Beiträge von Dimitry im Thema „Anfänger-Kaufberatung -> Teleskop für ca. 300€?“

Hello all!

Just wanted to thank you all for your advices!

I decided to go with an achromatic refractor StarQuest 102R. I know, it was also advised against it in favor of Mak, but reading Gerd’s recommendations on eyepieces for the Mak and also checking in astrotools what field of view I will be able to see in the Mak, I thought it will be difficult for me to search in the sky with such a narrow field. Plus, now Skywatcher and Bresser Maks are not available, with delivery closer to the end of the year...

Now I have a refractor with a wide field, and already was able to find some of the Messier objects in the sky. Especially thank you for recommendation to get a rear view telescope - I’m definitely making use of it locating M57 which is rather high in the altitude.

Chromatic aberrations are visible, that’s true. But even with them I can see details like red spot on Jupiter and its striped atmosphere. The only disappointment is Mars. It’s too bright, so appears only as a bright disk with no details.

Also positive thing - I haven’t used all my budget so now I’m looking what eyepieces I can add to the standard Skywatcher set, so any recommendations would be great
And in addition I’m monitoring ebay for a second-hand Mak 100 to have a better device for the planets.

BTW, the mount is not bad, maybe I do not have proper comparison, but this one is easy to use and not very wobbly. I’m using it in EQ mode, and even w/o Polaris view it’s easy to set up.

Thank you all for the advice... Really tough to start this hobby on a budget

What would you say, would this Mak serve better then for me?
https://www.teleskop-express.d…1300mm-Maksutov-Cass.html

If so, what eyepieces would you recommend to add/replace straight from the beginning? Should I get 35-40mm (not very wide FoV...) or a reducer 0.5x?
Any recommendations on the brand?

Hi Stefan, hi Konrad,

Thank you for the feedback!

I ruled out Newtonian telescope because of the balcony - I tried to simulate usage of the 150/750 on a balcony, and overall impression that the field of view will be significantly reduced by the parapet (place the telescope deeper inside) and the upper balcony. So with this Newtonian, I get it I will give a better view. But the amount of objects will be twice as less. E.g. I won't be able to see Mars now. By the time it's getting to the southern side of the sky, it'll be already too high to see through Newtonian [V]

And selected refractor over Mak because though that in a Mak it will be less usable opening (due to secondary mirror + the hole in the main mirror), meaning less light, right? Also with its focal length and hence smaller FoV I thought it's less suited as an all-rounder than 102 refractor. Yes, I know Mak will be better on the planets, but then will be less suitable on DSO. And as I have not yet started, I'm not yet sure what I will observe the most, therefore choosing a better all-round telescope.

Am I doing a wrong choice?

Hi Peter.
Funny fact - I asked them and got a feedback to ask again in a couple of weeks...

Dear all,

Thank you again for all your advice! If you'd allow me, I wanted to ask for a bit more insights.
After weighting those pros and cons, I'd prefer to go with a new StarQuest 102 refractor from Skywatcher. It look like it's exactly the same telescope as SkyWatcher StarTravel 102/500, but on the newer mount and in a new design style.
https://www.astroshop.eu/teles…-500-starquest-eq/p,62883

Reasons for this choice - all your advice, like rear view, possibility to use the mount in Alt-Az and EQ modes, possibility to use a motor, small enough to travel with, no collimation needed, etc.

I also thought about Mak102 either as StarQuest or as Avant offers, but it looks like 1) both are sold out nearly everywhere with a delivery in November, 2) Skywatcher discontinued Avant line and 3) some reviews suggest that this 102 refractor gathers more light, shows better contrast and more detailed picture than 102 Mak.

This choice also leaves me some budget to expand the set of eyepieces, and get something for higher magnification. So my question is exactly the one what Günther, Walter and Gerd were pointing out - I'll need additional eyepieces.

For instance, what I would need to see some details of the planets, which this refractor is capable of? Now Jupiter and Saturn are right in front of my balcony so they look like nice targets to start with

So I'm asking for your advice: what would you recommend as a starting set of the additional accessories for the StarTravel / StarQuest 102/500 refractor, also considering good price/quality.
My thinking: included 10mm eyepiece is not very good + gives 50x magnification, while refractor can show more. So I should add another short eyepiece with a better quality to make is usable on the planets.

Would this be a good choice if I go with a 6mm 60° eyepiece from TS Optics (I liked 16mm eye relief) + 2x Barlow lens:
https://www.astroshop.eu/eyepi…piece-hr-6mm-1-25-/p,6165
https://www.astroshop.eu/barlo…e-achromatic-1-25-/p,2289

Or should I look into different options, for instance
3.2 + 5 mm from BST:
https://www.firstlightoptics.c…-60-32mm-ed-eyepiece.html
https://www.firstlightoptics.c…r-60-5mm-ed-eyepiece.html
(looks exactly like https://www.teleskop-express.d…eld---hoher-Kontrast.html)

P.S. By the way, FLO has also a nice offer of the same StarTravel 102 on AZ5 mount, but this budget does not leave me much room for the eyepieces...

Hello all!

Thank you again for all your advices! I was reading some more reviews of the devices in question and checking the shops offerings.

Gerd, your deskription of the features is really great, it helps really to narrow down the search and make an educated call. Thank you!
The issue is, in my price range Mak 127 does not fit with a corresponding mount, but I can get Mak 102 on Avant mount from Skywatcher.

https://www.teleskop-express.d…-EQ-Avant-Montierung.html

Günther you wrote that Mak 127 would beat Newton 130, but what about smaller aperture Mak?
If you’d compare image quality from Mak 102 vs Newton 150P, would it give significantly less details or sharpness or magnification on Mak 102?

Reason I’m asking is that I can order 150P for the same price from UK:

https://www.firstlightoptics.c…-explorer-150p-eq3-2.html

This one is on NEQ3 mount as Roland recommended, which hopefully will be stable enough and could support other scopes if I’ll ever get any.

Hello Gerd,
Hello Günther,

Thank you a lot for your detailed advice!
Basically, reading and checking all the options, I liked what Günther was writing that for my allocated budget - that it would be better to invest now into the telescope and eyepieces first, and then later expand with more sophisticated mount.
So even I really liked the idea of AZ5 or an advanced EQ mounts, this might be the next step for me.

This leaves a choice between (ordered by investment):

1) Parabolic Bresser Newton with 150mm opening supplied on one-handed Dobson mount - can be placed on a table next to the parapet. Later also can be placed on an EQ mount.
https://www.bresser.de/en/Astr…SER-Messier-6-Dobson.html

2) Parabolic Skywatcher Newton with 130mm on an Avant AZ-EQ mount. (Bresser has bigger aperture and 2" eyepiece connector)
https://www.teleskop-express.d…-EQ-Avant-Montierung.html

3) Refractor Skywatcher Startravel 120mm with rear view. Either on AZ3 (a stretch to the budget) or a tube and ...OMG... DYI mount.
https://www.astroshop.de/teles…tartravel-bd-az-3/p,16710

4) Maksutov Skywatcher Skymax 127T/1500 or Bresser Maksutov 127/1900 with the rear view. Here the mount would be out of budget, so only option is a DYI mount (or I'll write Günther [:)] Thank you a lot for this!! )
https://www.teleskop-express.d…op-Tubus-127-1500-mm.html
https://www.astroshop.de/teles…-1900-messier-ota/p,44005

(Last Cassegrain mentioned by Gerd I exclude because of the total price: tube + eyepieces + finder...)

What would be your recommendation based on the list, like

- Would it be noticeable gain in the observation experience with bigger aperture Newton vs smaller Refraktor or Maksutov?
- Or rear view + less maintenance of 3) or 4) would pay off?

Viele Grüße,
Dimitry

Hello Konrad and Stefan,
Thank you for your suggestions! I've considered that 150/1200 Dobson and in my opinion it won't really fit to the balcony usage. Because of it's shape and length I expect I'll have to move it constantly closer-further from the parapet. Therefore I though of a more compact device.
Also a more compact one I could take outside.

Ja, z.B. Bresser Dobson 6" (https://www.astroshop.eu/teles…0-750-messier-dob/p,58693), und das ist ein bisschen günstiger als Orion.
Aber kenne ich nicht ob diesen Bresser ist gut.

ca. 7qm, mit fester Brüstung ca 1m hoch.
Und ich habe einen weiteren Balkon direkt über mir.

Hallo liebe Community,

Zum ersten, Entschuldigung sie bitte, dass ich auf Englisch schreibe. Ich spreche nicht so gut Deutsch, and habe ich Angst dumme Fehler zu machen.
Aber lesen kann ich

So, I'm searching for my first device to observe the night sky. I've read several threads here on the same topic and as I can see that the common recommendation is to consider Dobsonian 6-8" as a starting device for ~300€ budget.
Mostly this one was recommended: a 6" Dobson from Skywatcher e.g.
https://www.astroshop.de/teles…liner-classic-dob/p,15559

But in my situation (a balcony), I think this device would be rather big, also not very easy to go outside with it.

So I'm looking for a bit more compact 5-6" Newton.

Some models I shortlisted for about the same price:
https://www.astroshop.eu/teles…0-750-messier-dob/p,58693
https://www.astroshop.eu/teles…50-750-pollux-eq3/p,62373
https://www.astroshop.eu/teles…pe-130-650-eq-320/p,61022
https://www.astroshop.de/teles…op-n-150-750-eq-3/p,13764

If you'll ask what I'd like to observe - as a beginner, I would say something like "everything what's possible :)" Planets, some more distant objects.

Am I looking in the right direction?

Can you give me an advice, what model would give me the best observing experience in this price range (meaning, stable not wobbling mount, for the € good optics like mirror and eyepieces, etc.)?

Can be from above list or something else, like a refractor.

For example for me the Bresser Dobson 6" looks interesting because of the parabolic mirror + possibility to mount on EQ later. Is it any good or the mount/something else would cause frustration?

Or would overall experience with an Advanced Omegon 130mm (EQ-320 mount + parabolic mirror) be better than Omegon N 150mm (bigger mirror), and how it's versus Bresser models?

If there is something better to consider, like refractor etc., I also would be grateful!

I also want to share this experience with my kids, so that they will not be disappointed by astronomy.

Hope you could help me with the decision.

Thank you!
Dimitri.