I've had one night out under the stars with the Heritage 150p so far and I was very happy with the optics. Great views of Jupiter with it's moons, weather belts, and great red spot, and a clear view of the smoke ring looking ring nebula near the star Vega! The only thing I wasn't happy with was the red dot finder. It's really tricky to align to the main scope, and needs adjusting forward and backwards on the finder shoe as well as using the usual adjustments on the finder itself. I managed to get it aligned to the main scope eventually but it's not as good as the RDF's I've used on other entry level Skywatcher telescopes. The red dot wasn't as clear as others I've used either. This is a minor judgement considering the ultimate goal of this telescope is to pack as much good quality optics into as compact and as affordable package as possible, and I think the Heritage 150p achieves this!
Hello - given the issue with the RDF, is there anything to be said for getting the 130 instead and maybe upgrading the eyepieces /using a barlow? Or is it still better to have the bigger aperture? ps. I'm a beginner and thinking of the 130/150 as my first telescope!
I'm very very tempted to buy one of these scopes because I have to rely on public transport to get to a decent viewing site and this little scope is portable enough and has enough light grasp to do a decent job. The fact that it has a parabolic mirror and not a shaving mirror is another plus point. I'm sooooooo tempted! Thanks for the great review.
Great review on great timing...i just made my mine yesterday for skywatcher 150/750eq3 tripod as my first scope with hesitation, especially on setting up scope with eq3 + balancing tube + heavy steel tripod, so called best combination for heavy tube, i almost accept the fact that this is best for me. Phew! this baby came on time!!! hoorayyy.....new true love. Malaysia stock only can arrive in sept or oct2020, rather wait for true love.
Excellent as a "travel" scope as suggested in the video. Took on my hols a few times now, Far north, NE and SW Scotland, Kielder, Lincolnshire as well as around the N.Yorks and County Durham rural areas local to me. Telescope in the car. Drive to where I think its "dark" enough. Telescope out of the car and on a camping table. Looking down eyepiece. Literally minutes from parking up to viewing.
Great video. It is really helpful. I’m considering this as a first scope along with the bresser messier 6 inch planetary scope but my main concern is which is better to take on holiday and camping! Your video making a shroud has eased my other concern over this scope too. I’m leaning towards the skywatcher now although I believe the bresser may be slightly better. This however maybe easier to use. Thanks again.
Moist breath on the secondary mirror while looking down the eyepiece is probably the main problem with this telescope and the best reason to "shroud" the open truss space. Massive design flaw on an otherwise "not bad/ pretty good value" telescope. The mounting point for the finder scope is not ideal either, interferes with the truss "lock" nut. Make sure you use the " PTFE" tape fix on the helical focuser too, absolute must to assist with focusing the thing.
Great overview thanks! I have ordered one of these partially from your recommendation. I have a 6+ week wait for delivery though, plenty of time to through all your videos on it ;)
That's great! (the order not the wait of course) I do have quite a few videos about this scope now. One for making a light shroud and doing a simple focuser modification, one regarding eyepiece weight capacity, and a few where I use the Heritage 150p for Lunar and Planetary imaging. I hope you enjoy them if you get round to watching :)
Hi Fraser......i bought (today) the Heritage 150P flextube (the latest version with SynScan controls) as my first scope. I started assembling it and got stuck when trying to slide the Red Dot Finder in the plastic base attached to the tube...it just does not fit and I do not want to force it because afraid of breaking it. Do you remember how you went about it? Thanks a lot, cheers.
Just stumbled on this video and telescope, looks really interesting! Since I'm moving to a student house, I only buy light equipment that is not too much of a hassle to carry around. It might be a nice addition since I only have a star tracker and lenses currently, and I'm looking for something to use strictly for visual to let my guests enjoy the moon every now and then :)
Thanks! Great video! Can you tell me how long the tube is (without the mount) when it's not extended? I wonder if can take the 150p in my hand luggage.
How do you view the sky with it ? do you have to lay on the floor? Why is there a big gap in the telescope? sorry I am beginner and trying to make sense of all this.
No worries :) This is what's known as a table top Dobsonian telescope. You place it on a garden table or even a chair to raise it up high enough to use. Just makes it portable and easy to store, but they're not for everyone.
@@thekingsown10 You can't go too far wrong with either for a first telescope, but the Starsense feature of the new DX range does look like a lot of fun :) I'd be tempted to go for that one. Read up on both and decide which is best for you?
I have the 130mm version of this and I found a video on how to build a tripod table for it, I don't have any carpentry skills and I didn't lose any fingers. I hope this helps good luck and clear skies.
Morning bud Out of interest do you still use this now you have more intricate instruments ? I wonder if it’s something that will be great for spur of the moment trips etc as it’s kind of on the large side of portable gear ??
Hi mate, I've not used it for a few weeks now because I've been concentrating on the observatory setup as you say. I'm going to keep the Heritage 150p in the obsy so I can observe with it on the garden table whilst the camera is snapping away in the observatory, so it's not going anywhere. Maybe consider the smaller lighter 130p of you want to travel a bit lighter?
Hi I brought this scope about 5 months and I’ve started having problems with it 😩 I can’t seem to get stars perfectly focused planets seem fine, I even cleaned the secondary and primary with a sink half full with warm water with 1 drop of washing up liquid using cotton wool buds then rinsing with 0 TDS RO water. I noticed that the primary mirror clip screws were really tight so when I put it back together I only screwed them down just enough to secure the mirror. I lined up the secondary with the eyepiece and then the primary to the secondary using the collimation cap got it spot on centre the doh nut. Even did collimating using vega. Collimating is spot on but still no joy 😩🤷🏻♂️
Hi Owen, I'm also surprised as you've clearly done everything right. I mean I wouldn't recommend cleaning the mirror of a 5 month old scope unless there was some kind of spillage, but you clearly used the right technique. Just going off topic for a moment, you would be really surprised how dirty a mirror would need to be before it noticeably impacted the image quality, my father in law has literally never cleaned his 8" mirror in the 40+ years he's owned his scope, and it's surprisingly good. It's covered in spider poo and all sorts! I would have done exactly the same with the tight mirror clips too to avoid pinched optics and you sound like you know what you're doing with regards to collimation. When you say you can't get stars perfectly focused, do you run out of inward focuser travel, or is it that when traveling from inside to outside focus you can't seem to nail the focus?
@@Astrolavista hi thanks for the reply, It’s weird it’s almost like I can’t focus the night sky to get stars to look like they do with the naked eye eg pin points of light, loooking with the telescope it’s like they are elongated diamond shapes the only thing I can think of is that it’s the spider veins on the secondary mirror causing the problem but I’m no expert just a beginner🤷🏻♂️ I should say you’ve got a far greater knowledge of these problems than me and the solutions 👌🏻
I also wait a good hour with the telescope outside to equalise to the outdoor temperature 🤷🏻♂️ maybe it’s dew on the secondary mirror? I’m stumped 🤷🏻♂️ it’s a shame because on paper it’s a great starter scope!
Good telescope! My only question is if the base is assembled with screws and can be disassembled (I want to put it in a suitcase and take it with me on plane trips), or is it just glued?
Nice introduction to this Heritage 150p telescope, I believe it's the first video on it not a lot info about it yet. I was just about to buy the Heritage 130p as I was l looking for a nice portable begginer telescope, but then I saw this baby and I just might pull the trigger on it. One of these would be my first telescope and this 150p should be just at the upper limit to fit into my backpack and still be generally portable . Do you have the 130p as well? Will you do a comparison video? The image quality should be better right, I'm just trying to figure out if the slightly bulkier 150p justifies the extra ~60€. Also one tiny critique if I may, when you were measuring you've given the distances in inches and weight in kg, I know it's a UK thing but it would be nice to have sizes in cm as well. Other than that a good introduction and I look forward to other videos about this telescope.
Thanks. I think you'd be happy with either as a first scope. Whether it's the 150p or 130p, it would always come in handy as a portable scope even if eventually moved onto something bigger. I don't own the Heritage 130p but I've owned and used the 130p mirror set in other Skywatcher telescopes. The difference won't be huge, just a bit more resolution on the planets and Moon, and a little brighter when it comes to deep sky. The jump from 130p to 200p would be a lot more striking, but that's a lot larger of course. You can't go wrong with either for the price mate :) Thanks for the feedback, I'll try and remember to give both imperial and metric in future. I Also noticed that I didn't hold the tape measure straight for one of the heights.
@@Astrolavista Thanks for the quick reply. I guess I'll just have to think it through a bit more then sleep it off and make a decision. Yeah I'm sort of buying one of these as a stepping stone into astronomy and to combine it with my camping hobby. Then if it sticks make a transition into some of the bigger beasts. Thanks again and I look forward to future videos.
Hi Chris, Thanks a lot for the great videos. I'm currently in two minds between the heritage 130p and 150p for my first telescope. I'm looking for an easily portable one, ideally providing good deep space views. It looks like they're both great all-rounders. I was wondering if the difference in image quality is worth getting a 150p, even if it's slightly bigger? Cheers, Mo
Hi Mo, well as you know the two scopes are close to identical other than the 20mm aperture difference which represents an extra 33% area for capturing light, thus a 33% brighter image and a bit more resolution for the planets and the Moon. On the flip side the 150p is 1.3kg heavier. The jump in aperture wouldn't be mind blowing, not like going from a 130p to a 250p, but if you don't mind the extra 1.3kg I would go for the 150p. It depends on just how portable you need it to be,
Hello! How do you find the helical focuser on this larger 150P as compared to the previous 130P version? On 130P the helical focuser is a weak point: there is lots of sideways play due to its flimsy construction. Has Skywatcher improved the fit of the focuser or is it still noticeably wobbly?
Hi Chris, Wat type of lenses come with the Heritage 150p. KE or Plossl? I have to wait till November to get it... but looking forward to it. Thanks for the great video's
Hi Arendom, You're welcome, cheers :) The Heritage 150p comes with a 'Super' 10mm, and Super 25mm eyepiece. These are MA's (Modified Achromats) and I believe MA's sit below Plossl's and Kelner's in terms of general image quality, but above Huygens. The Super 10 and 25's come with most entry level Sky-Watcher telescope, whilst some higher up in the range get a 28mm 2" Kelner. The Super 10mm doesn't unlock the true potential of the telescope, it's a bit soft so I would recommend replacing it at some point, but it's fine to get going with. The Super 25 is a bit better in my opinion, and I've heard others say the same so I feel safe in giving you this advice. Sorry you have to wait so long that sucks.
Hi, it depends how dark your skies are. Under my Bortle 6 skies I need an 8" scope to detect the two bright cores of the Whirlpool galaxy. Larger aperture to start seeing the spiral arms. Under dark skies I think the 150p will be fine.
Thank you so much for getting on this so quickly. I am obsessed with the idea of buying my first telescope and after a lot of research, I‘m almost certain this suits me best for my budget and the degree of portability I need. Just one question: Could you go a little bit more in detail about the extension bars/mechanism? You said it seemed sturdy but the way it slightly vibrates when you turn it still worries me very slightly, same with the way the focuser vibrated as you turned it. Right now my plan is to put a Explore Scientific 52 LER 4.5mm planetary eyepiece on that, which weighs about 185 grams, which (if I remember correctly) is more than three times the weight of the included eyepieces. Is there any reason for me to be worried, or am I just paranoid thinking about any hypothetical issues that may occur ;) Many thanks!
Hi there, you're very welcome. I wasn't expecting much from the truss rods before the scope arrived simply because there is only two of them, but they are better than I expected. Yes, it's not rock solid and there is vibrations at the eyepiece which takes two or three seconds to settle once you've either moved the mount or adjusted the focuser, but this is the case for the majority of telescope packages in this price bracket. The slack in the focuser will be taken care of with PTFE tape, I'll cover this and the DIY light shroud in an upcoming video. Coincidentally I've just bought the ES 52 LER 10mm so I can totally check that out for you under the stars. It did cross my mind about heavier eyepieces but I know another guy from SGL who has this scope, and he used it with a 24mm Televue Panoptic which weighs quite a bit more. He didn't mention any problem with it but I'll certainly check the LER out with this scope and talk about eyepiece weight in the next video. It's a good question :) I think Bresser do a 6" solid tube Dobsonian, I'll dig out a link: www.bresser.de/en/Astronomy/BRESSER-Messier-6-Dobson.html It's a bit more money but the focuser will be better and you won't have the same level of vibration as it isn't a truss design. Downsides are of course weight and compactness plus the cost mentioned. They do a 5" model also. Bresser are a good brand, I've been pleased with Bresser products in the past.
DIY Astronomy That‘s quite a nice coincidence, I‘ll certainly wait for the next video until I purchase anything. I looked at the Bresser aswell, but I have read some complaints about the rather thick plastic mount of the secondary mirror and if I remember correctly also something about optical issues caused by the unnecessarily long focuser (would have to look that up again to be sure though), which is why I was leaning towards the skywatcher. I guess I‘ll do some more research :)
That will be the focuser drawer tube entering the light path I reckon. This happens with a lot of Newtonian's which have a Crayford or rack and pinion focuser. Some people cut an inch off the drawer tube to stop this from happening. The spider veins holding the secondary are probably fairly similar to the Heritage ones on the 150p in terms of thickness. I'm guessing the complaints are comparing the thicker cheaper plastic veins to the thinner metal veins of something like the Skywatcher Explorer 150pds which is £230 just for the optical tube. The thicker plastic veins are going to be cost saving measure and may cause slightly more pronounced diffraction spikes, but spikes are spikes. It depends on how well you tolerate seeing spikes on bright stars. Some people find then objectionable and some don't mind or even like them.
DIY Astronomy After spending some more time researching, the 150Ps portability still seems to be my best option, so I guess the question is could there be any real issues with the truss rods and the focuser, or is it basically a question of comfort and whether you’re willing to wait until it stops vibrating and I am just getting ahead of myself? It‘s gonna be my first scope after all, so I probably won‘t care about such little details anyways as long as the scope is portable enough for me to take it out into darker areas and capable enough to provide some nice views of the planets and maybe brighter DSOs, star clusters etc. I‘ll wait for your videos for sure though! Thanks for the help :)
@@-.-1724 It's certainly more likely to be the case of having to put up with some vibrations than rather than any real issue such as mechanical failure. The reason I say this is because the Heritage 130p has exactly the same truss rod design as the Heritage 150p, and that has been on the scene since 2009. In that time I haven't heard about any issues with the truss rods failing. There is the caveat that the whole ethos of the scope screams - all the money has gone into the optics and the rest is just functional! Personally the truss rods don't bother me, it's what makes it so compact. The only niggle I've had is with the red dot finder which I had trouble aligning to the main scope. When centring a star in the main scope, the red dot finder didn't have enough adjustment to place the dot on the same star. I needed to move the red dot finder all the way back on the finder shoe which changed the angle slightly and allowed me to align. It's not a big deal, just that the initial alignment of the red dot finder to the main scope was slightly more involved than with most others telescopes. if you're only waiting to see how the LER eyepiece handles, maybe I can just check it out next clear gap in the sky and report back here? It might be a week or two before I do the next video for this scope, so I wouldn't want you to wait with your finger hovering over the buy button whilst I get round to that :)
Hello, thanks for the informative video, I hope you could answer my question: I'm considering between this one and the Bresser Messier 6" Tabletop Dobsonian as my first telescope. Which one would have crispier images, and which one would be easier to handle as a first timer? Thank you again!
Hi, looking at the Bresser specs the focuser looks better but optically they will be very similar (both mass produced diffraction limited parabolic mirrors). The Heritage has a truss rod design which allows it to be collapsed down smaller for transportation, plus this will make it lighter to handle, but you will need to make a light shroud shown on my other video to keep stray light out and increase contrast.
@@Astrolavista I already brought the Bressier and I'll be taking it out tonight. But your comment confirmed that I have made the right choice! Thanks a bunch!
Hi I am confused between a few telescope and hope to get ur opinion on that . I initally want to get my friend Orion starblast 4.5 easy to use no need to set up . But it is ok backorder until Aug 1 (I m in the UK :( in US tho it is just a week ) So then someone told me about skywatcher Hertiage 130p and later people said zhumell Z130 with a solid tube not the extensive tube is much better. The extended tube requires extra care which I am a bit worried about . Also people said I need to make a shroud . But seems like this is a much portable ones . Hertiage 130p. I'm debating also because I cannot find zhumell Z130. Only Z114 is available on Amazon. That kinda discouraging because everything I want is out of stock . And I felt like I am being pushed into buying something available in the market
Hi, I have no experience of Zhumell but you can make a light shroud for the Heritage 130p/150 using a piece of craft foam and some velcro. I have a video on how to make a shroud and glancing at my un-answered questions I think you've probably already found it :D
@@Astrolavista would you get yourself a solid tube 114 or Hertiage 130 ? I wonder . Someone mentioned about the eye pieces ..being shaky if you put a heavier eye piece .
Nice! I want to buy a Skywatcher Heritage, what should i choose between the 130 p and the 150 p. What it's the difference at deepsky objects between those two scopes. I'm interesting especially to see deepsky objects like orion Nebula, Rosette Nebula, etc. Thank You! Great Video! 👍👍👍
Hi Alex, I would go for the 150p out of the two because when it comes to viewing deep sky objects you want as much aperture as possible. The difference won't be huge as it's only 20mm difference but it will give a slightly brighter image and most deep sky objects are very faint. The great Orion nebula will look great even with a small telescope but the Rosette would be a challenge even with a very large telescope and dark skies. Many people that love deep sky objects end up using cameras instead of their eyes for this reason. I've imaged the Rosette but never seen it with my eyes.
@@Astrolavista Great review... Can you please help me quite further? I'm struggling in making a decision between SW Explorer 130P and Heritage 150P. Can you shed light in my thought? Apart from the mount and the large aperture, is the parabolic mirror of Heritage 150P is as good as Exp. 130P?
@@sohaibsinan3369 Hi Sohaib, the optical figure of the 130p and 150p will be very similar, both very good for the cost. The only difference is that the 150p will grasp a little more light.
I've owned both and think the Skyliner 150p f/8 is better because of the solid tube, slower F-ratio (which equals slightly better figured optics on average), and proper rack and pinion focuser. However the point of the Heritage 150p is that it's very portable and very easy to store. If you have the room and don't need to carry a telescope very far I would go with the Skyliner, Otherwise the Heritage is a good choice :)
So I decided after 43 years on this spinning ball we call Earth, that it was time to invest in a telescope. After looking at multiple reviews of telescopes, I decided to order this Heritage 150! Thanks for your suggestion on the light shroud. So I ordered some accessories for it but I'm wondering if you would suggest anything else. So I got a 2x and 3x barlow, 6mm lens, 8mm lens, variable polarizing moon filter, laser collimator, anti-static gloves, and a lens cleaning kit. Oh my! Any suggestions for additions would be greatly appreciated. :)
Congratulations on your first scope! :) Well you've got past the not so good included 10mm eyepiece with the additional eyepiece purchases, so that's a good start. Excellent choice on the polarising Moon filter as well. Just make sure you've got a good bit of planetarium software on your phone such as Stellarium, and a red torch wouldn't be a bad idea so you can see what you're doing without ruining your dark adapted vision. It's good to get your pupils nice and dilated! I sometimes sit with an eyepatch on my observing eye before going out observing. It both entertains my wife and helps bring out a bit more detail in those deep sky objects :D You'll find as you observe more and more you'll instinctively know the things you need to add :) Enjoy!
@@Astrolavista thanks! Ya, I figured with the 8mm and the 3x barlow lens and the 8mm I'll be able to maximize the viewing magnification. I'm super excited to start start using it. Am I going to be able to see much beyond the Moon, Jupiter and Saturn... and a little bit of Mars?
I finally received my telescope in the mail and had a couple clear nights to use it. I tried your suggestion with the plumber's tape but found that the focuser wouldn't thread in all the way after I put it on. I also noticed the tape would also come off as I screwed it in. Are there any other ways to reduce the wiggle with the focuser besides plumber's tape?
Hi there...I bought (today) the Heritage 150P flextube (the latest version with SynScan controls). I started assembling it and got stuck when trying to slide the Red Dot Finder in the plastic base attached to the tube...it just does not fit and I do not want to force it because afraid of breaking it. Do you remember how you went about it? Thanks a lot, cheers.
Absolutely! But the biggest factor is how dark your skies are. At one extreme, if you live in a heavily light polluted city you would be better off looking at the planets, Moon, but if you are lucky to live in the countryside where the skies are very dark you can see plenty of galaxies and some nebula for sure. One good reason to have a portable telescope :)
@@danielflyd8326 You would probably be happy with either to start out with. The main difference is that the Dobsonian is more compact, yet has a bit more aperture and possibly a slightly better parabolic mirror. With regards to the 130 EQ2, you don't need a garden table to place it on like the 150p Dob, and you can align the mount with the pole star and smoothly track objects with the slow motion controls, or add a motor drive to automatically track objects once found. I have a video on choosing telescopes here which might also help? th-cam.com/video/uGP2kjzUdLw/w-d-xo.html
Hi Danny, you're right, the helical focuser is just too loose and the weight of the phone will tork twist it down like a lever. However, if you wrap some PTFE plumbers tape around the focuser thread it will stiffen it up enough to take the weight I reckon. Here's a Heritage 150p Modification video which might be helpful: th-cam.com/video/8VMASGCLvp0/w-d-xo.html
I've just taken a look at the Zhumell and it looks good. Seems to have a parabolic mirror like the Heritage which is good, and the focuser looks more conventional which I would say is better. I would be tempted by that one as it's also more affordable.
Hi Julien, you would need to change the mount for one that can accurately track with the rotation of the Earth so you can take long enough exposures to show deep sky objects, but apart from that it is doable albeit not easy with a sloppy helical focuser. Focus is critical so I would recommend wrapping plumbers tape around the focuser thread to tighten it up so it doesn't move so easily. The telescope also doesn't reach focus with a camera when the truss rods are fully extended, so you would need to drop them down 1-2cm, then it will work. I've managed to image the planets and the Moon with it this way using ZWO planetary cameras. I have some videos where I do this. I also have a video where I make some mods to the telescope and focuser if you want to check them out. I do plan on trying the Heritage 150p for deep sky imaging by mounting it on the equatorial mount in my observatory and re doing the plumbers tape mod. It's not going to be easy, but I like a challenge. a 150p or 150pds optical tube would be your best bet for DSO imaging. To start with you could just add a basic EQ3 mount and a motor drive kit so it automatically tracks with the sky.
@@Astrolavista thank you ! The idea is to have it on my Sky Adventurer (with a small guide scope too) cause of low payload capacity. Upgrading to another mount later is an option, but would be interesting to try that set up in a cheaper way, to have at lest a feeling before the real upgrade. I am just wondering about image quality, coma, flat field etc with that scope. Thanks for your helpful reply !
@@julienlecocq9545 Ah I get your plan. That might be a fun experiment, you might need an extra counter weight for the H150p, I'm not sure? With a small sensor camera I doubt coma would be an issue and you can always crop the coma out if it is. It would be a challenging rig, but personally I think that's part of the fun/pain lol :)
Hi Fernando. yes, the BST Barlow gets excellent reviews: www.firstlightoptics.com/barlows/bst-starguider-2x-short-barlow-lens/ref/astrolavista/ Or if you're on a tight budget the Astro Essentials is ok also: www.firstlightoptics.com/barlows/astro-essentials-125-2x-barlow-with-t-thread/ref/astrolavista/
Hi Miles, I think I would, I mean the AZ GTI range has been very popular and the Heritage 150p is popular also, so why not combine the two :) It's still quite a new model so there are not many reviews out there yet but I feel its going to be a decent scope.
@@Astrolavista ok cheers! My main use for it will be when I'm out at about in my van, so space is at a premium. Does the standard dob base collapse down as well as the tube? Really enjoy your videos! Inspires me to get more into the hobby!
@@alejandrohebert8893 Absolutamente. El tubo óptico tiene una barra de cola de milano Vixen estándar para que pueda conectarlo a cualquier soporte moderno. Conozco gente que lo ha comprado con ese fin. Oh, debo señalar que las medidas que les di son para el tubo óptico. Agregue 150 mm para la altura total cerrada y extendida.
Hi mate, thanks for the informative video. I'm trying to find the best telescope for a beginner on a budget of around £300. However, I'm struggling to make the jump. I understand a dobsonian mount is the easiest to use and something like the telescope shown in this video is the way forward, but I'm not sure which is the one to go for. I would also like good quality eye pieces (within budget) which will provide a clear view. Do you have any recommendations?
Hi J J, almost universally people on the astro forums including myself recommend the BST Starguider eyepieces as an upgrade from the stock eyepieces. They are a massive upgrade in comfort, field of view and sharpness and scatter control for £47 a pop: www.firstlightoptics.com/bst-starguider-eyepieces/ref/diyastro/ If you don't need an ultra portable telescope like the Heritage 150p, then trust me this is the best beginner visual telescope for the £200 you would have left: www.firstlightoptics.com/dobsonians/skywatcher-skyliner-150p-dobsonian/ref/diyastro/ I used to have one and the optics are amazing more the money. It's a optically slower f/8 which means the mirror has a more gentle curve thus flatter field of view, and it's much easier to polish mirrors with a gentle curve meaning that these tend to be polished to a very high standard of accuracy for the price. I've tested a couple and saw for myself :) Because it has a much longer focal length of 1200mm you would need to choose longer focal length eyepieces. Maybe a 25mm BST for finding objects and framing larger objects which would give 48x off the top of head, and somethign like an 8mm BST for planets and 'close up' of smaller objects like planetary nebulae and globular clusters, double stars etc.
Hi Chris..i recently discovered your channel when I started thinking of buying my first telescope. I ended up buying (today) the Heritage 150P flextube (the latest version with SynScan controls). I started assembling it and got stuck when trying to slide the Red Dot Finder in the plastic base attached to the tube...it just does not fit and I do not want to force it because afraid of breaking it. Do you remember how you went about it? Thanks a lot, cheers.
Congratulations, that will be nice with the Synscan added to the Heritage 150p. These red dot finders don't slide on, they clamp on. You need to loosen the two screws on the side of the clamp first. Hopefully that should help :)
@@Astrolavista Hi there and thanks a lot for the reply. I do not think this is going to work...I believe there are 2 versions of this red dot finder: one has a sort of lower part and the other one (mine) does not...i even took away the screws and if I force it on it would probably break..not sure I want to take the risk! Could I send you a couple of pics to show you the way it looks? You could then tell me if (as per your memory) this is the was yours was as well. That would help me a lot before I contact the Sky-Watcher Europe main distributor in Germany (who has responsibility over Switzerland, where I live). Thanks again.
Hi Chris, I've just had this telescope for Christmas,and am very much enjoying using it so far. I've seen a bit about Barlow lenses,and am just wondering whether there is a particular one you would recommend using with this telescope? Any preferred brands? Also is it worth getting a 5x barlow,or would a 2x be sufficient?
Hi Deak, As long as it's a 1.25" rather than a 2" any Barlow lens will work with the 150p, only I would stick with a 2x Barlow because a 5x will give too much magnification with most eyepieces. The telescope and the atmosphere can only handle a certain amount of magnification before the image starts to go mushy you see. Brand wise? as with eyepieces you tend to get what you pay for, so it depends on your budget? This Astro Essentials Barlow seems to get very good reviews for not much money, so it would be my pick for starting out: www.firstlightoptics.com/barlows/astro-essentials-125-2x-barlow-with-t-thread/ref/diyastro/ It's also very light which can only be a good thing for the Heritage 150p with it's light weight truss design. I use a Revelation 2.5x Barlow because it's just what I've owned for many years. It's an excellent Barlow lens for the money though: www.rothervalleyoptics.co.uk/revelation-astro-25x-barlow-lens-125.html
Hi Chris,thanks for your reply,both of those lenses are within my budget so I'll have a good look at both and make a decision. Thanks for your info re the 2x magnification as well,as a beginner its very useful to get as much info as possible. Really enjoy your videos,keep up the good work :-)
Hi Chris very enjoyable video to watch and very nice telescope! You'll have fun with this little telescope! Be interested what faint deep sky object you can observe with it. What about the horsehead nebula? That would be a nice object to see with telescope!! I've just got the skywatcher star adventurer pro and I'm excited to use it when the night sky gets darker and what small telescope should I buy for it? Deep sky objects I want to photograph are many like veil nebula North American nebula M42. M31 M45 m81 and M2. Plus M57 and M51. What do you suggest? I'll use my Canon 700D for deep sky objects. Have fun with this little telescope please!
Hey John, thanks buddy will do :) It's a real shame because it would be awesome, but the Horse Head is a really challenging object to observe visually. There was a guy on Stargazers Lounge who made it his mission to see the Horse Head visually using an 8" Celestron C8 with a nebula filter and he experimented quite extensively with different eyepieces and different exit pupils. I think he glimpsed it in the end with averted vision, but if I remember correctly, he wasn't sure if he had imagined it or not. I think the HH is a definite object to image though, I've imaged it with a stock Canon 1100D. That's great news about the Star Adventurer mount! You could post up a which telescope for the star adventurer mount thread on Stargazers Lounge or Cloudy Nights, but I'm fairly sure the answers would be along the lines of something like a William Optics ZS61 with field flattener: www.firstlightoptics.com/william-optics/william-optics-zenithstar-61-apo-refractor.html If kind of depends on budget of course, The Red Cat or Space Cat would be a great match for the mount focal length wise and doesn't need a field flatter: www.firstlightoptics.com/william-optics/william-optics-redcat-51-v1-5-apo-f49.html Definitely double check that I haven't missed anything on the forums :)
Hi Tom, I've not personally used the Virtuoso version but it does seem like good value for a 6" aperture telescope with a goto mount. It's quite new on the scene so it might take a while before user reports filter through and we have a better opinion about it. Having said this if it's anything like the AZ-GTI mount it's based on I'm confident it will do do well.
Sorry! I missed this comment! Newtonians give an image that is upside down unfortunately so not best for terrestrial viewing. You would be better off with a Refractor or Maksutov Cassegrain with a prism diagonal which will give the correct orientation for daytime viewing :)
@@Astrolavista thanks for that, appreciate it! I'll have a look at a few Maks in this price range (£200)and see what's available. If you have a recommendation or video you've done on one, maybe you can let me know. Thanks again
Hi, looking at getter a Skyscanner heritage 130p, a Barlow lens and cheap camera. What size Barlow would you recommend and what camera would you recommend, would an iPhone be better than a astro camera? Only want to spend £40 on the cam. Thanks
Hi, the focuser takes 1.25" eyepieces and Barlow lenses, so something like a 1.25" 2x Barlow would be good. These Astro Essentials Barlow's get good reviews for the money www.firstlightoptics.com/barlows/astro-essentials-125-2x-barlow-with-t-thread/ref/diyastro/ If it was any other type of focuser I would say buy a phone adaptor with a £40 budget and use your iPhone, but I can't imagine the helical focuser of the Heritage doing a very good job with a phone adaptor. They work better with rack and pinion or Crayford focusers. I'd therefore go for a dedicated astronomy camera. The one I normally recommend is the ZWO ASI120mc but that's around £145, but there is a company that makes a camera for around £40-50 called SVBONY. I think the model is called the SV105 and you can get them from Ebay and Amazon. I also have a video in my DIY section for modifying a Logitech webcam for planetary/Lunar imaging: th-cam.com/video/C9e_TYbNmu8/w-d-xo.html
I have one of these on order from FLO after watching your video, and I'm looking for a low cost tripod / mount to use with it. Do you have any suggestions? Something that is up to the job but that won't cost the same as the telescope. The reason is so that I can go out into the countryside without having to kneel on the floor to see through it.
Hi, Congrats on your purchase! I hope it arrives sooner than later. You'll need a mount with a Vixen clamp, preferably one that attaches 90 degrees to the ground like the one with the tabletop mount. There is no threaded hole in the Vixen dovetail so you can't use a photo tripod unless you drill and tap a hole which is possible. I don't think it would work well on cheaper photo tripids anyway. A light weight option that will have the correct fitting and orientation might be something like this: www.firstlightoptics.com/skywatcher-mounts/sky-watcher-az-pronto-alt-azimuth-mount-tripod/ref/diyastro/ Although, it would be on the payload limit with the H 150p optical tube. You could use it without the pillar extension for more stability. There is also the good old AZ4 which will hold the H150p rock steady, but it's a heavier mount: www.firstlightoptics.com/alt-azimuth-astronomy-mounts/skywatcher-az4-alt-az-mount/ref/diyastro/ If you have a photograpihic tripod or can borrow one for occasional trips to dark skies then you could just buy a mount head like this: www.firstlightoptics.com/alt-azimuth-astronomy-mounts/sky-watcher-az5-deluxe-alt-azimuth-mount/ref/diy/astro/ A DIY option could be to drill and fit a threaded insert into the underside of the existing table top mount base, then fit the whole thing to a very sturdy tripod. This would be of course at you own risk but it should work in theory. Or would it be possible to take two stools out with you? one to sit on and one for placing the H150p? Just some thoughts, I hope they help :)
I’ve just ordered this telescope after finally taking the plunge. Been interested for years but I’ve never had a telescope, is this recommended for beginners?
Hello, I am looking into buying this model and I believe I'm buying this one. I have a question about collimation, what tools should I buy and how do I do it ? Thanks in advance
Hi Michalis, The Heritage 150p comes with a collimation cap which is basically a dust cap with a pin hole in the centre. You can place the collimation cap in the focuser to check that the secondary mirror is sitting central to the focuser. Secondary mirrors are usually positioned just fine so this is just to check, most collimation errors are down the primary and you don't need any tools to check and adjust this. Defocus a bright star in the centre of your high power eyepiece (Use Polaris as it doesn't move) until you can see the star split into rings (Fresnel rings). The star will look like a little doughnut because of the secondary mirror blocking the centre of the defocused star. If collimation is good this doughnut should look symmetrical/concentric. If the rings look pinched on one side then the collimation screws for the primary mirror need adjusting. adjust one screw a little and check how it effects the doughnut. if it's looking better continue, but if worse then move the screw back the other way and maybe make an adjustment to one of the other screws. Always make small adjustments so you can get a feel for things. As you can see, you don't need to buy any collimation tools. I think collimation tools are more critical for really fast optics such as f/4 astrographs. The best guide to collimation I know is by a lady who goes by the name of Astro Baby. I'll link it below, it's very comprehensive but very well written :) www.astro-baby.com/astrobaby/help/collimation-guide-newtonian-reflector/
@@MDVassiliou Yes, this applies to any Newtonian reflecting telescope other than those with factory fixed mirrors, and in that case you don't need to worry about collimation.
@@MDVassiliou No problem. I'm sure you can get a phone adaptor to fit the helical focuser but as I use dedicated astronomy cameras I've never really used phones for astro so probably not the best person to ask. The H150p didn't reach focus with my ZWO camera which plugs in like an eyepiece, there wasn't enough inward focus. However, because of the truss rod design I was able to drop the truss rods down an inch to gain the extra inward focus so I will be able to post a video with some footage from the Heritage 150p soon.
Thanks stm94, the extra 20mm of aperture represents an extra 33% light gathering area so faint objects like galaxies and planetary nebula will be that little bit brighter, and you'll have a bit more resolution for resolving detail on the Moon and planets. After owning and testing 100p, 130p, 150p, and 200p optics I can say the difference between the 130p and 150p wont be profound like it would be if you had a 130p and a 200p next to each other to look through. I know it's not much help to say this but you'd be happy with either, they both have decent quality mirrors for relatively little money. All the money goes into the optics with Dobsonian's and everything else is to made to be functional and to keep the cost to a mininal so the mount is basic and the focuser is basic. I've had the Heritage 150p out once to observe so far and I was really happy with what it showed me (lots of detail on Jupiter and I could see the Ring nebulae near the star Vega very clearly) although the red dot finder is terrible and frustrating (I'm going to pin a comment about the red dot finder) It's very tricky to align with the main scope and I had to experiment with moving the red dot finder forward and backwards on the finder shoe as well as using the the adjustments on the actual finder, but I did eventually get it aligned. The actual red dot it projects also shows a second fainter red dot (some kind of reflection) so it's not the clearest RDF I've used.
DIY Astronomy great thanks for reply at a stretch I could get the skyliner 200p I’ve heard it has a better focusser I guess I don’t want spend 150 to 200 for a starter scope that will need upgrading at some point anyway I have the space for the 200p so would you recommend the extra money for this instead ? Thanks again
@@stjm94 If you've got the space and the extra dosh then I would 100% absolutely go for the Skywatcher 200p Skyliner Dob. I regret selling mine and often consider getting another. For visual observing it could be all the scope you ever need, and it's still just about portable without having to take the optical tube off the mount base. It's a lot of scope for £290.
DIY Astronomy hi I’ve gone for the heritage 130p in the end I’m totally new and couldn’t justify the 300 pound plus I’ve seen some great reviews and fantastic pics on fbook taken with it
@@Astrolavista hello - I'm looking to buy this as a first telescope, and your video is helpful. How big is the problem with the red dot finder? Do you have a video on this? Is it the same on the 130P? Thanks!
@@Astrolavista yo I got 150p have it here in my house but idk how to start seeing in sky everything seems so complex and also idk where to put it I am afraid of the weather outside and stuff can you help?
my 4 year old son is obsessed with planets and space as most kids are, would this be a good investment, I don't really want to buy a £100 telescope if its not going to do a half decent job.... what do you reckon? if worst comes to worse, I can always use it lol
Hi Steven, I love it when kids are inherently fascinated with space : ) Though I'm sorry to break it to you though, this is a £245 telescope package. Well it was £199 when I made the video, but as you know prices of pretty much everything have gone up unfortunately. There is a Heritage 100p version which is £129 which is just as easy to use, but more compact, and robust with a solid tube and actually a better focuser than the 150p, so it's ideal for kids really. Annoyingly, it's tricky to predict when there will be stock of these arriving from China? Here's a link though so you can take a look (it's also in a very cool red colour!) www.firstlightoptics.com/heritage/skywatcher-heritage-100p-tabletop-dobsonian/ref/diyastro/
@@Astrolavista thanks for the reply and the advice on telescopes, I bottled it and brought a £399 dob 200p. wife was like i thought he could put it on his windowsill? LMAO NOT A CHANCE
@@StevenSawersMusic haha just show her Saturn or Jupiter through it, that will get her onside! :D Brilliant telescope and possibly all the scope you ever need unless you get into imaging, congratulations! :)
HI chris, what is the finder scope "shoes" size? seem like a bit small. extension like this can fit in? inner diameter 3.2cm www.dropbox.com/s/6zwpsurxsp44t95/1to3%20stand.jpg?dl=0
Hi Hengkian, the muliti shoe adaptor you've linked won't fit I'm afraid. It would fit most 'female' finder shoes that you get on the majority of telescopes but it wont work with the Heritage 150p. The Heritage uses a plastic 'male' shoe so you need to tighten the screws on the 'female' clamp on the finder scope itself onto the 'male' finder shoe. This is kind of the opposite of how the one you've linked works. I've got the standard RDF to align after experimenting moving it forward and backwards on the shoe, but I might upgrade to the Sky Surfer III RDF, it looks like it would fit and gets good reviews: www.firstlightoptics.com/finders/baader-30mm-sky-surfer-iii.html
I dont know how to use the collimation cap? Is it okay to use a laser to align the mirrors? I find it way more understandable with a laser collimation tool
Yes a laser is fine. The only thing with laser collimators is that they themselves need collimating. This is the subject of my next video "How to collimate a collimator"
@@TorshovG The important thing is to make sure it's collimatable. It should have 3 screw holes around the outside of the casing for this. If it doesn't have these then give it a miss. My laser is just a cheap one from ebay years ago, and mine has the adjustment screws so I'm hopeful for the SVBony :)
@@Astrolavista When you collimate the Heritage 150p with a laser, should the telescope be extended out all the way? And does it matter what position the focuser is in?
@@TorshovG Collimate with the telescope fully extended how you intend to use it. You cannot rotate the optical tube with the Heritage so the focuser will always remain in the same position, but your focuser position shouldn't matter anyway :)
Hi There isn't an optical finder specifically for the 150p, but I'm sure one could be attached with a bit of DIY. I think part of the reason for the RDF to keep the secondary mirror cage as light as possible, but I'm sure a 30mm finder would be fine.
Hi brilliant review thank you for sharing, may I ask for some advice I'm purchasing my first telescope and you have swayed me to purchase this beauty, you mentioned that you can attach the telescope to other mounts is that including a goto mount? If so which mount goto would be decent? Thank you
Is that possible to attach to a tripod when the location is out of table or not suitable to put a table? Tube+ table mount+ tripod. Orion do have standard camera screw hole.
Hi Terry, thanks that's good to hear! The Vixen dovetail bar is a standard fitting for pretty much all modern mounts, so you'll be able to use the Heritage 150p optical tube assembly (OTA) with the vast majority of goto or manual mounts available. I need to ask a couple of questions before I advice you on mount options - 1) Are you mainly interested in visual observing, maybe some short exposure images of the planets and the Moon at most? Or do you have any interest in longer exposure imaging of deep sky objects such as galaxies and nebulae? 2) Roughly what would your budget be for a mount?
@@MyClassicify Hi, this is a good question, and something I should have mentioned in the video. Unfortunately there isn't a thread for a tripod on the underside of the table mount. I think the Heritage 100p I owned had this ability, but that was much lighter. I'm wondering if Skywatcher thought the 150p would be too heavy as the whole table top mount and tube together weighs 7.5kg.
@@Astrolavista Hello good sir thank you for the reply and all the info, I will be mostly observing at first and then would like to get into short and long exposure photography. My budget would start at about 300 pound, I do understand that in this hobby there is no limit with what you can spend. Thank you again
Great vid! Really want one, but it doesn't look like they're selling them in the USA yet. If you ever decide to get rid of it, send me a msg here. I'd love to take it off your hands if you're willing to ship to the US! ;)
Thanks Greg! I know you guys have the Heritage 130p badged as the OneSky 130p, and I did look to see if there was a 150p version of the OneSky but no luck. I hope they do bring it out over there. If it's any consolation you can't seem to get many Chinese produced scopes in the UK at the moment, all the retailors are listing a 40 day lead time. Is it the same in the US?
@@Astrolavista Not sure on the scopes as I haven't looked into one recently, but it is true for bikes and bike parts (which are all made in china for us)... so it's likely true with scopes here too.
The Orion Starblast 6 is the same focal length and aperture, has a nicer focuser and can take a wide variety of finderscopes. Its lone drawback is the tube doesn't collapse. If you NEED a 6" table top, I wholeheartedly recommend the Orion in this case. I own a 6i model with the push-to object locator. I also have a 130p (AWB OneSky) for when I really have no choice but to pack extremely light.
@@BlueTrane2028 Yeah the Starblast is a nicer scope, a lot more premium for sure but nearly double the price where I live at least. If you've got £200 get the Heritage but if you have £360 get the Orion. I guess weight is another consideration, the Orion is better built but heavier. I'm not sure what the price difference will be if Onesky start selling the 'Heritage' 150 version in the states?
@@Astrolavista I buy all my gear on the used market here in the States (I’m right next to Philadelphia). Snagged a 130mm OneSky yesterday for $100. I bought my Starblast 6i for $300. I had previously purchased a standard Starblast 6 for $200, it sold for $250 to make room for the intelliscope version. The OneSky goes for $210 retail, I’d figure the 150mm version would end up around $300. The Starblast retails at $350, add $150 for intelliscope features. I agree that the 150mm Skywatcher would remain the less expensive option. I’d only get one out of vanity to match my 200 and 300mm flex tube Skywatcher Dobs. Admittedly, that’s half the reason I bought the OneSky...
STOP putting background music to videos with *narration* .. it ONLY makes it HARDER to hear what you are saying and is VERY distracting ... EVERYONE STOP DOING THIS.. we are NOT here to listen to music !!
AS a TRIBUTE to YOU rob, MY next VIDEO will have ZERO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! music, PROMISE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :)
I've had one night out under the stars with the Heritage 150p so far and I was very happy with the optics. Great views of Jupiter with it's moons, weather belts, and great red spot, and a clear view of the smoke ring looking ring nebula near the star Vega!
The only thing I wasn't happy with was the red dot finder. It's really tricky to align to the main scope, and needs adjusting forward and backwards on the finder shoe as well as using the usual adjustments on the finder itself. I managed to get it aligned to the main scope eventually but it's not as good as the RDF's I've used on other entry level Skywatcher telescopes. The red dot wasn't as clear as others I've used either.
This is a minor judgement considering the ultimate goal of this telescope is to pack as much good quality optics into as compact and as affordable package as possible, and I think the Heritage 150p achieves this!
Hello - given the issue with the RDF, is there anything to be said for getting the 130 instead and maybe upgrading the eyepieces /using a barlow? Or is it still better to have the bigger aperture? ps. I'm a beginner and thinking of the 130/150 as my first telescope!
@@Woolfy74 It's not easy I'm also looking for a beginner telescope and I have the same question, have you already made a choice?
@@dietgerherregodts2220 found anything?
@@lasrashid5444 i bought an evo 8
I'm very very tempted to buy one of these scopes because I have to rely on public transport to get to a decent viewing site and this little scope is portable enough and has enough light grasp to do a decent job. The fact that it has a parabolic mirror and not a shaving mirror is another plus point. I'm sooooooo tempted! Thanks for the great review.
Great review on great timing...i just made my mine yesterday for skywatcher 150/750eq3 tripod as my first scope with hesitation, especially on setting up scope with eq3 + balancing tube + heavy steel tripod, so called best combination for heavy tube, i almost accept the fact that this is best for me. Phew! this baby came on time!!! hoorayyy.....new true love. Malaysia stock only can arrive in sept or oct2020, rather wait for true love.
Excellent as a "travel" scope as suggested in the video. Took on my hols a few times now, Far north, NE and SW Scotland, Kielder, Lincolnshire as well as around the N.Yorks and County Durham rural areas local to me.
Telescope in the car.
Drive to where I think its "dark" enough.
Telescope out of the car and on a camping table.
Looking down eyepiece.
Literally minutes from parking up to viewing.
nice little light bucket :)
Thanks, I'm looking forward to using it with the kids as a family scope, and taking it somewhere dark in the winter :)
Hello I just wanted to thank you for your video it’s really helpful since it will be my first telescope !
That's very kind Carrie, thanks you and enjoy the telescope when you get it :)
Great video. It is really helpful. I’m considering this as a first scope along with the bresser messier 6 inch planetary scope but my main concern is which is better to take on holiday and camping! Your video making a shroud has eased my other concern over this scope too. I’m leaning towards the skywatcher now although I believe the bresser may be slightly better. This however maybe easier to use. Thanks again.
Moist breath on the secondary mirror while looking down the eyepiece is probably the main problem with this telescope and the best reason to "shroud" the open truss space. Massive design flaw on an otherwise "not bad/ pretty good value" telescope. The mounting point for the finder scope is not ideal either, interferes with the truss "lock" nut. Make sure you use the " PTFE" tape fix on the helical focuser too, absolute must to assist with focusing the thing.
Great overview thanks! I have ordered one of these partially from your recommendation. I have a 6+ week wait for delivery though, plenty of time to through all your videos on it ;)
That's great! (the order not the wait of course) I do have quite a few videos about this scope now. One for making a light shroud and doing a simple focuser modification, one regarding eyepiece weight capacity, and a few where I use the Heritage 150p for Lunar and Planetary imaging. I hope you enjoy them if you get round to watching :)
Hi Fraser......i bought (today) the Heritage 150P flextube (the latest version with SynScan controls) as my first scope. I started assembling it and got stuck when trying to slide the Red Dot Finder in the plastic base attached to the tube...it just does not fit and I do not want to force it because afraid of breaking it. Do you remember how you went about it? Thanks a lot, cheers.
Thanks for that video. I'm thinking about that telescope and your video gives me a lot of information about it and I think i'm decide to buy it :)
Happy to help :)
Excellent review. I'm sold on it. Thanks! Keep up the good work.
Thanks !🙂
Just stumbled on this video and telescope, looks really interesting! Since I'm moving to a student house, I only buy light equipment that is not too much of a hassle to carry around. It might be a nice addition since I only have a star tracker and lenses currently, and I'm looking for something to use strictly for visual to let my guests enjoy the moon every now and then :)
Great video Thanks, This is my first Telescope and I love it.
That's great to hear, thanks and enjoy!
That’s cool :D
I have a question, since it’s 5.9 inch (technically a 6) is it true that all Messier objects can be seen?
I also use a 2x barlow with the supplied eyepieces, 3x seems a little beyond the scopes capability. Could've been the cheap 3x barlow though.
Thanks! Great video! Can you tell me how long the tube is (without the mount) when it's not extended? I wonder if can take the 150p in my hand luggage.
Thanks Claudia, the tube is 44cm or 17.3" long in the collapsed position without the mount. Hope that helps :)
@@Astrolavista Excelent! Thank you so much!
Great overview Chris.. looks like a nice portable scope!
Thanks Vineeth, I nearly dropped it balancing it on my car trying to see Jupiter last night lol Just managed to catch it before it toppled over. Phew!
@@Astrolavista Woops, good save :D
@@TheUrbanAstronomer lol thanks, It was a useful adrenaline rush at 1am :D
Please i need help the supports for the secondary mirror are getting in the way of my images
How do you view the sky with it ? do you have to lay on the floor? Why is there a big gap in the telescope? sorry I am beginner and trying to make sense of all this.
No worries :) This is what's known as a table top Dobsonian telescope. You place it on a garden table or even a chair to raise it up high enough to use. Just makes it portable and easy to store, but they're not for everyone.
@@Astrolavista thanks :) , would you recommend this for my first telescope? I was looking at the celestron dx 130az as well .. which to go for ?
@@thekingsown10 You can't go too far wrong with either for a first telescope, but the Starsense feature of the new DX range does look like a lot of fun :) I'd be tempted to go for that one. Read up on both and decide which is best for you?
I have the 130mm version of this and I found a video on how to build a tripod table for it, I don't have any carpentry skills and I didn't lose any fingers. I hope this helps good luck and clear skies.
Morning bud Out of interest do you still use this now you have more intricate instruments ? I wonder if it’s something that will be great for spur of the moment trips etc as it’s kind of on the large side of portable gear ??
Hi mate, I've not used it for a few weeks now because I've been concentrating on the observatory setup as you say. I'm going to keep the Heritage 150p in the obsy so I can observe with it on the garden table whilst the camera is snapping away in the observatory, so it's not going anywhere. Maybe consider the smaller lighter 130p of you want to travel a bit lighter?
Hi I brought this scope about 5 months and I’ve started having problems with it 😩
I can’t seem to get stars perfectly focused planets seem fine, I even cleaned the secondary and primary with a sink half full with warm water with 1 drop of washing up liquid using cotton wool buds then rinsing with 0 TDS RO water.
I noticed that the primary mirror clip screws were really tight so when I put it back together I only screwed them down just enough to secure the mirror.
I lined up the secondary with the eyepiece and then the primary to the secondary using the collimation cap got it spot on centre the doh nut. Even did collimating using vega. Collimating is spot on but still no joy 😩🤷🏻♂️
Hi Owen, I'm also surprised as you've clearly done everything right. I mean I wouldn't recommend cleaning the mirror of a 5 month old scope unless there was some kind of spillage, but you clearly used the right technique. Just going off topic for a moment, you would be really surprised how dirty a mirror would need to be before it noticeably impacted the image quality, my father in law has literally never cleaned his 8" mirror in the 40+ years he's owned his scope, and it's surprisingly good. It's covered in spider poo and all sorts! I would have done exactly the same with the tight mirror clips too to avoid pinched optics and you sound like you know what you're doing with regards to collimation. When you say you can't get stars perfectly focused, do you run out of inward focuser travel, or is it that when traveling from inside to outside focus you can't seem to nail the focus?
@@Astrolavista hi thanks for the reply,
It’s weird it’s almost like I can’t focus the night sky to get stars to look like they do with the naked eye eg pin points of light, loooking with the telescope it’s like they are elongated diamond shapes the only thing I can think of is that it’s the spider veins on the secondary mirror causing the problem but I’m no expert just a beginner🤷🏻♂️ I should say you’ve got a far greater knowledge of these problems than me and the solutions 👌🏻
I also wait a good hour with the telescope outside to equalise to the outdoor temperature 🤷🏻♂️ maybe it’s dew on the secondary mirror? I’m stumped 🤷🏻♂️ it’s a shame because on paper it’s a great starter scope!
Good telescope! My only question is if the base is assembled with screws and can be disassembled (I want to put it in a suitcase and take it with me on plane trips), or is it just glued?
Hi its glued so can't be dismantled.
Nice introduction to this Heritage 150p telescope, I believe it's the first video on it not a lot info about it yet.
I was just about to buy the Heritage 130p as I was l looking for a nice portable begginer telescope, but then I saw this baby and I just might pull the trigger on it. One of these would be my first telescope and this 150p should be just at the upper limit to fit into my backpack and still be generally portable
.
Do you have the 130p as well? Will you do a comparison video? The image quality should be better right, I'm just trying to figure out if the slightly bulkier 150p justifies the extra ~60€.
Also one tiny critique if I may, when you were measuring you've given the distances in inches and weight in kg, I know it's a UK thing but it would be nice to have sizes in cm as well. Other than that a good introduction and I look forward to other videos about this telescope.
Thanks. I think you'd be happy with either as a first scope. Whether it's the 150p or 130p, it would always come in handy as a portable scope even if eventually moved onto something bigger. I don't own the Heritage 130p but I've owned and used the 130p mirror set in other Skywatcher telescopes. The difference won't be huge, just a bit more resolution on the planets and Moon, and a little brighter when it comes to deep sky. The jump from 130p to 200p would be a lot more striking, but that's a lot larger of course. You can't go wrong with either for the price mate :) Thanks for the feedback, I'll try and remember to give both imperial and metric in future. I Also noticed that I didn't hold the tape measure straight for one of the heights.
@@Astrolavista Thanks for the quick reply. I guess I'll just have to think it through a bit more then sleep it off and make a decision.
Yeah I'm sort of buying one of these as a stepping stone into astronomy and to combine it with my camping hobby. Then if it sticks make a transition into some of the bigger beasts.
Thanks again and I look forward to future videos.
Hi Chris,
Thanks a lot for the great videos. I'm currently in two minds between the heritage 130p and 150p for my first telescope. I'm looking for an easily portable one, ideally providing good deep space views. It looks like they're both great all-rounders. I was wondering if the difference in image quality is worth getting a 150p, even if it's slightly bigger?
Cheers, Mo
Hi Mo, well as you know the two scopes are close to identical other than the 20mm aperture difference which represents an extra 33% area for capturing light, thus a 33% brighter image and a bit more resolution for the planets and the Moon. On the flip side the 150p is 1.3kg heavier. The jump in aperture wouldn't be mind blowing, not like going from a 130p to a 250p, but if you don't mind the extra 1.3kg I would go for the 150p. It depends on just how portable you need it to be,
@@Astrolavista Thanks very much Chris, much appreciated. Looking forward to future videos!
Hello! How do you find the helical focuser on this larger 150P as compared to the previous 130P version? On 130P the helical focuser is a weak point: there is lots of sideways play due to its flimsy construction. Has Skywatcher improved the fit of the focuser or is it still noticeably wobbly?
Hi John, I'm about to upload a video which will give you a very good idea about the H150p focuser. I'll have it posted soon :)
@@Astrolavista Great! Looking forward to your presentation.
@@johnpiettro4644 Thanks, I just finished uploading a moment ago :)
Hi Chris,
Wat type of lenses come with the Heritage 150p. KE or Plossl? I have to wait till November to get it... but looking forward to it. Thanks for the great video's
Hi Arendom, You're welcome, cheers :) The Heritage 150p comes with a 'Super' 10mm, and Super 25mm eyepiece. These are MA's (Modified Achromats) and I believe MA's sit below Plossl's and Kelner's in terms of general image quality, but above Huygens. The Super 10 and 25's come with most entry level Sky-Watcher telescope, whilst some higher up in the range get a 28mm 2" Kelner. The Super 10mm doesn't unlock the true potential of the telescope, it's a bit soft so I would recommend replacing it at some point, but it's fine to get going with. The Super 25 is a bit better in my opinion, and I've heard others say the same so I feel safe in giving you this advice. Sorry you have to wait so long that sucks.
Looking at buying one of these as a starter telescope do you still use it and would you recommend it
can you see the whirlpool galaxy and make it out clearly? im debating about this due to price and size but looking at the 12".
Hi, it depends how dark your skies are. Under my Bortle 6 skies I need an 8" scope to detect the two bright cores of the Whirlpool galaxy. Larger aperture to start seeing the spiral arms. Under dark skies I think the 150p will be fine.
Thank you so much for getting on this so quickly. I am obsessed with the idea of buying my first telescope and after a lot of research, I‘m almost certain this suits me best for my budget and the degree of portability I need. Just one question: Could you go a little bit more in detail about the extension bars/mechanism? You said it seemed sturdy but the way it slightly vibrates when you turn it still worries me very slightly, same with the way the focuser vibrated as you turned it. Right now my plan is to put a Explore Scientific 52 LER 4.5mm planetary eyepiece on that, which weighs about 185 grams, which (if I remember correctly) is more than three times the weight of the included eyepieces. Is there any reason for me to be worried, or am I just paranoid thinking about any hypothetical issues that may occur ;)
Many thanks!
Hi there, you're very welcome. I wasn't expecting much from the truss rods before the scope arrived simply because there is only two of them, but they are better than I expected. Yes, it's not rock solid and there is vibrations at the eyepiece which takes two or three seconds to settle once you've either moved the mount or adjusted the focuser, but this is the case for the majority of telescope packages in this price bracket. The slack in the focuser will be taken care of with PTFE tape, I'll cover this and the DIY light shroud in an upcoming video. Coincidentally I've just bought the ES 52 LER 10mm so I can totally check that out for you under the stars. It did cross my mind about heavier eyepieces but I know another guy from SGL who has this scope, and he used it with a 24mm Televue Panoptic which weighs quite a bit more. He didn't mention any problem with it but I'll certainly check the LER out with this scope and talk about eyepiece weight in the next video. It's a good question :) I think Bresser do a 6" solid tube Dobsonian, I'll dig out a link: www.bresser.de/en/Astronomy/BRESSER-Messier-6-Dobson.html It's a bit more money but the focuser will be better and you won't have the same level of vibration as it isn't a truss design. Downsides are of course weight and compactness plus the cost mentioned. They do a 5" model also. Bresser are a good brand, I've been pleased with Bresser products in the past.
DIY Astronomy That‘s quite a nice coincidence, I‘ll certainly wait for the next video until I purchase anything. I looked at the Bresser aswell, but I have read some complaints about the rather thick plastic mount of the secondary mirror and if I remember correctly also something about optical issues caused by the unnecessarily long focuser (would have to look that up again to be sure though), which is why I was leaning towards the skywatcher. I guess I‘ll do some more research :)
That will be the focuser drawer tube entering the light path I reckon. This happens with a lot of Newtonian's which have a Crayford or rack and pinion focuser. Some people cut an inch off the drawer tube to stop this from happening. The spider veins holding the secondary are probably fairly similar to the Heritage ones on the 150p in terms of thickness. I'm guessing the complaints are comparing the thicker cheaper plastic veins to the thinner metal veins of something like the Skywatcher Explorer 150pds which is £230 just for the optical tube. The thicker plastic veins are going to be cost saving measure and may cause slightly more pronounced diffraction spikes, but spikes are spikes. It depends on how well you tolerate seeing spikes on bright stars. Some people find then objectionable and some don't mind or even like them.
DIY Astronomy After spending some more time researching, the 150Ps portability still seems to be my best option, so I guess the question is could there be any real issues with the truss rods and the focuser, or is it basically a question of comfort and whether you’re willing to wait until it stops vibrating and I am just getting ahead of myself? It‘s gonna be my first scope after all, so I probably won‘t care about such little details anyways as long as the scope is portable enough for me to take it out into darker areas and capable enough to provide some nice views of the planets and maybe brighter DSOs, star clusters etc. I‘ll wait for your videos for sure though! Thanks for the help :)
@@-.-1724 It's certainly more likely to be the case of having to put up with some vibrations than rather than any real issue such as mechanical failure. The reason I say this is because the Heritage 130p has exactly the same truss rod design as the Heritage 150p, and that has been on the scene since 2009. In that time I haven't heard about any issues with the truss rods failing. There is the caveat that the whole ethos of the scope screams - all the money has gone into the optics and the rest is just functional! Personally the truss rods don't bother me, it's what makes it so compact. The only niggle I've had is with the red dot finder which I had trouble aligning to the main scope. When centring a star in the main scope, the red dot finder didn't have enough adjustment to place the dot on the same star. I needed to move the red dot finder all the way back on the finder shoe which changed the angle slightly and allowed me to align. It's not a big deal, just that the initial alignment of the red dot finder to the main scope was slightly more involved than with most others telescopes. if you're only waiting to see how the LER eyepiece handles, maybe I can just check it out next clear gap in the sky and report back here? It might be a week or two before I do the next video for this scope, so I wouldn't want you to wait with your finger hovering over the buy button whilst I get round to that :)
Hello, thanks for the informative video, I hope you could answer my question: I'm considering between this one and the Bresser Messier 6" Tabletop Dobsonian as my first telescope. Which one would have crispier images, and which one would be easier to handle as a first timer? Thank you again!
Hi, looking at the Bresser specs the focuser looks better but optically they will be very similar (both mass produced diffraction limited parabolic mirrors). The Heritage has a truss rod design which allows it to be collapsed down smaller for transportation, plus this will make it lighter to handle, but you will need to make a light shroud shown on my other video to keep stray light out and increase contrast.
@@Astrolavista I already brought the Bressier and I'll be taking it out tonight. But your comment confirmed that I have made the right choice! Thanks a bunch!
Hi I am confused between a few telescope and hope to get ur opinion on that .
I initally want to get my friend Orion starblast 4.5 easy to use no need to set up . But it is ok backorder until Aug 1 (I m in the UK :( in US tho it is just a week )
So then someone told me about skywatcher Hertiage 130p and later people said zhumell Z130 with a solid tube not the extensive tube is much better.
The extended tube requires extra care which I am a bit worried about . Also people said I need to make a shroud . But seems like this is a much portable ones . Hertiage 130p. I'm debating also because I cannot find zhumell Z130. Only Z114 is available on Amazon.
That kinda discouraging because everything I want is out of stock . And I felt like I am being pushed into buying something available in the market
Hi, I have no experience of Zhumell but you can make a light shroud for the Heritage 130p/150 using a piece of craft foam and some velcro. I have a video on how to make a shroud and glancing at my un-answered questions I think you've probably already found it :D
@@Astrolavista would you get yourself a solid tube 114 or Hertiage 130 ? I wonder . Someone mentioned about the eye pieces ..being shaky if you put a heavier eye piece .
Nice! I want to buy a Skywatcher Heritage, what should i choose between the 130 p and the 150 p. What it's the difference at deepsky objects between those two scopes. I'm interesting especially to see deepsky objects like orion Nebula, Rosette Nebula, etc. Thank You! Great Video! 👍👍👍
Hi Alex, I would go for the 150p out of the two because when it comes to viewing deep sky objects you want as much aperture as possible. The difference won't be huge as it's only 20mm difference but it will give a slightly brighter image and most deep sky objects are very faint. The great Orion nebula will look great even with a small telescope but the Rosette would be a challenge even with a very large telescope and dark skies. Many people that love deep sky objects end up using cameras instead of their eyes for this reason. I've imaged the Rosette but never seen it with my eyes.
@@Astrolavista Great review... Can you please help me quite further? I'm struggling in making a decision between SW Explorer 130P and Heritage 150P. Can you shed light in my thought? Apart from the mount and the large aperture, is the parabolic mirror of Heritage 150P is as good as Exp. 130P?
@@sohaibsinan3369 Hi Sohaib, the optical figure of the 130p and 150p will be very similar, both very good for the cost. The only difference is that the 150p will grasp a little more light.
@@Astrolavista Thank you very much for you reply.
Hello sir! I think this is a good tele but would the dobsoinam skywatcher 6 inch be better? There both 6 inch diff focal lenths
I've owned both and think the Skyliner 150p f/8 is better because of the solid tube, slower F-ratio (which equals slightly better figured optics on average), and proper rack and pinion focuser. However the point of the Heritage 150p is that it's very portable and very easy to store. If you have the room and don't need to carry a telescope very far I would go with the Skyliner, Otherwise the Heritage is a good choice :)
@@Astrolavista ah ok thanks for your help!
So I decided after 43 years on this spinning ball we call Earth, that it was time to invest in a telescope. After looking at multiple reviews of telescopes, I decided to order this Heritage 150! Thanks for your suggestion on the light shroud. So I ordered some accessories for it but I'm wondering if you would suggest anything else. So I got a 2x and 3x barlow, 6mm lens, 8mm lens, variable polarizing moon filter, laser collimator, anti-static gloves, and a lens cleaning kit. Oh my! Any suggestions for additions would be greatly appreciated. :)
Congratulations on your first scope! :) Well you've got past the not so good included 10mm eyepiece with the additional eyepiece purchases, so that's a good start. Excellent choice on the polarising Moon filter as well. Just make sure you've got a good bit of planetarium software on your phone such as Stellarium, and a red torch wouldn't be a bad idea so you can see what you're doing without ruining your dark adapted vision. It's good to get your pupils nice and dilated! I sometimes sit with an eyepatch on my observing eye before going out observing. It both entertains my wife and helps bring out a bit more detail in those deep sky objects :D You'll find as you observe more and more you'll instinctively know the things you need to add :) Enjoy!
@@Astrolavista thanks! Ya, I figured with the 8mm and the 3x barlow lens and the 8mm I'll be able to maximize the viewing magnification. I'm super excited to start start using it. Am I going to be able to see much beyond the Moon, Jupiter and Saturn... and a little bit of Mars?
I finally received my telescope in the mail and had a couple clear nights to use it. I tried your suggestion with the plumber's tape but found that the focuser wouldn't thread in all the way after I put it on. I also noticed the tape would also come off as I screwed it in. Are there any other ways to reduce the wiggle with the focuser besides plumber's tape?
Hi there...I bought (today) the Heritage 150P flextube (the latest version with SynScan controls). I started assembling it and got stuck when trying to slide the Red Dot Finder in the plastic base attached to the tube...it just does not fit and I do not want to force it because afraid of breaking it. Do you remember how you went about it? Thanks a lot, cheers.
Great video,but i have a question, with this telescope you can see objects from the deep sky like galaxies an nebulas ?
Absolutely! But the biggest factor is how dark your skies are. At one extreme, if you live in a heavily light polluted city you would be better off looking at the planets, Moon, but if you are lucky to live in the countryside where the skies are very dark you can see plenty of galaxies and some nebula for sure. One good reason to have a portable telescope :)
I am in doubt between the dobson 150/750 or the skywahtcher 130/900 explorer Eq-2, could you help me?
@@danielflyd8326 You would probably be happy with either to start out with. The main difference is that the Dobsonian is more compact, yet has a bit more aperture and possibly a slightly better parabolic mirror. With regards to the 130 EQ2, you don't need a garden table to place it on like the 150p Dob, and you can align the mount with the pole star and smoothly track objects with the slow motion controls, or add a motor drive to automatically track objects once found. I have a video on choosing telescopes here which might also help? th-cam.com/video/uGP2kjzUdLw/w-d-xo.html
I doubt this would be able to hold a phone on the eyepiece mount without being out of balance would it?
Hi Danny, you're right, the helical focuser is just too loose and the weight of the phone will tork twist it down like a lever. However, if you wrap some PTFE plumbers tape around the focuser thread it will stiffen it up enough to take the weight I reckon. Here's a Heritage 150p Modification video which might be helpful: th-cam.com/video/8VMASGCLvp0/w-d-xo.html
@@Astrolavista thank you for your fast reply, will check it out! 👍
What would you recommend, the zhumell z130 for €240 or this one for €310. Cheers
I've just taken a look at the Zhumell and it looks good. Seems to have a parabolic mirror like the Heritage which is good, and the focuser looks more conventional which I would say is better. I would be tempted by that one as it's also more affordable.
Thanks for the video ! How would you feel about using that telescope for Deep Sky imaging ? With a light camera let's say. Thank you !
Hi Julien, you would need to change the mount for one that can accurately track with the rotation of the Earth so you can take long enough exposures to show deep sky objects, but apart from that it is doable albeit not easy with a sloppy helical focuser. Focus is critical so I would recommend wrapping plumbers tape around the focuser thread to tighten it up so it doesn't move so easily. The telescope also doesn't reach focus with a camera when the truss rods are fully extended, so you would need to drop them down 1-2cm, then it will work. I've managed to image the planets and the Moon with it this way using ZWO planetary cameras. I have some videos where I do this. I also have a video where I make some mods to the telescope and focuser if you want to check them out. I do plan on trying the Heritage 150p for deep sky imaging by mounting it on the equatorial mount in my observatory and re doing the plumbers tape mod. It's not going to be easy, but I like a challenge. a 150p or 150pds optical tube would be your best bet for DSO imaging. To start with you could just add a basic EQ3 mount and a motor drive kit so it automatically tracks with the sky.
@@Astrolavista thank you ! The idea is to have it on my Sky Adventurer (with a small guide scope too) cause of low payload capacity. Upgrading to another mount later is an option, but would be interesting to try that set up in a cheaper way, to have at lest a feeling before the real upgrade. I am just wondering about image quality, coma, flat field etc with that scope. Thanks for your helpful reply !
@@julienlecocq9545 Ah I get your plan. That might be a fun experiment, you might need an extra counter weight for the H150p, I'm not sure? With a small sensor camera I doubt coma would be an issue and you can always crop the coma out if it is. It would be a challenging rig, but personally I think that's part of the fun/pain lol :)
@@Astrolavista ahah ok sounds good. If I go for it I’ll let you know :) thanks for the help !
Do you have any recommendations for barlows?
Hi Fernando. yes, the BST Barlow gets excellent reviews:
www.firstlightoptics.com/barlows/bst-starguider-2x-short-barlow-lens/ref/astrolavista/
Or if you're on a tight budget the Astro Essentials is ok also:
www.firstlightoptics.com/barlows/astro-essentials-125-2x-barlow-with-t-thread/ref/astrolavista/
@@Astrolavista thanks! I appreciate the response.
Hi! Would you recommend getting this scope with the virtuoso GTi goto mount?
Hi Miles, I think I would, I mean the AZ GTI range has been very popular and the Heritage 150p is popular also, so why not combine the two :) It's still quite a new model so there are not many reviews out there yet but I feel its going to be a decent scope.
@@Astrolavista ok cheers! My main use for it will be when I'm out at about in my van, so space is at a premium. Does the standard dob base collapse down as well as the tube? Really enjoy your videos! Inspires me to get more into the hobby!
Hola, cuanto mide el tubo cerrado y cuanto extendido?
Hola, es 420 mm cerrado y 700 mm extendido.
Hay alguna manera de montarlo en un tripode? En el campo es incomodo la base dobson, tienesvque llevar una mesa!!
@@alejandrohebert8893 Absolutamente. El tubo óptico tiene una barra de cola de milano Vixen estándar para que pueda conectarlo a cualquier soporte moderno. Conozco gente que lo ha comprado con ese fin. Oh, debo señalar que las medidas que les di son para el tubo óptico. Agregue 150 mm para la altura total cerrada y extendida.
Muchas gracias por su pronta respuesta, estoy comparando este con el mas chico, el 130/650 para decidir la compra, no hay mucha diferencia en dinero
@@alejandrohebert8893 Eres muy bienvenido. Buena suerte con tu decisión.
Hi mate, thanks for the informative video. I'm trying to find the best telescope for a beginner on a budget of around £300. However, I'm struggling to make the jump. I understand a dobsonian mount is the easiest to use and something like the telescope shown in this video is the way forward, but I'm not sure which is the one to go for. I would also like good quality eye pieces (within budget) which will provide a clear view. Do you have any recommendations?
Hi J J, almost universally people on the astro forums including myself recommend the BST Starguider eyepieces as an upgrade from the stock eyepieces. They are a massive upgrade in comfort, field of view and sharpness and scatter control for £47 a pop:
www.firstlightoptics.com/bst-starguider-eyepieces/ref/diyastro/
If you don't need an ultra portable telescope like the Heritage 150p, then trust me this is the best beginner visual telescope for the £200 you would have left:
www.firstlightoptics.com/dobsonians/skywatcher-skyliner-150p-dobsonian/ref/diyastro/
I used to have one and the optics are amazing more the money. It's a optically slower f/8 which means the mirror has a more gentle curve thus flatter field of view, and it's much easier to polish mirrors with a gentle curve meaning that these tend to be polished to a very high standard of accuracy for the price. I've tested a couple and saw for myself :)
Because it has a much longer focal length of 1200mm you would need to choose longer focal length eyepieces. Maybe a 25mm BST for finding objects and framing larger objects which would give 48x off the top of head, and somethign like an 8mm BST for planets and 'close up' of smaller objects like planetary nebulae and globular clusters, double stars etc.
Hi Chris..i recently discovered your channel when I started thinking of buying my first telescope. I ended up buying (today) the Heritage 150P flextube (the latest version with SynScan controls). I started assembling it and got stuck when trying to slide the Red Dot Finder in the plastic base attached to the tube...it just does not fit and I do not want to force it because afraid of breaking it. Do you remember how you went about it? Thanks a lot, cheers.
Congratulations, that will be nice with the Synscan added to the Heritage 150p. These red dot finders don't slide on, they clamp on. You need to loosen the two screws on the side of the clamp first. Hopefully that should help :)
@@Astrolavista Hi there and thanks a lot for the reply. I do not think this is going to work...I believe there are 2 versions of this red dot finder: one has a sort of lower part and the other one (mine) does not...i even took away the screws and if I force it on it would probably break..not sure I want to take the risk! Could I send you a couple of pics to show you the way it looks? You could then tell me if (as per your memory) this is the was yours was as well. That would help me a lot before I contact the Sky-Watcher Europe main distributor in Germany (who has responsibility over Switzerland, where I live). Thanks again.
Hi Chris, I've just had this telescope for Christmas,and am very much enjoying using it so far. I've seen a bit about Barlow lenses,and am just wondering whether there is a particular one you would recommend using with this telescope? Any preferred brands? Also is it worth getting a 5x barlow,or would a 2x be sufficient?
Hi Deak, As long as it's a 1.25" rather than a 2" any Barlow lens will work with the 150p, only I would stick with a 2x Barlow because a 5x will give too much magnification with most eyepieces. The telescope and the atmosphere can only handle a certain amount of magnification before the image starts to go mushy you see. Brand wise? as with eyepieces you tend to get what you pay for, so it depends on your budget?
This Astro Essentials Barlow seems to get very good reviews for not much money, so it would be my pick for starting out:
www.firstlightoptics.com/barlows/astro-essentials-125-2x-barlow-with-t-thread/ref/diyastro/
It's also very light which can only be a good thing for the Heritage 150p with it's light weight truss design.
I use a Revelation 2.5x Barlow because it's just what I've owned for many years. It's an excellent Barlow lens for the money though:
www.rothervalleyoptics.co.uk/revelation-astro-25x-barlow-lens-125.html
Hi Chris,thanks for your reply,both of those lenses are within my budget so I'll have a good look at both and make a decision. Thanks for your info re the 2x magnification as well,as a beginner its very useful to get as much info as possible. Really enjoy your videos,keep up the good work :-)
Hi Chris very enjoyable video to watch and very nice telescope! You'll have fun with this little telescope! Be interested what faint deep sky object you can observe with it. What about the horsehead nebula? That would be a nice object to see with telescope!! I've just got the skywatcher star adventurer pro and I'm excited to use it when the night sky gets darker and what small telescope should I buy for it? Deep sky objects I want to photograph are many like veil nebula North American nebula M42. M31 M45 m81 and M2. Plus M57 and M51. What do you suggest? I'll use my Canon 700D for deep sky objects. Have fun with this little telescope please!
Hey John, thanks buddy will do :) It's a real shame because it would be awesome, but the Horse Head is a really challenging object to observe visually. There was a guy on Stargazers Lounge who made it his mission to see the Horse Head visually using an 8" Celestron C8 with a nebula filter and he experimented quite extensively with different eyepieces and different exit pupils. I think he glimpsed it in the end with averted vision, but if I remember correctly, he wasn't sure if he had imagined it or not. I think the HH is a definite object to image though, I've imaged it with a stock Canon 1100D.
That's great news about the Star Adventurer mount! You could post up a which telescope for the star adventurer mount thread on Stargazers Lounge or Cloudy Nights, but I'm fairly sure the answers would be along the lines of something like a William Optics ZS61 with field flattener: www.firstlightoptics.com/william-optics/william-optics-zenithstar-61-apo-refractor.html
If kind of depends on budget of course, The Red Cat or Space Cat would be a great match for the mount focal length wise and doesn't need a field flatter: www.firstlightoptics.com/william-optics/william-optics-redcat-51-v1-5-apo-f49.html
Definitely double check that I haven't missed anything on the forums :)
any thoughts on the Virtuoso GTi version ? Is it worth the extra 150euros ?
the Skywatcher Dobson telescoop N 150/750 Heritage FlexTube Virtuoso GTi
Hi Tom, I've not personally used the Virtuoso version but it does seem like good value for a 6" aperture telescope with a goto mount. It's quite new on the scene so it might take a while before user reports filter through and we have a better opinion about it. Having said this if it's anything like the AZ-GTI mount it's based on I'm confident it will do do well.
Hello - for terrestrial viewing, does this telescope show an inverted image? If so, can it be corrected? Thank you
Sorry! I missed this comment! Newtonians give an image that is upside down unfortunately so not best for terrestrial viewing. You would be better off with a Refractor or Maksutov Cassegrain with a prism diagonal which will give the correct orientation for daytime viewing :)
Oh and as you can't use a diagonal with a Newt it can't be corrected so the refractor or the Mak are much better options for you.
@@Astrolavista thanks for that, appreciate it! I'll have a look at a few Maks in this price range (£200)and see what's available. If you have a recommendation or video you've done on one, maybe you can let me know. Thanks again
@@Woolfy74 No problem, this video will give you an idea about the Maks in your price range: th-cam.com/video/yriVI413yUk/w-d-xo.html
@@Astrolavista thanks!
big dilemma now,should I go for 130p or 150p?
Hey Raj, the good news is that either way it's a good decision :)
Hi, looking at getter a Skyscanner heritage 130p, a Barlow lens and cheap camera. What size Barlow would you recommend and what camera would you recommend, would an iPhone be better than a astro camera? Only want to spend £40 on the cam. Thanks
Hi, the focuser takes 1.25" eyepieces and Barlow lenses, so something like a 1.25" 2x Barlow would be good. These Astro Essentials Barlow's get good reviews for the money www.firstlightoptics.com/barlows/astro-essentials-125-2x-barlow-with-t-thread/ref/diyastro/
If it was any other type of focuser I would say buy a phone adaptor with a £40 budget and use your iPhone, but I can't imagine the helical focuser of the Heritage doing a very good job with a phone adaptor. They work better with rack and pinion or Crayford focusers. I'd therefore go for a dedicated astronomy camera. The one I normally recommend is the ZWO ASI120mc but that's around £145, but there is a company that makes a camera for around £40-50 called SVBONY. I think the model is called the SV105 and you can get them from Ebay and Amazon. I also have a video in my DIY section for modifying a Logitech webcam for planetary/Lunar imaging: th-cam.com/video/C9e_TYbNmu8/w-d-xo.html
2:32 how did you make it go sideways?
I have one of these on order from FLO after watching your video, and I'm looking for a low cost tripod / mount to use with it. Do you have any suggestions? Something that is up to the job but that won't cost the same as the telescope. The reason is so that I can go out into the countryside without having to kneel on the floor to see through it.
Hi, Congrats on your purchase! I hope it arrives sooner than later. You'll need a mount with a Vixen clamp, preferably one that attaches 90 degrees to the ground like the one with the tabletop mount. There is no threaded hole in the Vixen dovetail so you can't use a photo tripod unless you drill and tap a hole which is possible. I don't think it would work well on cheaper photo tripids anyway. A light weight option that will have the correct fitting and orientation might be something like this: www.firstlightoptics.com/skywatcher-mounts/sky-watcher-az-pronto-alt-azimuth-mount-tripod/ref/diyastro/
Although, it would be on the payload limit with the H 150p optical tube. You could use it without the pillar extension for more stability. There is also the good old AZ4 which will hold the H150p rock steady, but it's a heavier mount: www.firstlightoptics.com/alt-azimuth-astronomy-mounts/skywatcher-az4-alt-az-mount/ref/diyastro/
If you have a photograpihic tripod or can borrow one for occasional trips to dark skies then you could just buy a mount head like this: www.firstlightoptics.com/alt-azimuth-astronomy-mounts/sky-watcher-az5-deluxe-alt-azimuth-mount/ref/diy/astro/
A DIY option could be to drill and fit a threaded insert into the underside of the existing table top mount base, then fit the whole thing to a very sturdy tripod. This would be of course at you own risk but it should work in theory.
Or would it be possible to take two stools out with you? one to sit on and one for placing the H150p?
Just some thoughts, I hope they help :)
@@Astrolavista Great, lots of ideas there. Thanks!
I’ve just ordered this telescope after finally taking the plunge. Been interested for years but I’ve never had a telescope, is this recommended for beginners?
Absolutely yes! Congratulations :)
@@Astrolavista cheers, I’m looking forward to getting it.
Hello, I am looking into buying this model and I believe I'm buying this one. I have a question about collimation, what tools should I buy and how do I do it ? Thanks in advance
Hi Michalis, The Heritage 150p comes with a collimation cap which is basically a dust cap with a pin hole in the centre. You can place the collimation cap in the focuser to check that the secondary mirror is sitting central to the focuser. Secondary mirrors are usually positioned just fine so this is just to check, most collimation errors are down the primary and you don't need any tools to check and adjust this.
Defocus a bright star in the centre of your high power eyepiece (Use Polaris as it doesn't move) until you can see the star split into rings (Fresnel rings). The star will look like a little doughnut because of the secondary mirror blocking the centre of the defocused star. If collimation is good this doughnut should look symmetrical/concentric. If the rings look pinched on one side then the collimation screws for the primary mirror need adjusting. adjust one screw a little and check how it effects the doughnut. if it's looking better continue, but if worse then move the screw back the other way and maybe make an adjustment to one of the other screws. Always make small adjustments so you can get a feel for things.
As you can see, you don't need to buy any collimation tools. I think collimation tools are more critical for really fast optics such as f/4 astrographs.
The best guide to collimation I know is by a lady who goes by the name of Astro Baby. I'll link it below, it's very comprehensive but very well written :)
www.astro-baby.com/astrobaby/help/collimation-guide-newtonian-reflector/
@@Astrolavista thank you, is the case the same for 130p as well?
@@MDVassiliou Yes, this applies to any Newtonian reflecting telescope other than those with factory fixed mirrors, and in that case you don't need to worry about collimation.
@@Astrolavista thank you sir, just another question 🙃, can I put a phone adapter on them to take any pictures?
@@MDVassiliou No problem. I'm sure you can get a phone adaptor to fit the helical focuser but as I use dedicated astronomy cameras I've never really used phones for astro so probably not the best person to ask. The H150p didn't reach focus with my ZWO camera which plugs in like an eyepiece, there wasn't enough inward focus. However, because of the truss rod design I was able to drop the truss rods down an inch to gain the extra inward focus so I will be able to post a video with some footage from the Heritage 150p soon.
Great video looking at the 130p but like this but is it worth another 60 quid?
Thanks stm94, the extra 20mm of aperture represents an extra 33% light gathering area so faint objects like galaxies and planetary nebula will be that little bit brighter, and you'll have a bit more resolution for resolving detail on the Moon and planets.
After owning and testing 100p, 130p, 150p, and 200p optics I can say the difference between the 130p and 150p wont be profound like it would be if you had a 130p and a 200p next to each other to look through. I know it's not much help to say this but you'd be happy with either, they both have decent quality mirrors for relatively little money. All the money goes into the optics with Dobsonian's and everything else is to made to be functional and to keep the cost to a mininal so the mount is basic and the focuser is basic.
I've had the Heritage 150p out once to observe so far and I was really happy with what it showed me (lots of detail on Jupiter and I could see the Ring nebulae near the star Vega very clearly) although the red dot finder is terrible and frustrating (I'm going to pin a comment about the red dot finder) It's very tricky to align with the main scope and I had to experiment with moving the red dot finder forward and backwards on the finder shoe as well as using the the adjustments on the actual finder, but I did eventually get it aligned. The actual red dot it projects also shows a second fainter red dot (some kind of reflection) so it's not the clearest RDF I've used.
DIY Astronomy great thanks for reply at a stretch I could get the skyliner 200p I’ve heard it has a better focusser I guess I don’t want spend 150 to 200 for a starter scope that will need upgrading at some point anyway I have the space for the 200p so would you recommend the extra money for this instead ? Thanks again
@@stjm94 If you've got the space and the extra dosh then I would 100% absolutely go for the Skywatcher 200p Skyliner Dob. I regret selling mine and often consider getting another. For visual observing it could be all the scope you ever need, and it's still just about portable without having to take the optical tube off the mount base. It's a lot of scope for £290.
DIY Astronomy hi I’ve gone for the heritage 130p in the end I’m totally new and couldn’t justify the 300 pound plus I’ve seen some great reviews and fantastic pics on fbook taken with it
@@Astrolavista hello - I'm looking to buy this as a first telescope, and your video is helpful. How big is the problem with the red dot finder? Do you have a video on this? Is it the same on the 130P? Thanks!
Is the 150p better than the 130p?
Exactly the same mechanically, optically the 150p has 33% more light gathering capability and a touch more focal length.
@@Astrolavista yo I got 150p have it here in my house but idk how to start seeing in sky everything seems so complex and also idk where to put it I am afraid of the weather outside and stuff can you help?
my 4 year old son is obsessed with planets and space as most kids are, would this be a good investment, I don't really want to buy a £100 telescope if its not going to do a half decent job.... what do you reckon? if worst comes to worse, I can always use it lol
Hi Steven, I love it when kids are inherently fascinated with space : ) Though I'm sorry to break it to you though, this is a £245 telescope package. Well it was £199 when I made the video, but as you know prices of pretty much everything have gone up unfortunately. There is a Heritage 100p version which is £129 which is just as easy to use, but more compact, and robust with a solid tube and actually a better focuser than the 150p, so it's ideal for kids really. Annoyingly, it's tricky to predict when there will be stock of these arriving from China? Here's a link though so you can take a look (it's also in a very cool red colour!) www.firstlightoptics.com/heritage/skywatcher-heritage-100p-tabletop-dobsonian/ref/diyastro/
@@Astrolavista thanks for the reply and the advice on telescopes, I bottled it and brought a £399 dob 200p. wife was like i thought he could put it on his windowsill? LMAO NOT A CHANCE
@@StevenSawersMusic haha just show her Saturn or Jupiter through it, that will get her onside! :D Brilliant telescope and possibly all the scope you ever need unless you get into imaging, congratulations! :)
HI chris, what is the finder scope "shoes" size? seem like a bit small.
extension like this can fit in? inner diameter 3.2cm
www.dropbox.com/s/6zwpsurxsp44t95/1to3%20stand.jpg?dl=0
Hi Hengkian, the muliti shoe adaptor you've linked won't fit I'm afraid. It would fit most 'female' finder shoes that you get on the majority of telescopes but it wont work with the Heritage 150p. The Heritage uses a plastic 'male' shoe so you need to tighten the screws on the 'female' clamp on the finder scope itself onto the 'male' finder shoe. This is kind of the opposite of how the one you've linked works.
I've got the standard RDF to align after experimenting moving it forward and backwards on the shoe, but I might upgrade to the Sky Surfer III RDF, it looks like it would fit and gets good reviews: www.firstlightoptics.com/finders/baader-30mm-sky-surfer-iii.html
Did you say 3.9 kg the tube?
I dont know how to use the collimation cap? Is it okay to use a laser to align the mirrors? I find it way more understandable with a laser collimation tool
Yes a laser is fine. The only thing with laser collimators is that they themselves need collimating. This is the subject of my next video "How to collimate a collimator"
@@Astrolavista Thanks! Do you have any recommendations? I found a cheap one from SVBony on Aliexpress, but not sure about the quality
@@TorshovG The important thing is to make sure it's collimatable. It should have 3 screw holes around the outside of the casing for this. If it doesn't have these then give it a miss. My laser is just a cheap one from ebay years ago, and mine has the adjustment screws so I'm hopeful for the SVBony :)
@@Astrolavista When you collimate the Heritage 150p with a laser, should the telescope be extended out all the way? And does it matter what position the focuser is in?
@@TorshovG Collimate with the telescope fully extended how you intend to use it. You cannot rotate the optical tube with the Heritage so the focuser will always remain in the same position, but your focuser position shouldn't matter anyway :)
Hello which kind of eye you advice me ?
BST Starguiders are a good first upgrade: www.firstlightoptics.com/bst-starguider-eyepieces/ref/astrolavista/
Thanksssssss !!!
Wish it wasn't out of stock
Your wish is granted: www.firstlightoptics.com/telescopes-in-stock/sky-watcher-heritage-150p-flextube-dobsonian-telescope/ref/astrolavista/
is there any optical finder for this telescope?
Hi There isn't an optical finder specifically for the 150p, but I'm sure one could be attached with a bit of DIY. I think part of the reason for the RDF to keep the secondary mirror cage as light as possible, but I'm sure a 30mm finder would be fine.
Hi brilliant review thank you for sharing, may I ask for some advice I'm purchasing my first telescope and you have swayed me to purchase this beauty, you mentioned that you can attach the telescope to other mounts is that including a goto mount? If so which mount goto would be decent? Thank you
Is that possible to attach to a tripod when the location is out of table or not suitable to put a table? Tube+ table mount+ tripod. Orion do have standard camera screw hole.
Hi Terry, thanks that's good to hear! The Vixen dovetail bar is a standard fitting for pretty much all modern mounts, so you'll be able to use the Heritage 150p optical tube assembly (OTA) with the vast majority of goto or manual mounts available. I need to ask a couple of questions before I advice you on mount options - 1) Are you mainly interested in visual observing, maybe some short exposure images of the planets and the Moon at most? Or do you have any interest in longer exposure imaging of deep sky objects such as galaxies and nebulae? 2) Roughly what would your budget be for a mount?
@@MyClassicify Hi, this is a good question, and something I should have mentioned in the video. Unfortunately there isn't a thread for a tripod on the underside of the table mount. I think the Heritage 100p I owned had this ability, but that was much lighter. I'm wondering if Skywatcher thought the 150p would be too heavy as the whole table top mount and tube together weighs 7.5kg.
@@Astrolavista Hello good sir thank you for the reply and all the info, I will be mostly observing at first and then would like to get into short and long exposure photography. My budget would start at about 300 pound, I do understand that in this hobby there is no limit with what you can spend. Thank you again
@@Astrolavista how many KG for this 150p OTA? mainly for visual observing, any mount is consider basic (no need pointing polaris)?
Thanks. Are you wearing 2 different socks? 😁
Yes I am!
Can i see deep sky with it?
Yes, especially if you have dark skies.
Wow ! were do you get free kids ?
lol well, they were free to make at least
@@Astrolavista Ha ! Well I have the 130 and I like it.
Great vid! Really want one, but it doesn't look like they're selling them in the USA yet. If you ever decide to get rid of it, send me a msg here. I'd love to take it off your hands if you're willing to ship to the US! ;)
Thanks Greg! I know you guys have the Heritage 130p badged as the OneSky 130p, and I did look to see if there was a 150p version of the OneSky but no luck. I hope they do bring it out over there. If it's any consolation you can't seem to get many Chinese produced scopes in the UK at the moment, all the retailors are listing a 40 day lead time. Is it the same in the US?
@@Astrolavista Not sure on the scopes as I haven't looked into one recently, but it is true for bikes and bike parts (which are all made in china for us)... so it's likely true with scopes here too.
The Orion Starblast 6 is the same focal length and aperture, has a nicer focuser and can take a wide variety of finderscopes.
Its lone drawback is the tube doesn't collapse.
If you NEED a 6" table top, I wholeheartedly recommend the Orion in this case. I own a 6i model with the push-to object locator.
I also have a 130p (AWB OneSky) for when I really have no choice but to pack extremely light.
@@BlueTrane2028 Yeah the Starblast is a nicer scope, a lot more premium for sure but nearly double the price where I live at least. If you've got £200 get the Heritage but if you have £360 get the Orion. I guess weight is another consideration, the Orion is better built but heavier. I'm not sure what the price difference will be if Onesky start selling the 'Heritage' 150 version in the states?
@@Astrolavista I buy all my gear on the used market here in the States (I’m right next to Philadelphia). Snagged a 130mm OneSky yesterday for $100. I bought my Starblast 6i for $300. I had previously purchased a standard Starblast 6 for $200, it sold for $250 to make room for the intelliscope version.
The OneSky goes for $210 retail, I’d figure the 150mm version would end up around $300. The Starblast retails at $350, add $150 for intelliscope features.
I agree that the 150mm Skywatcher would remain the less expensive option. I’d only get one out of vanity to match my 200 and 300mm flex tube Skywatcher Dobs. Admittedly, that’s half the reason I bought the OneSky...
Steve jobs reviews a Knobsonian
STOP putting background music to videos with *narration* .. it ONLY makes it HARDER to hear what you are saying and is VERY distracting ... EVERYONE STOP DOING THIS.. we are NOT here to listen to music !!
AS a TRIBUTE to YOU rob, MY next VIDEO will have ZERO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! music, PROMISE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :)