If you had about $1000....

[Tasha]

And were buying a birthday pressie for your hubby (or my hubby!)....what would you buy??

I am so glad to have found this forum!! I have been surfing aimlessly around the internet for weeks and am SO confused about what to buy my husband...If anyone is able to help me make a decision and actually purchse something I would be most appreciative!

So you know the sort of budget I have (this would have to include everything - scope, mount, lenses, planispheres etc)....Some other things that are important are portability/size and ease of setup - if it is difficult or time consuming to set up the scope then I know it will get barely any use...so I'm happy at this stage to forgoe some function if it means that portability and quick setup are increased.I imagine that most times the scope will sit in the loungeroom (so nothing TOO huge!) and get put out on the deck...with the occasional "field trip" in the car to more remote locations. We live on the outskirts of Brisbane so it's a bit bright around here, but not as bright as the city...

My hubby is a keen photographer so even though he has not even mentioned astrophotography to me I would not be surprised if this becomes something he gets exited about in the future...

Umm...what else would be helpful...My hubby has been cruising the skies with his binoculars for a few years and has some (limited) knowledge, but is by no means even at the stage of being a "fairly knowledgeable" beginner. With the limited free time he has, something that is easy to learn how to use is a must - maximum enjoyment for minimal initial learning would be fantastic.

I don't know if there is anything out there that can meet my "list of demands" but feel certain that if there is, someone on here will be able to tell me about it!

Thank you for taking the time to read this, I really appreciate it. I so want to get my husband something that is going to give him a lot of enjoyment, and a wonderful special hobby that he can share with the children when they are old enough. Thank you again everyone.

Tasha

[acropolite (Phil)]

If he likes looking at the night sky I don't think you could go wrong with a good dobsonian scope (a newtonian Optical tube mounted on a dobsonian mount). For $1000 you could expect to get a reasonable size instrument (10 or 12 inch) and some eypieces. Dob's are basically reflector telescopes, they're inexpensive, give maximum bang for your dollar and are easily set up and used. With telescopes size is everything, ignore claims of high magnification, they mean nothing, quality of optics and size are all important. An 8 inch dob is a good starting point, 10 is better and so on. It's worth noting that dobs aren't compact so it may be worth a trip to your local dealer to check sizes. To get an idea of prices it's worth visiting the Bintel site and Andrews communications site. They are the biggest dealers and have the best prices.

[Ian Robinson]

Give him the money in the form of VISA debit card and let him decide what he wants to spend it on .... he may even decide to spend some of it on you ....

[DJDD]

I like Ian's suggestion!
but, subterfuge aside...


I am sure you will get a lot of answers to this question but my suggestion would be to get a Dobsonian Telescope. They are:
- easy to set up
- not too heavy
- easy to transport (depending upon the size).

Set up takes about 5 minutes with some "cool down" time for the mirror. Say, set it up after dinner then come back 30 minutes later when it is dark. Also see the Project & Article, "Part One: General Principles for Choosing your first Telescope", (http://www.iceinspace.com.au/63-260-0-0-1-0.html)


I have now used both 8" and a 10" dobsonian telescopes- both seem pretty easy to transport, although the 8" is a little bit easier as it is smaller. They often come with two eyepieces, as well. Check with the vendor.

Also, a lot of people have moved onto planetary and deep space Astrophotography using the dobsonian telescope.

Examples can be found on many vendor websites.

Perhaps call Sirius Optics (in Underwood), as well as the Sydney vendors, and find out what the prices will be, as well as delivery time (from the Sydney vendors). Prices vary a lot between vendors.

You may get lucky ordering from Sydney and have the present in BNE before Xmas day, if you choose a sydney vendor over the vendor in brisbane.


So:
Sirius Optics (Underwood):
http://www.sirius-optics.com.au/skywatcher_dobs.htm
- ring to check prices as the website prices may be old.


Andrews Communications (Sydney):
http://www.andrewscom.com.au/site-section-10.htm
- Click on the "Guan Sheng" link
- then scroll down to "Guan Sheng super high grade Dobsonian telescopes".
- The Guan Sheng GS-680 "NEW Adjustable Super Deluxe (ASDX) heavy-duty 8" Dobsonian - just arrived! for $649.00 AUD" would be a good compromise on price.


Bintel (Sydney and Melbourne):
https://www.bintelshop.com.au/welcome.htm
- Click on "Telescopes" on the left
The dobsonians are at the top of the list.


If you can get an 8" it would probably have more life in it than the 6" dobsonian, and would leave change to buy some other stuff like the planisphere, a barlow maybe (small piece of equipment between the telescope and the eyepiece that doubles, or more, the focal length of the telescope), red light torch, etc.


just my two cents worth.

cheers,
DJDD

[Octane (Humayun)]

Tasha,

Welcome to the forum.

As Phil has mentioned, you can't go wrong with a Dobsonian.

And, for $1,000 you will get a lot for your money with this particular type of telescope.

Good luck!

Regards,
Humayun

[wavelandscott (Scott)]

Tasha,

Not sure where you are located but if you are in one of the big cities, I'd strongly encourage you to stop by one of our fine Astro-retailers so that you can see/feel/touch the different types of scopes there are and also ask their knowledable staff.

If you believe astrophotography is in the cards, I might point you towards refractors, if you want to do easy visual only (or mostly) I'd steer you most likely to a reflector (Dobsonian mounted)...There are also other types of scopes that might fit your needs too...

Usually, I advocate that people go to a viewing night at a local club or society (or gathering of IIS members) to learn a bit more about the different types of scopes before they buy. In your case, maybe an option to consider would be a home made "telescope to be purchased later card" as a gift...

The right scope is the one that gets used...different people have different likes/dislikes so choice of scope preference is somewhat subjective.

Good Luck with your selection...I am certain that there is a "right scope" for your husband out there somewhere.

[garyp]

Hi Tasha I tend to agree with the dobsonian choice others have suggested. I spent weeks researching on the net about what to get and settled on the dob for the simple reason that it's easy to use and you get more value for money in aperature size.

i have been very happy with my choice, but of course it's only my own personal opinion.

good luck

Gary

[Tasha]

Thank you all so much for your replies. It looks like an 8" Dob is the way to go...now just to choose which one. Is there one brand/make that is considered "the one" to go for as far as 8" Dobs go? Any to be avoided?

I will head to Siruis at Underwood, or perhaps York Optical if that's easier to get to, but would love to know what brands you all consider to be better than others (otherwise I'll just have to believe what the salespeople tell me!).

I have a few weeks to get this organised as it's for DH's birthday, not Xmas.

Hope you're all travelling well in the lead up to Xmas.

REgards,
Tasha

[Octane (Humayun)]

Tasha,

The GSO (Guan Sheng Optics) branded Dobsonians are most probably the way to go.

Check out Bintel and Andrews Communications.

Regards,
Humayun

[Screwdriverone (Chris)]

How to spend your $1000 in less than 10 mins.

Hi Tasha,

It just so happens that I have been into astronomy for about 11 months now and happen to have $1000 to spend as well. (I already have a telescope) and I recommend the following, which, funnily enough are on the same page of the York Optical Catalogue here http://www.yorkoptical.com.au/SalesC...0/Default.aspx

For $799 I would GRAB the 10" Skywatcher Dobsonian in a heartbeat. Leaves you $200 for other bits and pieces / accessories.

If you think 8" is big enough (NOPE, IT ISNT - APERTURE RULES) then you could get away with the 8" for $449. DONT SPEND $649 on an 8 inch DOB from GSO, the skywatcher is just as good, if not better.

My suggestion is to go with the largest dob you can get for your budget. and York Optical sells a YODOB 12 for $895 which is basically an older version of the 12 inch GSO dobsonian. THIS IS A STEAL for a 12 inch scope at the moment. Most of them are $1200 or more....

Keep in mind though that these DOBSONIANS are like a big cannon and in most cases have a tube length of 1200mm (8") - 1500mm (10"-12") so trying to take one in the car to a dark site can be difficult if you dont have a wagon or if you have a small car.

If this is the case, then bite the bullet and buy hubby a COLLAPSIBLE Skywatcher 10" dobsonian from York Optical (although Andrews has this for $899 - BUT you will have to pay freight from Sydney (less than $40 I think)) but you could probably haggle with York as they are QLDers / local and probably despise Andrews, to give you a 10 inch collapsible Skywatcher for around $900-950? Much easier to lug around or put in the car and sexy to boot.

So, after all that, here is my wish list in preferential order for you if transport is no problem;

1) YODOB 12 - York Optical = $895 see if you can get them to CHUCK in an eyepiece set for free as well, or at least the scope and the EP set for $1000 and hubby will have NOTHING TO COMPLAIN ABOUT FOR YEARS, they had this on special a while back.
2) Skywatcher SW880 SOLID tube 10 inch Dobsonian - York Optical = $799, use the other $200 for eyepieces / magazines / red head torch etc.
3) Skywatcher collapsible tube 10 inch Dobsonian - York Optical = $899 -$999

Dont bother with 8 inch - 200mm, he will want more aperture WAY too soon and then you will have to offload the smaller one or live with 2 telescopes.

Make sure that York give you the black collapsible dob if thats the one you go for, they are showing it in the catalogue as a black one and this (MAY BE) a Black Diamond version which means its better than the white version.

Hope this hasnt put a spanner in it for you.

Cheers

Chris

[Jen]

Originally Posted by Screwdriverone

How to spend your $1000 in less than 10 mins.

Hi Tasha,

It just so happens that I have been into astronomy for about 11 months now and happen to have $1000 to spend as well. (I already have a telescope) and I recommend the following, which, funnily enough are on the same page of the York Optical Catalogue here http://www.yorkoptical.com.au/SalesC...0/Default.aspx

For $799 I would GRAB the 10" Skywatcher Dobsonian in a heartbeat. Leaves you $200 for other bits and pieces / accessories.

If you think 8" is big enough (NOPE, IT ISNT - APERTURE RULES) then you could get away with the 8" for $449. DONT SPEND $649 on an 8 inch DOB from GSO, the skywatcher is just as good, if not better.

My suggestion is to go with the largest dob you can get for your budget. and York Optical sells a YODOB 12 for $895 which is basically an older version of the 12 inch GSO dobsonian. THIS IS A STEAL for a 12 inch scope at the moment. Most of them are $1200 or more....

Keep in mind though that these DOBSONIANS are like a big cannon and in most cases have a tube length of 1200mm (8") - 1500mm (10"-12") so trying to take one in the car to a dark site can be difficult if you dont have a wagon or if you have a small car.

If this is the case, then bite the bullet and buy hubby a COLLAPSIBLE Skywatcher 10" dobsonian from York Optical (although Andrews has this for $899 - BUT you will have to pay freight from Sydney (less than $40 I think)) but you could probably haggle with York as they are QLDers / local and probably despise Andrews, to give you a 10 inch collapsible Skywatcher for around $900-950? Much easier to lug around or put in the car and sexy to boot.

So, after all that, here is my wish list in preferential order for you if transport is no problem;

1) YODOB 12 - York Optical = $895 see if you can get them to CHUCK in an eyepiece set for free as well, or at least the scope and the EP set for $1000 and hubby will have NOTHING TO COMPLAIN ABOUT FOR YEARS, they had this on special a while back.
2) Skywatcher SW880 SOLID tube 10 inch Dobsonian - York Optical = $799, use the other $200 for eyepieces / magazines / red head torch etc.
3) Skywatcher collapsible tube 10 inch Dobsonian - York Optical = $899 -$999

Dont bother with 8 inch - 200mm, he will want more aperture WAY too soon and then you will have to offload the smaller one or live with 2 telescopes.

Make sure that York give you the black collapsible dob if thats the one you go for, they are showing it in the catalogue as a black one and this (MAY BE) a Black Diamond version which means its better than the white version.

Hope this hasnt put a spanner in it for you.

Cheers

Chris

Tasha, welcome to IIS
Yeah just do what what Chris says sounds good to me if i was hubby i would be happy with that

[bmitchell82 (Brendan)]

Okay my 2 cents worth,

6" 8" 10" 12" dosn't really matter, they all take up the same amount of floor space give or take 10cm so storage size doesn't matter.

I own a 10" SW and picked it up for 639 in perth recently, and using Yorks 20% off you too can get the 10" for that price.

I can lift the whole dob myself and it fits in the back of my Mazda MX6 coupe, and my gfs 2000 mod Lancer the OTA is 1200mm in length, so i slide that down the back between the rear bench seat, and the 2 front seats, supporting both ends with pillows. and then i sit the base up on the seat with a seat belt around. So portability aside.

Aperature rules.
Astro photography, you say your hubby's into photography, he will 99% get into astro photography. In saying this you can mount a 10" onto a good mount and take great photos as he will already have the cameras to do it.! (there will be a few more odds and ends that he will need. but all good for now).

To give you an idea of what you can see. pretty much everything. great optics and using Pyrex glass (like the stuff you use in the kitchen) holds great thermal stability allowing low cool down times 15 min and your pumping away looking at things.

Last night i looked at 47 Tucanae at the highest power eye piece i had, which was a combination of the standard 10mm skywatcher ep that comes with the whole setup and a 2x barlow which magnifies. I could pick out individual stars in the core and still was quite brite which i belive is great.
and no i do not live in pristene dark skys, i was on the edge of perth metro at the top of perth hills. 20min drive Bright sky glow one side, darkish skys the other.

Overall my skywatcher is a great setup, Azmith (round and round)is slighty stiff, but reasonably workable, declination (up and down) is perfect because of the tension handle. Collmination is easy as they now supply finger knobs on the rear cell. secondary alignment is realitively easy with the allen key provided.

My list i would get that would land you under 1000.

Sky watcher 10" $639
2x Barlow $70-100
40mm Wide angle eye piece $70-100
Astronomy 2009 $30
Planisphere $10-20
Mag light 2xAA sort- (buy a red LED from jaycar or dicksmiths) you can get a kit from woolies for $40 which has the 2xAA and 4x DD sort.

All up ~$900

With this in mind you might be able to get nicer ep's but for now this will give you a all round scope that can be converted in the future for photography, but sill give you extrodinary views till then.

[Screwdriverone (Chris)]

Originally Posted by bmitchell82

Okay my 2 cents worth,

6" 8" 10" 12" dosn't really matter, they all take up the same amount of floor space give or take 10cm so storage size doesn't matter.

I own a 10" SW and picked it up for 639 in perth recently, and using Yorks 20% off you too can get the 10" for that price.

I can lift the whole dob myself and it fits in the back of my Mazda MX6 coupe, and my gfs 2000 mod Lancer the OTA is 1200mm in length, so i slide that down the back between the rear bench seat, and the 2 front seats, supporting both ends with pillows. and then i sit the base up on the seat with a seat belt around. So portability aside.

Aperature rules.
Astro photography, you say your hubby's into photography, he will 99% get into astro photography. In saying this you can mount a 10" onto a good mount and take great photos as he will already have the cameras to do it.! (there will be a few more odds and ends that he will need. but all good for now).

To give you an idea of what you can see. pretty much everything. great optics and using Pyrex glass (like the stuff you use in the kitchen) holds great thermal stability allowing low cool down times 15 min and your pumping away looking at things.

Last night i looked at 47 Tucanae at the highest power eye piece i had, which was a combination of the standard 10mm skywatcher ep that comes with the whole setup and a 2x barlow which magnifies. I could pick out individual stars in the core and still was quite brite which i belive is great.
and no i do not live in pristene dark skys, i was on the edge of perth metro at the top of perth hills. 20min drive Bright sky glow one side, darkish skys the other.

Overall my skywatcher is a great setup, Azmith (round and round)is slighty stiff, but reasonably workable, declination (up and down) is perfect because of the tension handle. Collmination is easy as they now supply finger knobs on the rear cell. secondary alignment is realitively easy with the allen key provided.

My list i would get that would land you under 1000.

Sky watcher 10" $639
2x Barlow $70-100
40mm Wide angle eye piece $70-100
Astronomy 2009 $30
Planisphere $10-20
Mag light 2xAA sort- (buy a red LED from jaycar or dicksmiths) you can get a kit from woolies for $40 which has the 2xAA and 4x DD sort.

All up ~$900

With this in mind you might be able to get nicer ep's but for now this will give you a all round scope that can be converted in the future for photography, but sill give you extrodinary views till then.

Outstanding response Brendan, so good in fact that its now become my shopping list I think.

Cheers

Chris

[bmitchell82 (Brendan)]

No problems chief,

I thought about the setup that i was going to go with for at least 6 - 8 months before i started looking at prices. originally i was going to go with the 200mm SW on the mount, but then thought otherwise.

the thing is like i have said in my other posts, astronomy in particular astrophotography is a treck, you can expect to be standing ontop of everest in a day.

the setup i have will be extremely versitile, sure its not Takahashi and sure its not mounted on a Losmundy Titan and sure it doesn't have a wizz bang Apogee or Cannon 5d.

though it is a good all rounder, once plonked on a eq6 this will give me the load capacity and reasonable accuracy needed as long as i make sure to learn the art of Collmination and Drift aligning, coupled with a decent guiding setup that side of it will take care of itself untill i have the money to upgrade.

The 10" will support a decent light grab so faint fuzzy's are capturable also using some nice power mates i can capture planatarys eg jupiter, saturn ect ect. but the 80mm ED guide scope can just as easily be transformed into the imaging scope with the 10" being the guide scope, allowing me to take awsome wide fields. and putting something as modest as a 350 D for 300 - 400 second hand will be fine for a learner like me untill i can get something alot more expensive.

So theres the thinkings and rational of a young fella that has talked to lots and lots of people about his hobby.! and guess what im still learning and will continue to learn for as long as i am alive.

[Tasha]

Wow - thank you all SO much for the time taken to lead me in the right direction! I feel so much more confident in making a decision now Have printed our your suggestions and will take them with me when I go to check out some scopes "in the flesh" next week.

I'm getting so excited - can't wait to surprise my darling hubby on his birthday!

Thank you all again - very, very much.

Have a wonderful Christmas tomorrow,

Tasha :-)

[Paddy (Patrick)]

I would agree with Brendan's list, but add "Atlas of the Southern Night Sky" at $45 from http://myastroshop.com.au/ or ABC shops. A great intro and maps that will help him find things for a good few years - my review is at http://www.iceinspace.com.au/46-444-0-0-1-0.html . He is a lucky man

[Tasha]

Hi again everyone. I have gone and seen some scopes in the flesh today, and have come away with a couple of other quick questions thay I wonder if you would mind helping me with.

Basically I have narrowed the choice down to the skywatcher 10" collapsible dob, or the skywatcher SW380 (120x1000 refractor) on an EQ5 mount. One salesman I spoke to today recommended the refractor as I told hime that I thought my hubby would probably want to get into astrophotography.....now I'm confused, as I had thought that the 10" Dob would still be good for photography if we bought a different mount for it in the future (or am I completely off track?).

Some questions:
How easy / difficult is it to collimate the dob....and will it come with instructions? As I said before, if it is a hassle to get the scope ready, I don't think it will be used as often which would be a shame.

Skywatchertelescopes.com.au currently have the 10" dob for $885 plus freight...is this a good price?

Ig hubby wants to get into photography I'm under the impression he will need a motorised tracking-type mount... will it be cheaper to add one of these to the EQ5 or about the same price as buying this sort of mount for the Dib? (Sorry, that sentence has even confused me...I hope you can make sense of it!)

What are your opinions on the advantages/disadvantages of these two scopes? The predominate opinion seems to be to go for the dob, but now I am confused as the fellow at the store today was pushing for the refractor....he didn't even have it in stock, so it's not like his motivation was to make space on the floor He was very helpful

I was worried about the portability of the Dob, but I think having the collapsible version will take away some of that concern...or is the refractor going to be a better "get it out, point it at the sky and look at stuff" type of scope?

Again, I would really appreciate your feedback.

Tasha

[bmitchell82 (Brendan)]

... don't go that path! its not the right scope for imaging.

- Collmination is easy for newtonians, though it can be difficult to figure it out, easy way out of it, get somebody who knows to teach you. easy done.

- Eq5 is the bottom of the middle of the range, not very good and doesn't have a high load capacity eg you can only put a small amount of weight (10kgs ish) and with a 10" being 14.3kgs for a start. you can see what im saying

the other problem is if you live in the metro area you can still take good photos problem is that there are very few stars around to find your way like having loads of streets with no street signs. GOTO systems are the way in this situation hence why we suggest the dob as once you get the mount to run it on, you can swap it between the GoTo mount and the Dobsonian mount ones quick to set up but no tracking the other takes a bit more time though has tracking.

If you want a good imaging refractor look for ED (Extra Dispersion) or APO (Apochromatic) the other one to stay clear of for imaging is ACHRO (Achrochromatic). These terms all relate to the colour correcting properties of the scopes. for a decent one you will be looking at 800 for a 80mm aperature or 3 1/4", 120mm or 4 3/4" will set you back in the thousands. Hence for starters stick with a small ED or Large Newtonian (dob).

Hope that helps a bit. maybe maybe not

[Tasha]

Thanks again so much - OK, so the 10" collapsible Dob it will be then,....now, to find the best deal

Tasha

[Tasha]

Hi again....have been hunting around the internet and have come up with a few purchasing options.

The 10" collapsible DOB is $999 at York, but if I tell York that I am a member here then will I get 20% off? How does that work?

Also, I am guessing I will need to buy my hubby a collimator - any suggestions?

It's getting close to his birthday so I'd better get a wriggle on and buy something early this week....so any suggestions for a collimator would be wonderful - thanks again!

Tasha