I'm currently in the market for a refractor that will be good for taking camping with us. Some research has turned up the Celestron and Orion travel scopes however all the reviews mention a flimsy mount, and the low focal ratio puts me off a little.
We're predominantly going to be looking at the moon, planets and easier
Some basic requirements:
-needs to be refractor around about 100mm or less
-about 1000mm focal length would be the limit for the reasons above.
-$500AUD would be the budget (conversion rate is roughly .7 so would be about approx $350USD if you have US options that seem better.)
-ideally I can get some kind of carry bag that it will fit in to protect it somewhat while travelling. We do the occasional corrugated dirt road so it has the potential to get a little bouncy.
I've managed to find a couple that I think will do the trick but wanted to get some opinions first.
First off is a Saxon 90/900AZ3. I liked the look of this one because of the 90mm
http://www.sirius-optics.com.au/telesco ... scope.html
Second was the Saxon 709AZ3. Smaller
http://www.sirius-optics.com.au/telesco ... scope.html
Last was the Saxon 70x700. Takes the smaller
https://www.myastroshop.com.au/products ... =MAS-042A1
From what I've been able to find the Saxon scopes are just rebranded Skywatchers. I know nothing about either . Are they decent scopes? Would they be alright for camping? Are there any other better suggestions out there that would meet the camping requirement?
Cheers,
Adam