ADVICE ON BUYING A TELESCOPE: TYPES OF TELESCOPES

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Have you been thinking about buying a telescope but you can't decide what kind of telescope to buy? Well, in this video I will explain the different types of telescopes, the strengths and weaknesses of each type, and what kinds of things you need to think about and decide to help you know which telescope type would best suit your needs and observing site.

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3 июн 2024

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Комментарии : 73

@lindafinch8983 Месяц назад

Really informative!….as always!!! So lucky to have someone like you giving such sound and practical advice, without pressure to buy! Thanks for the hard work and information you put into everything you do you it’s really appreciated🤗

@tsulasbigadventures Месяц назад

Thank you, Linda. Your comment made my day.

@Astronurd Месяц назад

I can remember starting out and wanting to buy everything but my wallet gave a resounding NO! I did all the usual mistakes of buying cheap only to end up buying twice or thrice. Aperture fever also got me buying a telescope that was just too big for me and really needed an observatory. As the years passed i have settled on my 12" go to dobsonian, a 180mm Maksutov and a 130mm apochromatic refractor. Great video for newcomers to the hobby or anyone considering buying their first telescope.

@tsulasbigadventures Месяц назад

I remember going into the Orion store years ago and wanting the goto telescope so badly but my bank account also said no and I ended up with a terrible wobbly awful reflector. To this day I cannot remember seeing a single object in that telescope.

@StevenGarland-su3yg 26 дней назад

0:16 @@tsulasbigadventures

@markihde4381 Месяц назад

You give very sound information. Having about a dozen telescopes up to a 6" f/12 refractor and an 18" f/5 Dobsonian reflector, I can definitely agree that if a person is going to buy a first telescope or an "only one telescope", to keep it small, portable and simple. The best telescope is the one that gets used the most. That translates into a size and weight equation. In my case, that would be a 10" Dobsonian reflector or either an 80mm f/5 APO refractor on an alt-az mount, or a 100mm f/8 APO refractor on either an alt-az mount or on an equatorial mount.

@tsulasbigadventures Месяц назад

Thanks. I agree with you on all points.

@markihde4381 Месяц назад

@@tsulasbigadventures A follow-up video along this line with regard to telescope mounts might be helpful to people getting into the hobby. Too often, I've seen people spend money for good optics and then cheap out on the mount. A solid mount is equally important as quality optics, whether it's an alt-az mount or an equatorial mount. This is often true with some scope/mount "package deals" I see advertised. Some of these combinations have the optical tubes mounted close to the limits of the mount's advertised carrying capacity, not taking into account the optical tube's lever moment force nor accounting for any accessories one might wish to add.

@tsulasbigadventures Месяц назад

@@markihde4381 OK. Thank you for the suggestion.

@dustyhammer7569 Месяц назад

That’s what I love about astronomy. There’s no “best” equipment, it’s checks and balances where if one thing exceeds at something, it lacks in another dept. where another scope will trade off for. In 2006 in high school, started out with a 10” dob. Now have a SVX130T on an CEM70G. Mainly got the funding when I sold my bike to get deeper into astronomy. Also, I always like listening to your reviews on topics, always learning new things to consider

@tsulasbigadventures Месяц назад

That about sums it up. Thank you for your nice comments.

@mikehicks4411 Месяц назад

Nice video...made me laugh at how you started off... As always well presented...😊

@tsulasbigadventures Месяц назад

Thank you so much. I try to make it interesting. I'm glad you like the introduction.

@k.h.1587 20 дней назад

Achromats are 2 lens not one, achromat meant "without color " since the original single lens refractors were like prisms by comparison, tons of false color in a rainbow of fringes. And proper super long focal length achromats could be visually color free, but that was an f15 60mm and as the aperture increases the required focal ratio for color free performance also increases. Thankfully we now have ED and fluorite and even a simple doublet can be apochoimatic. As for reflectors, spherical mirrors can be the same way, small 114 f8 spherical scopes can be diffraction limited, as aperture increases, so does the required focal ratio. Cheap telescopes tend to break those rules and are only usable at lower powers.

@JamesAdams-ev6fc Месяц назад

Excellent video. I would increase the emphasis on light pollution in making a selection. I live in light polluted central Florida and that alters my preferences towards Image Stabilized binoculars and my 80mm Meade APO, as well as towards solar observing. If I lived in the West, I would add larger aperture telescopes.

@tsulasbigadventures Месяц назад

Thank you. I actually revised this video after the first edit to add more about light pollution but you're right I could have said even more because I believe that most first time buyers do not spend nearly enough time learning about how light pollution will impact what they will see. I try to emphasize it in every video.

@JamesAdams-ev6fc Месяц назад

@@tsulasbigadventures No criticism intended, it's just that an APO refractor of 80-100 mm (say) is easy to move during visits to dark sky sites. And these refractors are good for viewing the moon and bright star clusters, and they are OK for viewing the planets. Their price becomes less of an issue because mobility is more important with light pollution and the quality of the views is a further recommendation for them. By the way, the 80 mm Meade Series 6000 APO refractor that I own is excellent. The company stopped selling them when the breakup with JOC optical in China took place.

@tsulasbigadventures Месяц назад

@@JamesAdams-ev6fc All good points. I had a Meade 115mm Series 6000 that had high quality optics but sadly I sold it.

@ultrametric9317 Месяц назад

Howdy, nice report! I notice you have an Orion Astroview mount. I do as well - it was free! I found it put out on the side of the road! I cleaned it up and adjusted it and it works perfectly. It even looks nice! I use it with my classic refractors from the 1950s and 60s. The ubiquitous "logic drive", a battery powered RA motor, drives it just fine. You can get drop-in go-to solutions now.

@tsulasbigadventures Месяц назад

That's cool you found an abandoned one and fixed it up. I should add a motor to mine.

@barthvapour Месяц назад

One thing I would add is the importance of the mount you choose. Equatorial mounts require aligning with the celestial pole ,so if you don't have a clear view of the pole from your observing site,that can be a problem. Also, for a beginner the Dobsonian may get you the most aperture for your money, but when you're starting out, trying to even find objects with precision is very difficult, to the point where it actually makes people give up. A goto mount can actually get you looking at something in 20 seconds that may take you 10 minutes to find by hand, but of course they add to the cost.

@tsulasbigadventures Месяц назад

I think a lot of people probably do give up after not being able to find things. I remember getting very frustrated when I got my first telescope years ago. It was manual but it was also a cheap reflector on a wobbly mount and that didn't help either. Now I love looking for things with my Dob.

@AstroSoundscape Месяц назад

Nice advice and selection Tsula. I think I have a very similar 80mm to your Orion the Skywatcher 80ED which i enjoy for visual, great little scope. Currently I'm on the SCT and refractors...oh and one Mak. There just all so god damn nice !!!!

@tsulasbigadventures Месяц назад

Hi Ollie. That 80mm is a nice telescope. It only weighs five pounds. The dovetail is a little short but other than that it is great for grab and go. It sounds like you have the telescope fever. I just bought a new telescope. I either am a genius or I lost my mind.

@bassdeff8819 Месяц назад

When I was shopping for my first serious telescope I just had a few criteria that I was looking for. Large aperture, can easily be moved around, goto capabilities and the ability to operate the telescope manually. Then I started looking the cheapest possible scopes that satisfied any of those criteria and kept increasing the budget until I found the perfect match within my budget limit. I eventually settled on a Evo 8 SCT. First light was a few weeks ago and WOW! I was expecting to some amazing views and it did not disappoint. I am so hooked. Luckily, I don't think I will ever outgrow this telescope.

@tsulasbigadventures Месяц назад

An 8" SCT is such a great telescope to own. Good choice.

@bassdeff8819 Месяц назад

@tsulasbigadventures Yeah, I'm really looking forward to my next dark sky expedition. The only negative thing I have to say is that I found the hand controller damn near unreadable in the dark. I was getting too much glow from the buttons to make out the lettering, but that could just be me. I understand why they made it that way but I would have preferred illuminated lettering on an opaque button.

@tsulasbigadventures Месяц назад

@@bassdeff8819 I had the same issue with the hand controller that came with the iOptron HAZ31 mount. I had to tilt the hand controller at an angle in order to see it and even then I had to squint.

@Stephen-gp8yi Месяц назад

Thanks tsula you certainly make things clearer litterally!

@tsulasbigadventures Месяц назад

Thanks so much.

@steveparsons3498 Месяц назад

Great video as always and this one hits close to heart. I'm looking to buy a APO refractor for my first astrophotography rig. I already have the mount so I'm looking at a 71mm scope. I already have a mak for the planets and 8" dob for scanning the sky. Life is short just buy them all!!!

@tsulasbigadventures Месяц назад

Thank you! Yes, if it fits in your budget, I agree.

@robertsonsid 26 дней назад

Great video. I find a small grab and go scope works better for me. If I can carry out a scope in one hand, I am more likely to go out.

@tsulasbigadventures 25 дней назад

Thank you and I agree. In the next video, part three I am going to talk about that very topic. Thanks for watching.

@JoeJaguar Месяц назад

great info im sure alot people will find it handy

@tsulasbigadventures Месяц назад

Thanks, Joe.

@iamjessieray Месяц назад

Another good video Tsula. I got an 8" dobsonian as my... uh... 5th telescope I think? After doing a lot of astrophotography I decided that I really wanted to do more visual work and I have been more than happy with it since I live in a nice dark rural area. However... I took it with me camping for a star party and I think it is a bit to big to pack comfortably until I get a trailer so I can pack all of my other camping stuff outside the cab of the truck. So I am now considering getting a 5 inch SCT on a manual mount from Celestron to use as a travel scope (or buying a used SCT and a manual ALT/AZ mount). This hobby has a way of keeping me poor and taking up too much room...

@tsulasbigadventures Месяц назад

Thank you. I have that same issue. I have a 10" Dobsonian but it is just too big to take camping this summer. So, I have been looking into a good option for something that will fit into my car along with my camping gear. I think I have come up with a good solution. So stay tuned for a video coming soon on my solution.

@iamjessieray Месяц назад

@@tsulasbigadventures I await that upload eagerly!

@PadroPadro22 Месяц назад

Youre amazing ❤

@tsulasbigadventures Месяц назад

Thank you!

@AzimuthAviation Месяц назад

Excellent job with a comprehensive look! I've had a golf bag of visual telescopes from an 80mm Short Tube to an 8" Schmidt-Newtonian that doubles for astrophotography. You're spot on with at least an 80mm and perhaps even a 10" Dob with emphasis on light pollution environment. My 8" f6 dob tries to pull details in the Bortle 8 sky ay home but is awash in sky glow. A 90 minute drive to Bortle 2 sky is a soul stirring experience. Recently "Cuv The Lazy Geek" went into tweaking a 6" f5 Newtonian for astrophotography. Rather than the touted 6" f8 "planet killer" or 8" dob, maybe a 6" f5 newtonian on an alt/az mount could be a very versatile future telescope. Wide field visuals for the learning stargazer yet able to mount on a second tier EQ mount such as an EQ-5.

@tsulasbigadventures Месяц назад

Thank you. I thought about trying out an 8" Newtonian for visual use but when I saw that long focuser protruding from the tube and possibly requiring extenders I changed my mind. It seems like almost all Newtonians these days are marketed as "astrographs." But since I didn't buy the Newtonian I can't speak from experience. But one thing is for sure that everything looks better in whatever telescope you have if you take the time to haul it out to a dark sky site. It is soul stirring as you said.

@3dfxvoodoocards6 Месяц назад

Interesting video. Well APO refractors are not necessarily very expensive. Svbony for example sells a 4 inch FPL51 F7 version with just 460 $ and a 4.8 inch triplet FPL51 F7 with just 1399 $.

@tsulasbigadventures Месяц назад

I guess "very expensive" is relative. But I would say $460 is pretty inexpensive for an apo.

@tuphdc8779 Месяц назад

Thank you

@tsulasbigadventures Месяц назад

You're welcome. Thanks for watching.

@craiglowery4427 Месяц назад

Outstanding video Tsula. Do you think a ZWO 130mm refractor can resolve the planets and will it fit on an EQ6-R mount

@tsulasbigadventures Месяц назад

Thanks. It should be able to easily resolve the planets but the main issue with planets is to look or image on a night of good seeing. An EQ6R-Pro will easily handle that telescope which weighs 23.5 pounds. I put my Evostar 150 on an EQ6R Pro and it weighs 25 pounds. The EQ6R can handle 44 pounds of payload.

@derek7793 29 дней назад

Hi Tsula! So I’m torn between getting a Celestron 7” Maksutov Cassegrain or a 8” Schmidt Cassegrain. I generally want it to view the moon and planets and I guess my question would be what would you think is better? I know that the Maksutov has a higher focal length and offers more contrast than the Schmidt Cassegrain, but do you think the 8 inches of aperture can offset the advantage in contrast that a 7” Maksutov offers? Your videos give great inside and I appreciate your help

@tsulasbigadventures 29 дней назад

Even though the Mak excels at the moon and planets, you will see more detail with the bigger aperture of the 8" SCT. Personally I would go with the 8" SCT for that reason if all other things are equal.

@ronm6585 Месяц назад

Thanks Tsula. I like your James Webb shirt.

@tsulasbigadventures Месяц назад

Thanks, Ron. Someone asked me if it was a bee hive.

@ronm6585 Месяц назад

@@tsulasbigadventures 😊

@A0111. Месяц назад

Catadioptric telescopes aren't much portable than dobsonians, if you take their mounts into account. I'd even say they occupy more space on the floor ;) And for the picture quality, I haven't seen much or any difference between my SCT, and a same size newtonian+barlow, so my vote goes to any dobsonian, as a 1st scope to buy.

@tsulasbigadventures Месяц назад

I guess it would depend on what mount you put the SCT on. I had my 8" SCT on an iOptron strain wave mount that barely weighed anything or took up any space but it was pretty expensive and someone stole it. I think probably a beginner would not notice the difference in the quality of the optics between an SCT and a Dob. But I'm with you and vote for a Dob for first scope too.

@brodymk45 Месяц назад

I really wish I had this when I started, I bought one of those cheap’o scopes that you said not to buy.

@tsulasbigadventures Месяц назад

I bet many people did the same thing. In fact, so did I! My first telescope was terrible. it's a wonder I stuck with it.

@brodymk45 Месяц назад

@@tsulasbigadventures Good, now I don’t feel so stupid lol, It was a Celestron 127 PowerSeeker EQ, one of the most hated telescopes lol.

@george.673 Месяц назад

Good Evening Tsula, I'm thinking of buying a dobsonian however one think that's keeping me is that the object moves out of the eyepiece fairly quickly. Is this the case?, How long will each object stay in the field of view, for a 25mm 60 degree field of view on an 8-inch 1200mm dobsonian?

@waltergold3457 Месяц назад

I've tried to do the calculation: 1200mm/25mm = 48X magnification 60 degree apparent field/48X magnification = 1.25 degree real field 24 hours (or 1440 minutes)/360 degrees = T/1.25 degrees (with "T" being the transit time) So according to my calculation - and I could be wrong - the answer to your question is five minutes. Tsula? 🙂

@tsulasbigadventures Месяц назад

I have never sat down and done the math like Watler did but the object moves out pretty quickly. I think five minutes is generous but probably pretty close to correct.

@cigarnationwarriors Месяц назад

My StellaLyra 8” Newtonian is far better quality than Meade, Orion, or Sky Watcher Newts. Bought mine from First Light Optics in the UK.

@PauI__ Месяц назад

very informative video for beginners looking for the first scope @Tsula did you tried binoviewing, I read it that once you do it once on planets and moon you never look back

@tsulasbigadventures Месяц назад

Thank you. People keep telling me to try them out but so far I haven't because I would need to get some more eyepieces. One day I will try it out and see for myself.

@Astronurd Месяц назад

@@tsulasbigadventuresBinoviewers are good on the moon giving a sort of 3D feeling and Also on the planets at lower magnifications. However at high magnification trying to tease out the details on the planetary surface then mono viewing wins easily. Planetary imaging and observing is what I enjoy the most and have gotten seriously into the imaging side these past couple of years.

@waltergold3457 Месяц назад

Nice explanation but, at 3:30, you say achromatic refractors "have just one lens." Don't they have two lenses, and apochromatic refractors, three? (Curiously, too, RU-vid is marking my words "refractors" and "apochromatic" as spelling errors - not exactly a comprehensive dictionary!)

@tsulasbigadventures Месяц назад

Hi Walter. Thanks. Apochromats can have two, three, and even four lenses. So, you can get a doublet that is an apochromatic refractor. I own one. And achromats can have one lens and they will have an extreme amount of false colors. But you can also get achromats with two lenses-- doublets, like the SV Bony.

@waltergold3457 Месяц назад

@@tsulasbigadventures An achromat with an extreme amount of false color? That doesn't sound achromatic to me. 🙂

@tsulasbigadventures Месяц назад

@@waltergold3457 I can't tolerate any false colors; they make me crazy. So, any false color is extreme no matter what they call the telescope.

@Astronurd Месяц назад

@@tsulasbigadventuresMost commercial achromatic refractors have a doublet now Tsula. The shorter focal lengths do suffer from pretty bad chromatic aberration and on the flip side the longer f10-f12 have a good deal less. I am like yourself and can't abide by chromatic aberration.

@waltergold3457 Месяц назад

@@tsulasbigadventures I had the same experience with my first good microscope. Seeing details as fine black lines rather than ugly color fringes was a revelation.