I’ve come across a lot of videos and articles for “best telescope under $100” or $200 but I have $300 and it seems most recommendations are for $200 or $500 scopes and not a lot in between. For now my plan is to get an Orion Starblast II and maybe spend the other $100 on a better tripod, or maybe larger eye pieces. I’m ok with steep learning curves, I’d rather have a quality scope than one that’s “easy”. I had a cheap scope when I was a kid and I’ve always wanted a nicer one. Looking for recommendations. I may try Astrophotography with just an iPhone mount but this scope will be mostly for visual use. The $300 needs to cover the scope and an EQ mount. I dislike computerized mounts.
#$300 first scope recommendations?
vapid escarp
whole moth
if you're interested in visual only go for a dobsonian, doesn't require fiddling with an eq mount
vapid escarp
Can a dob track though? They’re az mounts right? I’d really like something that’s easy to track with, my main complaint with the cheap scope I had as a kid was it was such a pain trying to keep a planet in view for more than a few seconds.
whole moth
there are goto dobs but they're quite expensive, the difference with your old scope is that with a much larger aperture you get a wider fov and much more detail in whaterver you're looking at. Main advantage of dobs other than ease of use is that you're paying more for the scope and pretty much nothing for the mount as it's just a simple alt-az platform, if you want to get an eq mount you end up spending half for the scope and half for the mount
lost mortar
Get a 6" dob
vapid escarp
Could I mount it on an EQ down the road if I decide to get more into photography?
lost mortar
Sure if the scope can achive focus
Some dobs don't allow that
You can't reach focus on some without using a barlow, moving the mirror up or buying a new focuser
whole moth
Could I mount it on an EQ down the road if I decide to get more into photography...
you'll need tube rings and a dovetail plate
vapid escarp
Hmm, I’m not seeing any 6” dobs for under $450. There’s a 135mm Orion sky scanner which is close enough I guess? Would 135mm dob still be better than a 150/750mm on a cheap EQ mount?
vapid escarp
Thank you.
vapid escarp
Yeah. I’m keeping my eyes open locally as well. I haven’t pulled the trigger yet. I’ve probably got some time before the skies clear around here anyway. I’m hoping to find an Orion 6” or 8” . It looks like I just missed an 8” that went for $320 . I tried looking on astromart but I can’t see the price on any listings, and when I tried to make an account they wanted $15…. Anyway, if I can’t find anything I guess I can go for that heritage 150. eBay has some decent deals until you look at shipping which is usually another $100.
pliant zealot
Yeah. I’m keeping my eyes open locally as well. I haven’t pulled the trigger yet...
If your looking on eBay your doing it wrong
eBay is actually probably the worst place
Same with Facebook marketplace
Try cloudy nights
Chances are your gonna have to drive or get to shipped
No way around it really