Re: Accessories Suggestion ?

Hi Joey

I think a decent zoom is a good investment - good for getting magnification /background darkness optimal, saves buying lots of eyepieces, and great fun on the moon. A half decent barlow (e.g. Shorty Plus or equivalent) is also very helpful. A lot of scopes will come with a finder, e.g. 6x30, which is pretty essential if you are non-GOTO.

I would also recommend a unit power finder. Either a simple red-dot finder (~£20) or something with a bullseye target like a Telrad or a Rigel Quickfinder. Any of these will be a big help in making sure that you are pointing at roughly the right area of sky before you start looking through the scope or finderscope.

Cheers
David



Joey wrote:
I'm thinking of buying a WO Megrez 90 F6.9 APO OTA as my first (last ?) scope, but being a complete novice, I'd appreciate some advice on accessories. In particular, I'd like to know whether a finder scope required and what range of eyepieces I should go for ? Are "zoom" eyepieces frowned upon ? I recall a time when any "decent" photographer would spit at the thought of a zoom lens, but I don't think that has been true for many years now.

Some background:
I'm fifty-three; don't need glasses, but my wife does.
I'll point the scope at anything and everything, just for the fun of seeing things "in the flesh". I'm not expecting close-up views of Uranus, but I don't want the scope's potential limited by poor choice of accessories.
I'm thinking of an EQ3-2 mount.
I dare say I'll have a go at astrophotography at some stage, but when I do it will only be the equivalent of holiday snaps. It isn't a priority; for now.
A GOTO capability isn't required. I'd rather try to find things manually for now.
I live in a typical town (so light pollution is an issue), though I'm hoping to take the kit on holiday to Norfolk where the skies are somewhat darker.
The package includes a carry-case and 2" diagonal.

TIA,

Pete K









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