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This thread has made me start looking to take the plunge in, but holy poo poo there is a of options. I am somewhat a amateur as I haven't owned a decent scope ever and haven't used one since I was a kid. I have used star maps, can follow my way though the different stars/planets, and always had an interest in the stars. It also doesn't help I just finished "A pale blue dot" by Sagan. My budget is around 250-350. I'm somewhat interested in one day maybe doing some photography. Ease of set up is "somewhat" important but seeing what my budget is I doubt anything I'd get would be to much of a pain. From the reviews from http://www.cloudynights.com/ it seems Orion makes a nice scope. How would be either of these? http://www.amazon.com/Celestron-NexStar-114-Computerized-Telescope/dp/B0007UQNNG/ref=pd_cp_p_3 http://www.amazon.com/Orion-SpaceProbe-130ST-EQ-Telescope/dp/B0000XMSJI/ref=sr_1_50?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1258594785&sr=8-50 The Celestron is motor controlled but I dunno about the brand compared to orion. Help me see the stars goons. Edit: Also I live about 60 miles from NYC but it seems I'm in the out-skirts of orange for light pollution. Most of the use would be at my home. micron fucked around with this message at 03:44 on Nov 19, 2009 |
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Nov 19, 2009 03:40
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| # ¿ Apr 29, 2024 08:33 |
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Loztblaz posted:Celestron is one if the big mass produced brands, but that isn't a bad thing. Their NexStar system is very solid for the price (I use a NexStar 8" SCT). If you want tracking and go-to, you won't do much better than that nexstar unless you buy used . You could probably get a larger go-to scope used, but buying used is a little intimidating when you're new to the hobby. I ended up buying my first scope new, and even though I ended up getting a different one, it was worth it to not worry about support and documentation. With that Orion how does the stand work? Doesn't look like it comes with any stand\mount and also any accessories. Could I "One day" buy all nessesary equipment? I think I may need a "go do this shithead" type of thing with the budget I have. I'm somewhat flexible either way. I'll assume I'm going to need a few different eye pieces etc.
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Nov 19, 2009 05:31
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Another few questions: Does anyone have any opinion on the "intelliscope" scopes from Orion? For the price of an 8" Orion intelliscope scope I could go up to a 10" regular Orion Dob scope. How much performance wise is a 8" vs 10" and what would you guys do? I can see the use of it but I don't know which is more cost effective.
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Nov 30, 2009 00:17
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I just picked up an 8" intelliscope for 206.50 on ebay (think I did pretty good). I have not picked it up yet but what should I look at or for before payment is made on a used scope? Like what should I inspect etc besides normal broken parts and such?
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Dec 18, 2009 23:29
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micron posted:I just picked up an 8" intelliscope for 206.50 on ebay (think I did pretty good). I have not picked it up yet but what should I look at or for before payment is made on a used scope? Like what should I inspect etc besides normal broken parts and such? Welp, the shithead never replied to my emails and I never ended up getting it. Though I'm not out any dollars that fucker got some negative feedback 
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Dec 31, 2009 22:58
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Any opinions on a truss style Dob scope? I see a 8" meade lightbridge for sale about an hour away from me.
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Jan 11, 2010 00:34
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After a few ebay, craigslist failures and also due to cold weather I gave up looking for a bit. I'm now in the race for a telescope again and have a few more dollars to spend. Recently there was an ETX-125 from meade on ebay for $325 plus shipping which I didn't pull the trigger on (which I'm kicking myself in the rear end for now). Why is it that even the little meade's etx's like the 90 are so drat expensive compared to any other scope around the same size? edit: Anyone know anything about hardin optical? Their website doesn't reveal too much telescope infromation. There is a 10" Dob for $300 locally. micron fucked around with this message at 19:46 on Apr 2, 2010 |
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Apr 2, 2010 19:02
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Loztblaz posted:It depends on the model of the dob, but a lot of their scopes were made out of sonotube instead of aluminum, which makes them significantly heavier. Anyone have any opinions on the meade etx-125? I originally wanted a big dob but I'm still kinda  . I live in an orange to yellow area (12524) but live near a fairly big mall and I can see how it washes out the sky (green on the scale is about an hour drive). I'll assume the dark sky map is fairly general and doesn't account that you live next to a walmart or something in a complete rural town? Also is the goto and tracking on the meade enough that I could take some simple photos of just the moon or planets? I'm leaning on the smaller goto scope due to a child and wife that I would like to include in a new hobby but don't want my "other" to shoot me when I go and blow another 500-600 bucks on something in the garage. How fast do things "generally" move out of the FOV on a big dob looking at planets? This could lead to me beating my wife in my driveway.  Look at this What It's right here You're dumb, I'm going inside.
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Apr 7, 2010 03:39
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Anyone see this yet or care to comment? http://www.imax.com/hubble/ I have a 3D I-max about 30 minutes away and pretty excited.
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Apr 12, 2010 03:39
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I was out as well with my new 125mm scope. Seeing that the moon just totally drowns everything out got me thinking about filters. I know just a moon filter would help but does anyone have any opinions on filters such as noise pollution or any others for that matter? I can see Saturn, Mars and Venus but do not see any detail at all. Also I have a very hard time trying to focus anything when I barlow my 9mm. Is this to high of a magnification? I would think it should be fine but no go.
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May 25, 2010 20:57
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| # ¿ Apr 29, 2024 08:33 |
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Crusty_mabiba posted:I can't say much about specific brands of filters or anything; they're all kind of the same, but light filters (Narrow/Broad band filters and the like) are good for looking at and taking pictures of nebulae and so forth, but aren't really helpful for any planets or the moon. Regular color filters, and a moon filter will do for that. My location is orange and almost bordering yellow on the light pollution map. I bought but haven't used a standard filter set. We'll see how it goes I guess. I'm interested in taking some simple photos and wondering if something like a meade webcam would be worth while. Or should I instead get the adapter for a cannon xti DSLR that I own now. Its about the same cost at around 50 bucks and wonder which would provide better and easier results.
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May 31, 2010 03:11
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