Reddit mentions of Celestron 52268 C90 Mak Spotting scope (Black)

Congrats and welcome to the Mauser club! You picked a decent rifle for your first. This one's been refinished, but I have yet to see a 1916 in original condition that doesn't look like it was dug up out of a mud puddle, and this is a shooter, so that's probably for the best.


So before you buy anything else, you'll want to get your range kit together, starting with a cleaning kit. This youtuber has the most in depth range kit video I've seen, but his setup is geared towards black powder rifles.


For a cleaning kit, you'll want patches, a bore snake, and a cleaning rod. I suggest going to Walmart for these to start. You will also probably want a cleaning solvent with a copper solvent in it.


You'll also want a gunsmith's screwdriver kit. These have a different bit that's meant to prevent the screws from stripping out.


For a shooting rest, I really like how compact the rest from that video.


For a spotting scope, you can spend hundreds of dollars on a piece of shit. Something like this celestron is what I use. A pure refractory telescope in that price range won't work very well unless it's incredibly sunny.


If you want to get into reloading, the cheapest and most space efficient way is with the Lee hand press. You would still need a case trimmer, dies, and some other stuff. It takes some research to figure out exactly what you want.


And finally, you'll want to figure out how to carry all this stuff as efficiently as possible. There is a tendency to have all kinds of cases and stuff you have to drag out to the range. The best thing you can do is to figure out how to get all this stuff in a range dedicated backpack, which is why I linked the video.


I also recommend that channel. He's not the easiest to watch, but I have yet to find a channel that is as thorough or as knowledgeable in one rifle as this gentleman. His favorite, as far as I can tell, is the P53 enfield.

Hello Cavanus,

it really depends on what you want to see and what you are expecting :-)

Binoculars can be a great way to start into visual astronomy, but of course they limit you to larger nebulae, a few star clusters and galaxies.

If you consider the binocular route, choose something under 10x magnification, everything else is difficult to hold steady and thus tiresome. Also, higher mag binoculars are typically heavy and show a smaller field.

What kind of traveling do you mean?
For a car, even a 8" or 10" dobsonian is no problem, though your budget would limit you to a (used) 6".
For a backpack, a small refractor or Maskutov on camera tripod may be the limit, though for short trips a short 5" (127mm Mak, Heritage 130p) can be a nice choice.

For galaxies and such, get as much apperture as you can afford and transport. This could be a Heritage 130p or a 80mm short tube refractor. The latter is not ideal for planets, though.

For planets, a longer FH refractor or a Maksutov can be a very nice choice. I just aquired a 90mm Mak a few weeks ago, and despite it's limitations, it is a neat backpackable telescope.
I can fit a map, 10x50 binoculars, the 90mm Mak and my Canon camera into a backpack with ease (leaving room for a bottle, long shirt, eyepieces...) while carying the tripod or strapping it to my backpack.

http://www.amazon.com/Orion-10022-TableTop-Maksutov-Cassegrain-Telescope/dp/B002JO06PO/ref=sr_sp-atf_title_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1406551863&sr=8-2&keywords=maksutov

http://www.amazon.com/Celestron-52268-C90-Mak-Spotting/dp/B0038QYRDO/ref=sr_sp-atf_title_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1406551863&sr=8-3&keywords=maksutov

Though you should really consider buying them at a telesope store.

I don't think the Heritage 130p is available in the USA, too bad. Though if you can carry a full-tube 130/650, that's a good compromise between aperture, size and cost. Even with cheap Plössl eyepieces it shows a lot.

For spiral structures of galaxies, 8" would be necessary. I can vaguely see the connection of the M51 Galaxy cores in 5" though, if I observe at a truly dark location. So it really depends on what you expect, too.
http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/196278-what-can-i-expect-to-see/

If you just want to see a few "faint fuzzies" and the moon, plus a tiny planet if they are currently to be seen, you could get a short refractor such as the 70/400 or so, but they are not suited for higher magnification (but very affordable, personally I would favor a 76/300 firstscope or Heritage 76p in that price region though).

Consider getting cheap binoculars anyway, even if you decide on getting a telescope. It can help yourself with orientation and finding objects, especially if you have a telescope that shows only a small field of view (Such as a Maksutov with 1.25" eyepieces).
Also the Book "turn left at orion" can help a lot and prevents frustration. I was never someone who would buy a lot of books, but when it comes to astronomy, maps and such are necessary.

The rings of Saturn can be seen even in a small, inexpensive telescope (example). There are cheaper, smaller scopes which will also allow you to see the rings, but those scopes are not suited well for high-power observation and won't reveal much detail.

Check to see if you have a local astronomy club. They typically have public meetings and observing sessions where members will be happy to show you views through their scopes. They may even have access to an observatory with large, high-quality equipment. They typically also have loaner telescopes available that members can borrow. And membership is usually a very small fee.

You might also check for astronomy events/programs at nearby museums and such. For instance, the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia has a monthly "Night Skies" event.

Check out /r/telescopes for more information. They have great recommendations and love answering questions.

Appreciate the response! Those do seem like very good recommendations. I believe I have decided on this one: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0038QYRDO/ref=crt_ewc_title_dp_3?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER. I already have a mount that the poster who suggested this one said would work with it.

Think I will be adding on these two lenses as well, unless you have a better suggestion?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005G4HT6I/ref=crt_ewc_title_dp_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0007UQNV8/ref=crt_ewc_title_dp_5?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

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And you're right, I know I will eventually get the "bug," and I will eventually get something that would be considered higher end, but that would be for me and me alone. This is something I want to share with people, and if I'm at a music festival and someone on LSD knocks it over, I won't be out thousands, just a couple hundred, but it would be well spent it to blow some peoples minds.

The C90 is actually pretty compact. Smaller than a lot of spotting scopes actually.

http://i.ytimg.com/vi/sMAz87iC-ok/maxresdefault.jpg

It's also only $170:

http://www.amazon.com/Celestron-52268-C90-Mak-Spotting/dp/B0038QYRDO

Add this $52 eyepiece to get all the way to 156x zoom:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0007UQNV8/ref=pd_aw_sim_p_1?refRID=0014SNKCY8APY6WBWKF4

Then all you'd need is a tripod.

An ok scope on a flimsy/shaky tripod will annoy you real fast. And a shaky equatorial mount is doubly annoying. The scope you list may be ok but their mounts are suspect.

You should leave some room in your budget for additional decent eyepieces (think plossl), a moon filter, and maybe a 2x barlow (don't go crazy with 5x.. you won't be happy). An ok zoom eyepiece may be pleasing to start.

Dobsonians have a sturdy base and are great suggestions. You may need to columnate them now and then and they can be bulky so travel is tough even sometimes getting it in and out of house/apt especially if stairs are involved.

Consider a small Maksutov such as Celestron c90 on a sturdy photo tripod. That should leave you plenty of room in your budget for accessories.

The c90 comes with erect image finder and diagonals so you can use this system during the day, too, for bird watching or whatever.. increasing its usefulness.

https://www.amazon.ca/Celestron-52268-Spotting-scope-Black/dp/B0038QYRDO/

https://www.amazon.ca/Celestron-93230-24mm-1-25-Eyepiece/dp/B0007UQNV8/

https://www.amazon.ca/Gosky-Variable-Polarizing-Telescopes-Eyepiece/dp/B010UH5SL8

https://www.amazon.ca/Celestron-Omni-2X-Barlow-Lens/dp/B00008Y0TM

edit:
Don't forget to save some budget for a solar filter such as....

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00OXKGUS4

Reflectors of that size and price aren't that great, and the mounts are really sub-par.

Does your dad have a decent camera tripod? (My dad isn't into telescopes, but has a nice tripod)

A Celestron C90 would be MUCH better than either of those 2 scopes, but doesn't come with a mount/tripod.

For a LITTLE BIT MORE, you can get a tabletop computerized go-to mount!
This Sky-Watcher scope is made by the same manufacturer that makes the Celestron C90. I have one, and it's a great little scope!

Celestron 52268 C90 Mak Spotting scope (Black) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0038QYRDO/ref=cm_sw_r_other_awd_B.fGwbCDHR8FN

Again, thanks so much for your help. These scopes were also recommended to me, how does the Skywatcher compare to them?

https://www.amazon.com/Celestron-52252-100mm-Ultima-Spotting/dp/B0002862UW

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008FK623Q/

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0038QYRDO/

gracias.... comprado en amazon, es un celestron C90 MAK spotting scope...
este es