Instruments
Classes, not model numbers. A class outlives the products in it, so the reasoning here should still be right in five years even where the catalogue is not.
| Class | Aperture | Weight | Setup | Price band |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10×50 binocularsTwo small refractors you can hold. The most-recommended and least-bought first instrument in astronomy, and the one most likely to still be in use in ten years. | 50–56 mm | 0.9 kg | 1 min | €70–250 |
| 130 mm tabletop DobsonianA short Newtonian on a small rocker box that sits on a table, a wall or a crate. The best value in astronomy at the moment, and the answer to more first-telescope questions than anything else here. | 100–150 mm | 6 kg | 3 min | €150–330 |
| 70–90 mm refractor on an alt-az mountThe shape most people picture when they picture a telescope. Sealed tube, nothing to collimate, and a standing eyepiece height that suits sharing. | 70–90 mm | 5 kg | 5 min | €150–420 |
| Star tracker with a camera and lensA small motorised wedge that cancels the Earth's rotation, with a camera and an ordinary lens on top. Not a telescope, and the right answer to 'how do I start astrophotography' more often than a telescope is. | 30–70 mm | 4 kg | 15 min | €300–900 |
| 150–200 mm DobsonianThe most aperture per euro anyone has yet arranged. A full-size rocker box on the floor, a tube you carry in two trips, and views that stop people mid-sentence. | 150–200 mm | 20 kg | 8 min | €330–700 |
| 72–80 mm ED refractorA small, very well corrected refractor. Modest aperture bought at a high price per millimetre, in exchange for images with no false colour and a second career as an imaging telescope. | 72–80 mm | 5 kg | 6 min | €400–1000 |
| 102–127 mm Maksutov on a GoTo alt-azA long focal length folded into a short tube, on a mount that finds things for you. The planetary specialist, and the most city-friendly telescope on this list. | 102–127 mm | 9 kg | 12 min | €450–950 |
| Smart telescope (50–80 mm, integrated camera)A small telescope with a camera where the eyepiece would be, driven from a phone. It finds the target, tracks it, stacks exposures, and hands you an image in a few minutes. | 50–80 mm | 3 kg | 4 min | €450–2600 |
| 250–300 mm DobsonianWhere galaxies start having structure and planetary nebulae start having colour. Also where an instrument starts needing a plan rather than a decision. | 250–300 mm | 40 kg | 15 min | €800–2000 |
| 150–200 mm Schmidt-Cassegrain on a GoTo alt-azSerious aperture in a tube half a metre long, on a computerised fork. The most capability per unit of storage space, at a price. | 150–203 mm | 14 kg | 15 min | €900–2400 |
| Equatorial GoTo mount with a small imaging refractorThe real answer to serious deep-sky imaging, and mostly a mount. The telescope on top is the cheap part and the part you will replace least often. | 61–100 mm | 22 kg | 45 min | €1800–5000 |