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Ranking 270+ Telescopes Available in the UK

Post date

Most of the telescopes from our collection placed together.
Refractors (far left), Tabletop dobsonians (front middle), freestanding dobsonians (back middle), reflectors (back right), cassegrains (front right). Image: TelescopicWatch

Rank Category: Telescopes Below £100

Telescopes priced under £100 must make significant quality and utility sacrifices, reducing them to little more than fun toys for casual glances at the Moon, planets, and other bright targets. However, if it’s all you can afford, the scopes below still beat having nothing. We'd highly recommend a good pair of astronomy binoculars for the price, or increase your budget to at least £150, which is our next price category.
Cometron FirstScope 76mm
Celestron FirstScope 76 Cometron or Moon Version
£59 at FLO
While not particularly useful overall, the FirstScope offers a super-cheap introduction to the world of telescopes in a diminutive package. It’s not a serious observation tool by any means. The views through this instrument at even low powers are mushy, and the eyepieces feel like looking through a drinking straw.
Skywatcher Heritage 76 Mini Dobsonian Telescope
Rank 2
3.6/5
Identical to the Celestron FirstScope Cometron edition, the Sky-Watcher Heritage 76 features a low-quality finderscope and shoddy optics but is easy to use and provides acceptable low-power views of the Moon and other easy targets with its provided eyepieces.
£65 at FLO
[table “1” not found /]

Rank Category: Telescopes Around £150

Even the best telescopes in the £150 range are limited by their small aperture. Additionally, upgrading to nicer accessories with any of these scopes places you in a higher price bracket where there are better options. As such, it’s worth still considering binoculars and saving your money for a bigger scope if this is all you have to spend right now.
Skywatcher Heritage 100P Tabletop Dobsonian
£128 at FLO
Sky-Watcher's Heritage 100P is one of few Newtonian reflectors—or telescopes at all—sold with quality optics, a sturdy mount, and acceptable accessories sold at such a low price range. You get an ample 100mm aperture, a set of nice eyepieces, a red dot finder, and a very easy-to-use and lightweight tabletop Dobsonian mount.
Ursa Major 102mm Tabletop Dobsonian Telescope
Rank 2
3.7/5
The Ursa Major 102mm Tabletop Dobsonian uses a spherical primary mirror, which at this size and spec does not deliver terrible images but is far from the sharpness of a true parabolic primary mirror. As such, it is not so good compared to a 100mm unit with true parabolic optics like the Heritage 100P, but it is otherwise decent and will suffice if you must compromise.
National Geographic 114 Tabletop Dobsonian
Rank 3
3.6/5
The National Geographic 114mm Tabletop Dobsonian offers decent optics but comes with toy-like Huygens eyepieces, which will cost quite a bit to replace with acceptable quality ones, and any telescope requires good eyepieces to deliver a pleasing view.
Bresser Classic 60 EQ Refractor
Rank 4
3.6/5
The Bresser Classic 60EQ is well-made and includes a nice mount and accessories, but its tiny 60mm aperture limits what you can see to little more than the Moon, planets, and double stars.
[table “3” not found /]

Rank Category: Telescopes Around £200

A £200-£250 budget will get you a 5" (130mm) or 4.5" (114mm) tabletop Dobsonian, which offers better views at the eyepiece than a 100 mm (100mm) due to adjustable collimation, better quality control, and, of course, the larger aperture. A few acceptable, if sub-par, tripod-mounted options are also available at this price.
SkyWatcher Heritage 130P
Sky-Watcher Heritage 130P FlexTube Tabletop Dobsonian
£194 at FLO
The Sky-Watcher Heritage 130P's collapsible tube minimises its size when stowed, and it features high-quality optics with a parabolic primary mirror and 130 mm of aperture, enough to see plenty of faint deep-sky objects from a suitably dark location and resolve fantastic detail on the Moon and planets.
Bresser Messier 5" Dobsonian Telescope
Rank 2
4.3/5
The Bresser Messier 5" Dobsonian features a high-quality parabolic primary mirror, an acceptable set of accessories, and a simple tabletop Dobsonian mount with rotating rings to adjust the angle of the eyepiece. However, it is not as lightweight or compact as the Heritage 130P, nor are its accessories quite as up to par.
£239 at FLO
SarBlue Mak70
Rank 3
4/5
It won’t win any prizes for stunning deep-sky vistas, but the Mak70 paired with a standard photo tripod makes for a portable scope with sharp views of the Moon, planets, and double stars. While it has a reasonably useful set of included accessories, I find aiming and tracking at high magnifications with the provided tripod a bit challenging.
Buy from Amazon
Skywatcher Skyhawk 1145PS AZ Pronto Telescope
Rank 4
3.9/5
The Sky-Watcher Skyhawk 114P/AZ Pronto configuration is decent, but the design of the AZ Pronto mount means that this telescope can be difficult to accurately aim high in the sky without it slipping. As with the EQ1 mounted configuration, you get high-quality 114mm f/4.5 optics and decent, if basic, eyepieces.
£189 at FLO
Skywatcher Skymax 90 EQ1
Rank 5
3.8/5
The tiny Sky-Watcher Skymax 90 Maksutov delivers sharp, pleasing images of the Moon, planets, and double stars atop its sturdy EQ1 equatorial mount. However, you might be happier with a telescope with a shorter focal length and more light-gathering power for viewing deep-sky objects like nebulae, star clusters, and galaxies.
[table “5” not found /]

Rank Category: Telescopes in the £275 range

6” tabletop Dobsonians and 4” refractors/Maksutovs, often considered to be the minimum “serious” telescopes to start out with by many amateurs, including myself, are available for £300 and up, offering much better views and capabilities you’re less likely to immediately get tired of compared to a smaller instrument.
SkyWatcher Heritage 150P FlexTube Dobsonian Telescope
Skywatcher Heritage 150P Tabletop Dobsonian
£249 at FLO
The SkyWatcher Heritage 150P has a whopping 150mm (150 mm) of aperture, includes a pair of great eyepieces, and also allows its optical tube to be collapsed, allowing it to fit into smaller spaces. This collapsible tube feature does create the disadvantage of stray light being able to easily enter the tube, which can be (mostly) remedied by creating or buying a foam shroud. However, we firmly believe that the compactness, superb optics, good accessories, cheaper price, and light weight are more than worth this minor inconvenience.
£269 at FLO
The Ursa Major 150 mm f/8 Planetary Dobsonian features a 150mm aperture and high-quality optics, and unlike a tabletop Dobsonian, it stands on the ground without the need for a table. Its f/8 focal ratio makes collimation easy, and features like a true metal Crayford focuser and spring-tensioned bearings allow you room to grow into heavier and more expensive eyepieces. The only consideration to worry about is that this telescope is, of course, quite a bit bigger and heavier than a tabletop telescope of the same aperture, which might make it harder to store or transport despite offering the same views.
Sky-Watcher Skyliner 150P Classic Dobsonian
Rank 3
4.4/5
The Sky-Watcher Skyliner 150P Classic offers the same basic design and capabilities as the Ursa Major 150 mm f/8.
£279 at FLO
Skywatcher Explorer 130PS AZ5
Rank 4
4.2/5
The Sky-Watcher Explorer 130PS uses the same 130mm f/5 optics as many other high-quality telescopes from Sky-Watcher and the AZ5 mount is a sturdy and convenient choice for a mount for such an instrument. It includes a decent set of accessories, too.
£329
Skywatcher Skyhawk 1145P AZ-GO2 WiFi
Rank 5
4.1/5
The SkyHawk 114P uses the same telescope optical tube as many other 114mm f/4.4 Newtonian reflectors, including those from Sky-Watcher. The WiFi-controlled AZ-GTe mount is nice but lacks the more expensive Virtuoso GTi mount’s FreedomFind encoders and is simply overkill for this rather small wide-field instrument, as well as extremely expensive compared to a manual Dobsonian.
£309 at FLO
Skywatcher Skymax 102S AZ Pronto
Rank 6
4.1/5
The Sky-Watcher SkyMax 102 is an excellent Maksutov-Cassegrain telescope, and the Pronto AZ mount provides a sturdy and easy-to-aim platform for it, while you also get a nice set of accessories provided with the scope. However, the limited aperture and field of view of a 102mm Maksutov mean this is primarily a lunar, planetary, and double star scope.
£265 at FLO
Skywatcher Heritage 114P Virtuoso
Rank 7
4.1/5
The Sky-Watcher Heritage 114P once again provides the ubiquitous 114mm f/4.4 Newtonian reflector optical tube, this time atop the Virtuoso auto-tracking mount (not to be confused with the Virtuoso GTi). This mount will automatically track the sky for you after a very simple alignment process (just point it north at the horizon and turn it on) and has push-button fine pointing adjustments.
£259 at FLO
Skywatcher Heritage 90P Virtuoso Mak
Rank 8
4/5
The Sky-Watcher Heritage 90P shares the Virtuoso auto-tracking mount of its 114mm Newtonian counterpart but features a 90mm Maksutov-Cassegrain telescope atop the mount instead – a bit more optimised for planetary and double star work, but not as capable for deep-sky viewing due to its narrower field of view and lesser light-gathering power.
£259 at FLO
[table “32” not found /]

Rank Category: Telescopes in the £350 range

A budget of £400 allows you to get into the full-sized 6” Dobsonian reflectors. These are the entry-level “grown-up” telescopes. Various options for 5–6” reflectors on a variety of different mounts, as well as decent 4” refractors and catadioptrics, are available at this price. Computerised pointing capabilities (Go-To) are also starting to become a serious option in this price range, with a tabletop computerised Dobsonian being the most highly rated item in this price range.
Sky-Watcher Virtuoso GTi 150 Tabletop Go-To Dobsonian
Skywatcher Heritage 150P Virtuoso GTi
£399 at FLO
The Sky-Watcher Virtuoso GTi 150P is a great option for anyone looking for an economical Go-To telescope. Featuring quality optics and well-made included eyepieces, it is capable of being used manually even while the mount’s electronics are powered on and aligned with the sky, thanks to Sky-Watcher's FreedomFind encoders. The base telescope and accessories are otherwise identical to the Heritage 150P model. All this at a price comparable to most manual telescopes of its size makes this instrument one of the best bargains available in astronomy today.
Ursa Major 200 mm f/6 Dobsonian
£369 at FLO
A low-cost 200 mm Dobsonian package, the Ursa Major 200 mm f/6 gives you a lot of aperture for the price but is relatively lacking in features or more than an extremely basic set of accessories.
Skywatcher Skyliner 200P Classic
Rank 3
4.4/5
The Sky-Watcher Skyliner 200P Classic is a fairly basic 200 mm Dobsonian, with good views at the eyepiece, accessories that do the job, and a mount which is acceptable but doesn't have the most well-designed tensioning system or smooth motions compared to some other offerings, though it's still much better than a wobbly tripod.
£359 at FLO
Bresser Messier 150 mm f/8 Dobsonian
Rank 4
4.4/5
The Bressier Messier 6” f/8 Planetary Dobsonian features a well-designed freestanding Dobsonian mount with huge bearings for smooth motions and easy balance – aided by a rotating tube cradle – but the included finder and eyepiece are rather sub-par, and the maximum field of view is nowhere near as wide as an f/5 instrument even in spite of the scope’s 2” rack-and-pinion focuser. However, it is still one of the best 6” f/8 Dobsonians, though we recommend sticking with a tabletop 150mm f/5 or stepping up to an 8-10” unit in most cases.
£345 at FLO
Bresser Messier 150 mm Tabletop Dobsonian
Rank 5
4.4/5
The Bresser Messier 150 mm Tabletop Dobsonian is an excellent choice for those who must have a closed-tube 150mm tabletop scope and delivers a huge achievable field of view with its 2” focuser and short 750mm focal length if used in conjunction with the right wide-angle eyepieces.
£339 at FLO
Celestron Astro Fi 130mm Reflector Telescope
Rank 6
4.1/5
The Celestron Astro Fi 130 features a sturdy tripod, unlike its SLT cousins, and its mount is easily controlled via your smartphone or tablet. The 130mm f/5 optics provide decent views of brighter targets, and the 2" focuser unlocks a huge expanse of sky with the right wide-angle eyepieces.
Buy from Amazon
Celestron Astro Fi 127 Maksutov
Rank 7
4/5
The Celestron Astro Fi 127 is significantly more capable than a smaller 102mm or 90mm Maksutov and is still rock-solid on the Astro Fi mount, though the 130mm f/5 Newtonian is just as good on the Moon and planets and is a lot more capable for deep-sky viewing. The 127mm Maksutov-Cassegrain optical tube supplied with this scope is identical to many others sold by Celestron and Sky-Watcher.
Buy from Amazon
Celestron Starsense Explorer DX 130AZ Telescope
Rank 8
4/5
The Celestron StarSense Explorer DX 130AZ features the same 130mm f/5 optics as many other quality beginner telescopes atop a manual alt-azimuth mount. What separates this scope from the rest is the inclusion of the StarSense Explorer technology, which will aid you in finding your way around the night sky simply by attaching your smartphone and utilising the StarSense Explorer app.
Buy from Amazon
[table “33” not found /]

Rank Category: Telescopes in the £500 range

On this budget, you can get an 8′′ Dobsonian, which is the best balance of aperture, portability, affordability, and simplicity for a beginner. Below 8′′, you start to lose enough light-gathering ability to resolve many interesting deep-sky objects, Pluto, or the moons of the ice giant planets (though 6′′ with good optics and a good mount isn’t a horrible start, if that’s all you can do; the 8′′ is definitely a better way to go). Most of the scopes we recommend in this category are well made enough to last you a lifetime, such as the 8” Dobsonians and various 5” and 6” tripod-mounted reflectors.
StellaLyra 200 mm f/6 Dobsonian
£449 at FLO
The StellaLyra 200 mm f/6 Dobsonian offers great performance, as with any Dobsonian telescope of this aperture, and comes well-equipped with a variety of features and accessories which would easily double the cost of the telescope if sold separately, such as a 2" dual-speed Crayford focuser, a right-angle 9x50 finder and a pair of decent starter eyepieces. StellaLyra 200 mm is the least expensive of the GSO 200 mm dobsonian options in the UK, and FirstLightOptic's support team makes it superior in every way. This is also the most sold telescope referred by our website.
£599 at FLO
The Celestron StarSense Explorer 200 mm Dobsonian is lighter and easier to carry than many other options of this size, though it isn't very well-equipped with any accessories or other features besides the hallmark Celestron StarSense Explorer technology, which makes it extremely easy to navigate around the night sky with your smartphone attached to the telescope.
Bresser Messier 200 mm Dobsonian
Rank 3
4.5/5
The Bresser Messier 200 mm Dobsonian features a very well-designed base with huge bearings for smooth motions and minimal balance differences when you swap out accessories, along with adjustable tube rings and a quality focuser. However, the provided accessories are fairly poor quality and need to be swapped out.
£489 at FLO
Sky-Watcher Skymax 127 Virtuoso GTi
Rank 4
4.1/5
The Virtuoso GTi mount and SkyMax 127 Maksutov-Cassegrain telescope optical tube from Sky-Watcher are both excellent, and this scope is ideal for viewing the Moon, planets, and double stars. However, the eyepiece can often be in an uncomfortable position if this scope is used on a tabletop, and you may wish to use the stud at the bottom to attach it to a tripod for additional height.
£489 at FLO

Rank Category: Telescopes in the £700 range

Most of the 10” Dobsonians available in this price range are marginally heavier than an 8” (and often belong to the same product lines with identical features/accessories) and have the same length tubes, which means that portability-wise, a 10” is still plenty easy to manage. 8” is still the gold standard for many, but there’s little disadvantage to starting with a 10” telescope besides cost. You can also consider a truss tube option in lieu of a solid-tubed 10” Dobsonian or a smaller computerised scope.
StellaLyra 250 mm f/5 Dobsonian
£619 at FLO
The StellaLyra 250 mm f/5 Dobsonian is an upscaled version of the 200 mm StellaLyra model, with just a bit more aperture and weight but the same physical dimensions, accessories, and focal length. With 56% brighter views and slightly better resolution, the 250 mm is well worth the upgrade if you can afford it.
Bresser Messier 250 mm Dobsonian
£799 at FLO
The Bresser Messier 250 mm Dobsonian's sturdy, buttery-smooth mount features rotating rings to adjust for balance and huge bearings to minimise jerky motions at high magnifications. The optics are, of course, excellent as well – but you don't get much in the way of useful accessories apart from a low-quality finderscope and eyepiece.
Celestron Starsense Explorer 10 Inch Dobsonian
Rank 3
4.6/5
The Celestron StarSense Explorer 250 mm Dobsonian features the same lightweight base, Celestron StarSense Explorer technology and simple accessory package as the 200 mm model. The StarSense Explorer technology really pays off at this aperture, allowing you to easily locate plenty of "faint fuzzy" deep-sky objects.
£779 at FLO
Sky-Watcher Skyliner 250P Classic Dobsonian
Rank 4
4.4/5
The Sky-Watcher Skyliner 250P Classic is relatively simple and functional, as with its 200mm counterpart. The 250 mm of aperture provides better views than an 200 mm without any appreciable gain in weight or physical dimensions. The scope's mount isn't the most well-designed but is still fairly easy to aim and very sturdy, the accessories provided are decent, and the single-speed focuser does the job.
£539 at FLO
Explore Scientific Ultra Light 250 mm Dobsonian Telescope Gen II
Rank 5
4.3/5
The Explore Scientific 10” Truss Dob is an expensive telescope, but it has many features that make it worth the cost. It is entirely metal in construction and can be very easily disassembled for transportation. Additionally, the scope comes with built-in cooling fans to help regulate its temperature. Unfortunately, no eyepieces are included, and the user will need to purchase a shroud in order to keep light pollution, the Moon and other sources of glare from interfering with performance. Assembly is also a little more complex than a standard tube Dobsonian.
£899 at FLO
Skywatcher Skyliner 250P FlexTube
Rank 6
4.2/5
The Sky-Watcher Skyliner 250P FlexTube isn't much more compact or lightweight than a solid-tubed scope of this aperture and features the same basic design (and mechanical faults) as the regular Skyliner 250P. Unless you have some compelling reason to need to lose that little bit of tube length when stored, the regular 250P or a better 250 mm Dobsonian might be a wiser choice.
£691 at FLO
Celestron StarSense Explorer DX 6″
Rank 7
3.9/5
The Celestron C6 XLT optical tube is an excellent telescope and the StarSense Explorer DX mount provides a sturdy and easy-to-use lightweight mounting for it, though you may prefer a different telescope with motorised tracking or greater aperture. The StarSense Explorer technology of course makes finding targets a breeze with this scope.
£649
[table “35” not found /]

Rank Category: Telescopes in the £1000 range

Above the £1000 mark, telescopes start to get increasingly diverse, and performance stops scaling as much with price. You could get a 12” Dobsonian, with even more capability than a 10” and equally easy to operate. But remember, the best telescope is one that gets used, and a 12” solid-tubed scope is the size of a water heater and won’t fit across the back of many cars. A truss tube 12” is available for more money, or you can stick with a smaller and more well-equipped 10”. A few decent 6-8” computerised scopes are also available at this price range.
StellaLyra 300 mm f/5 Dobsonian
£879 at FLO
The StellaLyra 300 mm f/5 Dobsonian offers a huge aperture at a very reasonable price along with a plethora of high-quality accessories and features like a 2" dual-speed Crayford focuser. However, this telescope is fairly heavy and bulky, so you may want to consider a truss or collapsible tube Dobsonian if storage space or transport are concerns.
Sky-Watcher Skyliner 300P FlexTube Dobsonian
Skywatcher Skyliner 300P FlexTube
£1089 at FLO
The Sky-Watcher Skyliner 300P FlexTube is a fairly portable 300 mm Dobsonian telescope with lots of light-gathering and resolving power. It's easy to extend the tube and be observing in just a few minutes, and the capabilities of a telescope of this size are truly impressive.
Explore Scientific Ultra Light 300 mm Dobsonian Telescope Gen II
Rank 3
4.3/5
The Explore Scientific Ultra Light 300 mm Dobsonian is a little more complex to assemble than a solid or collapsible tubed telescope, but its extremely compact form factor when dismantled makes it a lot less of a commitment to own or transport. You also get a high-quality metal base, built-in fans, and a dual-speed Crayford focuser, though you will need to supply a shroud, finder and your own eyepieces.
£899 at FLO
Skywatcher Skyliner 200P FlexTube Go-To
Rank 4
4.1/5
The Sky-Watcher Skyline 200P FlexTube Go-To isn't much more compact than a standard 200 mm/200mm Dobsonian, but its Go-To system provides smooth motorised tracking and the ability to locate any object in the night sky, and you can still aim the telescope manually thanks to Sky-Watcher's FreedomFind encoder system.
£989 at FLO
Celestron Nexstar 6SE
Rank 5
4/5
The Celestron NexStar 6SE is extremely compact thanks to its Schmidt-Cassegrain optical configuration and features fully motorised Go-To and tracking, while the C6 XLT optical tube provides sharp views of the Moon, planets, double stars, and brighter deep-sky objects.
£1279 at FLO
Skywatcher Explorer 150PDS EQ5 Pro GOTO
Rank 6
4/5
A decent setup for beginner astrophotographers, the Sky-Watcher Explorer 150PDS is an imaging-optimised fast Newtonian reflector, and the EQ5 Pro mount is an acceptable mount for either visual or astrophotography use with it – though a heavier-duty HEQ5 or EQ6-class mount will produce better results for more demanding applications.
£1009 at FLO
Skywatcher Skymax 150 Pro EQ5
Rank 7
4/5
With superb optics typical of any Maksutov-Cassegrain, the Sky-Watcher Skymax 150 Pro is great for viewing the Moon, planets, and double stars, while the EQ5 mount is a sturdy if basic mounting choice for this scope.
£978 at FLO

Rank Category: Telescopes in the £1500 range

Spending over £1500 opens up the possibility of either a more compactible 12” truss/collapsible Dobsonian or a Go-To scope of fairly large aperture and high quality. A 12” truss or 10” Go-To is a little more complicated to start out with but offers excellent performance for those willing to spend, and a 6” Schmidt-Cassegrain on a Go-To mount can be a great choice too for some.
StellaLyra 16″ f/4.5 Dobsonian
£1899 at FLO
The StellaLyra 16″ f/4.5 Dobsonian, made by GSO, is considerably more compact and affordable than most other telescopes of this size. It features the same bearings, accessories, focuser, and base design as the smaller StellaLyra Dobsonians, but its tube is an easy-to-assemble 6-pole truss. This telescope is a monster, but it’s still easier to move around than the Sky-Watcher FlexTube scopes and at a price that can’t be beat.
Skywatcher Skyliner 350P FlexTube
£1689 at FLO
The Sky-Watcher Skyliner 350P FlexTube is significantly more compact than a solid-tubed instrument of this size without the complexity of a full truss tube – though it’s still quite heavy and bulky. The 14″ (350mm) primary mirror gathers plenty of light for fantastic views of deep-sky objects.
Skywatcher Skyliner 300P FlexTube Go-To
Rank 3
4.3/5
The Sky-Watcher Skyline 300P FlexTube Go-To adds motorised tracking and pointing to the already-excellent 300P FlexTube, though it’s a bit heavier and bulkier thanks to the electronics.
£1795 at FLO
Skywatcher Skyliner 250P FlexTube Go-To
Rank 4
4.2/5
The Sky-Watcher Skyliner 250P FlexTube Go-To’s main selling point is not the FlexTube configuration but rather its motorised Go-To and tracking, which provides added convenience while not interfering with manual aiming at all thanks to the Sky-Watcher FreedomFind slip clutch and encoder system.
£1229 at FLO
Skywatcher Explorer 200PDS NEQ6 Pro
Rank 5
4.2/5
The Sky-Watcher Explorer 200PDS and NEQ6 Pro combination make for a decent astrophotography-ready setup with the addition of autoguiding, a coma corrector, and a suitable camera. You can also get splendid views through the eyepiece of this scope, too, though it’s a bit more awkward than a Dobsonian.
–
Celestron Nexstar Evolution 6
Rank 6
4.1/5
The Celestron NexStar Evolution 6 is compact and features 150mm (6″) of aperture, motorised Go-To and tracking, as well as features like a built-in WiFi adapter and lithium battery. However, there are cheaper 6″ Go-To telescopes available, and many can be upgraded to a WiFi-capable setup fairly easily too, while the 8″ model isn’t much more expensive but has significantly better performance.
£1652 at FLO
Skywatcher Skymax 180 Pro EQ5 Pro
Rank 7
4.1/5
The Sky-Watcher Skymax 180 offers superb planetary views and imaging capabilities when conditions allow and the telescope is properly cooled down to ambient temperature, and the EQ5 Pro is a decent mounting option for this telescope.
–
Skywatcher Explorer 200PDS HEQ5 Pro GOTO
Rank 8
4/5
Another Sky-Watcher telescope/mount combination intended for imaging, the Explorer 200PDS works acceptably on the HEQ5 Pro provided you use autoguiding and don’t push your exposures too long. For visual use, it’s rather uncomfortable, but it will do the job with comparable views to an 8″ Dobsonian.
£1349 at FLO
Skywatcher Skymax 150 Pro HEQ5 Pro
Rank 9
4/5
The Sky-Watcher Skymax 150 is, of course, an excellent lunar, planetary, and double-star scope, and while Go-To may be a little unnecessary for such a specialised instrument, the motorised tracking is nice to have, and you can, of course, use the superb HEQ5 Pro mount for astrophotography with a different telescope.
£1591
Skywatcher Explorer 250PDS NEQ6 Pro GOTO
Rank 10
4/5
The Sky-Watcher Explorer 250PDS is certainly an intimidating scope and a nightmare to use on an equatorial mount for visual use but works well for imaging purposes – though the NEQ6 Pro is pushing its limits with such a large and heavy optical tube.
£1599
Celestron C6 SCT VX GOTO (Celestron Advanced VX 6″)
Rank 11
4/5
The Celestron C6 XLT telescope is an excellent instrument for viewing Solar System and bright-deep-sky targets, with some planetary and deep-sky imaging capabilities too. However, there are better mount options than the Advanced VX for either task, and deep-sky astrophotographers may want to consider a more optimised telescope for the job.
£1899 at FLO
[table “37” not found /]

Rank Category: Telescopes in the £2000-£3000 range

Various Go-To 8” Schmidt-Cassegrains and other telescopes offering astrophotography capabilities and usually computers in some form take the lead at this price range. However, remember that a 12” can be a lot to handle even in a truss tube, while astrophotography typically is better with a separately purchased mount/OTA and a much higher budget.
Skywatcher Skyliner 350P FlexTube Go-To
£2441 at FLO
The Go-To version of the Sky-Watcher Skyliner 350P FlexTube can still be aimed manually thanks to its FreedomFind encoder system, while the addition of Go-To and motorised tracking saves you plenty of time in locating and maintaining your aim at targets. However, it is quite a bit heavier than the manual version of this telescope.
Skywatcher Skyliner 400P FlexTube Go-To
£3449 at FLO
The Sky-Watcher Skyliner 400P FlexTube is already a nightmare to move around, and the added weight of Go-To electronics doesn’t help things. However, if you can find a way to conveniently store and set up this beast, the views at the eyepiece are extremely rewarding, and you of course get all the perks of tracking and Go-To and still have manual aiming as an option thanks to the FreedomFind encoders.
Skywatcher Skyliner 400P FlexTube
Rank 3
4.4/5
The Sky-Watcher Skyliner 400P FlexTube is still quite heavy and bulky even when collapsed and probably requires 2 people to move around. You may also need a ladder to reach the eyepiece when the scope is aimed high in the sky. Despite this, the views at the eyepiece through a big scope such as this are well worth the effort when the 400P is used under fairly dark skies.
£2195 at FLO
Celestron NexStar Evolution 8
Rank 4
4.2/5
The Celestron NexStar Evolution 200 mm features the excellent Celestron C8 XLT optical tube, providing plenty of light-gathering and resolving power, coupled to the NexStar Evolution mount, which is fairly lightweight and compact but features fully motorised Go-To and tracking, a built-in WiFi adapter for control via your smartphone or tablet, and a built-in lithium battery.
£2195 at FLO
Celestron Advanced VX 8″ SCT
Rank 5
4/5
The Celestron C8 XLT is a versatile telescope with plenty of light-gathering power for visual use, and it can be used for some astrophotography with a focal reducer or HyperStar. However, the Advanced VX is overkill for visual use and not really up to the task of supporting the C8 for long-exposure astrophotography, even with autoguiding.
£2469 at FLO

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