Advice wanted ..what to buy ? (telescope)

[Vipersan]

So ..I finally persuaded my old dad to stump up half the cost of an optical telescope ..
But ..what to buy ?
Not a mega budget project ..but a cursory examination of whats out there indicates you can get a fair bit for your dosh these days ..
Requirements ...Motorised and thus auto tracking ..
Tripod mount (stable as possible)..
GPS self locating ..
minimum 5 inch reflector ..preferably bigger aperture if possible..
The ability to mount a camera ...for long exposure images.
most used eyepieces ..this area I'm not even sure about..so advice welcomed.
Max budget £450 >£500
suggestions welcomed..
rds
VS

 

[Lazarus]

No point asking me - SWMBO and I have spent hours and hours poring over myriad options of price, performance and quality just for a couple of 52mm Polarisers for her Camera!

Still no nearer a decision.

 

[hexah]

Hoya polarizers are good and reasonably priced. Anything more expensive would be overkill for a non professional user.

 

[Lazarus]

I shall inform herself accordingly!

 

[Piltdownpaul]

I purchased my celestron from these guys, i visited his home where he had all manor of small to very big telescopes.

h**p://www.green-witch.com/acatalog/info.html

 

[Piltdownpaul]

I have a zoom eyepiece 1.25 inch diam with a t mount for my canon eod50d works fine . Although if i'd had more money i would have got the higher spec glass for the lenses(low dispersion),but its fine for nature and moon shots, but theres no motor so anything like planets is out of the question.

 

[Huevos]

No point asking me - SWMBO and I have spent hours and hours poring over myriad options of price, performance and quality just for a couple of 52mm Polarisers for her Camera!

Still no nearer a decision.

Couple of things: you need a circular polarization, not linear otherwise the autofocus won't work properly. And if the camera is not through the lens metering you need to add exposure compensation. I've got a standard Hoya, and a Hoya Pro1, and t.b.h. I can't tell the difference when I look at the photos.

 

[Huevos]

Sorry if this sound's like a stupid question, but what do you want to look at?

The ability to mount a camera ...for long exposure images.

If you are going to take long exposure photos you need a telescope with a polar mount. A lot of the cheaper telescopes have az/el mounts and although they track the centre of the image ok they do not rotate with the sky making them useless for astrophotography.

 

[Vipersan]

Sorry if this sound's like a stupid question, but what do you want to look at?

If you are going to take long exposure photos you need a telescope with a polar mount. A lot of the cheaper telescopes have az/el mounts and although they track the centre of the image ok they do not rotate with the sky making them useless for astrophotography.

Well ..For me it's a whole new field of interest so ..basically ..
I'd like to be able to view and photograph the planets and their moons ..
Saturn Jupiter etc..

I'd also like if possible to see and photograph if possible the comet expected later this year..
and if I EVER get good enough ..long exposure Deep space objects.
In short ..nothing specific as yet ...but don't want to restrict any possibilities
cheers
VS

 

[Huevos]

VS, I'd talk to telescope house. It's a brilliant shop and they are very helpful. Btw, if you want to do all that stuff the telescope is going to be a compromise. Things like comets need wide field of view and a very dark location, whereas planets are very small so they need narrow field of view and plenty of magnification, but you can see them easily from town locations. To be able to see detail you need a big aperture for both planets or deep field. Personally, on your budget, I'd go for a 6 inch reflector, or maybe a second hand 8". Only thing about big stuff is transporting it and setting up, so think about the weight and if you can manage it before buying.

http://www.telescopehouse.com/acatalog/how_to_choose.html

 

[hexah]

I've got a standard Hoya, and a Hoya Pro1, and t.b.h. I can't tell the difference when I look at the photos.

As you go up any range of quality polarizors you get better resistance to certain types of flares, better resistance to halation which is a pain with some films and sensors, and better transmission of some parts of the visible and invisible light spectrum in certain circumstances.

Not being able to tell the difference demonstrates that it is only a tiny percentage of circumstances where it can be a problem so it won't affect the vast majority of users but may well affect a pro at some stage.

 

[Lazarus]

Hoya polarizers are good and reasonably priced. Anything more expensive would be overkill for a non professional user.

Couple of things: you need a circular polarization, not linear otherwise the autofocus won't work properly. And if the camera is not through the lens metering you need to add exposure compensation. I've got a standard Hoya, and a Hoya Pro1, and t.b.h. I can't tell the difference when I look at the photos.

Thanks both - she has ordered a couple of Hoyas just now and is grateful for your input.

And apologies to VS for the partial hijack! (Well, what did you expect?)

 

[Lazarus]

Polariser thingies now received and herself seems pleased (Phew!).

Beta Trials coming up in Murcia shortly.

 

[Huevos]

Polariser thingies now received and herself seems pleased (Phew!).

Beta Trials coming up in Murcia shortly.

If it's for skies they're so blue already you hardly need a polarizer.

 

[pride21]

hi VS i have an 8 inch Newtonian telescope and i also built an equatorial mount for it,i use plossl eyepiece for it,the moon looks great in it but planets are far away and when you look at them in a 8 inch they are small say for instance saturn it looks small and clear and you can see the rings and moons but when you up the mag it goes blurry so you have to stay with a small mag unlike the our moon you can see craters inside craters wonderful sight to see,hope that helps.

 

[Vipersan]

Done a bit of reading ..and concluded I need an equatorial motorised mount telescope with at least 150mm aperture.
This one looks good value ..and have bookmarked it.
I'd really appreciate comments ..for or against from those with more experience.
cheers
VS
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI....sPageName=VIP:watchlink:top:en#ht_7515wt_1107

 

[sonnetpete]

From someone with no experience at all VS, it certainly looks the part. Had I the spare cash, I'd think seriously about buying one and take advantage of the almost zero light pollution we have here.

 

[Vipersan]

From someone with no experience at all VS, it certainly looks the part. Had I the spare cash, I'd think seriously about buying one and take advantage of the almost zero light pollution we have here.

Yep ..I like the fact that it can be pc controlled ..and can be retrofitted with a camera.
I might have paid a bit more for an 8 inch version ..but doesn't look like they do one..

 

[Vipersan]

From someone with no experience at all VS, it certainly looks the part. Had I the spare cash, I'd think seriously about buying one and take advantage of the almost zero light pollution we have here.

Rare to see clear skies here Pete ...and light pollution is a problem being in a built up area..
But I was inspired to get involved by my all time record count for meteorites last month...and that was a half n half sortof night for clear skies.
fingers crossed it all proves worthwhile.

 

[pride21]

hi VS i have not heard of SEBEN before this, had a look on the web some people are saying they are inferior chinese i cannot say myself has i have not seen one,i would not like you spend hard earned cash if its inferior for what you want it for such as astro photography,i know MEADE and CELESTRON are dearer but i guess you only get what you pay for,sorry to sound negative.