Guest TopCat Posted November 20, 2012 Share Posted November 20, 2012 Hi all, just joined after perusing the forums for a few days now. Looking to purchase a scope and trying to choose is driving me nuts. Just when I think I have settled on one, another looks a possibility. Limitations: money (as for most of us), portable (unable to lug much around due to disability), simple to store (no personal observatory), ease of use. Would like something that is general purpose as I would be viewing and some photography. Desperately trying to remember all I knew ** years ago when I was young, keen and knowledgeable. TopCat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig Posted November 20, 2012 Share Posted November 20, 2012 Hello and welcome to EMS! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catman161 Posted November 20, 2012 Share Posted November 20, 2012 Welcome to EMS I am sure our more experienced members will come along and advise. I just love my Dobsonian SW 200P, although not easily portable but not too bad when the OTA is separated from the base. Would be good to know your budget so as to make advising you a bit easier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daz Type-R Posted November 20, 2012 Share Posted November 20, 2012 (edited) Hi Terry welcome to EMS. With regards to which scope to go for, the fact you would like to do some astro photography means you will more than likely need an EQ mount, that will push the price up, as EQ mounts cost more than alt/az and dob mounts due to their complexity. A dob mount will be your cheapest option, as there is no motor driven moving parts, so you can get a bigger primary mirror, good optics etc for very little cash, as the money has been spent on the scope and not the mount, but these are normally manual driven, all though you can get motorized GOTO dobs, but this pushes the price up. Makes astro photography more difficult. Your best bet could be a alt/az mount but astro photography will be limited as they cant carry too much weight, which makes the choice of scope that little bit harder. As for moving them about, a dob is a cumbersome thing and the base can be quite heavy, the EQ mounts can be heavy, probably the lightest of the bunch is the alt/az mounts. Ease of use will have to be a dob, simple point and go, no electronics, no set up, just go (manual dob that is). Cost wise, again it will have to be a dob, you can get a scope with a 8" primary mirror on a manual dob base for about £375. Portability wise, probably a alt/az. Best for astro photography, EQ mount. I know I have mainly gone on about mounts and not mentioned much about scopes, but depending on what you want to see, with cost, ease of use and moving it around, we really need to get you sorted with a mount first, then a scope will follow. What sort of budget were you looking at if you don't mind me asking and what scopes have you been looking at so far, this may give us a better understanding of your requirements. Regards, Daz. Edited November 20, 2012 by Daz Type-R Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cosmic dave Posted November 20, 2012 Share Posted November 20, 2012 Hi Terry a very warm welcome to ems.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheila Posted November 20, 2012 Share Posted November 20, 2012 Hi and welcome to EMS If you want to do astrophotography its a given you need a good EQ mount. Depending on your budget you can either look at new or can pick up some good used bargains. An idea of budget would help us, but please remember astroimaging tends to leave your wallet very empty and your credit card trashed LOL. You could perhaps start with EQ and scope and then gradually add the other stuff. For imaging the mount is key......rest then follows Sheila Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cosmic dave Posted November 20, 2012 Share Posted November 20, 2012 Hi and welcome to EMS If you want to do astrophotography its a given you need a good EQ mount. Depending on your budget you can either look at new or can pick up some good used bargains. An idea of budget would help us, but please remember astroimaging tends to leave your wallet very empty and your credit card trashed LOL. You could perhaps start with EQ and scope and then gradually add the other stuff. For imaging the mount is key......rest then follows Sheila That's why I'm trying to get into sketching, lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brantuk Posted November 20, 2012 Share Posted November 20, 2012 Hi Terry and a warm welcome to EMS For a general purpose scope my thought is either an Sct or a "mid range f-ratio" refractor. You can choose a size that suits your handling ability and both can be used reasonably effectively for both observing and imaging most objects. If you just wanted to do observing most folks would go for a large aperture dobsonian, for imaging usually low f-ratio refractors. So a general purpose instrument will do neither as effectively as a scope chosen specifically for one or other purpose, but will offer a good compromise. And most likely you'll be able to get one to fit budget cos there's a lot of choice. But because imaging is in the frame then a decent eq mount is a must for dso's - though alt/az will be fine for planetary imaging only. Take a look at SW HEQ5 and Celestron CG5 offerings - both reasonably priced and both very portable and no strain to handle. Hth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TopCat Posted November 20, 2012 Share Posted November 20, 2012 Thanks for all the welcomes. To answer some of the questions:- Budget: could stretch to £500, but would be a stretch. Mount: was considering an EQ3-2 Scope: possible contenders (not in any particular order) 1) Explorer 130P DS 2) Explorer 150P (concerned about the size here) 3) Evostar 120 4) Skymax 127 (always had a fondness for the Cassegrain approach) Any comments and/or suggestions about these or other choices would be gratefully received. Terry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daz Type-R Posted November 20, 2012 Share Posted November 20, 2012 Terry, I`m not an astro photographer so will probably bow out here but if you are looking at a Newtonian Reflector then bigger is better, you need I would say 8" at least to get good images, I don't think a 130 would cut it (I may be wrong - will bow down to superior knowledge.) With regards to a mount, I know the chaps on here at the very least run a HEQ5 or something similar, you have to remember, the weight of all the extra kit, like camera, t-rings, adapters, extension tubes, filters etc, where the mount may be able to take the weight of the scope, can it take the weight of the scope and all the kit? Just something extra for you to think about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cosmic dave Posted November 20, 2012 Share Posted November 20, 2012 Terry I have a 120mm frac in a motor driven eq3-2 its fine for visual but maybe a bit to wobbly for imaging ?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted November 20, 2012 Share Posted November 20, 2012 Hi Terry welcome to EMS enjoy your stay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tweedledum Posted November 20, 2012 Share Posted November 20, 2012 Hi Terry, Warm welcome to EMS. Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T A WOW Posted November 20, 2012 Share Posted November 20, 2012 Hello from me. I don't know squat about imaging other than its magic (makes your money disappear lol) Have fun Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty Strings Posted November 20, 2012 Share Posted November 20, 2012 Hi Terry and welcome aboard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BAZ Posted November 20, 2012 Share Posted November 20, 2012 Hi Terry, A warm welcome to EMS. I ain't much use to you either, as I only do visual. (Iam not qualified enough in swearing for the imaging lark!) If you have your heart set on imaging, then I'll let the dark art wizards chip in. Enjoy the forum and feel free to keep asking questions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Fluke Posted November 20, 2012 Share Posted November 20, 2012 Welcome to the forum Terry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TopCat Posted November 20, 2012 Share Posted November 20, 2012 Talk about information overload. Thinking of taking a step back and a deep breath. I'll start on the visual side and may work my way up to photography. May just have to bite the bullet and buy something, I'm spending too much timem dithering between options. Terry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brantuk Posted November 20, 2012 Share Posted November 20, 2012 "I'll start on the visual side and may work my way up to photography." Best idea you ever had lol. Imaging is a very steep learning curve - and that's before you do the practical side lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daz Type-R Posted November 20, 2012 Share Posted November 20, 2012 Thats a good idea Terry, can I suggest you drop by one of our meets, that way, you can see and try out any of our scopes that are there, we dont mind, I have never seen or heard anybody say no to someone unless they are in the middle of imaging a object. Best thing to do before parting with your cash is to try before you buy. We have a new dark site not too far from you, Wymswold, a meet will be announced in the next couple of weeks, if you can hang on that long you could see some of our scopes, we have a very wide range! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest telesto Posted November 20, 2012 Share Posted November 20, 2012 Hi Terry, welcome to EMS and the forums Clive Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brantuk Posted November 20, 2012 Share Posted November 20, 2012 You're very near me Terry - If you'd like to see some gear in the flesh - pm me your contact details and we can arrange a meeting at my place - you won't be disappointed lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cazz Posted November 21, 2012 Share Posted November 21, 2012 Hi Terry, welcome to EMS. The choice of scopes is mind boggling to understand, i've found the best way to find out which suits best is to use them :-S but that's not helpful in deciding lol. We chose a second hand dob 6" to start with, knowing that it should hold its value if it proved to be not quite right for us. You're more than welcome to use our scopes at a meet. :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest paul j Posted November 21, 2012 Share Posted November 21, 2012 Hi terry welcome to the forum, you will find lots of friendly advice on here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DaveJW Posted November 22, 2012 Share Posted November 22, 2012 "I'll start on the visual side and may work my way up to photography." Best idea you ever had lol. Imaging is a very steep learning curve - and that's before you do the practical side lol Yes & imaging is also a steep spending curve! Best visual bang for your buck is a second hand dob, thats where I started & still happy to be there for now. Welcome to the forum! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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