Which telescope design is the best? - Understanding Telescopes 

Actually your video gave me time to think and I realized that my family has been through all of these at one time or another. We started with a cheap small Refractor due to size and ease of portability, then moved on to a 114mm Newtonian Reflector and just recently added a 11" SCT. Thanks for the condensed lesson, the video was informative and great to be able to share it, when family and friends inevitably ask questions ;-)

I have a Meade 8inch SCT I bought 20 years ago, and this scope is still great today. Great channel! And because of your extensive knowledge within your vids I'm about to buy a Baader prism as an upgrade. Thanks!

I have a 6" SCT f10 (1500mm FL, or w/f6.3 reducer 945mm FL), and a 90mm f5.5 (500mm FL) Achromatic Refractor. With a shared SE Alt/Az mount. 32mm - 8mm EP's. Considering getting the new Celestron StarSense Autoguider to better automate alignment, finding, and tracking... I'm thinking the SSAG (plate solving) will be worth the additional expense as I'll be much more apt to bring things out for viewing. Its the Automation Age... Hobby Smarter, NOT Harder. Keep spreading the good word! -mike

After a lot of investigation I finished up getting a Sky Watcher 127 Mak on an AZGTi mount. I live under Bortle 4 skies so can get reasonable views from my front lawn. Because there are a number of trees which obstruct my viewing range portability was also a consideration; I have proved the value of this by taking the rig out to Bortle 2 skies. I had great views of Comet 2012 Leonard last night. I am very happy with the rig and have upgraded my eyepiece selection, my favourite is a 40mm Plossl from Gosky. Because i need to ofen drive ling distances at night I am considering a lighter '"grap and go" kit to throw in the back of the car to urge me to stop and rest instead of driving into the sleep zone. The AZ Proto mount would be handy when I can't be bothered with aligning the Go To. Thank you for your excellent videos.

Answering these criteria helped me select the best scope for my situation: Budget , Distance to Viewing Location , Visual or Photographic Astronomy , Available Targets , Storage Space , Setup/Teardown Speed

I have a Meade Infinity 90. It is an achromatic refractor that has an aperture of 90mm and a focal length of 600mm and focal ratio of 6.7. It comes with an Alt/Az mount with slow motion cable/controller on it. Great site and very inciteful descriptions of the different types of telescopes.

I have a 305mm Dob for high resolution and light gathering. 60mm baby Mak for travel as it is featherweight and the size of a couple of coke cans.

This right here is EXACTLY what i was wondering as I’m taking the plunge to upgrade by 4.5” Newtonian refractor

Most astronomers will end with a bunch of telescopes and its a long journey to find out what you will use the most :D So the question is rather "how can you cover your reqirements with 2 or 3 telescopes the best?" I owned many telescopes and my favorite allrounder is the 8" SCT, my 107 Apo and 120 mm ED collect dust. But still, I will get a 90 or 102 MAK + GTi for travelling. If I lived on the countryside owning house + garden I would probably build a small observatory and install a classic F20 Cassegrain with small obstruction, since planets, GCs and PNs are my favorite objects.

I have a Starfield 80mm APO refractor and an IOptron RC6.

GOOD VIDEO! and that LIL BAD SNACKS SONG AT THE END!!!!! Grade A+ my dude and thanks for the info and tips!

Man! Wonderful informative content! I use a binocular so far! I like a mak102 too buy Telescopes are so expensive!

Thanks Bogdan, I'm new-ish to astronomy and over about a year and a half (and corresponding with the start of COVID-19) I've acquired binoculars, an entry level 4-inch refractor, and recently a used Celestron Nexstar 6SE. I'm hoping to travel to a deep sky preserve with the latter and I also chose the 6-inch SCT as there are too many trees in my own backyard to make it a practical site to observe from. Looking forward to any new content you release. (Would you consider taking on 'how to travel with a telescope' as a topic? I'm still working out how to fly with my 6-inch SCT.)

Hi Bohdan, I really enjoy your channel. Well I live in the 3rd most light polluted city in the world, Montréal, if you can believe that! 8-9 on the Bortal scale, I often wondered why star hopping wasn’t all that easy for me, then after researching light pollution in my area it all became clearer for me, and I still do it the old fashioned way, star atlases! Well to answer your question, my first telescope is a Astromaster 90mm, and my second a 200mm/1200 Skywatcher Dodsonian! And I love them both! For the 90mm I built myself a new tripod- to improve stability and add some height, and for the 200mm a platform on wheels (6.75) inches tall to get some extra height, protect the base from water and snow, and more importantly to be able to move it around on my balcony observatory! I agree with you that the 24mm Panoptic from TeleVue is an excellent eyepiece! One thing that I have learned in the past year is that (and nobody ever tells you) is that with entry level equipment you do need to work around some of the compromises that the manufacturers make inorder to make their excellent products affordable. I am lucky enough because I am a cabinet maker that for me to make a new tripod is not a problem- I need time and the materials- but for someone else it may mean further investment….. Anyway good luck with your new scope!

For me a 8sct on an eq goto mount and can be mouted on az4 azimutal mount is king. Compact perfekt for solar system and photographie. If I want DSO photographie I bought a used faststar for my c8 sct, works great. For visual use on galaxys and nebulas i have a 12 skywatcher dob with go to and can also moved freely without the motors. One refraktor maybe will also enter.

I just bought the Sky Watcher 102. I am an absolute beginner who barely knows the difference between a planet and a star (😂😂😂). Your videos helped in the decision making process. Hopefully I’ll be able to figure it out and get some good views. Do you have a suggestion for videos/channels to get the most out of it in the northern hemisphere? (Germany)

I have a Meade ETX 125 Maksutov-Cassagrain (actually 127mm), with a 1900mm focal length, f-15, which is good for the Moon, planets, planetary nebulae, and clusters. Not so hot for deep sky, but very nice for Jupiter, Saturn, Mars, Venus, and star clusters. Good optics for astrophotography. I have a heavy tripod that tilts with latitude to allow stable object tracking . I also have a 90mm Meade Mak-Cass mirror lens 1000mm focal length f-11. Very portable and easy to rig with one of my DSLR's on a Manfroto tripod for bright lunar photography, or birds. It gives very nice color renditions of the lunar surface. I use Telvue Radian eye pieces from 6mm to 14mm, and 25mm and 40mm Meade Plossels for lower magnification. I am looking for a Televue 85 with wider field of view to complement the Mak-Cass models.

Nice video Bogdan! Cer senin!

Thanks for your tips!

Hi Bogdan, Can you help me in selecting a type out of the below mentioned. Requirements - planatery imaging and deep sky viewing and casual photography. "Crisp and sharp planatery & deep sky viewing ability" - GSO RC 6" 1370mm RC F/9 - GSO 6" M-CRF F=1848mm F/12 - BRESSER MESSIER MC-152 F: 1900mm; F/D: F12,5

Hello Bogdan, I was wondering if you can help me to decide which way to go. I am torn between a premium 5“ APO and a 8“ Meade LX200. The price class is the same after adding a microfocuser to the Meade. Only other consideration is the Meade is heavy. Understand that the max magnification in a 127mm APO is 254 while with the Meade over 400 is possible. I have a 8“ Dob and find the planets in the eyepiece very small. Can I expect a significantly larger view in the Meade? So would you find the best view from the APO or the Meade in a bortle 5/6 area? Best!

I have a Celestron 9.25 SCT GOTO.

I have an 8 inch collapsible dobsonian and a Meade ETX125 Mak.

My suggestion: first buy a good pair of binoculars 7 x 50 and learn the night sky with a mobile app and planispheres. Find new targets every night. I love to use both eyes and I am planning on getting a bino adapter on my future telescope.

New sub. 👍🇺🇸

I'm undecided whether to take a good newton or a mediocre catadioptric, what do you think of advanced x dobsonian telescopes? they weigh a ton but the picture is good even if they are newtons?

Thank you.

I have a 4" SCT

Thanks 🙏

How are Maks for travel? I live in the NW near Portland, where viewing options are limited. But I often travel to places with better options. But I need something I can grab and go. I was therefore leaning toward an APO, but they can get very pricy. Collimation, especially before each viewing, is too impractical. How are Maks for maintenance?

I find that, with SCT scopes, that LARGE central obstruction is very troubling. On many scopes of this design it is 40% of the diameter, OR LARGER! And this greatly reduces contrast and fine detail in the image. Our Astronomy Club has done "Testing and Experiments" off and on for years. We compare two 8 inch Newtonians, one is f/6 the other is f/8 . And we'll compare their image with that produced by three different brands of SCT. In every competition, everyone agrees, both Newtonians show you more detain and far better contrast then any of the SCT's ever could! Thus, I never recommended anyone waste their money on an over priced SCT when any good, home-made, 8 inch Newtonian will do a much better job for them! Now, if you have the space for, and the time and money for say an 11 or 12 inch SCT, to use for astro-imaging? That's a different ballpark all together.

So dobsonian if you're tight on money and maybe trying the hobby, sct if you're good with money and serious about the hobby.

Which is good for beginner dobsonian or mexitoff

Maksutovs have spherical mirrors not parabolic.