iOptron Telescopes

[hosshead]

Hello...
Kind of stepping into telescopes, as in something that is truly light collecting, after Astronomical binoculars and a couple of Meade and Celestron refractors.
I am at a place where I am interested in trying something at least 10 inches, probably Newtonian gem and I am sort of shopping around.
Does anyone here have any experience of the iOptron Scopes?
Yes, I know they are more familiar for their mounts, I just have a curiosity about the quality of their telescopes.

Thank you for any replies, please don't shoot the newbie.

[Gordon]

Hi hosshead!

First off welcome to TSS.
I don't have an iOpron Scope so I can't help you there. I have purchased a couple of SkyWatcher newts and have been very happy with them. My guess would be that iOptron is sourcing their telescopes from the same source as Skywatcher.

[hosshead]

Thank you for your reply.... and the Forum Boss at that!
Of course I am surfing all the eBay offerings and used scope sites and forums galore, just trying to sort the benefits of SCTs vs Reflectors, then dobs vs Newts on GEMs.....
eesh!

I did manage to snag a Meade 6" on its old gem.... 50 bux at a yard sale. Yes the scope is absolutely miserable but the tripod and mount are in decent shape, the mount swivels and rotates very smoothly. I was kinda expecting it to be frozen and/or squeak if it moved at all!

So thank you humbly for your response! Any and all input from EVERYBODY is super welcome!

[hosshead]

p. s. how do you find the Quattro?

[Gordon]

p. s. how do you find the Quattro?

I love it!

The 10" was getting too heavy to pick up and place on the mount, the 8" is much easier to move around.

What are you thinking you want to do? Visual or Astrophotography or both?

[hosshead]

" What are you thinking you want to do? Visual or Astrophotography or both?"

eek!
That is a seriously difficult question!
I probably want to do both but think it's wise to get good at the visual side of things, LEARN the equipment before I get too excited about hanging a camera on there lol!
I know that my choices really depend on just what I want to do.
Right now I want to get an excellent first telescope that gives me the deepest view I can manage and,(of course), the biggest bang for the buck.

I kind of want around a 10-12 inch. Probably a Newt since that seems more versatile and easier to load into my trusty Subaru.

So that is why I have a curiosity about that iOptron because ut is a newt with a pretty good ap X length and will be gem mounting. The Quattro is certainly on my radar.

....and every single orange tube c8 on ebay lol!!!

[JayTee]

Right now I want to get an excellent first telescope that gives me the deepest view I can manage and,(of course), the biggest bang for the buck.

Re: the Subaru: A 10" Dob will fit, the 12" is questionable. As we have all found out, "bang for the buck", and getting set up for AP are mutually exclusive terms.

Cheers,

[Mike Q]

When it comes to bang for buck you can't beat a dob. However i will say this, transporting them can be challanging depending on your vehicle. So before you buy anything find a club and look at scopes in person. Scopes are always bigger in real life then they are on the web. Now in my truck I can lay the OTA of my 10 inch on the back seat with room to spare, i can easily get a 12 inch back there. So you will need to look at your vehicle and figure out what will fit.

[helicon]

Welcome to TSS and glad you have a trusty Subaru.

[Star Dad]

Also, don't forget about weight! Bigger telescopes (for AP) really demand bigger mounts. My 8" Newt (16.5 pounds) sits on a 40 pound tripod. I have to use (I think) 30 pounds of counter weights when I add in all the AP stuff that sits on the scope. I've shortened all the (power supply) wires trying to reduce the weight as mush as possible. I have yet to find a power supply that is lighter than the three 12V supplies I currently use. Just make sure you get a mount capable of twice the weight of your scope. I have three Ioptron mounts - 1 GEM Very old and basically useless, 1 Minitower (the original - ALT/AZ still works great), and a new SkyHunter which I'm still getting used to. So far the Alt/Az isn't too bad; I've yet to try the EQ mode for AP. I bought it mainly for travel for my 4" newt. I've not bought any of their scopes though. I use an Orion Atlas EQ-G for AP.

[Bigzmey]

Hello...
Kind of stepping into telescopes, as in something that is truly light collecting, after Astronomical binoculars and a couple of Meade and Celestron refractors.
I am at a place where I am interested in trying something at least 10 inches, probably Newtonian gem and I am sort of shopping around.
Does anyone here have any experience of the iOptron Scopes?
Yes, I know they are more familiar for their mounts, I just have a curiosity about the quality of their telescopes.

Thank you for any replies, please don't shoot the newbie.

If you like to get a large newt you will be better of with Dobsonian. 10" Newt on GEM mount is a monster of setups, it is best suited for a permanent installation in a personal observatory.

[hosshead]

....well now I am taking all the thoughts and inputs into consideration so I am mulling around the smaller, light, multipurpose type scopes.

Trying to avoid biting off the unchewable chunk, as it were.
I am not a big guy, just a touch over jockey-size lol.
I'm thinking about one of the skywatcher MAK-Cass dealies, they have a lighter weight going on.

Wondering if a self-guided scope SHOULD be my first "real" telescope in spite of having always been a manual operator of my meagre gear so far. Do we learn more if it's completely self-operated? Or does a self-guided scope make it easier to be HAPPY with a purchase?
It's a L O T.

Getting a handle on the mount/tripod I will need is, of course, a part of my cogitation. How tall is it vs me not being at all tall?
Taking my time....
Trying to find people's impressions of the equipment I am considering is super important! A best reason for joining a dedicated forum!

I SOOO appreciate everybody's responses to my posts,please keep guiding me! Right now you are all my teachers!
Gratitude!

[Bigzmey]

How good/bad are your skies? During my trips to the desert I love to use manual mount and find targets by stars. At home the under light pollution only the brightest stars are visible and I have to switch to GoTo computerized mount to find the targets.

[hosshead]

How good/bad are your skies? During my trips to the desert I love to use manual mount and find targets by stars. At home the under light pollution only the brightest stars are visible and I have to switch to GoTo computerized mount to find the targets.

Oh, the skies here are kinda crap at this time of year.
Of course the colder time of year with less ground atmospheric interference also has the worst cloudiness!
This year being an El Niño year means a typical higher humidity and cloud cover problem.
PLUS; Ohio has a pretty bad dark sky paucity.

but I am a persistent bugger so we'll see stuff.

Hoping to catch the couple of comets this month.
HAPPY NEW YEAR and thanks for your replies!