Hi im new here.
Hi im new here.
Hey,i'm wondering how much can i get a 2nd-hand good telescope in Singapore or rather i should say in this forum.I'm really keen of knowing the price & if it's not that expensive,i'm keen of having one...I'm still a student now but i love astronomy
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Airconvent
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Welcome to Singastro!
You can check out the buy-sell section as well as oour vendors when looking for a scope.
But before you buy one, I strongly suggest you read our faq section, join a few obs sessions, try out the scopes and decide which one suits you. buying the wrong scope could kill your interest.
![[smilie=cool.gif]](./images/smilies/cool.gif "cool")
You can check out the buy-sell section as well as oour vendors when looking for a scope.
But before you buy one, I strongly suggest you read our faq section, join a few obs sessions, try out the scopes and decide which one suits you. buying the wrong scope could kill your interest.
The Boldly Go Where No Meade Has Gone Before
Captain, RSS Enterprise NCC1701R
United Federation of the Planets
Captain, RSS Enterprise NCC1701R
United Federation of the Planets
Welcome to Singastro! 2nd-hand good telescope? The "good telescope" part will take up quite abit of your research time. In addition to what Airconvent has suggested, borrow and read the book Star Ware from our libraries. Install and play around with the free program Stellarium (www.stellarium.org). Good luck!
In addition to what Airconvent has suggested, borrow and read the book Star Ware from our libraries. Install and play around with the free program Stellarium (www.stellarium.org). Good luck!
Keen on buying a cheap telescope, someone to teach me how to operate and operate them properly..At least for me, but last time when i was still doing bird photography, a good "scope" can also do visual birding/photography. (with mirror star diag its right side up but only left->right correct?)
Prime lens = sharp optics, 600-700mm, f7 thereabouts, can run liao. Got CA or no CA depends on your pref, can edit a bit one. Manual focus usually more than enough for ground objects at say Sungei Buloh. Usually here is "not enough reach", so you gotta crop from your picture, and then you find out the typical stuff like 70-200 with 2X barlow erm...teleconverter or 50-500mm zoom not enough resolution when 100% crop. heh heh....
Coz in SG the small birds shy shy lah....and generally not a lot of birds here so the chances of you taking a good shot is like striking 4D. So gotta "zoom" all the way.
I am sure a good refractor like Orion 120ED or WO scopes would be yummy. But then it would get very dirty and used, much more so than for astronomy use.
Swee lah...
http://www.williamoptics.com/wo_gal/cat ... 9_2000.jpg
http://www.williamoptics.com/wo_gal/cat ... d22d4fe199
If you got a good view from your home, also can use for day/night time terrestrial use.
So scopes not only for checking out heavenly bodies. This way I think more justifiable esp during cloudy days. With the extra justification, the budget can go up a bit.
This is impt, nowadays the young people in the society is too pragmatic + materialistic. Apple products, computers, cool latest gadgets are the only tech stuff that people buy. 2k iPAD total expenditure with cool carbon fibre looking cover, no problem.....US launch the first week I already saw 2 people using in Orchard Road you know doing what... (facebook and stuff).
What about hifi/telescopes/aquarium hobby etc? Those with extra knowledge aka "useless" stuff.... For "ah laos"....
I'm actually surprised that photography took off the ground for the masses, hey it is just 5 years ago digital photography took off with a bang after the 300D and Nikon D70 followed by the point-n-shoot.
Prime lens = sharp optics, 600-700mm, f7 thereabouts, can run liao. Got CA or no CA depends on your pref, can edit a bit one. Manual focus usually more than enough for ground objects at say Sungei Buloh. Usually here is "not enough reach", so you gotta crop from your picture, and then you find out the typical stuff like 70-200 with 2X barlow erm...teleconverter or 50-500mm zoom not enough resolution when 100% crop. heh heh....
Coz in SG the small birds shy shy lah....and generally not a lot of birds here so the chances of you taking a good shot is like striking 4D. So gotta "zoom" all the way.
I am sure a good refractor like Orion 120ED or WO scopes would be yummy. But then it would get very dirty and used, much more so than for astronomy use.
Swee lah...
http://www.williamoptics.com/wo_gal/cat ... 9_2000.jpg
http://www.williamoptics.com/wo_gal/cat ... d22d4fe199
If you got a good view from your home, also can use for day/night time terrestrial use.
So scopes not only for checking out heavenly bodies. This way I think more justifiable esp during cloudy days.
With the extra justification, the budget can go up a bit. This is impt, nowadays the young people in the society is too pragmatic + materialistic. Apple products, computers, cool latest gadgets are the only tech stuff that people buy. 2k iPAD total expenditure with cool carbon fibre looking cover, no problem.....US launch the first week I already saw 2 people using in Orchard Road you know doing what... (facebook and stuff).
What about hifi/telescopes/aquarium hobby etc? Those with extra knowledge aka "useless" stuff.... For "ah laos"....
I'm actually surprised that photography took off the ground for the masses, hey it is just 5 years ago digital photography took off with a bang after the 300D and Nikon D70 followed by the point-n-shoot.
I suggest this workflow when doing your research on whether a telescope is good and worth it.
Step 1. Ask yourself what do I expect to see in the telescope and will ______ (telescope model) show me what I expect to see? Be as precise as possible. For example, do you want to see Jupiter as only a small bright disk with no features on it or a slightly bigger disk with some faint bands on it or an even bigger disk which allows you count the bands clearly on a clear night?
Step 2. After you have answered this question, check the prices of such a telescope both second hand and brand new. See if you can afford it. If not, lower your expectation slightly and repeat Step 1 again. If yes, research on the best price/service/warranty sold online/offline or wait for someone to sell it 2nd hand.
Step 3. Estimate how long you will continue to enjoy using the telescope with the views you expect it to deliver to determine its worthiness. The longer the more worthy. If you have really put in effort in the first 2 steps, there is a good chance it will turn out to be worthy. Moreover, you will take care of it very well which means the telescope will last you for a long time which will further increase its worthiness. The best way to increase worthiness is let as many people view through your telescope as possible.
So now you understand the importance of joining observation sessions BEFORE you buy your first telescope? It is a very efficient use of research time. At one location you can take a look through different telescopes and just ask the owner the price of their telescopes, where he bought it from and what can be seen through it. The upcoming AGASTRO astronomy conference on 31 July is a great opportunity.
Also, don't ignore binoculars if your budget is really tight. For the price of a cheap beginner telescope, you may be able to buy a good binoculars for astronomy.
Step 1. Ask yourself what do I expect to see in the telescope and will ______ (telescope model) show me what I expect to see? Be as precise as possible. For example, do you want to see Jupiter as only a small bright disk with no features on it or a slightly bigger disk with some faint bands on it or an even bigger disk which allows you count the bands clearly on a clear night?
Step 2. After you have answered this question, check the prices of such a telescope both second hand and brand new. See if you can afford it. If not, lower your expectation slightly and repeat Step 1 again. If yes, research on the best price/service/warranty sold online/offline or wait for someone to sell it 2nd hand.
Step 3. Estimate how long you will continue to enjoy using the telescope with the views you expect it to deliver to determine its worthiness. The longer the more worthy. If you have really put in effort in the first 2 steps, there is a good chance it will turn out to be worthy. Moreover, you will take care of it very well which means the telescope will last you for a long time which will further increase its worthiness. The best way to increase worthiness is let as many people view through your telescope as possible.
So now you understand the importance of joining observation sessions BEFORE you buy your first telescope?
It is a very efficient use of research time. At one location you can take a look through different telescopes and just ask the owner the price of their telescopes, where he bought it from and what can be seen through it. The upcoming AGASTRO astronomy conference on 31 July is a great opportunity.Also, don't ignore binoculars if your budget is really tight. For the price of a cheap beginner telescope, you may be able to buy a good binoculars for astronomy.
Last edited by Gary on Tue Jul 20, 2010 3:32 pm, edited 1 time in total.
fafa. Read this Galileoscope review and the comments:
http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/20 ... lileoscope
Take note the price offered here in Sigapore is higher than the stated US price.
http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/20 ... lileoscope
Take note the price offered here in Sigapore is higher than the stated US price.
The galileo scope to me has very good optics, but the first thing you wish th throw away is the crappy eyepieces that come with it. Another disadvantage is the fact that it is made of plastic, which cause the tube to be flexible, resulting in very shaky viewing. I plan to use it as a guidescope for my astrophotog, and hence plan to wrap it in carbon fibre. That should strenghthen the tube...
Since you are 16yrs old, you are sec 4 this year right? Which school are you from? Most reputable JCs have astronomy clubs (join them and abuse their resources
), so you can save up longer for a set-up that will last.
A piece of advice: Most newbies buy stuff with a minimum budget, thinking that whatever they buy will yield good results, but that is usually not the case, and whatever they buy will probably end up in the third hand market. Don't jump into buying a scope, understand astronomy first before making that decision.
Since you are 16yrs old, you are sec 4 this year right? Which school are you from? Most reputable JCs have astronomy clubs (join them and abuse their resources
), so you can save up longer for a set-up that will last.A piece of advice: Most newbies buy stuff with a minimum budget, thinking that whatever they buy will yield good results, but that is usually not the case, and whatever they buy will probably end up in the third hand market. Don't jump into buying a scope, understand astronomy first before making that decision.