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Anonymous
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I have ordered a Skywatcher Short-Tube 102 F5 and after reading some reviews I wonder whether it will be ok. Should I have gone for the longer focal length version (F10)? Any help or advice on this matter would be gratefully recieved. It is not too late to change the order! I am on a budget of £300 ($480ish). Thanks folks!  
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Anonymous
Unregistered
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Mike,
With following remarks, keep in mind that i'm also a beginner. More experienced fellows might comment more or otherwise. To asnwer your questions;
It depends a little on:
- what you want to view
- what your experience level is
- what your expectations are
- if you did any research (buy book/read reviews/starters hints)
The scope you ordered (hopefully with mount of some sort) handles well because of it's size, so if you plan to make trips to the countryside it's ok.
The scope is better for use for wide views/deep field instead of planetary/moon watching. You can still watch the planets/moons but the F10 would have performed better then.
I don't know about the brand, the reviews i've read differ; some are very satisfied, some complain about the optical differences in quaility between scopes of the same series.
Guess you'd just have to be lucky with it.
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Anonymous
Unregistered
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Peppe,
Thank you for your comments. I had a 50mm Tasco refractor during my teens and was very keen on astronomy. The Skywatcher comes as a complete kit and it's mount is an EQ1. I went for the short tube because of portability but I do want a scope thats capable of showing as many of the "Messier" objects as possible. However my son has recently shown interest as well and he is fairly keen on the moon/planets - so I'll have to keep him happy too! BUT "you can't please all of the people all of the time," I guess.
I have read reviews on this website and the Skywatcher seems ok if your expectations are not high - I can assure you my expectations are sky high but then there is the cost!
If I could have done I would have gone for the Orion(US)100mm f/6.0 Refractor cause of better reviews - However I can't trace one in UK!
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Anonymous
Unregistered
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Well, there's a importeur in the Netherlands, just recently bought my Orion Mak there; very ok experience, can mail order too;
www.aquariusoptics.com
Dunno if they'll offer in England too as there IS an english importeur;
United Kingdom
Broadhurst, Clarkson & Fuller
63 Farringdon Rd.
London, United Kingdom
telescopehouse@telescopehouse.co.uk
http://www.telescopehouse.co.uk
Phone: [44] 017-140-52156
FAX: [44] 018-195-39909
His site does sell Orion scopes....
Just that you know.
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Spyke
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 07/22/03
Posts: 1946
Loc: Scotland
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Hi Mike.
I'm also in the UK, and got my Skywatcher 102 f5 a few weeks ago. I have used it a fair bit, and find it very good. I have used a lot of scopes, and have found this one to be very rewarding! The optics are good quality, and well coated, and the focuser is smooth. Erm..Actually, make that the focuser is "now" smooth, as I dismantled the focuser assembly on reciept, and re-lubricated it with "proper" grease instead of the strange ear-wax material that Synta seem to use as standard! The eyepieces with it are ok, and the finder is fine. I use it with better quality eyepieces (Televue plossls, University Optics Ortho and Meade 4000 Plossls), and find the views very pleasing. I actually tried a 2" Televue Diagonal and 55mm plossl with it, and the image quality just Jumped about 50%- it made a big difference having a high quality 2" diagonal.
However, this scope will improve 100% if you use it with a Baader Contrast Booster filter. It costs about £35 for the 1.25" version, and will cut down immensely on the false colour that is generated in the fast f5 optics on bright optics. This is really noticable.
I have had pretty good views of Mars at 110x using 9mm ortho and Meade 2xbarlow, and was able to make out the Ice cap easily, and darker surface areas with more concentrated looking! I think it's a great starter scope, but with better eyepieces, a Contrast Booster filter, and a little work on the mechanics it becomes even more!
Having said all that, the fast optical system is not perfect, and even with high quality eyepieces the outer 20% or so of the field is distorted, with elongated stars. The effect is hardly noticable in the Ortho eyepiece, but with wider field of view ones it is more noticable. It will not take high power (my limit is about 125x) without image breakdown, but that still leaves you with a lot of objects that will yield good enjoyable views.
Hope you enjoy it (if you stick with the order!)
--------------------
Equinox 120 
GSO 8" f6 Dob (Hi-Lux coated)
ED100 Pro, ED80
Skymax 127 Maksutov
Vixen GP, Porta-mount, multiple AZ-3 mounts.
Berkut 10x50 Binos, 'reasonable' no. of eyepieces
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Anonymous
Unregistered
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Spyke,
Thanks for the advice. I think that your comments and Peppe's advice have sealed it! With any luck it should arrive tomorrow - hope Friday night is a good one! 
Mike
PS Peppe - thank you for the importer info.
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**DONOTDELETE**
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SCS astro also sell Orion stuff in the UK. Their web site is at http://www.scsastro.co.uk/
I've found them helpful, and for most stuff prices are very competitive. On cloudy evenings I can spend hours browsing their catalogue looking for that essential accessory....
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