Interesting video. Can you please tell me which one I should buy for visual observations (not astrophotography): a Bresser 102/1000 mm for 300 $ or a TS Optics 70/420 mm ED FLP-51 for 430$ ? I don't know which of the two would have a better performance / resolution. Bigger apochromats are simple too expensive for me. Other types of telescopes are not an option for me since I don't want to bother with collimation. Thank you!
I'm entirely visual as well. So, "expensive glass" is for color correction, which matters at high power. At low power, you can get by with inexpensive glass. There is a LOT of value to low power viewing, particularly in dark skies (sweeping through the Milky Way). Also, Deep Sky Objects are generally colorless. Your 102/1000, will give great low power views, and, because it's f10, will have reasonable good color correction at reasonable power, you'll get very good views of the moon, Jupiter and Saturn. So it's a good all around performer. The 70/420 is going to have a very hard time magnifying the planets - 70mm maxes at 140x. It will excel at wide angle views - it will show over 5 times as much sky at lowest power (but you don't need the FPL-51 for that). My recommendation for general scope is an inexpensive 100mm f6. You lose some higher power, but you get a wider view than the f10. Many do prefer the higher power and are happy to sacrifice the wider fields - it depends on your viewing habits. My video on that is: ua-cam.com/video/Qt13w1U-0Gg/v-deo.htmlsi=tUMFEjSuCX7jLXNu I think Celestron Starsense Explorer is revolutionizing astronomy for "the masses" as it's an amazingly simple way to get "computer targeting" on a scope cheaply. I find it better than far more expensive systems. My review on that is here: ua-cam.com/video/5lmE1amf5js/v-deo.htmlsi=v4R56gQvAcilFyhg For me, I have 90mm refractor and that's as small as I ever want to use, and I'll always, always, always have a 100mm f6. They're inexpensive enough that I'm not afraid to take it with me anywhere or even put it in a suitcase when flying. Also, you can often pick up some excellent gear "at a steal" on craigslist. The 100mm refractors are often below $100, and Costco sells the 102mm f6.7 for as low as $150 at Christmas. Good luck! -jeff
Interesting video. Can you please tell me which one I should buy for visual observations (not astrophotography): a Bresser 102/1000 mm for 300 $ or a TS Optics 70/420 mm ED FLP-51 for 430$ ? I don't know which of the two would have a better performance / resolution. Bigger apochromats are simple too expensive for me. Other types of telescopes are not an option for me since I don't want to bother with collimation. Thank you!
I'm entirely visual as well. So, "expensive glass" is for color correction, which matters at high power. At low power, you can get by with inexpensive glass. There is a LOT of value to low power viewing, particularly in dark skies (sweeping through the Milky Way). Also, Deep Sky Objects are generally colorless. Your 102/1000, will give great low power views, and, because it's f10, will have reasonable good color correction at reasonable power, you'll get very good views of the moon, Jupiter and Saturn. So it's a good all around performer. The 70/420 is going to have a very hard time magnifying the planets - 70mm maxes at 140x. It will excel at wide angle views - it will show over 5 times as much sky at lowest power (but you don't need the FPL-51 for that).
My recommendation for general scope is an inexpensive 100mm f6. You lose some higher power, but you get a wider view than the f10. Many do prefer the higher power and are happy to sacrifice the wider fields - it depends on your viewing habits. My video on that is: ua-cam.com/video/Qt13w1U-0Gg/v-deo.htmlsi=tUMFEjSuCX7jLXNu
I think Celestron Starsense Explorer is revolutionizing astronomy for "the masses" as it's an amazingly simple way to get "computer targeting" on a scope cheaply. I find it better than far more expensive systems. My review on that is here: ua-cam.com/video/5lmE1amf5js/v-deo.htmlsi=v4R56gQvAcilFyhg
For me, I have 90mm refractor and that's as small as I ever want to use, and I'll always, always, always have a 100mm f6. They're inexpensive enough that I'm not afraid to take it with me anywhere or even put it in a suitcase when flying.
Also, you can often pick up some excellent gear "at a steal" on craigslist. The 100mm refractors are often below $100, and Costco sells the 102mm f6.7 for as low as $150 at Christmas.
Good luck!
-jeff