First telescope

Hi All

This is my first post here & hopefully I have picked the correct forum to post this question in if not apologies.

I am looking into buying my first telescope this week & I must say its a bit of a daunting task what with all the makes models & mounts out there.

I think i have narrowed it down to Skywatcher Startravel 102 Refractor SynScan AZ Goto as I would like to have a general all rounder for terrestrial & astro photography.

Can any of you suggest a reason that I should not go for this model or recommend a better beginner option?

Thanks a million

Hey there welcome to the forum im still quite new to astronomy my self i started off with a pair of 10x50 binoculars that i bought for 20 quid then i got a second hand pair of celestron 25x100 binoculars and a second hand tripod that i found on adverts.ie all in i spent less than 300 there great for learning your way around the sky and as you learn more about astronomy you will figure out what kind of telescope you want to upgrade to and also how much your willing to spend on it infact i like using binoculars so much that ive upgraded to yet another pair of 28x110s from tsoptics.

Good luck,

Brendan.

Hi Brendan

Thanks a million for your post back & suggestion
I must have a look at some binoculars & see what types are put there can anyone recommend some good reading material that I could get to learn my way around the night sky?

Thanks again

Tim

BeeOnLion wrote: I think i have narrowed it down to Skywatcher Startravel 102 Refractor SynScan AZ Goto as I would like to have a general all rounder for terrestrial & astro photography.

Can any of you suggest a reason that I should not go for this model or recommend a better beginner option?

Well this set up is not suited for astro photography at all...
For general use its great.you have GO TO which is a great function for a beginner and its suitable for terrestrial use aswell.Just dont know how practical it would be?

I agree with nerro GOTO is excellent for beginners if your looking for reading material go to easons and get one of the monthly magazines they have star charts in the centerfold and they will include a list of all the binocular targets which will be visible for the month, in my opinion i would not go about buying the irish publication it tends to be a copy of the other reputable magazines but the best way of learning is to join your nearest astronomy club and attend meetings.

Brendan.

I second that, try go to one of the astronomy clubs and get a hands on experience with the telescopes there. A mistake I often see people make is that they get hung up on and have their hearts set on a particular make/model, you should always look around.
I have a F5 4" celestron refractor but not on this mount, a very similar if not identical ota to the one you suggested.
Sure its fine for some widefield DSLR imaging, your problem with be the mount, I'd be surprised if you got anything better then very quick wide angle shots of the moon with it, you can forgot about any planetary imagng with it, the image scale is tiny with a toucam with it, and for deepsky, well this mount is an altaz for starters, anything needing longer exposures wont give decent results.

Been a F5 scope, you get multiple degree wide field of views with a low power eyepiece, goto is good but almost unnecessary with such a widefield scope.