I'm sometimes asked to recommend the best beginner telescopes and my first comment is often "the one you are most likely to use"! It's not that I'm intending to be blunt or to cause further confusion but seriously one of the over-riding factors is going to be whether you are going to be inclined to haul a big heavy telescope around or whether you are really only going to use something very light and portable.
You see all things being equal the diameter of the lens or mirror (depending on what type of telescope you get) tends to govern what you can achieve with the telescope. Bigger is generally better, in that the bigger scopes capture more light and allow greater magnification for seeing those deep-sky objects.
Magnification however is a two edged sword, too much and you will just end up with a fuzzy image so there is a trade-off to be balanced. In very broad terms, take the diameter of your lens or mirror in millimetres and multiply it by 2 to know the upper limit of magnification for the scope.
Refractors tend to produce slightly sharper images than reflectors but good big refractors can be difficult to use properly and very expensive. Reflectors on the other hand are easier to manufacture so are cheaper and often more easily handled by beginners. That said a simple small refractor is easy to grab for a quick casual session on the roof or deck and can be a handy little instrument in the city or suburbs where light pollution can overwhelm larger reflectors anyway.
Buying for kids and living away from the suburbs? The big Dobsonian telescopes are really excellent, so simple to use, giving great views but really best away from the city, (they are pretty cumbersome to transport too).
Catadioptric telescopes are sort of a half refractor and half reflector and are capable of capturing great images, indeed they are often used by astro-photographers but that is a subject a little more advanced than the usual beginner level telescope buyer needs to get too wrapped up in.
Another over-riding factor is the obvious one of budget. There are some really awful scopes out there aimed at beginners but in truth likely to give the poor buyer such a bad experience that it turns them off amateur astronomy for ever after! Avoid those eBay and department store 'bargains' if you want a good experience or want to encourage a young astronomer.
Amazon however has some truly excellent telescopes on offer from a variety of good brands like Celestron, Orion, Sky-Watcher, Meade and others at really great prices. Be aware though that depending where you are in the world you might not be able to purchase from there because of international warranty arrangements.
Read more on purchasing the best beginner telescopes or grab a bargain at Telescopechoice.com.
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