What Happened to Service and Product Advice?

I'm looking to buy either a Meade ETX125 or a Celestron Nexstar 6';. I contacted 2 online vendors, both presumably large, and neither one offered any advice as to which is better for photographing galaxies and which would be more reliable in the long run. One said nothing of consequence and the other said I should speak with someone in an astronomy club or online group. It would appear that both are order takers and have little expertise when it comes to the products they are flogging. At least that's what I gathered. Can anyone give me some advice on which of the 2 scopes is better for deep space photography and planetary viewing? Thanks in advance. LarryWhat Happened to Service and Product Advice?
You're making a serious mistake in making deep space astrophotography a requirement for a beginner's telescope purchase. Astrophotography is by far the most difficult and expensive area of amateur astronomy, and is something best left until after you get some experience in visual observing with a basic telescope.





Here are a few web pages with good information on beginner's telescopes:


http://www.gaherty.ca/tme/TME0702_Buying鈥?/a>


http://www.scopereviews.com/begin.html


http://observers.org/beginner/j.r.f.begi鈥?/a>





For more advanced information, read Phil Harrington's Star Ware, 4th edition (Wiley).





You'll get the greatest value for your money with a Newtonian reflector on a Dobsonian mount, such as these:


http://www.telescope.com/control/categor鈥?/a>


http://www.skywatchertelescope.net/swtin鈥?/a>





Buy from a store which specializes in telescopes and astronomy, either locally or online; don't buy from department stores, discount stores or eBay as mostly what they sell is junk. A local astronomy store is a far more reliable source of buying information than any large online dealer; they have the time to answer your questions. Find your local astronomy club and try out different telescopes at one of their star parties:


http://www.skyandtelescope.com/community鈥?/a>





The two scopes you mention are both totally unsuitable for deep space photography because their mounts are only suitable for visual observing (despite what the ads might say). The NexStar 6 is about the smallest aperture which can be used for serious planetary observing, though I'd recommend an 8'; or 10'; myself.





[Edit] David B.: ';I prefer the ETX125. Apperture is always ';King';. The larger the diameter, the better.'; Uh, David, last time I looked at a ruler, 6'; was larger than 125mm. I own a NexStar 6 myself, and it is well and solidly made, almost all solid metal. The ETX125 is mostly plastic. I'll take the NexStar any day: bigger aperture, better quality construction.What Happened to Service and Product Advice?
Neither one will do for photographing galaxies. To do that you need long exposure photography where the camera shutter is open for many minutes or even hours at a time and the telescope must track the object across the sky perfectly all during the exposure. Those telescopes *can* track OK, but since there are both altaz mounted, there will be field rotation, meaning the object in the field of view appears to turn as the telescope tracks it across the sky. That would smear the image. To do long exposure photography requires an equatorial mount which can track without introducing field rotation, a really good camera, a lot of skill, and plenty of patience and perseverance. Although you may be able to get an equatorial wedge accessory to turn these altaz telescopes into equatorial telescopes, it is not a good place for beginners to start. And visually viewing galaxies is usually massively disappointing for beginners too, because they look like dim, colorless, featureless blobs to your eye. It takes the long exposure photograph to bring out the detail and color, even in much larger telescopes.
I would not recommend either telescope as they are too small for planets, other than Jupiter, Saturn and certainly too small for galaxies and are no good AT ALL for astrophotography. Your budget is obviously not enough if you are thinking of getting one of these toys. Even beginners in astrophotography usually spend between US$5,000-10,000 on the very basic equipment of Mount, Telescope and Camera equipment in that order. The mounts on those 2 are not up to it.





The only advice I can give you is join your local club and find out a LOT more about telescopes before deciding what to buy. If you want to do astrophotography with a DSLR get Michael Covingtons book on the subject. Its for beginners like you.
Either scope is good. I prefer the ETX125. Apperture is always ';King';. The larger the diameter, the better. Are you hoping to take pics through the eyepiece, or do you plan on investing in astrophotography equipment?


Service? Product advise? Today's customer service is totally lacking. Nobody seems to want to learn their product enough to help potential customers.





Clear Skies -





DB
way to go geoff g!





the way i look at it, if you have to ask here, you should reconsider your requirements. when you are ready to photograph galaxsees, you will know what you need and what to do with it.





both are nicely portable, but too small for heavy duty deep sky work.
Try websites which are reviews of telescope equipment. Real users and their opinions and reviews of all kinds of telescopes and related equipment.