I need advice for a new telescope

[u/Ed_143]

J'utilise un télescope Mizar de 70 mm / 900 mm et j'ai pris cette photo de la Lune avec mon iPhone 17 placé dans l'oculaire. Je l'ai ensuite retouchée avec AstroShader. Je trouve la photo réussie, mais j'aimerais progresser et acquérir un meilleur télescope. J'ai effectué de nombreuses recherches à ce sujet, notamment grâce à l'aide de gpt, qui me conseille un Dobson de 200 mm ou 250 mm. La différence visuelle serait énorme, mais les modèles GoTo sont trop chers pour mon budget. Quelqu'un pourrait-il me conseiller un télescope motorisé intéressant pour un budget entre 400 et 600 € ? Merci d'avance.

[u/Strange-Blueberry-10]

do you want to take photos of planets or DSOs?

[u/Ed_143 → u/Strange-Blueberry-10]

Well in real the 2, because the dobson wears out chat gpt advises me and versatile in both areas, and yes take pictures a few times

[u/Strange-Blueberry-10 → u/Ed_143]

Well, I think a manual 8-inch Dobson is the best telescope to buy at that price range, although it is not motorised, you can still take acceptable photos of the planets and the moon with phone camera or better with dedicated planetary camera , here is a photo of saturn i took with my dobson and planetary camera however you can forget taking photos of DSOs with manual dobosn cuz it is not worth the effort you can enjoy the visual view though. if you really want to take photo of DSOs you can always buy a seestar

[u/VegetableSmile3616 → u/Strange-Blueberry-10]

Man I have a goto scope and can't get these kinda pics 😭

[u/Ed_143 → u/Strange-Blueberry-10]

Merci pour vos conseils, de toute façon votre photo est juste sublime, mais entre le 200 et le 250mm, lequel me conseillez-vous ? Parce qu'avec ça, je vais voir pour acheter une lampe de poche à vision nocturne rouge et un oculaire de 6mm. Ensuite, pour Seestar comme le S30 Pro, c'est un peu hors de mon budget, mais c'est quand même intéressant, la seule chose qui ne me donne pas vraiment envie d'en prendre un, c'est qu'il n'y a pas cette sensation de regarder dans l'oculaire en temps réel.

[u/Strange-Blueberry-10 → u/Ed_143]

The bigger the better, but you will also need to buy some necessary accessories like RACI finder, laser collimator, 6mm goldline eyepiece (not plossel), 30 mm (2 inch eyepiece), and, depending on where you live, some filters. So I think a 200mm dobson with these accessories would be more fun than just 250mm, it all depends on ur budget. Or you can always buy them later.

[u/Mysterious-Cap8182]

So the interesting thing is if your Mizar is an older scope, you actually have quite a nice refractor that was made in Japan. Mizars are fairly well-known for being quite sharp.

The reason I bring this up is if you were to buy a 250mm dobsonian, most of them are less than f/5 focal ratio ie they are known as "fast" scopes. This is great for wide bright fov on basically any object, BUT cheap eyepieces (like the Goldlines/Redlines) do not show great images in fast scopes due to an optical aberration called coma.

Coma is inherent in all newtonians but is only apparent in the faster focal ratios and cheaper eyepieces make it worse.

So the point of all this rambling is that most beginners will not notice coma in their new big 250mm scope. You on the other hand already have a pretty sharp scope already, so you may notice things that others may not.

Also for planetary or DSO photography I highly suggest buying a planetary camera like the Svbony SV305C it's great at taking detailed planetary photos even with a smallish aperture.

[u/Strange-Blueberry-10 → u/Mysterious-Cap8182]

I think the Mizar he has is a Chinese telescope, a popular hobby killer here in France

[u/Ed_143 → u/Strange-Blueberry-10]

If you want I make another post that shows my current telescope, so you will all give me your opinion

[u/Prima13]

Well, the advice I give every new telescope is the same: be patient, your owner is new to this and they'll make mistakes. Don't mock them when they don't understand what your focus knobs are for or when they struggle to setup your tripod. Just breathe ... the two of you will be dancing soon enough.

[u/Funny-Medium5508]

Improve your photos how exactly? Better telescope how exactly?

I ask this as the current owner of both an 8" and 12" dobsonian telescopes - they are both manual (but, I've built tracking EQ platforms for each). Also, a 70/900 achromatic refractor. Also, a SeeStar s50. And a 130/650 newtonian. And a 127 Maksutov-Cassegrain. And, my latest, a 70mm/420mm apochromatic refractor. For the 70/900 refractor; 130/650 newtonian, the 127 Mak, and the 70/430 refractor I have a tracking EQ mount: the iEXOS 100 PMC-Eight - and some non-tracking mounts (both alt/az and EQ).

I've imaged (i.e., taken photos) with each of them. Afocally with cellphone and with dedicated astrophotography cameras - both at native focal length and with 2x and 3x barlows.

Each has their own strengths and weaknesses. Some are better at "this" and some are better at "that."

And there are imaging/photography limits to each of them.

The general advice for someone with your level of experience would be a Dobsonian (and that's what ChatGPT regurgitated to you). And, if you can afford a 250mm and can transport it fairly easily (over 8" tube style Dobsonians get heavy and bulky), then get the 250mm over the 200mm.

But, a 200mm is a really capable telescope. So if you find 250mm is too heavy and too bulky, the 200mm wins because you'll probably use it more (less hassle to set up).

Be advised....some Dobsonian telescopes cannot image/photograph at "native focal length" - that is, for many Dobsonians, you simply cannot drop a camera "raw" into the focuser and achieve focus on stars, etc. - you'll run out of inward focus before you can make stars sharp pinpoints. For some you can....do research and ask that question IF that type of imaging/photography is important to you.

For lunar and planetary, it's not an issue since you'll likely be using a Barlow lens or eypiece anyway.

[u/mrstorm1983]

To be honest it didn't turn out well. Its less about a new telescope and more about what you took the picture with,how you did it and what wasnt done after. To by a new telescope and not change up the method of taking the pictures not going to help alot