Which one as a beginners present....

MrFrisp

Hi Guys....
I hope I'm posting this in the right area here....

One of My teen Daughters has asked for a telescope for christmas this year.

Now,,the budget isn't big,,and worse again,,We know nothing about telescopes....So,We have selected 2 here....

Are any of these any good,,and if so,,which one would be the best to go for...

Our budget is around what We'd be paying out for either of those delivered.

Thanks for any advice or help.


http://www.ebay.ie/itm/Barska-40070-88x-Compact-Telescope-w-Table-Top-Tripod-/390360253777?pt=US_Telescopes&hash=item5ae348c551


http://www.uk-telescopes.co.uk/konuspace6.htm




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Is1ldur

I don't know enough to help you specifically, however I would keep an eye out in Lidl/Aldi over the next few weeks. As far as I can recall they always have some reasonable scopes on offer coming up to Christmas (I've bought 2 there myself in the past few years). I don't think they have been in yet this year.

Popoutman

Between those two, the konusspace will give better views.
But both are not that good overall.

A much better proposition for a first telesope in your budget would be this:
http://www.firstlightoptics.com/dobsonians/skywatcher-heritage-76-mini-dobsonian.html

It doesn't look as "telescopey" at the others you mentioned but it has many advantages:

• The optics are known to be more than good enough for a good beginner's telescope. The short refractors have colour fringes around dark edges or bright things like the moon or stars. Most people can learn to ignore it eventually but it would significantly affect the short scope you show above. The level of colour in a short cheap lens-based telescope would make it feel very cheap and that's not good.
• This little scope has a wider mirror than either of the front lenses of the other two - this means more detail can be seen and dimmer things can be seen as well.
• The skywatcher mounting system is simple and very very effective. It won't wave around in the wind, and it will allow you to see much more detail than the other scope would under the same conditions as it would keep the tube steady.
• The reflector design is much less likely to dew up and have condensation on the mirrors. Small telescopes with lenses on the front will often become unusable if the front lens gets dew on it, until the dew is warmed off the lens (never rub it off).
• The supplied eyepieces are much more realistic for the usable magnification for this size of telescope. The max possible that is useful with a 75mm scope is about 150x and most of the views would be best from maybe 20x to 50x. Magnification is not that important - clear views are more important.

MrFrisp

Thank You... Popoutman

I wasn't sure if the long narrow ones were the best,,or the shorter fatter ones,like you just showed Me there.

You defo know your stuff,,and I'll go for that one...

I know it's not a good one by any means,,but at least it's probably ok as a starter...

Thanks again...






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Popoutman

That short one that I linked to uses a mirror at the back of the tube to collect the light, the two that you had linked use a lens at the front.

All have their advantages and disadvantages, but I'd say with your requirements the firstscope is a good one.

Another advantage that I forgot to mention above is that if the interest in the scope is not there in the future, it's small enough to easily store in a cupboard without getting in the way. It's not that big, but it's good enough for the price.

MrFrisp

True......Very good,,and handy point.....

Cheers....

I'll order that one in a bit.....





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