Astronomical Products & Equipment in Australia

In this section we will endeavour to assist you with information about what Telescopes, Binoculars, Mounts, Eyepieces etc are available in Australia and which dealers carry what products.

On the right hand side of this page I have listed the recommended dealers of Astronomical equipment in Australia. Shop around on the Internet or by phone and get the best deal to suit you.

I must point out at the start, if you want to learn more about which equipment is suitable for you, and where to buy it, visit or join a local Astronomy Club where you will recieve first-hand experience from other members, or join an online Astronomy Forum.

ASTRONOMY EQUIPMENT

BINOCULARS

Binoculars are a great way to start out as they are very portable and allow you to learn the sky with ease of use. Although Binoculars do not give you amazing close-ups of the objects that you often you see in Glossy Photos, they do give a fantastic wider field of view and are also very useful for experienced observers.

Becuase there are so many styles, sizes and varieties of Binoculars, Astronomy dealers can recommend which Binoculars will be suitable to your observing needs.

TELESCOPES

One of the most common purchases made when starting the hobby of Astronomy is the Telescope. As you can see by the list to the left of this page, there are different  styles. There are actually several more but are not all that common.

One of the most popular  'beginning' telescopes is the 'Supermarket' or 'Bargain Store' style of 60mm refractor or 114mm reflector. Whilst giving enjoyable images on some of the Planets and maybe a few Deep Sky Objects (objects outside our Solar System), they are very limiting, and often have fair to poor optics, and poor mounts, which have been known to frustrate an owner into giving up.

Reflector Telescopes (uses mirrors)
Probably one of the best telescopes to begin with is a Dobsonian mounted reflector. These telescopes are  priced within most peoples range and give amazing views when compared to the 'Supermarket' style scope. I won't recommend which size is best as it must come down to how much you are prepared to spend, and how portable you need your scope. An 8" dobsonian is very portable and gives great views, but others may want to jump straight to a 12" for  brighter views and are not fussed about the weight factor when transporting the scope.
The Dobsonian
The Dobsonian is a reflector telescope in a very basic mount made popular by John Dobson, and is usually called a 'Dob'.

Dobs are very useful telescopes as they are simple to use and can be  fitted to an Equatorial Mount at a later date.

Most Telescope stores have Dobs in stock often starting at 6" and go up to 12". Not all stores carry the newer 16" yet.
In Australia some of the names that Dobs are sold under are Southern Cross, Bintel, G.S (Guan Sheng), Saxon, SkyWatcher, Celestron and Meade.

Astronomy stores are quite helpful in assisting you in which size is preferable for you regarding transport and cost.
I recommend that you buy from a store that is a recognised Astronomy or Camera dealer, not from a Clearing House or Bargain Store as the quality cannot be determined and servicing is non-existant.

Dobs have a starting price from around $299 for a 6", then up to around $899 for a 12".  The price increases with extras like better focusers.
If you choose to upgrade to an Equatorial Mount at a later date, your Dob can be fitted to the larger Equatorial mounts, but this is where the hobby starts to get expensive. Talk to dealers and seek assistance from them.

Refractor Telescopes (uses lenses)
Refractors are mainly known by three optical names: Achromat, Apochramat, and ED. The price varies a lot according to which optics you choose.
The Refractor
The basic optics are the Achromats (Achro's) which are very good but tend to give false colour around the fringes of bright objects. Not a big problem unless you want very clear results in Astrophotography. Extra Dispersion (ED's) use a single special lens of 'ED' glass to correect almost all of the false colour giving superb images but they do cost more. Then at the top of the range is the true Apochromats (Apo's). Apo's would not be something that a beginner would normally purchase as some of the prices are extremely high. But if you choose to begin at the top, one of the leaders in Apo's is Takahashi, a Japanese company. Takahashi's can be purchased through dealers such as the 'Astronomy and Electronics Centre' .
Another brand recognised at the top is 'William Optics' available from Authorised William Optics Dealers.

As for Achromats and ED's, the majority of Dealers across Australia carry a good range.







Please be patient as I add to this page