Re: Vivitar Telescope Question


Glenn Holliday wrote:
wsnell01@xxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
Glenn Holliday wrote:
wsnell01@xxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
Glenn Holliday wrote:
... Until you get above the $200 line, binoculars
of the same price are likely to be more useful and better quality
than a telescope.
I'll have to disagree with that. There are many decent telescopes
priced -well- under $200 that will show more and work better than
similarly-priced binoculars. Recognizing them is the trick.

What do you recommend at that price?

At $100 the Orion Spaceprobe (3-inch Newtonian) is one possibility. I
used a similar model years ago that certainly showed more than any pair
of binoculars I could find. My scope even had 0.965-inch eyepieces,
instead of the much better 1.25-inch included with the Orion scope.

OK, sounds interesting. I've never seen that one in the flesh.

In the $200 range the Orion Starblast and XT4.5 reflectors come highly
recommended.

Yes, these are examples I was thinking of at the $200 level.

Lower on the price scale, I have seen 60mm refractors in the $50-$60
range, that might be worth a try.

In my personal experience, I've been happier with binos than with
scopes in this category. In this price range the optics may be OK,
but I generally see tripods, mounts, and finders that make the scope
difficult-to-impossible to use.

One well-known telescope store is selling , for $64, a 60mm refractor
that has eyepieces giving 35x and 70x and a finder that should work
fine. Judging by the picture on the Web site and based on my
experience with small scopes, it is extremely difficult for me to
imagine that the mount could be so bad that a pair of hand-held 7x or
10x binoculars would provide better, more detailed, images of the Moon
than that scope would at 35x.

... for every beginner who would buy a $200
scope there are probably many more who can afford only $100. If you
set the price of admission too high you might end up with fewer amateur
astronomers in the long run.

I agree. When I present to Scout groups I talk about naked eye
observing, and show a $25 pair of Wal-Mart binos as an example of a
low cost first instrument. And as I mentioned to the original poster,
an investment of (much less than) $100 in a local club often gets you
access to equipment.


Clubs can be helpful, but the advantage of having your own telescope,
which you can use on any clear night, shouldn't be underestimated. The
best thing you can do when giving advice is to find out a beginner's
price range and recommend the best scope available in that range.

.

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