Choosing a telescope...

O.K. I'm sure you guys get this question so many times that it's
starting to irritate you

I'm new to astronomy. I did a year of astronomy as a filler course at
university for my BSc and I'm really interested in taking it up as a
hobby.

Here's the situation. I live in South Africa where it's pretty hard to
find clubs and equipment so I've been doing a lot of research on
telescopes myself. I'm also a keen photographer and am intrested in
astrophotography. I wanted to get a telecope that can introduce me to
astronomy but that will keep me occupied for a while. I'll probably
only be able to affor one telescope for now and maybe get another if I
get any further with this.

The telescopes I've found that look quite good to me (as someone with
no clue whatsoever are these:

Celestron 114EQ
Celestron 114EQ Short
Meade DS-2114ATS
Mease LDX55

Are any of these any good? Any other suggestions?

Thanks for reading all this and thanks for any help
Nick Rowan

Save up for an 8" or larger Celestron or Meade SCT. Photography, when you get
to it, will be much easier and better.

Clear, Dark, Steady Skies!
(And considerate neighbors!!!)

Nick Rowan wrote:

I'm also a keen photographer and am intrested in
astrophotography. I wanted to get a telecope that can introduce me to
astronomy but that will keep me occupied for a while. I'll probably
only be able to affor one telescope for now and maybe get another if I
get any further with this.

The telescopes I've found that look quite good to me (as someone with
no clue whatsoever are these:

Celestron 114EQ
Celestron 114EQ Short
Meade DS-2114ATS
Mease LDX55

Nick,

Optical performance aside, I suspect all the above are on mounts that
would be defficient for astrophotography (Caveat: I do not recognize
the Meade DS-2114ATS).

If your astrophoto goals include DSOs (nebulae and galaxies -- "faint
fuzzies") you will want at least an 8" (200 mm) aperture and more is
better for that purpose.

Phil