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Telescope for €600->€800
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08-01-2013 5:35pm#1Looking to upgrade my trusty old Meade ETX 70-AT.
Been using it recently, was sitting up gathering dust the last while.
I went out a few nights ago and looked at Jupiter, couldn't get over how clear it was, could make out the weather patterns and at least 6 moons! Similar to this. It's given me the bug....I want to see even more!
I'm flexible on the price but maybe in the region of 6-800 quid. I want motorized go-to mount and the ability to image (eventually!) deep sky objects, galaxies, nebulas etc. Have a Canon 550 for that, would love to at some point be able to try digital astrophotography but will need to master alot before I get there.
Can anyone suggest decent telescope for this? I've looked up the different makes/types but the jargon is over my head....dobson, refractors etc
Cheers in advance0
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if your goal to get to astophotography at some stage i would recomend to invest into a good mount first.likes of skywatcher HEQ5 or his big btother NEQ6 would be something to start looking at...Standard Toaster wrote: »Looking to upgrade my trusty old Meade ETX 70-AT.
Been using it recently, was sitting up gathering dust the last while.
I went out a few nights ago and looked at Jupiter, couldn't get over how clear it was, could make out the weather patterns and at least 6 moons! Similar to this. It's given me the bug....I want to see even more!
I'm flexible on the price but maybe in the region of 6-800 quid. I want motorized go-to mount and the ability to image (eventually!) deep sky objects, galaxies, nebulas etc. Have a Canon 550 for that, would love to at some point be able to try digital astrophotography but will need to master alot before I get there.
Can anyone suggest decent telescope for this? I've looked up the different makes/types but the jargon is over my head....dobson, refractors etc
Cheers in advance
then depending what money will be left you can chose the scope.for deep sky you would need a "fast" one with focal ratio betwen f/7 and f/5.good starter is skywatcher newtonian 200P.
you can do some quality observing and do AP aswell...in other words all rounder, but its heavy, if you will mount a guider scope ontop (which you will if you catch the bug) the HEQ5 barelly copes...
if you recon you will be doing more imaging would go for good APO refractor...
hope that helps.0 -
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no probs.Standard Toaster wrote: »Thanks for that info Nerro, very helpful.
Could you suggest a place to buy from? Irish store if possible (weight etc)
Also what's an APO refractor? Is that just the type or an actual make?
Sorry for the noob type questions.
You can drop an email to Stephen at KTech telescopes.He is verry helpfull and delivers free of charge of orders over 50e which yours will definatelly be...plus he is irish.
for second hand there is astro buy and sell UK.there are quite a few good deals over there or IFAS boards.
APO means apochromatic.thats basically a type of glass used in telescopes.there are chromatic refractors aswell.note that APO refractors cost quite a bit more but well worth it if you are venturing into photography...you can google the difference and decide yourself what you want.
hope that helps.0 -
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Thanks for the reply.
For the moment my main aim is viewing.
Portability and storage are not problem as I have the same to set up and leave it.
Most astrophotographers in my experience who first started out in their astronomy eventually build to it, but some that i have come to see have an interest in astrophotography from the start as what may have sparked their interest in astronomy is seeing others astrophotographical work(maybe even hubble's [HST])
Now this is just one opinion but starting from no experience with a first scope oriented towards photography can be frustrating and very expensive, its frustrating enough to get used to the basics for some just to learn one skill, let alone having to learn two. its important to note for everyone that photography is a skill all of its own also. So in my opinion i wouldnt worry about what you may or may not want to do with your new found hobby (Calling) after a while. The important thing is now and having the right tools to to do what you actually want to doHi
Anyone else have any opinions? Would the nexstar 4se be a good start or should I push the boat out to a 5se. Is it worth an extra 250€(ish)
Just planet viewing for now. Not so much into deep space imaging yet.
It is hard to quantify to a beginner just how important more aperature actually is but it could also be said it is even harder to exceed a budget. It is always worth it to have more aperature but it is never worth it to reach beyond your means financially to reach beyond your means literaly. Astronomy does not have to break the bank even though sometimes to some it seems as if you need to absolutely cripple it
.
Having said all that it is difficult to advise someone of what they should do when they cant even know what their end goal will be. Planetary study/ science is a subject in itself and i am quite sure there are many out there that said to themselves i want to start studying planets for now, and still concentrate on that more than anything else to this day.
When you realise that astronomy is absolutely something you want to invest in (which is a big investment; not so much financially, but absolutely time wise) that extra €250 or €500 or €5000 isnt that dificult to justify. I know many people myself included who invest deeply in their computers, their cars, their camera's, lenses and telescopes and my best investments by far are my camera equipment and my telescopes. my cars and and base computers/gpu's change quite alot. A telescope is something you may very well have for a lifetime. Even the small ones can grow with as your experience does.
Ultimately Its your decision, €600 can be alot of money if you dont use it. €600 can also be a lot of money if you thought you should have spend €850. in that scenario €1450 (600+850) is quite a lot of money to inevitably upgrade.
What it really boils down to is how much that extra €250 is worth to you and to you alone. If you spend it and lose interest how much more difficult would it be for you to have wasted €850 instead of €600
To end, im sure a lot of us here have more than one telescope, i myself still have my old etx70 (thats 2.7 inches) at the time that was my big investment when i knew it was something i wanted to do and it was absolutely not my last :cool:
A 4" or a 5" are great mid range scope to have in any collection, i say collection as if this is something you really adhere to, it wont be your last investment. So taking that into account how small or how large it is really isn't the question is it. The only important factor is will it be a waste of money and only you with time can answer that. Welcome to the Void!:D0 -
To end, im sure a lot of us here have more than one telescope, i myself still have my old etx70 (thats 2.7 inches) at the time that was my big investment when i knew it was something i wanted to do and it was absolutely not my last
I still have mine :pac:
And my first ever scope, a Tasco 11TR white tube Newt, 4". Santy was good to me 27 years ago 0 -
Most astrophotographers in my experience who first started out in their astronomy eventually build to it, but some that i have come to see have an interest in astrophotography from the start as what may have sparked their interest in astronomy is seeing others astrophotographical work(maybe even hubble's [HST])
Now this is just one opinion but starting from no experience with a first scope oriented towards photography can be frustrating and very expensive, its frustrating enough to get used to the basics for some just to learn one skill, let alone having to learn two. its important to note for everyone that photography is a skill all of its own also. So in my opinion i wouldnt worry about what you may or may not want to do with your new found hobby (Calling) after a while. The important thing is now and having the right tools to to do what you actually want to do
It is hard to quantify to a beginner just how important more aperature actually is but it could also be said it is even harder to exceed a budget. It is always worth it to have more aperature but it is never worth it to reach beyond your means financially to reach beyond your means literaly. Astronomy does not have to break the bank even though sometimes to some it seems as if you need to absolutely cripple it.
Having said all that it is difficult to advise someone of what they should do when they cant even know what their end goal will be. Planetary study/ science is a subject in itself and i am quite sure there are many out there that said to themselves i want to start studying planets for now, and still concentrate on that more than anything else to this day.
When you realise that astronomy is absolutely something you want to invest in (which is a big investment; not so much financially, but absolutely time wise) that extra €250 or €500 or €5000 isnt that dificult to justify. I know many people myself included who invest deeply in their computers, their cars, their camera's, lenses and telescopes and my best investments by far are my camera equipment and my telescopes. my cars and and base computers/gpu's change quite alot. A telescope is something you may very well have for a lifetime. Even the small ones can grow with as your experience does.
Ultimately Its your decision, €600 can be alot of money if you dont use it. €600 can also be a lot of money if you thought you should have spend €850. in that scenario €1450 (600+850) is quite a lot of money to inevitably upgrade.
What it really boils down to is how much that extra €250 is worth to you and to you alone. If you spend it and lose interest how much more difficult would it be for you to have wasted €850 instead of €600
To end, im sure a lot of us here have more than one telescope, i myself still have my old etx70 (thats 2.7 inches) at the time that was my big investment when i knew it was something i wanted to do and it was absolutely not my last :cool:
A 4" or a 5" are great mid range scope to have in any collection, i say collection as if this is something you really adhere to, it wont be your last investment. So taking that into account how small or how large it is really isn't the question is it. The only important factor is will it be a waste of money and only you with time can answer that. Welcome to the Void!:D
Hi
Thanks a lot for that.
A lot of good points. Especially the astrophotography bit.
I don't mind spending the money to get the right scope for me. What the right scope for me is I don't know( so very hard for anyone else to know)
Space storage and portability isn't really a problem for me so what so you think of the XT10i Dobsonian?
Thanks again0 -
![ETX 70-AT](denied:"http://www.scopesnskies.com/images/products/main/etx70at%20sns%20kit%2012%20261.jpg"){kind=link}
![this](denied:"http://www.weasner.com/etx/guests/2005/images/fredrick-jupiter052105.jpg"){kind=link}
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