68 replies to this topic

[ris242]

Following on from Astrojensen's topic on - Why do people (also amateurs) say astronomy is expensive? in the general observing section......

 

For refractors - if you could give yourself advice about what to buy first when starting the hobby...........what would you say to get?

 

If I started out.....today....knowing everything I know now.

 

Me leaning toward visual would probably be a skywatcher 120ED paired with a AM3 or EQ5.

A decent 2" diagonal and possibly celestron LX eyepieces (or similar. I think they no longer make them but I thought they were good for the price).

 

If this is too much for a starting budget........what about the next level down?  Planeta and EQM35?

 

 

imagers welcome.

[truckerfromaustin]

For a budget conscience beginner that wants a refractor it's hard to beat a 102ed on an alt az mount. For astrophotography you really need to get an apo chromatic scope to avoid the blue, magenta colors that surround the stars.

CS

[desertlens]

The same thing I told myself at the beginning of my small visual refractor quest: an 80mm ƒ6 triplet on a decent slo-mo alt-az mount.

 

[Eric H]

I would say to myself...buy once, cry once. And go out and buy the Astro-Physics of my dreams. But I didn't, and I've bought and sold so much stuff over the years I could have purchased multiple AP's.

[russell23]

My first telescope was an Edmund Astroscan purchased in 1980.  The market is very different today.  There is really nothing I could go back and tell my younger self about astronomy equipment that would have made a difference at any point in the last 45 years. 

[LDW47]

Anyone would be foolish completely to jump into AP first thing, there is a lot to learn before that craziness. Such as learning the sky by reading NightWatch and getting a good pair of 10x50 binos to go with that book. Sounds pretty tame for the younger generations so they can learn a little harder way, maybe, lol.  Maybe join a club if its a worthwhile club, they aren't all, really.

[LDW47]

And try not to caught up with pie in the sky dreamers, the all or nothing to start outers, lol, eh. If you want to get confused, turned off fast thats the way to start, every time !

Edited by LDW47, 18 March 2025 - 06:11 PM.

[Lookitup]

I would skip the 80, 90 and 100ED's and go for a new or used Tak 100D(F). It's small and light enough as GnG and has excellent optics. The only disadvantage would be air-line travel for me.

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[ris242]

>>budget conscience beginner

 

oops maybe I should have said - tell yourself what you should buy so you won't be disappointed...... or you would still be using it a decade later.

 

 

I think the obvious trap for newbies is looking at photos and then buying a scope and being disappointed with what they see.

or buying the 600x plastic toys that show hubble pictures on the box.

[Garyth64]

 If I had to start over, knowing what I know now?  I would do the same thing.  I would make a 6" scope like I did back in 1965.  I still have that original mirror today, though it's been refurbished.

 

 

 

But for refractors?  What was available back in 1965?  I'd probably get a good 3" refractor by Sears, Tasco, ATCO, Selsi, et al.

Edited by Garyth64, 18 March 2025 - 06:32 PM.

[PKDfan]

I wouldn't change a single* thing as each step i made purchasing scopes told me the inherent weaknesses in each of them so when i made my most significant purchase my 100ED & EQM-35 i did so in confidence.

Those false half steps told me in no uncertain terms that my 100ED optics were in a very special category.

* Possibly i wouldn't have purchased some mediocre eyepieces but thats it for mistakes.



CSS
Lance

[CHASLX200]

Well in 1976 instead of that 40x 40mm scope when i was 13 i would have jumped on a C14.

[ris242]

* Possibly i wouldn't have purchased some mediocre eyepieces but thats it for mistakes.
 

Right!

 

With limited eye relief.

[RalphMeisterTigerMan]

The Quantum 6 fully loaded. The first Coulter 17.5-inch Odysses (then rebuild the scope into something lighter with an 18-point floatation cell) Then stocks in Apple and Microsoft (early when they first went public). Also the first TeleVue Plossls and the complete set of Nagler Type 1's and several of the first Astro-physics Starfire refractors 4-inch, 5-inch, 6-inch and 7-inch), maybe an entire set of Clave' Plossls perhaps a Questar 3.5 (fully loaded)....I guess that's it!

 

Clear skies and keep looking up!

RalphMeisterTigerMan

[scotsman328i]

I’d tell myself the same thing I told myself 25 years ago. Get a Televue 76. Razor sharp optics, incredible resolution and virtually chromatic aberration free. Fantastic for public events and on-the-go viewing anywhere. Many other scopes have come and gone, but my TV 76 stays for life. 

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[25585]

It was a shock back then. I had bought a 127mm AP Starfire, which was too heavy for any mount I could also afford, so went down to 4", a TV Genesis & its fork mount.

 

 So think of total cost of a mount + frac together, type of mount & length of OTA & weight.

 

My first apo was a SW 120mm Equinox, I love it, so would recommend a 120mm ED doublet, depending on how much younger....

[LDW47]

>>budget conscience beginner

 

oops maybe I should have said - tell yourself what you should buy so you won't be disappointed...... or you would still be using it a decade later.

 

 

I think the obvious trap for newbies is looking at photos and then buying a scope and being disappointed with what they see.

or buying the 600x plastic toys that show hubble pictures on the box.

You should educate yourself, verify your expectations very well before falling into those two traps when its too late. Sounds like you are aware, eh.

[vsteblina]

I would say to myself...buy once, cry once. And go out and buy the Astro-Physics of my dreams. But I didn't, and I've bought and sold so much stuff over the years I could have purchased multiple AP's.

I finally bought a AP mount as I retiring.  I told my wife, that was NOT a joint decision.  Buying good stuff is never a mistake.

 

I started with a 60mm refractor my parents bought for me.  We were pretty poor and the only alternative for a better scope was for me to make my own  8 inch mirror at the age of 13.  That was a very good decision.  It really cemented my interest in astronomy and gave me the confidence as a 13 year old that I could pretty much do anything.

 

All that said TODAY, instead of that 60 mm refractor, I would hope my parents would buy me a SeeStar S50.

[weis14]

I'd probably do the same thing that I did back in 2007 when I bought my first refractor after college.  I'd get an 80-90mm APO on a manual alt-az mount.  My first was an 80mm William Optics 10th Anniversary scope.  You could do a lot worse.

[Kitfox]

Get the Losmandy Titan...

 

...then, when it comes out, get the Astro-Physics 1200GTO...

 

...then when it comes out, get the AP 1600GTO.

 

Those three alone would have saved me a lot of money over the long, long years...counterintuitive, huh? 

 

I eventually got them anyway, but a lot of others before and in between.  Whatever scope you decide on, it is so much better well-mounted.  It's ridiculous how hard this lesson is to learn...Will Rogers and the electric fence, for real...

[Jethro7]

Hello 

Knowing where I'm at today with the Astro Hobby, I would tell myself.

 

"Forget about the Losmandy G11G, and all the Imaging gear, your not going to like imaging anyway"

 

"Buy a night vision device, one of these gadgets will completely alter everything about the astro hobby"

 

"Buy a Starbound Observers Chair,  these chairs are game changers"

 

"Buy premium refractors and a Dob, These are the scopes you are going to finally end up with"

 

"Buy premium manual Alt/Az mounts. Like The DiscMount DM6, Rowan Astro AZ100, Desert Sky Astro mounts. These are the mounts that you are going to like using" "Don't buy that Losmandy AZ8, your just going to end up scrapping it" 

 

"You are only going to end up using a handful of eyepieces" 

 

HAPPY SKIES AND KEEP LOOKING UP Jethro

Edited by Jethro7, 18 March 2025 - 09:16 PM.

[PKDfan]

I’d tell myself the same thing I told myself 25 years ago. Get a Televue 76. Razor sharp optics, incredible resolution and virtually chromatic aberration free. Fantastic for public events and on-the-go viewing anywhere. Many other scopes have come and gone, but my TV 76 stays for life.

Yes TV 76 is special ! I've used it only briefly for terrestrial but it and a 24Pan is magical.

Congrats on having, what looked to my eye, a full apo !

I didn't tax it much but a very memorable view down low it was and that still resonates long after i last looked. It was a bright winter day and snow sparkles everywhere with zero CA.


CSS
Lance

[scotsman328i]

Yes TV 76 is special ! I've used it only briefly for terrestrial but it and a 24Pan is magical.

Congrats on having, what looked to my eye, a full apo !

I didn't tax it much but a very memorable view down low it was and that still resonates long after i last looked. It was a bright winter day and snow sparkles everywhere with zero CA.


CSS
Lance

Yeah Lance, she’s a very special gal! She’s a full APO doublet and is zero CA. I dunno how Al Nagler does it, I really don’t. Especially zero CA in a doublet like that. One of the most memorable view I’ve ever had through her, and there have been so many to even list, was of the Western Veil Nebula at 6200ft at the Table Mountain Star Party in Ellensburg, WA. back in 2004.
    New moon, pitch black skies with the ground lit by starglow….just me, the TV76 and a 35 Panoptic. 
          …memory of a lifetime…

[Refractor6]

  The nice thing about the older Skywatcher Pro-Series 120  F.7.5 scopes is the light and manageable OTA. If you're just visual you don't need a heavy mount.

 

 Aperture wise they strike a nice balance for planetary, lunar, double stars observing as well as doing a pretty decent job on deep sky objects under dark skies.

 

 I think most folks starting out would be pretty happy as one of these being their main scope.....

 

 

 

 

[BRCoz]

After using that 60mm Tasco (with  500+ power) for 8 years I went with an 8"SCT (1998).  Few years later the FS102.

 

Put your name on the AP list because when your name comes you "WILL" have the $

 

Would of, could of, should of.