Telescope advice.

Brooksy

Brooksy

Messages
924
Name
Eric
Edit My Images
Yes
One of the things on my daughters Xmas list is a Telescope. She is 7, so I have been looking for something for that age range.
I know nothing about these things and found one at Toys R Us.

If anyone can have a quick look at give an opinion if possible?

Thanks

Eric

Clicky!
 
Thanks Tony, the TRU one did look a bit tacky to be honest, hence ask advice!

Will take a look there. Is there any you would advise? She is pretty sensible when it comes to this stuff, so would look after it, and I dont mind spending upto £100-120 for one.

Thanks
 
My Grandson has THIS Celestron, I am quite impressed with it my-self! He started with a 'toy' telescope and broke it within 3 weeks! Must say that one in the link looks awfully 'plasticy' There is a descent enough tripod and balance weight with the Celestron, AND it's on offer, AND it's free delivery!
 
The Meade 114mm gets good reviews and Meade are a reputable make. A bit more than £120 on that site but shop around and who knows...
 
I wouldn't spend a fortune, at 7 she'll look at the moon a couple of times and get bored with it, to see any level of detail you'll need to be looking through a decent high magnification lens, cheap ones are like looking through a coke bottle.

It's like camera gear, you get what you pay for, i'd leave it off the list this year, if she still shows an interest in a couple of years time save up some birthday and christmas money and get one worth having.
 
The budget telescopes aren't that bad quality and infinitely superior to cheap rubbish. You'd be surprised what you can see with a decent budget scope.
 
Download her a copy of Stellarium off the web, superb program and it's FREE yes FREE :D

I have a scope that cost me £370, it sat in a cupboard for about 2 years but I've just got interested again because Stellarium will control the scope.

Bit of a faff but it's great.

5D2 on a scope, should be fun.
 
ChrisH said:
Download her a copy of Stellarium off the web, superb program and it's FREE yes FREE :D

I have a scope that cost me £370, it sat in a cupboard for about 2 years but I've just got interested again because Stellarium will control the scope.

Bit of a faff but it's great.

5D2 on a scope, should be fun.
Click to expand...

Great idea - it'll show her where the interesting objects are :)
 
Some more info on THIS thread.

My Father has set his heart on buying our son one for Christmas and I think he's after spending a bit more money than i would like considering our son is only 5 and a half.

I'll be interested to see how it pans out, and yes Stellarium is very good, menu bars are in the bottom left hand corner !!

HTH

David
 
Islander said:
You might do better looking at a site like this one - much better build quality for the price :)
Click to expand...

This has had some good reviews (sorry can't remember where I read them) also Telescope house don't sell crap! They are also very friendly and knowledgeable dealers .... I would talk to them and see what they suggest :)
 
For that price range think about getting her a good pair of binoculars. They will be easier to use, can also be used in the day and will still allow her to see a lot more of the night sky. Coupleit with some of the software mentioned above and it will be a good introduction to the hobby for her.
 
I had a Meade LX90 10", which I sold for a pair of 25 x 100 binoculars on a decent tripod and a modified ball mount. The reason, it was simply too heavy to move, and moving it became uncomfortable during the winter. Now I can move in and outside at will within a couple of minutes.

You'll get more use out of a pair of binoculars, and my 25 x 100's are powerful enough for resolving Jupiter's larger moons.
 
25 x 100s? Good grief - I bet you use a tripod for those. Hardly standard bins :D

Binoculars are good but for a young girl anything above, say, 7 x 30 or so might not be too manageable because of the weight, plus if she has her heart set on a telescope and gets binoculars it might not work out that well ;)
 
The Chillinator said:
25 x 100 binoculars.
Click to expand...

Christ almighty, any chance of seeing a photo?

My main problem with binoculars is that my very dominant left eye is pretty much all I see through when I use them, so the right half is wasted.
 
Firstly, thanks for all the advice. Bin's are a nice idea, especially as we are at the caravan almost every weekend from March till December. I might say to her 'Santa has said what about..' And give some reasons for saying just so.

If not, I will call Telescope House and see what they suggest.

Thanks again everyone
 
Brooksy said:
Firstly, thanks for all the advice. Bin's are a nice idea, especially as we are at the caravan almost every weekend from March till December. I might say to her 'Santa has said what about..' And give some reasons for saying just so.

If not, I will call Telescope House and see what they suggest.

Thanks again everyone
Click to expand...

If you do decide to go for bins then it might be a good idea to buy a tripod clamp for them then you can go for a decent objective size. Don't be swayed by magnification, the size of the objective is far more important for its light gathering ability.
 
trencheel303 said:
Christ almighty, any chance of seeing a photo?
Click to expand...

They're on loan at the moment to a local astronomy club (they need gear to show kids the ropes). To be perfectly honest, 25 x 100's aren't exactly that big. They're chunky, but not colossal.

I'll try and get a photo of them once I get them back.
 
Hi I bought my daughter one of these(www.best-telescope-guide.com/meade-etx-70at.) when she was 8 and is still using it now at 18 the autostar data base makes it easy to use and intresting strait out of the box if like me you know nothing about astrology. You should be able to pick up a good second hand one in your price range.


www.talkphotography.co.uk/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=99838]
telesscope.jpg
[/url]
 
ChrisH said:
Download her a copy of Stellarium off the web, superb program and it's FREE yes FREE :D
Click to expand...

Google Sky Maps on Android.. ridiculously clever app and also free.
 
tarric said:
Hi I bought my daughter one of these(www.best-telescope-guide.com/meade-etx-70at.) when she was 8 and is still using it now at 18 the autostar data base makes it easy to use and intresting strait out of the box if like me you know nothing about astrology. You should be able to pick up a good second hand one in your price range.


www.talkphotography.co.uk/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=99838]
telesscope.jpg
[/url]
Click to expand...

I don't imagine there are too many on here who know anything about astrology. There are several who are quite knowledgable about astronomy though. ;)
 
Scarecrow said:
I don't imagine there are too many on here who know anything about astrology. There are several who are quite knowledgable about astronomy though. ;)
Click to expand...

I knew you were going to post that :D
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top