|
|
I trust you've read the first steps page and gone about your business, hopefully following the steps! Instead of me producing a long and tedious guide that you'll have to sort through for a long time, I've decided to give links to other scope guides that are much better than what I could write. Their advice is what I have followed and I believe I have chosen the right equipment for when, where and how I use it (hehehe, apart from the Tasco!). Here goes....
Buying Your First Telescope In Australia
This is probably the best site out there for the Aussie or Kiwi (prices in $AU as with everything on this site) who has absolutely no idea about the types of scopes, the prices you can pay or where to get them. Highly recommended! Gives advice that some commercial sites won't - like tricks and scams, and silly claims on telescopes with 675x magnification.
'Sky and Telescope' magazine
A must-read. Quite similar to the site above with roughly the same advice, just written a little differently. Beware though that the prices are in US dollars, make sure to make the conversion.
Here's a little of my own advice to end off. I purchased a Dobsonian telescope (read about them at the sites above) and couldn't be happier. Like Sky and Telescope says, they are the perfect beginner scope - so easy to use that you just swing it around! Beware though that it is next to impossible to track objects across the sky with a Dob, so if you're planning to go into astrophotography (like me) you'll have to purchase an equatorial mount and a motor drive along the way. A good motor should cost about $200-300. If you want to learn more about astrophotography, go to my friend's site here.