Hi,

I have a colleague at work who is looking to purchase a telescope for his 8 year old daughter. It would be used for general observing. Initially he mentioned a Skywatcher Capricorn 70 refractor, which comes with an EQ1 mount. My first thoughts was to recommend something like the Skywatcher Heritage 100p dobsonian as this is easy to use and with the shorter focal length I felt it would be easier to locate objects than the f/12.8 Capricorn 70.
He mentioned that he would need a tripod and the 100p dob’ does not come with one. As it weighs 2.8kg I thought that the low cost (£24) “Fotomate VP-106 2-Way Tripod” which has an ideal payload of 2-3kg (max 4kg) would maybe do the job. I then noticed that the thread size is ¼” as opposed to the 3/8” that the 100p has. A quick Google search shows there are ¼” to 3/8” adaptors out there but I am not sure what exactly would be needed. There are tripods out there which connect to 3/8” but they are much higher in price.
So, does anyone have any experience of the difference between these two types of scopes in terms of ease of use, performance etc? Also any comments on the combination of 100p dob’, tripod & adaptor setup? I know a couple of members have use the 100p, are there any other low cost tripod solutions recommended?

Thanks

John

John, I do agree that an f/12 refractor would be quite tricky for a novice, but if he's looking for a small refractor, how about this f/5.7 version:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Orion-GoScope-Refractor-Travel-Telescope/dp/B00GTXIY28
It looks like this is fitted with a 45-degree erecting prism (rather than a star-diagonal), so it could be used for terrestrial observing too.

Regarding the 100P - it's supplied table-top mini-Dob mount is so much more stable than any "whackery" low-cost tripod that to put it onto one would spoil it. Much better to just sit it on top of a garden table or bench.

Thanks Ross. That looks like a good starter kit and comes wit a bag too. Portability was important.
John