Refractor Telescopes

Refractors (also known as diptrics) are what the average person identifies with the work "telescope", a long, thin tube where light passes in astraight line from the front objective lens directly to the eyepiece at the opposite end of the tube.

Advantages

• Easy to use and reliable due to the simplicity of design.
• Little or no maintenance.
• Excellent for lunar, planetary and binary star observing especially in larger apertures.
• Good for distant terrestrial viewing.
• High contract images with no secondary mirror or diagonal obstruction.
• Colour correction is good in achromatic designs and excellent in apochromatic and fluorite designs.
• Sealed optical tube reduces imagine degrading air currents and protects optics.
• Objective lens is permanently mounted and aligned.

Disadvantages

• More expensive per inch of aperture than Newtonians or catadioptrics.
• Heavier, longer and bulkier than equivalent aperture Newtonians and catadioptrics.
• The cost and bulk factors limit the practical useful maximum size objective to small apertures.
• Less suited for viewing small and faint deep sky objects such as distant galaxies and nebulae because of practical aperture limitations.
• Focal ratios are usually long (f/11 or slower) making photography of deep sky objects more difficult.
• Some colour aberration in achromatic designs (doublet).
• Poor reputation due to low quality imported toy telescopes; a reputation unjustified when dealing with a quality refractor from a reputable manufacturer.

In summary a small reflector is the best general purpose telescope for beginners as they are good on all types of objects and for starting astrophotography.
See CELESTRON FIRSTSCOPE 114 EQ.
If you wish for the ultimate planetary telescope, and also a scope which is virtually maintenance free then look no further than a refractor. See FIRSTSCOPE 70 EQ.

If you’re looking for an advanced first telescope with a traditional German Equatorial mount or want to upgrade to a larger aperture telescope, consider the C8-S telescope. Mounted on the CG-5 EQ mount, both axes have precision worm gears for extremely smooth motion. Equipped with 2" steel legs, this heavy duty mount delivers jitter-free images. With adjustable height, the very rigid tripod has excellent damping characteristics and a convenient accessory tray/leg brace for added strength. See CELESTRON C8S