Posts Made By: bob kline

Hi,
I'm a beginner...My son and I spent the whole summer doing visual and binocular observation and are ready to purchase a telescope.

I was thinking about the nexstar 8s. My questions are these:

I note that the 8i with upgrade handheld and GPS is several hundred dollars less than the 8gps (after rebate), but the fork arm on the 8gps seems like a much sturdier arrangement.
Is the single support arm as opposed to the fork arm a big deal and worth the difference in $s?

The 8gps also has built-in GPS and I am wondering if I will be sacrificing future upgrade ability with the 8gps.

My budget is around $2k (including the money I need to sneak past my wife) and would appreciate any comments/opinions/suggestions/feedback.

Thanks in advance,
bob k

Hi All,
Does anyone have any thoughts/recommendations on roof prism vs porro prism binoculars?

I am embarking on my new amateur astronomy career and thought since I can't decide what type of telescope to buy, I might as well learn the sky with binoculars first and maybe a couple of star parties and a little experience will reveal the telescope answer.

I currently have Nikon 8x32 Superior Es (which I love) but want a little more aperature. I was considering the Pentax DCF WP 10x50s which are a roof prism design and didn't know whether one type of design was inherently better than another type.

Any thoughts/feedback would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Bob