Camera Labs

I am looking to get a telescope for my son and really don't want to spent too much. I would like to keep it under $300. I also don't know anything about them and only have about three weeks to find one. I want to get the most bang to my buck and something that will be fun and easy for us to use. Also I have a 40d and thought it might me fun to be able to use that with it too.

Hi nikon90s,

May I offer you a warm welcome to the CameraLabs forum.

Sky & Telescope magazine have some useful tips on choosing a telescope but I'll echo the caution they offer on this page:

While it may be tempting, resist the urge to buy the cheapest telescope available. Most of these are poor quality optically, mechanically, or both, and will disappoint.
If you've a budget of less than $200, consider good binoculars instead.

But there's nothing quite like the pride of owning your first telescope, especially when you are young, so S&T also offer some buying advice at your budget which you can read in their feature Low-Cost Starter Scopes. While some of the telescopes were reviewed some time ago I note that the article was last updated as recently as last November so I hope it's of use.

Bob.

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OM-D E-M5 + ED 12-50mm, H-PS14042E, H-F007014E, L-RS014150E, M.ZUIKO DIGITAL 45mm 1:1.8.
Gitzo GT1541T, Arca-Swiss Z1 DP ball-head.
Astrophotography: TEC 140 'scope, FLI ML16803 camera, ASA DDM60 Pro mount.

for 300$, You may want to forget marrying the Telescope and the Camera unless you want to limit yourself to the moon.

My best advice is too contact your local astronomy club. They often organize evening where the general public is invited to use their equipment. You will get a better idea of different telescope type.

From my experience. if you get a cheap telescope, you will be disappointed. Just look at Craiglist. You will find the crappiest telescope ever. They are frustrating to use and I do not recommend any of them. I recommend a minimum 6" dobsonian telescope as the first purchase.

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Canon T2i (550D)- Tamron 17-50 F2.8 Non-VC, Sigma 70-200mm F2.8 EX DG OS HSM, Canon EF-S 55-250mm F4.5-F5.6
http://www.astronomyphotography.com

I emailed my local club last night and have not heard back from them yet. What should I look for in a first? This is a few that I found and think they would be a good start for a 6 year old, I also live in a small town with little light bleeding into the sky and can get out of town in 5 min. if I need to. I don't want to spent too much because he is 6

http://www.celestron.com/c3/product.php ... &ProdID=30

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/3 ... 130mm.html

http://www.astronomics.com/main/product ... id/AM130MD

At an age of six, I think he is not going to care about optical qualities. Chances are he'll break it/scratch the glass or anything. How about a nice scope for you, and a cheap 30 dollar scope for him. Let him use his own when he wants to, and yours under close supervision?

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I take pictures so quickly, my highschool was "Continuous High".

Agree with Citruspers.

A six year old is not going to demand the optical performance that your photography does. Id get a cheap one, let him learn to use it and inevitably break it before too long and then get a more expensive one at a later date.

In terms of telescopes for photography, I think Popo wrote a review of one somewhere on this site. Maybe in the User Review section, I cant remember.

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Nikon D5000 and D300 with 12-24mm, 35mm f1.8, 50mm f1.4, 60mm f2.8 Macro, 18-200mm, 17-55mm f2.8 (all Nikon)

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Nikon D5000 and D300 with 12-24mm, 35mm f1.8, 50mm f1.4, 60mm f2.8 Macro, 18-200mm, 17-55mm f2.8 (all Nikon)

Hi nikon90s, I definitely think joining a local club is the best way forward - you'll both get to meet like-minded folk who have access to decent equipment - and crucially their experience to get the most from it. It's also a no-risk strategy in case you end up not enjoying or using a scope as much as you'd hope.

I spent many enjoyable years at a local astro society and loved it.

As Bob says, if you still want to buy something, a pair of binocs would be best. If you intend to mostly look at the moon, go for higher magnifications, but if you want to scan star fields under dark skies, go for low magnification with big lenses, like 7x50 models.

A spotting scope is another alternative worth considering, which can also be used for bird watching, and some allow you to mount cameras - but do check first!