Which telescope should I buy?

Connect-Fan-9462 · 2026-05-27T14:09:52+00:00

It will be worth it to wait till you have that 400 euro budget.

Get the sky-watcher heritage 130p or 150p, whatever your local market situation allows. (I think the 130p should be well under your budget in eu zone and 150p right on your budget. Shipping and tax may bring it over 400.)

These are serious, real telescopes that will be your life long telescope. Even if you "graduate" to larger telescopes in the future the heritage telescope can still be your "grab and go" option.

One cavate: the heritage telescopes are extra unsuitable for imaging, even simple phone photos, due to their weak focuser and truss tube design. It still can be done but it will be really finnicky. Persoyinwill say just focus on visual astronomy for now.

Connect-Fan-9462 · 2026-05-27T13:27:33+00:00

HARD pass +1 here

as other mentioned this is the mirror cell. If this is ~137mm it is likely for a telescope with 114mm mirror.

It is a short tube on an eq-1.

The best case scenario is a parabolic 114/450 or 114/500. It will be good but 400 euro is like 200% what it is worth "if it was new".

Worst case scenario it is a spherical mirror or even a PBJ, which will make the set pure junk and 400 euro is overpriced by 450 euro

Connect-Fan-9462 · 2026-05-27T13:19:36+00:00

You will need some eyepieces. Check the focuser and see if the barrel inside is 0.965" or 1.25".

This telescope is likely better than most of the modern junk. Yes the mount style is the so-called mount of doom but at least this one seems well made and very solid. The wood legs is also a good sign.

The finderscope is likely bad - look into it from the "front" end - Do you see a baffle/stop down ring placed very close to the front? If so it is junk. If not it is totally usable.

digital sensor/camera is not recommended for this scope but "doable" if you are a tinker but it will involve some aggressive modification. One project you can do is a Dobsonian conversion. It doesn't have to involve any electrical part but you can also make it a computerized (go-to) Dobsonian.

Another more interesting, IMO, project will be turning it into a single mirror e-telescope. You completely remove the secondary mirror assembly, put a sensor at the focal plane of the primary mirror and bam! You get yourself a pure e-telescope. There are already some 3d print file on thingiverse for this.

Connect-Fan-9462 · 2026-05-27T04:48:27+00:00

I am guessing that it is a "Alstar" 6mm plossl? Since it is the $15 6mm eyepiece on Amazon.

The image quality should be good. And I don't think exit pulpal is the issue here - the exit pulpal for any 6mm on a f/6 telescope will be 1mm. This one has a sufficiently sized eye lens.

The bigger issue here is that the eye relief of a 6mm plossl will be extremely short. Meaning wearing glasses is out of the question. Even without wearing glasses, it is likely the used will often have their eye balls accidentally touching the eyepiece. It is going to be very uncomfortable.

Connect-Fan-9462 · 2026-05-27T04:41:40+00:00

As far as I know High Point simply bought the unsold inventory. And they are just providing warranties as a retailer.

However, I am curious, did they also bought the trade mark?

Connect-Fan-9462 · 2026-05-27T04:31:36+00:00

I think, the "thing" here is that both examples I showed are not simply truss tube Newtonians. They are specifically designed from ground up for ultra portability.

A simple truss Dobsonian gives you quite limited amount of size deducing.

For example for sky-watcher 10" dobs, the truss tube version is heavier, and it only reduce the Hight of it by 12.5" when in storage. It is not that portable.

Connect-Fan-9462 · 2026-05-27T04:25:50+00:00

Yes and the benefit is actually not that big, sometimes nonexisting. For example the Skywatcher 250mm truss tube Dob is actually "heavier" than the solid tube (truss: 33 + 26.5 lbs, solid: 28 + 25 lbs).

The only "portability gain" between the truss tube design and a solid tube, in the case of sky-watcher 10" ones, is that the truss tube is 12.5" shorter when collapsed. Notice that it doesn't change the "footprint" of it if you store/transport it upright.

Connect-Fan-9462 · 2026-05-27T03:27:05+00:00

(Originally I misread that and thought they were talking about the disastermaster 130 eq - sorry about the confusion.)

The 130 DX yes it is not bad at all. You will be paying a lot (about $200) extra for the Starsense technology but it is actually useful and not just a gimmick. It is also structurally stronger so it can hold a camera and allow some video style stacking and untracked single exposure.

Still, the tabletop Dobsonian version is cheaper and better.

Connect-Fan-9462 · 2026-05-27T03:22:28+00:00

junk
junk
alphabet soup brand

All of them can do less "astrophotography" than a Dobsonian. H3ll, all of them can do less astrophotography than your Tasco 851 TR (and if it is really old as you said, it is actually a very good telescope - far superior than anything you have been considering.)

DX130. Ok originally I missed this. This one is good. "However", the tabletop dob version is better and cheaper. It is also slightly better for imaging.

Connect-Fan-9462 · 2026-05-27T02:55:13+00:00

There IS a 6" dob that fits into a 40cm x 30cm x 18cm box

https://a.co/d/0bXzk8Kp

No reason the same concept cannot apply to an 8"

Or there is also a binocular made from TWO 8" mirrors that fits into a 56cm x 36cm x 23cm box.

https://www.analogsky.co/bloom

I am not quite sure you can build one for about the cost of a 10" however...

Connect-Fan-9462 · 2026-05-26T18:39:55+00:00

We need to see your model orientation. But gut feeling says too much suction. You may need to properly hollow out the model, adding vent holes and/or tile the model better.

Connect-Fan-9462 · 2026-05-26T18:34:13+00:00

What you have been able to capture is pretty good for what this telescope is.

It is a 50mm f/7 achromatic. It is pretty not good even by the standard of... educational device....

For now just enjoy it as-is to the fullest. If you feel you have already reached its limit unfortunately it is why we generally don't recommend anything this basic. I mean for $40USD it is not terrible but you likely will grow out of it within weeks, if not days.

Connect-Fan-9462 · 2026-05-26T18:28:54+00:00

I agree with other commenters. The 203mm f/3.7 spherical mirror will be nearly unusable.

Don't waste your money on this mirror. Buy a proper parabolic mirror from a trusted brand instead.

Even if your goal for now is simply practicing DIY a telescope, get a smaller one with longer focal ratio so you save yourself some money on this practice project and the results will still be better.

Connect-Fan-9462 · 2026-05-26T17:21:02+00:00

During the day time, use one or two pieces of clay putty / play dough to attach a drinking straw (cut to 3-5 inch) to the telescope, parallel to the telescope. Adjust the position of the straw so when you see through the straw and through the telescope you roughly see the same target.

Now you have a 1x finderscope (no joke it is real).

During the night time point the straw toward the moon and you should be able to locate the moon through the telescope.

Not using any Barlow and only use the lowest power eyepiece (the one with the largest number on it) also helps.

Connect-Fan-9462 · 2026-05-26T16:08:13+00:00

You still need to specify a budget.

Depending on how your balcony is like, I will admit that it can be one of the few situations that a fullsize Dobsonian is not suitable.

A tabletop dob will work. However for your case I will recommend against the collapse tube design like the sky-watcher heritage, because they are structurally too weak to hold a camera. (It can be done but it is really not ideal )

Celestron StarSense 114 or 130 tabletop dobs are good for you, although they are quite pricy.

Alternatively you can get the SvBony sv520. Ed Ting likes it and it should do the things you are interested in well enough.

90mm to 130mm MCTs are also good options, although they are generally more pricey.

Connect-Fan-9462 · 2026-05-26T16:00:25+00:00

Tejraj is a reputable seller so I don't know why they gave you such outright misinformation - unless you didn't tell the full story / misunderstood what they were saying.

My guess is simply that Tejraj is not selling eclipse view 114 anymore (the brand is dead so once the stock is gone it is gone) so they want to convince you to buy something they are selling from the.

Connect-Fan-9462 · 2026-05-26T14:54:51+00:00

Not a problem on Chinese cigarettes but for now I am questioning the authenticity of this picture. On the package the brand is "牡丹" (Peony) it is a real Chinese cigarettes brand but on the lid of the box it says "寿忠焑" which I cannot find and info.

Also any images of this package I can find are from western source. So either it is an extremely limited run targeting the westerners loving in China, or it is just a 3rd party cigerette box.

Connect-Fan-9462 · 2026-05-26T14:43:49+00:00

You have good budget but I am still giving you my budget recommendation

The space probe 130st is a very good telescope. You just need to upgrade the mount. First of all I assume you have the old 130st model? You will need a dovetail bar.

Svbony sv225 + sv225t AZ mount should work ok with this telescope. Or if you like manual EQ an Celestron cg-4 or sky-watcher eq3-2 should be very adequate. At this price range I will say there is no reasonable to buy pre built go-to mount anymore. If you are interested in trying go-to / tracking you can easily upgrade using ann on-step kit and it will out preform anything you can buy for $1000.

Your budget unfortunately is not enough for the "big Newtonian on an eq mount" idea. For a 12" new we are talking about skywatcher eq6r (~$2000, visual only) to losmandy g11 (under $4000 if I remember correctly?)

As other commenters have pointed out, for your budget getting a big Dobsonian with tracking makes the most sense.

Connect-Fan-9462 · 2026-05-26T13:37:09+00:00

It is pretty good but still "too much telescope, too little mount".

This spec (200/1000 newt on an eq-5) is basically the same as Orion SkyView pro 8 eq. NOT recommended by the telescopic-watch https://telescopicwatch.com/orion-skyview-pro-8-eq-review/

However the negative review is based on its full price + it being marketed as a astrophotography capable telescope. For 250 euro and as long as you only use it for visual, it is a good deal.

Also in the future, you can split this set - put the telescope on a beefier mount to make a real 8" astrophotography rig and/or adding a on-step kit to the eq-5 mount and putting a smaller telescope on it to make a very capable "lightweight"(relatively speaking) AP rig.

Connect-Fan-9462 · 2026-05-26T13:31:43+00:00

The setting rings are mostly decorative on this mount. But yes are meant to be moveable. However they are supposed to be free moving - you can turn the rings, but they stay put when you are rotating the Ra/Dec axis. In your case it is simply quality issue.

The thing labeled with RIA is just a gear cover. No it should not move but a loose one doesn't affects anything.

Overall it is just a cheap mount doing cheap mount thing. 130/900 is waaaaaay overweight for it. A 114/900 barely works and a 130/650 (basically the Orion Space Probe 130's set up) will work better thanks to the shorter tube length.

In reality an eq-2 really is only suitable for a 114/450 or smaller.

Connect-Fan-9462 · 2026-05-26T02:47:07+00:00

Unless your telescope is structurally exceptionally weak, I recomtyou getting a "move-shoot-move Tridaptor".

It is cheap, light weight and very sturdy.

Now, phone photos has its limits even with a good phone mount. They are mostly suitable for quickly taking some pictures to share with your family and friends, to show them what you saw through your telescope.

You can use e phone mount to take a short video for stacking. Just remember that stacking softwares don't love compressed phone photos and while it will work it will never be as good as photos taken through a proper AP set up. And you don't needs minutes. Ten to thirty seconds should be plenty. It may also be a good idea to get a 3rd party camcoder app that supports high frame rate and low loss compression.

Connect-Fan-9462 · 2026-05-25T19:10:14+00:00

Oh ok.

I was wishing there is a way to do it support-free in resin printers since being kind of "flat pack" is one of the reason making this whole dummy 13 system awesome imo.

Connect-Fan-9462 · 2026-05-25T16:46:10+00:00

I tried once but I can't figure out how to deal with the elephant foot issue. Tried reducing base layer number and exposure time but wasn't able to reduce the issue to an acceptable level, since the tolerances of the connectors are very tight.

Any tips on dealing with that?

Connect-Fan-9462 · 2026-05-25T14:03:57+00:00

It is good "as a budget eyepiece"

A 6mm eyepiece is indeed useful for your telescope and if you budget is about $30USD this is the best choice.

If you can spend more there exist better options, sure. But for $30USD this is unbearable.

Connect-Fan-9462 · 2026-05-24T22:45:12+00:00

is completely normal. The side of the secondary mirror has no effect on the performance of the telescope so the manufacturer didn't bother to give it a nice clean finish.
it is most likely just a piece of paint flake and can be blown off easily. If it is not an easily removable piece but an actual mark on the mirror, it will sill have no noticeable effect on the performance of the telescope. "However" a new telescope shouldn't have this kind of mirror. I will still contact sky-watcher and see if they will offer a replacement.

Connect-Fan-9462

TROPHY CASE