Went to Target @ Caroline Springs and found this deal
60x/120x Telescope
300x/450x/600x Microscope
4x30 Binoculars
Bundle in one box $10
Vivitar - Telescope, Binoculars & Microscope Bundle @ Target - Clearance $10
90
G0NZ0 on 06/08/2016 - 13:59 target.com.au (1119 clicks)
Last edited 06/08/2016 - 14:14 by 1 other user
Last edited 06/08/2016 - 14:14 by 1 other user
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Date Price 19-12-2015 $29 02-05-2016 $10 05-05-2016 $7 20-05-2016 $10 How do you get the old prices?
Even at $29 it looks alright if they are half decent.
I'm assuming pricehipster.
Jeebuz, that's cheap. Any good?
yeh pretty good for the price - telescope comes with tripod as well - i don't think i could get this deal cheaper directly from China
Although these are obviously toys, keep in mind if you're thinking of buying one of these telescopes for your kids, it's only going to put them off further interest in any kind of astronomy. You're better off spending $80 on a mini Dobson
Yeah okay, but if the lady across the street gets changed with the curtains slightly open - is this $10 well spent?
Yes.
unless you "she" is from Thailand….
for 10 bux its a damn good entry point to see if they are interested
Can you actually see stars and planets with these in the right weather conditions?
keep in mind the 60/120 x is the mathematical capability, in reality you would see nothing but shaking and crappy lens quality at that magnification, I have a $900 scope and rarely use anything but 15x mag. You won't see Mars or Jupiter or Saturn any better than you would with your naked eye. at low magnification you might see a few details of the moon but it's highly doubtful, lens quality comes into play very quickly with magnification involved.
Not with the microscope and probably not with the binoculars. The telescope is probably great for the moon… But you'd barely make out any more than a slightly larger red dot. Even my $100 telescope struggles with the planets, although in perfect conditions you can just pick out the rings around Saturn and moons around Jupiter.
Only if you squint and stand on one leg while looking through the telescope.
These "department store" scopes are so hard to use and so frustrating that they put some people off astronomy for life. I started with one and ended up doing an astronomy degree for fun. (I was already working with my undergrad in Computing). That said curbing your passion is not a bargain at any price especially if there's a risk you'll just lose interest.
Unless you want to rig it to take photos of the moon or low quality photos of the planets, or just see them with your eyes, a telescope is going to need to have a large front lens or mirror to collect enough light to see objects. I would start with an 8" Dobsonian - meaning 8" wide at the front opening. You aren't going to pick one up for $10 sorry. About $600 with the AUD where it is. That'll let you start viewing deep sky objects. Do not expect them to look anything like long exposure pictures in magazines. If you actually want to do any deep sky photography you're really going to need a telescope that tracks and that can get very expensive. If you don't have $600 you can pick up decent binocs for around $80.
Another thing. The younger you get into Astronomy the better. Deterioration of night vision even if you have perfect vision starts in your early to mid 20s. There are plenty of old observers but you'll get the most out of it when you're young.
Can you recommend a decent set of binoculars for a 9 year old who is really interested in the weather - loves researching storm cells (tornados, hurricanes) and cloud formations. Im hoping this might be a stepping stone for an interest in meteorology or astronomy. Thanks heaps!
The 7 x 50WA binocs on this page are not bad but are out of stock.
http://www.andrewscom.com.au/site-content-section-11-andrews…In the US there are a few different models that are well regarded despite being cheap. They're not even sold here (and that is enforced by the manufacturers).
7x50s are perfect for astronomy. You can get to 10x50 but that's the limit of hand holding for magnification (no more than 10x). With a camera tripod and a $20 mount you can go for more zoom though.
I wrote a whole guide for a talk I gave my astronomy club. Prices were when the AUD was good and some of these sources are gone but WHAT to look for hasn't changed.
http://www.progsoc.uts.edu.au/~sammy/astronomy/Adventures%20…Thanks heaps, I really appreciate you help with this 😊
Assuming these are genuine this model has good reviews for astronomy.
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Brand-New-Celestron-Professional-…Edit: Just ordered a pair for myself off Amazon (just over AUD50 with shipping). I'll see how it goes. The negative reviews mention bad collimation, which is a show stopper unless you fix it.
@syousef: Im actually considering getting a telescope instead, so i can set it up and he can use. Was looking last night but found it very difficult. Someone on gumtree has one similar to this http://www.ozscopes.com.au/skywatcher-sw707-refractor-telesc… for $90
What do you think?Stick with the binocs.
None of these small cheap refractors are going to be much good for anything other than at best mediocre views of the planets and okay views of the lunar surface. I've used similar for really shockingly bad photos of the planets and okay photos of he moon over 10 years ago. You might be able to get a look at some of the brightest stars well enough to split them. You'll see some horrible ghosting and colour fringing due to the cheap optics.
Honestly for visual observing save up for an 8" Dobsonian. $600. Very best bang for buck. It will let you start to look at deep sky objects if you want.
Basically the same scope from 2 Sydney retailers:
1) Bintel tend to be a bit more expensive but really know their stuff.
http://www.bintel.com.au/Telescopes/Dobsonian/Bintel-BT202-B…2) Andrews is cheaper but are less specialised as they do radio gear not just telescopes.
Guan Sheng GS-680 8" here has 1 extra eyepiece.
http://www.andrewscom.com.au/site-content-section-10-guanshe…For photography you're looking at a lot more money. GOOD refractors cost more than reflectors and still don't capture as much light. Either type needs good tracking and a mount with no wobble. That is surprisingly costly.
I ended up buying the 7x50 Celestron Cometron binocs from Amazon for AUD37.50. They're better than my old 7x50 set which aren't bad. But they are slightly harder to use. A bit harder to line up the exit pupil. But the image quality is great for this price point. Mine had no alignment issues when they arrived.
You want a reflector telescope not refactor. Best thing to do is just use Stellarium on a PC. Just go outside and choose what you want to look at more closely then go inside and view it in Stellarium.
But it is a good price the deal.
Look for a low priced, decent quality pair of 7x50 binoculars and it will blow all this out of the water for day time and astronomy use. As others have mentioned, if you actually want to see more, you want a reflector telescope of some description, maybe 5 inch for a beginner. With that you can actually see something if you know where to point it.
Contact you local astronomy club and they will point you in the right direction - hah that was an unintentional pun!
any of these left in any Target stores? cant seem to find any
What's the usual price of this?