imaging out of the eyepiece). Reflectors used for visual don't have enough inward focus to get a camera working as standard. That heads you towards cutting the scope down and its really not an entry level choice.

Refractors do have this, but generally are a lot more expensive than reflectors. A decent 80mm refractor is like 600 bucks, which is a large portion of your budget. Too large for astrophotography.

I would simply go back to the tried and true advice of 8" Dob. You can get a few bits and pieces which will allow you to take photos of bright objects allowing for short exposures where the lack of tracking is not as much of an issue.

Something good enough to have blown up and put on a wall? Well thats up to your pride in it. It's obviously not going to be the works of art we get as image of the month, but if you like the shot thats up to you.

Hopefully someone here can show you what images they managed through their dobs, as I only have a couple of eyepiece projected shots with my iPhone.


(From what I have seen Astrophotography is a good way to get poor but with lots of really nice things to keep you company)

[PlanetMan]

Is there any particular reason you are inclined towards a Dob or Newt?

From what you are describing in terms of planetary observing and photography with your budget I would actually be thinking about a good quality smallish refractor - easier to use - very portable - can be used for other things later on - typically retain their value well - and don't need much maintenance.

EDIT
Amazing Craig - your post appeared perhaps 6 seconds before mine

[Screwdriverone (Chris)]

Hi Pete,

An 8" goto synscan Skywatcher Dobsonian will set you back $999 at Andrews Communications and this will be PERFECT to get you started, for the following reasons....

1) It is one of the simplest and easiest scopes to set up and use.
2) Very portable so you can take it out the back or in the car to get to a dark sky site away from city lights.
3) Big enough to be able to see galaxies and globular clusters with amazing details
4) Having goto and tracking means you can "dial up" an object and the system will drive the scope to it and then track it for HOURS without it moving in the eyepiece. This is especially handy when looking at high magnification at a galaxy or planet.
5) using a webcam or one shot camera / DSLR through the focuser allows pics of the moon, planets and some Deep sky objects without breaking the bank.
6) 99% of people here on IIS will probably recommend an 8" dob as it is perfect bang for your buck to get you going.

Of course, you could get a larger dob for less money than the 8" goto version, however, without the motors and the computer handset to drive it, you will be having to nudge the dob constantly at high magnification which gets frustrating quite quickly.

Now at $999, you pretty much have blown all your budget, however, with this scope and nothing else (except say a laser collimator for about $70) you are likely to be able to do all the things you mentioned straight away, and this scope is one you should keep for a LOOOONG time.

You will no doubt be tempted with going for the 10" or 12" goto or non goto variants, but really, these should be kept for say 2-3 years down the track when you have exhausted the potential of the 8". Like we all say, it won't be your first scope unless you lose interest and if you get too big a scope now, you may not use it as much as the 8" and therefore more likely to stay inside rather than take it out and use it.

The scope that gets used the most is the best scope in the world. My opinion is that the 8" goto collapsible dobsonian is the best choice for under $1000 for the reasons I mentioned above.

I have a 8" tube on an HEQ5 pro which pretty much replaced my need for the 12" dobsonian I had, so i ended up selling the 12" as I was amazed at how well the 8" views compared to the 12" and because of the tracking and goto of the mount, sated my geek factor within also.

Hope this helps.

Cheers

Chris

[that_guy (Tony)]

the dob will be good for lunar and planetary, my dp is taken from my 10", i always buy used to soften the financial blow haha

[mr bruess]

a good 10inch dob is an execellent choice for first scope.
Is is affordable and won't break the bank

[Chooka (Pete)]

Thanks for all the advice, one thing, how fast does Saturn move across the sky? does anyone have video of it?

[danielsun]

Hi Pete, I agree as above I would recommend an 8 or 10" dob for starters and not only for starting out it is a scope you can keep forever and some Astrophotography can still be done with a dob.
I now have my full imaging set up but still have and use my first two Dobs.

Cheers Daniel.

[overlord (Charles)]

I would start with a 6" f/8 reflector if planets are what you are after. Big dogs are really annoying to carry around lol. trust meeeeeeeeee. wahahahahaha

or a cheap saxon refractor or maksutov. that is exactly what I would get... one of the three above options, if i was a beginner today.

all are in ur price range. nah 8" dob is kinda large. people talk about 10" dob and all this but that's just silly. it's too much u need a freaking observatory or for it to be on wheels. :ey epop::eyepo p:: eyepop: sorry don't want to be too controvercail but it's the truth!

[astroron (Ron)]

Originally Posted by overlord

I would start with a 6" f/8 reflector if planets are what you are after. Big dogs are really annoying to carry around lol. trust meeeeeeeeee. wahahahahaha

or a cheap saxon refractor or maksutov. that is exactly what I would get... one of the three above options, if i was a beginner today.

all are in ur price range. nah 8" dob is kinda large. people talk about 10" dob and all this but that's just silly. it's too much u need a freaking observatory or for it to be on wheels. :ey epop::eyepo p:: eyepop: sorry don't want to be too controvercail but it's the truth!

Chucky old chap, you are in the minority on this one
Read all the posts re first scope and Chris's first scope starter package
It seems you wouldn't even know what a big dob is even if it hit you on the head
Cheers

[Screwdriverone (Chris)]

Originally Posted by astroron

Chucky old chap, you are in the minority on this one
Read all the posts re first scope and Chris's first scope starter package
It seems you wouldn't even know what a big dob is even if it hit you on the head
Cheers

Ron,

Seems Chucky may have been partying last night like I was.....I'll have what he is having...not.

Cheers

Chris

[overlord (Charles)]

Originally Posted by astroron

Chucky old chap, you are in the minority on this one
Read all the posts re first scope and Chris's first scope starter package
It seems you wouldn't even know what a big dob is even if it hit you on the head
Cheers

Big dobs suck man. can't even focus right. fuzzy stars. what's the point? in the nineteenth century they built long focus for a reason. i had enough of dobs. later this year i'm getting a 14" SCT and i'm gonna mate it with a mak in an observatory. mwahahahahhaa.

[ArcaneMagik (Craig)]

Originally Posted by overlord

Big dobs suck man. can't even focus right. fuzzy stars. what's the point? in the nineteenth century they built long focus for a reason. i had enough of dobs. later this year i'm getting a 14" SCT and i'm gonna mate it with a mak in an observatory. mwahahahahhaa.

Because they had Refractors and to prevent chromatic aberration being a major issue?

Big dobs do not suck. They are great when correctly used. They may not have the range of focus given by slower scopes, but when used correctly that can be compensated for.

Also I assume your complaint is large fast newtonian reflectors as opposed to the alt az style of mount.

[Brian W (Brian)]

Pete there you have it. The reason they make so many different scopes is cause there are so many different people.

Chris has a very compelling argument. I own an 8" dob mounted reflector, an 8" SCT and a 4.5. I use the 8" reflector almost all the time.

Brian

[ArcaneMagik (Craig)]

Originally Posted by Chooka

Thanks for all the advice, one thing, how fast does Saturn move across the sky? does anyone have video of it?

It would take roughly 12 hours for it to make it from one horizon to the other.

But when you are looking at it with 300x magnification you get a feel for how quick that little bugger moves. You will be constantly shifting an unguided scope ever 10-15 seconds to keep it in view.

[Chooka (Pete)]

Originally Posted by ArcaneMagik

It would take roughly 12 hours for it to make it from one horizon to the other.

But when you are looking at it with 300x magnification you get a feel for how quick that little bugger moves. You will be constantly shifting an unguided scope ever 10-15 seconds to keep it in view.

Thanks just what I was after.

[dannat (Daniel)]

The 8" dobsonian will let you take moon & planet pics, though you will need to use a webcam or ccd (digital cameras aren't really suited to this)

A 6" maksutov will do a good job of this also thelonger focal length will help when webcamming the moon & planets (nb it's hard to get all the moon in with one of these scopes)-there are one or 2 good 6" sct or mak in the classifieds here.

Driven mount is the other thing you need to think of for either scope, both scopes will give decent views in n urban environ