Best ultra-portable telescope vs. binoculars?

Hi all, I'm new here. Looking for an ultra-portable way to view the stars.
I live in a flat, so I want something I can take downstairs to the rear
gardens at night, without worry about power sources, and large cumbersome
tripods, carry cases and scopes.

I tried out a Celestron NexStar 130GT Telescope but found it far too big for
this, although I do like the AutoStar feature. Just a shame it's so power
hungry.

I also tried out a good £800 pair of binoculars with image stabiliser but
found focussing hard (I'd get double images with my eyes and it was a bit of
a strain on them).

Is there a really nifty, mini-scope, or a more suitable pair of binocs, with
some sort of AutoStar or red laser alignment feature (perhaps a manual,
power-free version of AutoStar), that anyone would recommend given the above
info?

Cheers guys,

Gill

You'd probably get on well with the Meade ETX series - perhaps an
ETX90? I bought one prior to getting my 10" LX200 and was very
impressed with the performance. I still use it as a "quick look" scope;
even though the LX200 is permanently mounted and ready for instant
use...

Cheers
Beats

My old scopes were too heavy to move, especially to move around by
backyard for short viewing sessions, so I bought a Borg77mm achro
refractor to try out small scopes. I was happy with it expecially after
buying a Nagler eypiece for it. Then I went further with Nagler's 85mm
apochromat and am happy with it, even bought a Borg50 for use on the
85mm as a finder (which can also be used as a tiny scope).

I had also bought a new pair of binoculars, an Swift-Audobon 8x44?,
easier than my 20x80 but neither come anywhere the sharpness of the
above scopes.

"George Hein" wrote in message
...
My old scopes were too heavy to move, especially to move around by
backyard for short viewing sessions, so I bought a Borg77mm achro
refractor to try out small scopes. I was happy with it expecially after
buying a Nagler eypiece for it. Then I went further with Nagler's 85mm
apochromat and am happy with it, even bought a Borg50 for use on the 85mm
as a finder (which can also be used as a tiny scope).

George,
What are you using for a mount?

"justbeats" wrote in message
ups.com...
You'd probably get on well with the Meade ETX series - perhaps an
ETX90? I bought one prior to getting my 10" LX200 and was very
impressed with the performance. I still use it as a "quick look" scope;
even though the LX200 is permanently mounted and ready for instant
use...

I wouldn't recommend an ETX in this case, it is pretty heavy and powerhungry. Why not try an
Orion 80mm short tube ? small, light, great views.
--
Martijn (astro-at-pff-software.nl)
10" LX200GPS-SMT
ETX105
www.xs4all.nl/~martlian

"md" wrote

I wouldn't recommend an ETX in this case, it is pretty heavy and
powerhungry. Why not try an
Orion 80mm short tube ? small, light, great views.

Their new Orion Express "semi-APO" looks pretty nice, and can be fitted to a
photo tripod (though I'd recommend that only if you already HAVE a heavy
duty photo tripod). The 80 Express with equatorial mount costs $599 US.

Howard Lester

"Howard Lester" wrote in message
...
"md" wrote

I wouldn't recommend an ETX in this case, it is pretty heavy and
powerhungry. Why not try an
Orion 80mm short tube ? small, light, great views.

Their new Orion Express "semi-APO" looks pretty nice, and can be fitted to
a
photo tripod (though I'd recommend that only if you already HAVE a heavy
duty photo tripod). The 80 Express with equatorial mount costs $599 US.

How does one use these without a photo tripod? Can it be used on a flat
surface or on the ground?

Gillian Martins wrote:

I live in a flat, so I want something I can take downstairs to
the rear gardens at night, without worry about power sources,
and large cumbersome tripods, carry cases and scopes.

I tried out a Celestron NexStar 130GT Telescope but found it
far too big for this ...

I'm curious exactly what your problem with the 130GT is.
For a motorized scope of its size, this unit is actually
quite light. Most people can take an 18-lb scope, fold up
the legs, tuck the tripod over one shoulder with the tube
behind their backs, and walk more or less forever
(including up and down stairs) without strain. However,
the tube is long enough to be a bit cumbersome in that
position. Is the problem actually the weight, the size,
or some detail about the way you carry it? Or is the real
problem supplying power to it?

In any case, it's certainly possible to get a *much* smaller,
but still quite capable scope. I can give more specific
recommendations once you've answered the questions above.

I also tried out a good =A3800 pair of binoculars with
image stabiliser but ... I'd get double images ...

I'm not sure if the problem is in your eyes or in the
particular binoculars you were using. Do you have the
same problem with regular binoculars?

But binoculars really fill a different niche from telescopes.
Image-stabilized binoculars work at higher magnification
than normal hand-held binoculars, but telescopes go *much*
higher than that. Binoculars are great for browsing deep-sky
objects, especially if your skies are nice and dark, but
even the cheapest telescope does a far better job on the
planets or the Moon.

- Tony Flanders

Hi Tony, basically it's the size not the weight. The tripod on that thing
is pretty big due to the motor, and essentially that makes it more
cumbersome than I find acceptable. The fact that it's so power hungry only
adds to the issues.

Please do give more specific recommendations, although I do like the look of
the Orion.

Gill

PS: I think binocs may not be the answer, as you say.

Stephen Paul wrote:
"George Hein" wrote in message
...

My old scopes were too heavy to move, especially to move around by
backyard for short viewing sessions, so I bought a Borg77mm achro
refractor to try out small scopes. I was happy with it expecially after
buying a Nagler eypiece for it. Then I went further with Nagler's 85mm
apochromat and am happy with it, even bought a Borg50 for use on the 85mm
as a finder (which can also be used as a tiny scope).


George,
What are you using for a mount?

The Borg came with a tripod and "fork", really great for portibility and
a quick look, but it is made for midgets (I'm over 6' tall). See
Hutech.com for details. The turret is OK, eyepieces are of some use,
but I converted to a 2" diagnal and a Nagler-13mm

I had intended to buy a Bogen tripod and Bogen 410 head for the
TeleVue-85 but instead opted for a used TeleVue-telepod which works very
well, although not as portable.