Lidls telescopes

Moderator: SAC Committee

Rachel Clancy
Posts: 30
Joined: Tue Dec 08, 2009 12:25 pm
Location: Corbally Road, Limerick City

Lidls telescopes

Post by Rachel Clancy » Tue Dec 08, 2009 5:21 pm

Hi lads, just wondering about the scopes Lidls are selling, I'm after one & I was stuck between the Meade & the Bressar, I don't know much about them, this is for a beginner, are they worth the money, any good at all??? :?: What can I expect to see out of them? Thanks!

User avatar
Dave Lillis
Posts: 2757
Joined: Sun Aug 05, 2007 10:02 am
Location: Limerick city

Post by Dave Lillis » Tue Dec 08, 2009 6:49 pm

Hi Racheal,
Welcome to the site and any quesiton you might have, put them up and we'll all try to help.
The lidl scopes are ok for starting off, like anything else its all about how much money you're willing to spend.

The 69e refractor is a nice little scope, you'll get good views of the moon, small but reasonable views of the planets and the brighter deep sky objects (galaxies, clusters and so on). Its a manual scope, so you have to know where to point it, greaty for learning the sky. It has an altaz mount (ALTitude AZimuth), easy to use but a bit more work for astronomy. I have one of these and the images through it are surprisingly sharp given the cost.

I couldnt recommend the spotting scope to be honest.

The 299e refractor is a good scope, it is a bigger version of the 69e scope, objects will appear a little brighter in it, the mount is an equatoral type, slightly harder to setup, but easier to use during the night, if you got it and brought it along to the club we could show you how to use it.
Bigger scopes are dearer, bigger lenses/mirrors cost more to make.

The 149e little motorised scope is very compact, handy if you're travelling with it, I had one and to be honest was unimpressed with the images it gave, I ended up selling it. Its built in computer system allows it to find objects in the sky for you, the handcontroler is a little swkward to use but it does work.

If you have the money, then I'd go for the 600e newtonian reflector, its a 6 inch scope, a good starting size, it has a build in computer for guiding you to objects in the sky.

My recommendations would first be the 600e scope, then the 299e scope then the 69e scope, in that order.

One thing about buying a scope for lidl, if you do so then make sure you assemble it ASAP and make sure it's working fully. In the past the quality control has been hit and miss, with motors not working, parts missing and so on.

If you want to look at all of your options, then have a look at the following link, there we have all the biggest shops out there for astro gear, all on the internet of course.
http://shannonsideastronomyclub.com/php ... .php?t=697

Hope this helps.
Dave L. on facebook, See my images in flickr
Carrying around my 20" obsession is going to kill me, but what a way to go. :)

Rachel Clancy
Posts: 30
Joined: Tue Dec 08, 2009 12:25 pm
Location: Corbally Road, Limerick City

Post by Rachel Clancy » Tue Dec 08, 2009 8:00 pm

Is the Newtonian worth the money? What should I be able to see through it? My sis has a Bushnell Northstar, I'm not sure of the specs but it picked up Jupiter and its moons, I'll never forget that, that was about 2 months ago & it was one of the most amazing things I saw in my life, beautiful.

User avatar
Dave Lillis
Posts: 2757
Joined: Sun Aug 05, 2007 10:02 am
Location: Limerick city

Post by Dave Lillis » Tue Dec 08, 2009 8:15 pm

It'll easily do that. they all will to some extent.
Manual scopes are cheaper for a given aperture,
so, if you want a purely manual scope, then you'd be better off going for one of these
http://www.telescope-service.com/dobson ... start.html
For image clarity and brightness its all about aperture, the width of the lens or mirror in the scope, the biggest in the lidl group in 6 inches, the ones in the link are 8/10/12 inches. I'd bet the 8 inch manual dob scope is cheaper then the 6" lidl scope, only thing is that been manual you'll be pushing it around the sky instead of it doing it for you.
Dave L. on facebook, See my images in flickr
Carrying around my 20" obsession is going to kill me, but what a way to go. :)

Rachel Clancy
Posts: 30
Joined: Tue Dec 08, 2009 12:25 pm
Location: Corbally Road, Limerick City

Post by Rachel Clancy » Tue Dec 08, 2009 8:46 pm

http://cgi.ebay.ie/10-DOBSONIAN-TELESCO ... 5ad4f29200

Any good? Have a budget of 500-600 euro. Or Lidls one haha!

User avatar
John O'Mahony
Posts: 552
Joined: Sun Aug 05, 2007 8:36 am
Location: Limerick, Ireland

Post by John O'Mahony » Tue Dec 08, 2009 9:00 pm

That would be a nice scope. A 10" dob would show you more than you could see in a lifetime. Its a fairly big scope though and would take some lifting so this needs to be born in mind. An 8" is a good compromise if it needs to be transported any distance. With your budget, an 8" dob and 2 or 3 decent widefield eyepieces (Hyperions) would be the biz.
Telescope service (Germany) are a very good company to deal with and give excellent advice (and good prices).

Another alternative would be an 8" on an equatorial mount

http://www.telescopehouse.com/acatalog/ ... 20464.html

Thisis a good price with the exchange rate at the moment
Last edited by John O'Mahony on Tue Dec 08, 2009 9:27 pm, edited 2 times in total.
John O'Mahony
--------------------
https://www.flickr.com/photos/7703127@N07/

User avatar
Dave Lillis
Posts: 2757
Joined: Sun Aug 05, 2007 10:02 am
Location: Limerick city

Post by Dave Lillis » Tue Dec 08, 2009 9:02 pm

IF I had to pick one I'd go for the ebay one.
now, you have to consider do you have room to store this thing, are you able to carry it out to the back garden.??
Do you have a car, are you able to transport it if you were ever to come along to one of the club observing sessions. ?
If you're happy with the answers to that, how about making him an offer of 300-400 euros maybe ?? or whatever you're happy with....
Dave L. on facebook, See my images in flickr
Carrying around my 20" obsession is going to kill me, but what a way to go. :)

Frank Ryan
Posts: 2980
Joined: Sun Aug 05, 2007 2:45 am
Location: Ballycasey, Co. Clare

Post by Frank Ryan » Tue Dec 08, 2009 10:16 pm

The 10'' Dob is a great scope.
I'd pick that over the lidl ones for sure but as Dave says,
have you room to store it,
will you be able to transport it,
etc...

I started with a small refractor then went for a
'go to' scope - the biggest aparature I could at the time (5'')
I now wish I spent the money on a bigger aparature scope
like a Dob.

If you are into visual observing... size matters!

BTW,
be VERY careful buying scopes on eBay...
TBH I would not buy one off there...
although I do use it for other gear....not optics...

Dave made a list of great shops there recently...
http://shannonsideastronomyclub.com/php ... .php?t=697

User avatar
Dave Lillis
Posts: 2757
Joined: Sun Aug 05, 2007 10:02 am
Location: Limerick city

Post by Dave Lillis » Tue Dec 08, 2009 10:46 pm

I'd usually agree when it comes to ebay, a last resort usually, but that add was by telescope-service themselves.
As they are legit, so the add's legit, its a safe buy.
Dave L. on facebook, See my images in flickr
Carrying around my 20" obsession is going to kill me, but what a way to go. :)

Frank Ryan
Posts: 2980
Joined: Sun Aug 05, 2007 2:45 am
Location: Ballycasey, Co. Clare

Post by Frank Ryan » Wed Dec 09, 2009 9:16 am

Ah.ok. I didn't spot that.
Grand so.
Actually,
I think I'll take a second look,
I need a new scope
:lol:

Only messin.

User avatar
Dave Lillis
Posts: 2757
Joined: Sun Aug 05, 2007 10:02 am
Location: Limerick city

Post by Dave Lillis » Wed Dec 09, 2009 1:22 pm

They have more then 1 available, why not each buy one ? :wink: :)
Dave L. on facebook, See my images in flickr
Carrying around my 20" obsession is going to kill me, but what a way to go. :)

Rachel Clancy
Posts: 30
Joined: Tue Dec 08, 2009 12:25 pm
Location: Corbally Road, Limerick City

Post by Rachel Clancy » Wed Dec 09, 2009 5:22 pm

Hmm, I'm still not sure though, I'm defo going to buy one, but it's so confusing, there are so many different types, & I don't want to be disappointed.

Frank Ryan
Posts: 2980
Joined: Sun Aug 05, 2007 2:45 am
Location: Ballycasey, Co. Clare

Post by Frank Ryan » Wed Dec 09, 2009 6:30 pm

I'd suggest then to wait at least untill you have looked
Thru the club 12" dob and 10" SCT.
(i think the pictures of these are in the observing section
On the main site)
The lidl scopes come up every year but tbh
If you have a budget of 600 then i think you could
Do way better on the second hand market.

Rachel Clancy
Posts: 30
Joined: Tue Dec 08, 2009 12:25 pm
Location: Corbally Road, Limerick City

Post by Rachel Clancy » Sat Dec 12, 2009 5:00 pm

Got the newtonian, I couldn't resist, I'll hang onto it for a few months, then upgrade to a different model, woah...heavy! :shock: Working perfect, trying to get the hang of the opposite view, going to align it either tonight or tomorrow with polaris, it's going to take a while to get used to it, doing it on my own, complete beginner with scopes, the other half's not interested!Would have preferred a better eyepiece though, 26mm not great with mars, picked up a good few clusters/satellites etc... It's all learning isn't it :D

Rachel Clancy
Posts: 30
Joined: Tue Dec 08, 2009 12:25 pm
Location: Corbally Road, Limerick City

Post by Rachel Clancy » Sat Dec 12, 2009 5:04 pm

Is there any beginner section here, I feel as if I'm clogging up your threads with all my amateur questions, and I have so much I need to ask :)

Post Reply