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Old 10-12-2007, 04:55 PM
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carlos_dfc carlos_dfc is offline
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Re: Starter Kit for Christmas

Hi again...

Yes, that mount will track objects across the sky.......but.....

You don't need that with binoculars.
Telescopes can operate at much higher magnifications than binoculars - and this is when you need that tracking.
The motion of stars etc across the sky is pretty slow - so they will take an eternity to cross the field of view of a pair of 15x binoculars (compared with a telescope operating at, say...150x )

A lot is made of starting with binoculars - but there's certainly no harm in getting a telescope right from the start - so long as it isn't a BAD telescope (which might put you off astronomy)

But if you prefer to start with just binocs, then get a scope later - why spend that much on an equatorial mount, that isn't neccesary for binocs?
Instead - get some PROPER big binoculars, and a decent tripod.
The 20x100 binocs in that link above will show a LOT more that 15x70s - 100mm aperture binocs are great for deep-sky viewing, and the 20x power is still low enough that an EQ mount is unneccesary.

Strathspey have some nice 20x90s for around £150 - which would leave you more money for a good tripod.
They also have some awesome 22x100s - which are within your budget, but wouldn't leave much for a tripod.
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