Oh Colin,

It can get so very exspensive, espcially when things are slack at work
and one spends days perusing online astro catalogs.

I reckon the Orion is better VFM cos of all the extras you get built in...

Rob


"Colin Johnson" wrote in message
om...
I'm looking at either of those two scopes now... and I'm in something
of a bind. I've decided that I want 8", and the HEQ5 mount rather than
the EQ5 (which I hear is borderline for an 8", plus the motors and
built-in polar alignment scope seem like a good bet). I have found a
shop that has the Europa 200 1200 mm, with HEQ5 mount, Hilux coating,
2" focuser upgrade and 9x50 finder for a grand total of... well..
nearly a grand (£874), and already on order for the middle of May.
That'd come with two Plossi eyepieces (25mm and 10 or 9 mm).

I could also get the Explorer for substantially less (£580). It'd come
with just the one 28mm eyepiece, so I'd probably buy a 10mm and
perhaps a 2x Barlow. Lead time on that is unknown though. We're
looking at probably £650-80 here I suspect.

Any advice as to whether paying the extra £200 for the Orion would be
worth it, given the Hilux coating and 2" focuser? Or would I be happy
with the Skywatcher? This hobby that I'm embarking on is getting
pricey :-O