First time Telescope.

Hey all! I need some advice here as a VERY green thumb. I'm hoping to get my first telescope this summer but I'm gonna' need something fairly portable 'cause I'm gonna' be taking it with me between Hawaii (where I go to school) and California (where I'm originally from). So I've been thinking about gettin Orions new SkyView Pro 127 Mak scope. I'm not too worries about the technicalities since I have a couple good friends that have taught me about EQ mounts and I've messed around with them a bit. But I was looking at the new Orion catalog and was wondering if any of the other new SkyView Pro scopes would fit the bill. I realize these are pretty new scopes so a lot of you may not have them or have had a chance to tinker with them, but give me what you can. Thanks in advance.

Hi Josh, I'm new to this hobby too so I may not be able to give you much useful information. I do want to ask you though what you primarily intend to use the scope for, i.e. DSO, planets or astrophotography?

As for the Skyview Pro 127 Maksutov, I've seen it in person. It looks very nice with no plastic anywhere. The mount is also beefy enough in my opinion to handle the weight of the 127 which is negligible compared to others. I do recommend that if you go for that, get the polar alignment scope and dual axis motors for a few bucks more.

From what everyone has told me, you can't really go wrong with Orion products to start with. Their customer service is top-notch.

Cheers!

James

Well I was thinking I could put the tripod/mount in my regular luggage (as in not carry-on) and just take the OTA as carry on.