Buddy at the star party last night said my telescope was 'overkill' for just looking at the moon

He was using a beat up 6 inch Dobsonian and got these crystal clear shots of Jupiter's bands while my 12 inch SCT was struggling with bad collimation and shaky tracking, made me realize I've been spending money on gear instead of actually learning how to use it properly, anyone else ever feel like their setup is just for show?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_laura17d ago

You ever feel like your telescope is just a really expensive way to prove you can buy things? I totally get it. I bought a fancy setup last year and spent more time fixing it than looking at stars. My buddy with a cheap scope got better views of Saturn than I did with mine. Made me feel like I was just trying to look the part instead of actually learning the craft.

rose_clark8117d ago

100 bucks says you sold that fancy scope and bought something simpler within a year, right? I swear half the hobby is just figuring out what you actually need versus what the forums tell you to buy. What was the moment you finally admitted to yourself that the expensive setup wasn't working? Was it a specific night where you couldn't even see Jupiter because you were too busy fiddling with the mount? I think a lot of people get stuck thinking more money equals better views, when really it just means more headaches unless you know what you're doing first.

drews5517d ago

lol yeah I went through that exact thing with my camera gear a few years back. I had this fancy DSLR with all these lenses and I was getting worse shots than my buddy who just used his phone and knew how to frame stuff right. Eventually I just left the big lens at home for a month and forced myself to learn the basics with a cheap kit lens. Ended up selling half my gear and buying one really good lens I actually understand how to use. Now I get better results with less stuff just because I took the time to figure out what actually matters instead of what looks impressive on the shelf.