Seeking Suggestions for My First Telescope Purchase

[hardy dock]

To capture DSO images you probably want something on a motorised EQ mount (go to). You can take photos with an AZ mount but it’s more difficult and you can’t do long exposures (unless you go with rotators or eq platforms etc, though not sure how to solve guiding then). Your first 5 scopes are dobsonian ones. The skyline pro 80 is a scope with a very long focal length, which means you will be very zoomed in, not sure about the other Newtonian telescopes you listed but they don’t look like ones on goto mounts.

I would search for a good (preferably used) eq goto mount and a scope suitable for the mount. You can use astronomy tools website to check field of view for telescopes, I usually compare it against m42 (Orion nebula) to see what I can get with a particular scope. The budget you mentioned (should be more than enough to get something nice). You could also check some smart telescopes (like Seestar s50/s30 or dwarf ones) if this is something you would consider.

[flint badger]

I would say choose one thing

U can look at planets and capture dso too but like

Better to focus on one u like more

And as the guy above said, u ideally want a EQ mount

[hard crypt]

aha thanks for info

is this good telescope for it's price, i like that it supports up to 10kg equipment for astrophotography

[hard crypt]

thanks for that, will definetly go for DSO for now and buy cheaper telescope without a mount for visual astronomy

[hard crypt]

if this EXOS-2 GOTO mount is even good

[hardy dock]

I have never heard about this mount, though opinions on the Internet aren’t very merciful, especially with regards to the astrophotography bit

[flint badger]

Cool cool

[flint badger]

Wouldn’t reccomend this

[hard crypt]

Okay, now I’m lost. Why wouldn’t you recommend this telescope? Is the issue with the telescope, the mount, or both? I’m completely confused and don’t know what to look for when buying. What setup would you buy with a 1200€ budget, not counting the camera, since I’d buy that couple a month later?

[flint badger]

Can I be honest with you, it’s just simply nobody uses these for AP, that’s why I’m guessing it’s bad which it most probably is for AP

What focal length do u fancy? Do u want big nebulae or just galaxies and small nebulae

Or, could be something in between

[hard crypt]

I’m looking for something similar to the Seestar s50, but with better image quality, possibly with a bit more magnification, and with the option to upgrade to a better telescope later on

Or same image quality as the Seestar S50, but with the option to upgrade the telescope later on

[hardy dock]

I would probably go with Seestar s50 initially, played with it for a year and if I felt this is too limited then I would sell it and go for sth else, knowing what to look for.
I assume this might be a not satisfying answer.
I heard good things about mounts like eq5pro (or even better if you could get a used eq6r pro).
I also heard good things about harmonic drive mounts from china, like juwei ones (the mounts themselves only, I am not sure about customer care in case something bad happened).
Wrt telescopes you need to decide if you want a refractor or reflector, if reflector I would go for skywatcher Quattro series. For reflectors you might need a coma corrector that might be pricey.
For refractor telescopes I don’t feel that experienced in this segment, but I believe sth like askar 71f could do the trick.
I suggest you check Astrobin photos taken with the same rig you would like to buy to see if the results are satisfactory to you (as well as fov etc)
Please bear in mind that for AP you might want to get a guiding scope, guiding camera and maybe some filters as well. Not sure if these should get included in the budget as well or not. You could also search for similar questions to yours already answered.

[nova kraken]

The exos2 goto isnt that good i think

but if you buy the non goto version and put an onstep kit on it then its good

the onstep kit is better than the included goto

[nova kraken]

this is the best mount in that price range

its better than eq5 and eqm35 pro

eqm35 pro can often be found for crazy low prices tho so watch for that one too

i only bought one bc i found it at a 40% sale

[thorny vector]

I would not buy a SeeStar

It will single handedly ruin your motivation to do AP

[nova kraken]

why would it do that

i think itd do the opposite with everything just working and not needing you to mess with it for it to work, tho that may just be my trauma from my old dob mount lol

[thorny vector]

There is literally nothing involved with a SeeStar… you drop it on the ground and it does it all for you. Just seems boring to me.

Part of this hobby and other hobbies is figuring out how stuff works

Can’t do that with a SeeStar

[nova kraken]

the part i hate though is when i know how the thing works and its not my fault that my mount isnt working

id rather have something i can just drop on the ground and it just works how i want it

i see where youre coming from but if you just look at the images, the seestar can do some great stuff for the price

its up to them if they want something that does the hard work for them

[thorny vector]

Well then buy stuff that works

Your mount should work… it’s all a matter of can you get it to work properly

And yes the SeeStar can do some “decent” stuff for the price but I just feel that it defeats the purpose of the hobby

[nova kraken]

this is my old dob that just doesnt work properly lol

[nova kraken]

that is an opinion, so thats up to panademic to decide if they want something like that

[thorny vector]

That is an opinion but I’ll confidently say that is the popular opinion

[thorny vector]

Well certainly that is a user error because dobsonian bases don’t ship broken

[nova kraken]

yes the mount itself wasn't broken but the software definitely is

bc at the start i was doing some stuff wrong but i corrected everything it's just other issues

[hardy dock]

So I would disagree with you on this one...

[hardy dock]

It just sounds as a gatekeeper’s phrase. The experience doesn’t differ that much than AP with ie ASIAIR.

[nova kraken]

i think what he's saying is that with a traditional rig, you still know everything about it since you put it together and did the research to buy everything in it, but with a smart scope you just buy a thing that can take these pictures and set it outside

But I think exactly that is why smart scopes are good, you don't need to do that stuff to use one so it makes entering ap more beginner friendly

Also, I'd like to see a traditional fully automated rig for the same price as a seestar s30

[hardy dock]

I don’t get these phrases that Seestar defeats the purpose of the hobby. This sounds like a definition of a gatekeeping…
If you want to stack and post process the photos as with any other rigs, go for it, not sure how about now but before you could even run it in eq mode.
I have a feeling that people, that didn’t try it, complain about it

[nova kraken]

Exactly

I am thinking of buying an s30 to image alongside my traditional rig

It's a great little telescope

[hardy dock]

You can even use your own filters (at least I do)

[hardy dock]

I do the same but with s50:)

[nova kraken]

yea isn't the aperture small enough on some that you can put one in front the lens

[hardy dock]

I got the adapter and use 2” narrowband filters with great results

[nova kraken]

yea a 1.25" filter fits over a dwarf or s30

[hardy dock]

The stars are pinpoint

[nova kraken]

That does kind of count as an upgrade path

You can add filters and put in in eq mode, some small upgrades but they're better than nothing

[thorny vector]

Gatekeepers phrase?

Trust me, I do not own a Seestar and never will

I just strongly believe that a Seestar is not the way to enter the hobby, you are unable to upgrade it and the capabilities are limited

[nova kraken]

It's capable of more than a traditional rig of the same price

[ruby quarry]

A Seestar isn't a bad choice. It depends on what you value. If you want to get lots of data and process it without worrying too much about setup or weight, a Seestar is perfect. It's also a really good instrument for outreach if you're like me and inclined to share the hobby with others (they are quickly becoming popular in my local astronomy club for outreach). And the Seestar is how some older folks are staying in the hobby if they've lost their mobility, stamina, etc. and can't use their larger telescopes.

But if you are the kind of person who does care a lot about finer details of your equipment, or you want to try visual astronomy at all, pick something else.

I'll echo the sentiment that the recommendations for an astrophotographic vs. a visual setup are going to be very different. An 8" Dobsonian is an excellent starting point for visual astronomy, but it's far from ideal for any astrophotography besides lunar or planetary (and there are better choices for those).