Cheap Telescopes
September 21, 2008 – 2:22 pmWe see so many people searching for cheap telescopes but do they really know what they are letting themselves in for? Unfortunately when it comes to telescopes ‘cheap’ all too often equals ‘cheap and nasty’.
There are so many light plastic scopes on the market it’s just not funny. They come on lightweight tripods (can’t really justify calling them mounts) and are likely to let yo see just about nothing! Even lunar views are difficult as the light tripods and lightweight tubes shake and vibrate so much.
Needless to say the eyepieces these cheapies come with are rubbish too.
Those cheap telescopes you see at department stores should be avoided at any price. They are made of inferior materials and are so hard to get a focus on anything with, that they will only turn you off your budding interest in astronomy. It is incredibly frustrating seeing well meaning parents buy these things for children. You just know the poor kid will lose interest rapidly. By talking to someone knowledgeable they could actually have a much better telescope for not a geat deal more in price.
Its largely the same with the cheap telescopes you see on ebay. Steer clear of any supplier talking about 200x magnification or somesuch. Telescopes (good ones) are not sold on their magnification power, they are sold on their ability to resolve detail in whatever it is you are observing.
The key to resolution is aperture and the quality of the optics, the more of each you have the greater the ability of your telescope to produce a good result.
Now if you are price driven and need to find a cheap telescope without the nasty quality, take a look at the bagains from Amazon we’ve listed on this site, you’ll find some decent refractor and reflector telescopes which won’t break the bank.
Remember little refractors are easy to setup and use and perform pretty well in city and suburban light conditions whereas reflectors can allow great viewing in good conditions and generally offer a great blend of price and performance.
A 70mm refractor will get you started but a 114mm or larger reflector offers you greater ability to see further.