Telescopes

[DannyO]

hey guys, looking for a little advice, was interested in getting a telescope to play with, not looking at spending much at the moment, and found a couple telescopes at XS Cargo, these seem to be no name scopes, but there dirt cheap and I don't want to spend much on one right now, so was wondering if anyone have any info on these, are they fairly decent or complete junk, not expecting too much for the price, theres a 525X zoom and 675X zoom scope, anybody got one or tried one out?

Also if there not too bad, then how would I go about attaching a SLR camera to it?, do you need certain scopes or is there a universal adapter that would allow you to attach one on?

Any help would be appreciated.

[D'z Nutz]

What sort of names are these telescopes and how much are they? I'm guessing they are department store no-name brands if they're being liquidated at XS Cargo.

My opinion would not to bother putting money into these. Shitty optics and build quality may deter you from further persuing a really neat hobby. If you have any interest in it but you're on a tight budget, you can always look for a used set up. If you find you don't like it, it wouldn't be that hard to sell it for what you got it for. Telescopes that advertise the "zoom" are usually junk anyways since magnification changes with the eyepieces.

Regarding attaching an SLR to it, commercial telescopes generally come in 2 sizes of focusers, 1.25" and 2" (though you may sometimes come across 0.965" focusers, but those aren't as common). All you need is a t-ring for your camera and the adapter for the focuser and you're set. It'll generally set you back about $40-50 for all the parts.

What sort of budget were you thinking about? You can actually get really good telescopes with a half decent mount and tripod for visual use for as little as $250.

[DannyO]

Thanks for the info D'z, I been reading up about them and got told from some sites the same thing you told me, about optics and the advertisement of the zoom, and yea, these seem to be no name scopes so I'll be passing on them, my budget will be around the 300-400 mark, but just don't want to spend that much right now, got other priorities, but do plan to persue it further in the future.

Thanks again.

[Weapon_R]

You'd only be flushing your $$ down the toilet by buying one of those.

After harassing D'z Nutz for over a month, I settled (as per his recommendation) on a Skywatcher telescope. These are probably the best value for your money as I could not find a similar unit by the bigname brands for around the same price. Skywatchers are well received and do well in comparison reviews against the big brands (celestial, Orion, etc).

One thing to keep in mind is the mount. Believe it or not, a good mount is more expensive than a decent telescope tube in many cases. I'm now trying to find a mount but they aren't cheap, especially if you want a sturdy one (~$250-350). If I could go back, i'd buy a used mount/scope combination and not have to shop around for one now.

Go used for your first setup, but dont cheap out. If you like what you see, you can get your money back and then use it towards something better.

[D'z Nutz]

Originally posted by DannyO
my budget will be around the 300-400 mark, but just don't want to spend that much right now, got other priorities, but do plan to persue it further in the future.

Thanks again.

That's not a bad budget to get started in visual observing, but if you plan on doing any serious photography outside of lunar imaging, I would budget atleast $1000 minimum, most of which would go to a really solid mount and tripod with tracking. The tube itself can be had as little as ~$200 and up.

If you don't mind used, you can find some really great deals on if you're patient. Weapon R got a really good price on his telescope on http://www.astrobuysell.com and I actually found my latest one off of there last week. It's Canadian based which makes it easier to find things that don't require expensive shipping.

Astromart (http://www.astromart.com) is also an awesome place to find stuff, but you really have to be quick on the draw to get snatch up the really good deals. I posted one of my scopes on there before I went to bed one night last week and had 3 offers by the time I woke up. I'm also hunting for an adapter for my new telescope, but keep missing out because they go so quickly :eek: :guns:

I'm not sure how long this will last, but here's a good price on a clearance scope and tripod/mount combo:

Sky-Watcher 130mm Reflector, 650mm Focal Length, EQ2 Mount, Aluminum Tripod, Super 25 and 10mm Eyepieces, Red Dot Finder
http://www.islandeyepiece.com/shopdisplayproducts.asp?page=2

[DannyO]

Thanks again for the info guys, wish I could get into this sooner, but cannot make a decent budget for it right now, not a problem though, I got alot to read up about, and it gives me time to find a good used setup, from what I read they say that your budget should be about 50/50 for the tripod and scope, so thats the ballpoint of how I will spend my money.

So thanks again, I'll be sure to check out those links often.