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Another great review! Very well done. I was wondering what the two larger mounts you using in the night section from time ~10:44 to ~15:23 are?

I have been trying to understand it for a long time, thanks very much for making me understand it.

I just want to thank you for all your effort to help those of us joining this hobby. I have been watching every beginning astronomy video on TH-cam. Yours seems to be one of the best to balance technical info and making it accessible to newbs, well thought out steps to advancement, and your informed and engaging personality. I just turned 60, a science and tool making background, and just my bought my first "proper" scope (8' dob up from my 4.5" dob). Your series has been invaluable in my amassing of all the aspects of this fascinating STEM hobby. Thank you so much.

In my opinion Maksutovs are a hidden gem. They have a relatively small secondary mirror, only about 15-20%, no chromatic aberrations, APO like clarity, often small and really well built and they are affordable.

My dovetails have screw holes on them to insert screws with which you can adjust cone error.

I actually do the Synscan polar alignment after polar alignment with the polar scope and a 3 star alignment. This gives me an almost perfect alignment.

One thing that often gets overlooked or ignored is the size of secondary mirror in reflectors. In SCTs secondary mirror takes up 33% of the surface area meaning if its labelled a 6 inch SCT in reality the real aperture is 4 inch due to the secondary mirror.

With all the technology you have at your disposal you are still drawing what you see. I truly appreciate your passion.

I absolutely love your videos Tsula's. Thank you for all wisdom with enthusiasm.

May I link you to my first capture thru my new Aperture 8"? It's short and I've watched too many times today

All of my scopes are used. It's all I can afford.

very good advice i buy used scopes often but i also buy new ones sometimes as well. You would be suprised i put a 12" meade light bright in a porsche boxster

Oh no Tsula the scope was pointing out the car !!!😂 I think for most newbees if you have a friend (like Tsula) to take along that would be best.

Basically, only buy a used telescope as my 4th telescope.

In my local Facebook marketplace listings, it seems used 8 inch dobs are very common (and I’ve seen some down to as low as $300, seemingly in good condition). Used 10 inch dobs though seem to be rare to find For new ones, skywatcher was just running a good sale with their 8 inch for $500 maybe a month or two ago, it has ended since. The 10 inch was also on sale for I think $700

I enjoyed these stories. Reminded me of Astrobiscuit's adventures. I just think that 8" or 6" dob is better choice for a beginner. I'm a big strong man, but I use my portable 6" scope probably 10 times more than 10" dob, only because of the weight. 8" dobs have almost the same light gathering capacity as 10", but they are significantly lighter, and less prone to have bearings' issues. Another thing to consider is the age of the scope. Mirrors degrade over time, so newer 8" can provide the same brightness as an older 10". Greets from Australia.

Thanks for sharing Tsula.

Thank you for the great advice in your video. I hope for those looking for a telescope find your video helpful.

True story - I have a newbie friend who wanted to get her first telescope. "8-inch Dob, used" was my instantaneous answer. I found her one and put her onto it. We inspected it in a remote session and it passed all my tests. She paid $300 for a good-as-new telescope.

Thank you for the advice. Have taken it all onboard and are more confident to judge the condition, without anyone with me.

Fun video! I always like your road trips. But I don't think many people shopping for a first telescope, new or used, will know how to collimate. Hopefully, they'll have a knowledgeable companion like you. 🙂

Really informative, and good ideas to consider for anyone thinking of buying or upgrading a telescope, thanks for the Ideas and shared information I wish you endless dark skies 🌙✨💥

Hi Tsula! haha did she use a feather duster? I bought my 10 inch orion. Dob back in 2005 for $ 499 ! It's hard too believe the cost of astronomy gear now days. Clear Sky's

Excellent video. Greetings from Romania :)

I love the way you pronounce “eyepiece” As a newbie I found it very informative. Thanks Tsula.

Hi Tsula! So I’m torn between getting a Celestron 7” Maksutov Cassegrain or a 8” Schmidt Cassegrain. I generally want it to view the moon and planets and I guess my question would be what would you think is better? I know that the Maksutov has a higher focal length and offers more contrast than the Schmidt Cassegrain, but do you think the 8 inches of aperture can offset the advantage in contrast that a 7” Maksutov offers? Your videos give great inside and I appreciate your help

Bought an 8” dob 2 years ago and have loved every minute of it!

Another good video Tsula. I got an 8" dobsonian as my... uh... 5th telescope I think? After doing a lot of astrophotography I decided that I really wanted to do more visual work and I have been more than happy with it since I live in a nice dark rural area. However... I took it with me camping for a star party and I think it is a bit to big to pack comfortably until I get a trailer so I can pack all of my other camping stuff outside the cab of the truck. So I am now considering getting a 5 inch SCT on a manual mount from Celestron to use as a travel scope (or buying a used SCT and a manual ALT/AZ mount). This hobby has a way of keeping me poor and taking up too much room...

Nice advice and selection Tsula. I think I have a very similar 80mm to your Orion the Skywatcher 80ED which i enjoy for visual, great little scope. Currently I'm on the SCT and refractors...oh and one Mak. There just all so god damn nice !!!!

At what exit pupil do you get floaters Tsula?

Best telescope review ever.

That’s what I love about astronomy. There’s no “best” equipment, it’s checks and balances where if one thing exceeds at something, it lacks in another dept. where another scope will trade off for. In 2006 in high school, started out with a 10” dob. Now have a SVX130T on an CEM70G. Mainly got the funding when I sold my bike to get deeper into astronomy. Also, I always like listening to your reviews on topics, always learning new things to consider

The weather holds today and I’ll be attending my first “public observing” tonight. Looking forward to asking questions, and any tips offered. Definitely want to get more comfortable with star hopping.

You give very sound information. Having about a dozen telescopes up to a 6" f/12 refractor and an 18" f/5 Dobsonian reflector, I can definitely agree that if a person is going to buy a first telescope or an "only one telescope", to keep it small, portable and simple. The best telescope is the one that gets used the most. That translates into a size and weight equation. In my case, that would be a 10" Dobsonian reflector or either an 80mm f/5 APO refractor on an alt-az mount, or a 100mm f/8 APO refractor on either an alt-az mount or on an equatorial mount.

I have a few famous star charts. I invested much time and money printing my own down to magnitude 16 for my 10" although my telescope's magnitude limit is 14. I also printed a few finder charts. Of course I laminated them. These charts were and continue to be well worth the time and trouble to make them. I printed the entire northern hemisphere sky and approximately twenty percent of the southern hemisphere. They have served me well for over twenty years. Just thought I'd share that. I love all of your videos.

great info im sure alot people will find it handy

Really informative!….as always!!! So lucky to have someone like you giving such sound and practical advice, without pressure to buy! Thanks for the hard work and information you put into everything you do you it’s really appreciated🤗

Howdy, nice report! I notice you have an Orion Astroview mount. I do as well - it was free! I found it put out on the side of the road! I cleaned it up and adjusted it and it works perfectly. It even looks nice! I use it with my classic refractors from the 1950s and 60s. The ubiquitous "logic drive", a battery powered RA motor, drives it just fine. You can get drop-in go-to solutions now.

I really wish I had this when I started, I bought one of those cheap’o scopes that you said not to buy.

Youre amazing ❤

Nice video...made me laugh at how you started off... As always well presented...😊

Catadioptric telescopes aren't much portable than dobsonians, if you take their mounts into account. I'd even say they occupy more space on the floor ;) And for the picture quality, I haven't seen much or any difference between my SCT, and a same size newtonian+barlow, so my vote goes to any dobsonian, as a 1st scope to buy.

When I was shopping for my first serious telescope I just had a few criteria that I was looking for. Large aperture, can easily be moved around, goto capabilities and the ability to operate the telescope manually. Then I started looking the cheapest possible scopes that satisfied any of those criteria and kept increasing the budget until I found the perfect match within my budget limit. I eventually settled on a Evo 8 SCT. First light was a few weeks ago and WOW! I was expecting to some amazing views and it did not disappoint. I am so hooked. Luckily, I don't think I will ever outgrow this telescope.

Trevor of Astro pilot is doing phenomenal astrophotography with a StellaLyra 8” Newt. I haven’t seen anyone matching his photos. Check him out. Pure deep space beauty.

My StellaLyra 8” Newtonian is far better quality than Meade, Orion, or Sky Watcher Newts. Bought mine from First Light Optics in the UK.

Thanks tsula you certainly make things clearer litterally!

Thanks Tsula. I like your James Webb shirt.

One thing I would add is the importance of the mount you choose. Equatorial mounts require aligning with the celestial pole ,so if you don't have a clear view of the pole from your observing site,that can be a problem. Also, for a beginner the Dobsonian may get you the most aperture for your money, but when you're starting out, trying to even find objects with precision is very difficult, to the point where it actually makes people give up. A goto mount can actually get you looking at something in 20 seconds that may take you 10 minutes to find by hand, but of course they add to the cost.

I can remember starting out and wanting to buy everything but my wallet gave a resounding NO! I did all the usual mistakes of buying cheap only to end up buying twice or thrice. Aperture fever also got me buying a telescope that was just too big for me and really needed an observatory. As the years passed i have settled on my 12" go to dobsonian, a 180mm Maksutov and a 130mm apochromatic refractor. Great video for newcomers to the hobby or anyone considering buying their first telescope.

Thank you