Beginner telescope suggestions

General astronomy-related discussion (publicly viewable)
User avatar
Paul D
Equipment Manager
Posts: 2108
Joined: Fri Mar 19, 2004 2:13 pm

Re: Beginner telescope suggestions

Unread post by Paul D »

For me when recommending a first scope I find out if the are tech savvy or not. Then what do they want out of the hobby? Do they want to spend long hours outdoors or do they want to do some casual fast observing? Then of course I always say try before you buy. Join a club and look at different scopes and eyepieces and ask the person who owns it a ton of questions. The last thing we want to do is to get someone to buy a scope that they will never use and I have seen that happen all to often.

The one thing that we all tend to forget is a lot of new people to the hobby have this thought that once they have a telescope they are going to see Hubble style views when observing. I cant tell you how many times at outreaches you can hear the confusion in a persons voice when they look at and object and see just a grey blob. So when recommending a scope first thing is I try not to be bias on what I own but point out the plueses and minuses of each kind of scope. I also try to find out how much knowledge of the night sky they have and if a pair of binoculars would be a better starting point. Finally what is their budget? So the factors to helping them decide for me are:


Tech savvy or not.
Observing style they plan to do.
Knowledge of the night sky.
Budget
Observing location
How portable does the scope need to be.
Paul...

16" f/5 Night Sky Truss (Midnight Mistress)
10" f/5 Home built Dob with Parks mirror.
Pre-Meade PST
Celestron Skymaster Binos 25-125x80
Meade Travelview Binos 10x50

See that 16" in the sleek black dress? She is all mine. :)
TimW
Posts: 775
Joined: Wed Oct 18, 2017 1:15 pm

Re: Beginner telescope suggestions

Unread post by TimW »

Setting their expectations is key. They need to understand that they are not going to see all the pretty colors and details that astro-photographers post online. Those photos require multiple long exposures plus post processing. I bring my photography setup to out reach programs and am able to bring out color and detail that purely visual observers can't. I make a point to emphasize to the public that getting these types of images require an investment in both equipment and time.
Tim W.

Laurie J. Wood
March 22, 1967 - August 23, 2019
Forever in my memory. Forever in my heart.

Scope: 8" Celestron SCT on an AVX equatorial mount
Solar Scope: Lunt Solar System 60 mm Double-Stacked H-Alpha
Solar Imaging Camera: ZWO ASI174mm monochrome
Imaging Camera: ZWO ASI1600MC-Cool
Autoguide: PHD2
Image Capturing: SharpCap
DebayerIng: PIPP
Planetary Stacking: Autostakkert
Planetary Post Processing: Registax
Deep Sky Stacking: Deep Sky Stacker
Deep Sky Post Processing: Photoshop
User avatar
mrgizmo65
10+ Years Member
Posts: 2650
Joined: Wed Feb 17, 2010 9:02 pm

Re: Beginner telescope suggestions

Unread post by mrgizmo65 »

Paul and Tim,both of you made excellent points that many of us would overlook.Paul you are absolutely right about "feeling" out there experiences. Tim you also were correct in saying to find out one's expectations. My point of view was simplicity and low cost,all together ,I think just about covers the basics,along with some exposure to a club and asking questions.If you don't get answers then ask to have the club member to recommend who is knowledgeable in the subject. Thanks for passing this great information on. Happy Thanksgiving to all assn e members. Jerry
Orion ED80T CF #9534 Carbon Fiber
Ioptron IEQ 45 Pro mount
Ioptron tripier
Ioptron eq 25 mount
Ioptron tripod
Celestron #93709 next image solar system imager
Unitron 3 inch equatorial mount W/ tracking motor and tripod
Restored ED 102 Vixen ss Doublet


"Ilagitami non carborundum" Uncle Nick '49
User avatar
mrgizmo65
10+ Years Member
Posts: 2650
Joined: Wed Feb 17, 2010 9:02 pm

Re: Beginner telescope suggestions

Unread post by mrgizmo65 »

Paul and Tim,both of you made excellent points that many of us would overlook.Paul you are absolutely right about "feeling" out there experiences. Tim you also were correct in saying to find out one's expectations. My point of view was simplicity and low cost,all together ,I think just about covers the basics,along with some exposure to a club and asking questions.If you don't get answers then ask to have the club member to recommend who is knowledgeable in the subject. Thanks for passing this great information on. Happy Thanksgiving to all assne members. Jerry :mrgreen:
Orion ED80T CF #9534 Carbon Fiber
Ioptron IEQ 45 Pro mount
Ioptron tripier
Ioptron eq 25 mount
Ioptron tripod
Celestron #93709 next image solar system imager
Unitron 3 inch equatorial mount W/ tracking motor and tripod
Restored ED 102 Vixen ss Doublet


"Ilagitami non carborundum" Uncle Nick '49
Post Reply