Celestron 130 or Skywatcher 130?

Mike in Nidderdale

Both my sister and I are about to buy our first telescopes and we have both been independently advised to get the Celestron 130. When we enquired from one dealer, he said he wouldn't have that in stock until June but had Skywatcher 130 in stock and that it was exactly the same, but just a different name. Can anyone tell me whether these two telescopes are exactly the same please?

Stephen

hi mike. i am no expert but ive been looking around on google. i have been seeing alot of people complaining about the mount on the celestron breaking due to flimsy plastic and they have not been able to get the parts for it without paying a high price for it. the skywatcher seems to have better build quality. i think the optics for both scopes are designed by the the same company but dont quote me on that. do you intend to do astrophotography?

John_Brady

Hi Mike, I don't have a Celestron scope myself, only Celestron binos. I have a Skywatcher 200p, and is a very solid piece of equipment.

I don't think you can really go wrong with a Skywatcher, they generally do get good reviews.

paul

I had a Skywatcher 130, could not fault it. If you can afford it try to buy as big as you can, I only had my 130 for six weeks, for as good as it was i very soon upgraded to an eight inch.

Mike in Nidderdale

Thank you for all your replies; I appreciate them. I understand what you mean about wanting a larger scope Paul. Depends on funds! I don't intend to do astrophotography Stephen... but never say never! I presume, from the comments on robustness, the Skywatcher would be better for that.

Astronomy Central is so good for being able to tap into the wealth of knowledge you all have, thanks.

kensamay

Hi Mike in Nidderdale,

I have a Celestron 130 ,have had alot of trouble getting the point scope to line up needs patients & time :(

I would reckonmend the Skywatcher 130 heard it is a sound piece off kit & easy to use :)

Hope this helps :)

Stephen

the reason i ask about astrophotography mike is because i also read that either of those scopes are not that great at it because the mount wont be steady if you have a camera on your scope. maybe this is wrong and some of the other guys can shed some light. i thought about getting a scope like this but then decided to save up a bit more and get an 8'' dobsonian. its totally up to you and what you can afford. i am sure that scope will get you some nice views!

Mike in Nidderdale

Thanks kensamay and Stephen. I am now seriously thinking 8".

Mike

karl

I had both 130 telscope's last year and of the two i liked the skywatcher best. The finder scope on the celestron is not very good. both tipods are very solid.The celestron looks a lot newer in design.The motor drive on the celestron is rubbish the gears are made of plastic.
I sold both and got a skywatcher 127mak and is fantastic.
karl

Stephen

i hear alot of people were not happy with the finder on the celestron.

Mike in Nidderdale

Very useful review Karl. Sounds like the Celestron is to be avoided.

Re the motor drive/goto facility; isn't that a bit like satnav? It may take you to where you want to be, but you have not learned the astronomical geography to actually know where it is!

Stephen

yes it would kind of take the fun out of finding an object. it would for me anyway. nice bit of kit though. its nice to say you were able to find this or that without much aid.

karl

Also had a 102 meade goto that was very nice but the goto motor is noisy when out in the garden at 2am lol.
But mike and stephen say learn your way around the night sky it's a lot more fun and more rewarding.
karl

Mike in Nidderdale

Sorry to open the debate again, but I have now discovered the Skywatcher Skyliner Dobsonian 200P. As this is my first telescope, I want to be sure I make the right decision. Is there any advantage of one over the other between this and the Newtonian 200P?

In the light of Stephen's comments on 21st April, I thought a Dobsonian would be more expensive, but this one is cheaper than the Newtonian. Maybe the whole package is less, ie no Barlows included etc.

Mike

Stephen

its all in the mount mike. dobsonians are cheaper because they have a simple sturdy mount making it cheaper to make. i would say that just the optical tube of the 200p alone would cost you roughly the same as the dobsonian? you just wont be able to take photos with the dobsonian as you need a mount that can track the sky. also the dobsonian may not have a go-to feature. for visual use the two scopes should give identical images. hope this helps.

Mike in Nidderdale

Thank you Stephen, it does help. In the spec for the Dobsonian, it gives the shipping weight as 33kg. That's the weight of quite a few sacks of potatoes! Is it really that heavy and how portable is it? Presumably a sturdy table is required?

Stephen

portability shouldnt be too bad. my orion xt8 weighs around 19 kg and is easy to move around. the xt10 is 33 kg and people say its not to hard to move either.do u mean a table to put the scope on? there is no need for that as when the tube of my scope is pointing straight up, the eyepiece is about elbow height. just a little stooping when things are lower on the horizon. a chair comes in handy.

Mike in Nidderdale

Thanks again Stephen. It all makes perfect sense now. I think I was underestimating the size of the scope.

Stephen

no problem. its a big world out there with lots of scopes! it can be very overwhelming choosing the right one. i know how you feel.

Abdulwahab

Hi, I just bought Celestron 130EQ. I have had some impressive images of the moon but spent a lot of time pointing to Saturn. I have done the alignment but some I cannot locate Saturn on the telescope. I can see Saturn with the naked eye. Is it because Saturn is right on top of the sky and I have to really bend down to point at.

karl

Abulwahab try changing the finder scope as the red dot on the celestron is a bit hit and miss.

carl

looking to buy my first telescope tomoorow.I am drawn to skywatcher explorer 130p synscan az goto.Would you be able to let me know if this is a good choice

karl

Hello Carl
A nice telescope but try the goto first before you buy as it is noisy at night.
i had the skywatcher 130 with the motor and a meade telescope with goto motor and both to noisy at night in the garden for me.

ferret

i have a celestron ps 1000 telescope when i line up the finderscope on a star then look thru the telescope i cant see anything, im new to astronomy so i dont know a thing about telescopes, any advice pleas

paul

Sounds like its not lined up yet. Use the scope in the DAY TIME. Look through the eyepiece and focus in on an object quite far away(100 metres or so). Once you have something in the eye piece then adjust the finderscope until the object in the finderscope and the eye piece are the same. Then once you go out at night whatever is in the finderscope will then be seen in the eyepiece. This is the process I used to line mine up. Hope it helps you.Remember the image you see in the daytime will be upside down. Dont worry, its normal.

ferret

thanx paul i shall try it

warlock

hiya ferret,we have the skymaster 130eq,the starpointer is a nightmare to use,went on ebay.90 degree 6x30,upright image finder scope,£17,95,mounted it on the piggyback camera mount,works well,finds objects every time

ferret

thanx warlock i shall look at them on ebay. its hard to fathom out when im only learning, thanx for advice

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