| Choosing a telescope is a difficult task. There are hundreds of different telescopes of all sizes and prices. With this page we want to help you with your choice! |
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 A typical small refractor - popular instruments for viewing planets and the moon.  A typical small Newtonian - an all purpose telescope.  Dobsonian telescopes are optimized for deep sky observing - they are inexpensive, but they are also large and cannot be used photographically.  A Maksutov-Cassegrain - Compact, powerful, but a bit more expensive than a Newtonian. |
The Long Way There are two ways to decide which telescope to buy. The long way is to learn about all possible alternatives, ask amateurs, internet forums and newsgroups, go observing with different telescopes, make a detailled profile of what your telescope should have and should not have, plan the budget, and after all that purchase the telescope based on all the knowledge you have acquired. The Short Way We often wanted to offer a good buying guide describing how to go about the choice properly, according to "The Long Way". But no matter what we started with, it ended up being too complicated and ultimately no help at all. To make a good, all-perfect buying guide that considers all possible circumstances seems to be all but impossible. However, we want to try to show you "The Short Way". If you follow this way you will know which telescope to buy within a much shorter time, without all the hassle involved with the other way. Step 1: Pick A Telescope Type That Best Suits Your Needs Before choosing a particular telescope you should first get a rough idea of what you want. So first, from all the different telescopes available, what seems best suited for you? Below you will find the four main telescope groups with their main advantages and disadvantages. You will also find a profile of what applications we deem the telescope types best suited for. Group 1: Refractors Refractors are those telescopes which everyone has in his mind's eye when we think about a telescope - a long tube where we look through at the rear end. These telescopes are predestined for beginners because they are particularly suited for viewing the planets and the moon (i.e. the most likely target objects for a beginner). Small refractors have a good value for money, but larger refractors tend to get quite expensive. Advantages: + sharp optics + easy to use + good value for money (up to about 100mm aperture) Disadvantages: - you can normally get a larger Newtonian at the same price Group 2: Newtonians Newtonians are probably the most popular telescopes on the grand scale of things. They combine many advantages. Typical Newtonians have OK to good optics, an excellent value for money, and they perform well in most areas. If you want a large telescope capable for astro-imaging a Newtonian might be the only affordable option. Advantages: + excellent value for money + more light-gathering power compared with equally priced refractors or Maksutovs Disadvantages: - operation takes some getting used to - not so sharp images of the planets and the moon Group 3: Dobsonians The Dobsonian revolution made large aperture telescopes affordable for everyone. Nowadays you can get a 200mm Dobsonian at around 300-400 Euros - no other telescope design allows this! Dobsonians are the ultimate telescopes for deep sky observing. Advantages: + non-plussed light-gathering power per money spent + very large apertures allow for serious deep-sky observing Disadvantages: - very large and therefore difficult to carry around and store - cannot be used photographically (Further Information) Group 4: Maksutov-Cassegrains Maksutov-Cassegrains are a special telescope design specifically made for more compact transport dimensions. They are ideal travel scopes. A refractor of equal aperture has sharper optics, but its tube would be so long that it can hardly be carried around. Advantages: + very compact + good for watching the planets and the moon (an equal aperture refractor has the sharper image, though) Disadvantage: - more expensive than a refractor or particularly a Newtonian of the same aperture - long focal length makes low magnifications and therefore large fields of view impossible. Step 2: Pick A Specific Telescope Of This Type Once you have decided which telescope group is the right one for you the rest becomes very simple, as long as you stick to a few basic rules. Rule 1: You alone determine the amount of money you want to spend. Obviously a more expensive telescope tends to be more powerful, but nowadays the risk of getting a "crap" telescope is small. Rule 2: If you don't know whether the recipient of the telescope (Christmas present...) will stick to the hobby for a longer period of time you shouldn't spend too much money in the beginning. Better buy a smaller, less expensive and easier to use telescope at first - in the future that telescope might become a frequently used travel scope! Hint: Additional accessories make for nice follow-up presents! Rule 3: It's a hobby we're talking about! So don't make the decision too hard on yourself! And Now You're Ready To Go Now is the time to browse through our regular web presentations. You can look at the offers with the above rules in mind - then you should easily find a telescope that suits your needs! For our offers please click onto the images to the left to find the respective telescope group! Enjoy your stay, and of course: Enjoy your new telescope! Your Telescope-Service Team |
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