Newtonian reflectorSky-Watcher
A 150 mm f/5 parabolic Newtonian supplied on a manual German equatorial mount — the classic all-rounder starter package, and the classic lesson in how much mount a telescope really needs.
Good optics on a mount that is adequate for looking and marginal for photographing. Buy it to observe, not as an imaging platform in disguise.
Where to buy
Links open at the retailer in a new tab. We do not publish prices, because a price we recorded last month is worse than no price at all.
The same four purposes are scored for every telescope on this site, using the same weights. A telescope that is excellent for one is often poor for another — that is the point.
Visual observing
5.7 / 10
Confidence: high
Real aperture at a modest price with a mount that is genuinely adequate for looking, held back by fiddly ergonomics and mediocre supplied eyepieces.
| Factor | Score | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Aperture | 5.2 | 30% |
| Optical qualityeditorial | 6.5 | 20% |
| Ergonomicseditorial | 6.0 | 15% |
| Portability | 4.2 | 15% |
| Mount usability | 4.0 | 10% |
| Valueeditorial | 8.5 | 10% |
Weighted total: 5.7. Read the full methodology.
Nebula imaging
5.3 / 10
Confidence: medium
Focal length and speed are plausible, but an undriven EQ3-2 near its payload limit is the wrong foundation for long exposures.
| Factor | Score | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Focal ratio | 4.9 | 25% |
| Corrected field | 4.5 | 20% |
| Image circleNo image circle or sensor compatibility published — treated conservatively. | 4.0 | 15% |
| Focal length fit | 8.4 | 15% |
| Mount demand | 5.1 | 10% |
| Imaging workfloweditorial | 4.0 | 10% |
| Valueeditorial | 8.5 | 5% |
Weighted total: 5.3. Read the full methodology.
Galaxy imaging
6.3 / 10
Confidence: high
750 mm under-samples most galaxies and the mount cannot guide accurately enough to exploit what image scale there is.
| Factor | Score | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Focal length fit | 8.7 | 25% |
| Resolving power | 5.8 | 20% |
| Corrected field | 4.5 | 15% |
| Optical qualityeditorial | 6.5 | 15% |
| Mount demand | 5.1 | 10% |
| Imaging workfloweditorial | 4.0 | 10% |
| Valueeditorial | 8.5 | 5% |
Weighted total: 6.3. Read the full methodology.
Planetary imaging
4.6 / 10
Confidence: medium
Useful aperture, but the short focal length needs heavy amplification and the mount must be motorised before capture is practical.
| Factor | Score | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Aperture | 5.2 | 30% |
| Focal length fit | 3.7 | 25% |
| Optical qualityeditorial | 6.5 | 20% |
| Collimation & thermals | 1.5 | 10% |
| Tracking | 2.5 | 10% |
| Valueeditorial | 8.5 | 5% |
Weighted total: 4.6. Read the full methodology.
Scores are relative to every telescope on this site, not absolute quality marks. A 6.5 for galaxy imaging and a 6.5 for visual observing do not mean the same thing. How scoring works.
A parabolic primary at f/5 with a 24% obstruction and a conventional four-vane spider. Nothing unusual: this is the standard mid-size Newtonian recipe, and it works. Star images are clean on axis and show growing coma towards the edge of a wide field, which is inherent to a fast parabola rather than a fault of this particular telescope.
150 mm is a meaningful step up from any small refractor. The Orion Nebula shows real structure, the brighter globular clusters begin to granulate, and Jupiter carries detail at 150× on a settled night. Against the 203 mm Dobsonians here it gives away about half the light, but it costs less and weighs a third as much assembled.
The equatorial mount is a mixed blessing. Once polar-aligned, a single slow-motion knob follows the sky, which is genuinely pleasant at high magnification and impossible on a Dobsonian. But the eyepiece ends up at unpredictable angles as the tube rotates, and the setup ritual is longer.
The optics could do it; the mount cannot. A 5.6 kg tube plus camera on an EQ3-2 sits close enough to the payload rating that wind, periodic error and vibration all intrude. Add the mandatory coma corrector and the required RA motor and you are most of the way to the cost of a mount that would actually do the job.
750 mm gives roughly 1.03 arcseconds per pixel — under-sampled for most galaxies — and the mount cannot guide well enough to exploit even that. This is not a galaxy imaging telescope.
Workable with effort. Fit an RA motor so the planet stays on the sensor, add a 3× Barlow to reach a sensible sampling ratio, and 150 mm will show the major belts and the Cassini division. An equivalent Maksutov or SCT gets there with far less amplification and far less fuss.
The tube is 5.6 kg; the mount, tripod and counterweights bring the package to about 18.5 kg in three pieces. Setup is polar alignment plus balancing, five minutes once learned. Check collimation regularly — an f/5 parabola is not forgiving of misalignment — and allow twenty to thirty minutes outside before high magnification settles.
| Aperture | 150 mm (5.9") |
|---|---|
| Focal length | 750 mm (29.5") |
| Focal ratio | f/5 |
| Optical design | Parabolic Newtonian reflector |
| Type | Newtonian reflector |
| Glass / mirror | Parabolic primary with aluminium coating and quartz overcoat |
| Central obstruction | 24% |
| Resolving power | 0.77"Calculated from aperture (Dawes limit), not a manufacturer figure. |
| Limiting magnitude | ≈ 12.9Estimated from aperture under dark skies. Real skies are usually worse. |
| Field correction built in | No |
|---|---|
| Usable visually | Yes |
| APS-C sensors | Not fully covered |
| Corrector required | Yes — sold separately |
| Autoguiding | Recommended |
| Mount included | EQ3-2 German equatorial with slow-motion controls |
|---|---|
| Mount type | German equatorial (manual, motor-driveable) |
| Tracking | No |
| GoTo | No |
| Rated payload | 7 kg (15.4 lb) |
| Mounting interface | Vixen-style dovetail |
| OTA weight | 5.6 kg (12.3 lb) |
|---|---|
| Total system weight | 18.5 kg (40.8 lb) |
| Tube length | 700 mm (27.6") |
| Tube diameter | 180 mm |
| Longest transport dimension | 750 mm (29.5") |
| Brand | Sky-Watcher |
|---|---|
| Model | Explorer 150P on EQ3-2 |
| Status | Current |
| Price band | Mid-rangeWe publish bands, not prices. Check the retailer for the current price. |
| Skill level | beginner, intermediate |
Editorial notes
Nothing. This is a complete observing system as supplied.
We list an accessory as included only when the product record says so explicitly. If a mount, eyepiece, camera, flattener, reducer, corrector, guider or adapter is not listed above, assume it is not in the box.
Dobsonian
More light grasp per unit of money than anything else on this site, on the simplest mount ever devised, with no imaging future whatsoever.
Schmidt-Cassegrain
The most portable telescope here that is still a serious instrument, and the easiest complete package to actually get outside on a weeknight.
Imaging NewtonianOTA only
Enormous imaging aperture for the money, sold to people who underestimate what f/4 and 8.5 kg do to a mount.