Telescope Comparison
Bresser Messier N-150/750 vs Sky-Watcher Explorer 200P
The specs are close. The experience isn't.
First light
Bresser · 150mm · £229
The sky-learner's equatorial scope
- 150mm newtonian reflector on a manual equatorial mount
- Good for: Moon, planets, bright star clusters and nebulae
- Setup includes rough polar alignment before observing — more steps than a simple alt-az
- Mount axes feel counterintuitive at first; users find they become natural after several sessions
- Keeps the door open for adding tracking motors and moving into astrophotography later
Sky-Watcher · 200mm · £449
The sky-learner's equatorial scope
- 200mm newtonian reflector on a manual equatorial mount
- Good for: Moon, planets, bright star clusters and nebulae
- Setup includes rough polar alignment before observing — more steps than a simple alt-az
- Mount axes feel counterintuitive at first; users find they become natural after several sessions
- Keeps the door open for adding tracking motors and moving into astrophotography later
The full picture
The numbers that separate these two scopes — and what they mean at the eyepiece.
Aperture
Sky-Watcher Explorer 200P gathers 1.8× more light. On bright targets — Moon, Saturn, Jupiter — you won't notice. On fainter targets — dim galaxies, faint globular clusters — the gap is real.
Focal length
Sky-Watcher Explorer 200P's longer focal length reaches higher magnification with the same eyepiece — better reach for planetary detail. Bresser Messier N-150/750's shorter focal length gives a wider true field — better for large open clusters and extended nebulae.
Focal ratio
Same focal ratio — the same eyepiece gives equivalent magnification and true field in both scopes.
Mount type
Same mount type — setup experience and ergonomics will be similar. Differences lie in build quality and included accessories.
Weight (OTA)
Bresser Messier N-150/750's optical tube is 1.2kg lighter. Relevant if you plan to use it on multiple mounts or carry the tube to dark-sky sites separately.
Optical design
Both are Newtonian reflectors — the same optical formula. Any performance difference comes from collimation quality, focal ratio, and eyepiece choice, not the design itself.
At the eyepiece
| Target | Bresser Messier N-150/750 | Sky-Watcher Explorer 200P |
|---|---|---|
| Planets | ||
| Moon | Excellent 150mm resolves craterlets, rilles, and mountain shadows with crisp detail; f/5 handles high magnification well on lunar targets | Excellent 200mm aperture resolves fine craterlets, rilles, and shadow detail; the 1000mm focal length rewards high magnification on lunar features |
| Saturn | Good Rings clearly defined, Cassini Division visible in steady seeing at 150–200x; focal length of 750mm is adequate but not ideal for high-power planetary work | Excellent Cassini Division clearly visible, cloud banding on the disc, and several moons in good seeing |
| Jupiter | Good Two main cloud belts and GRS visible; 150mm shows some detail in the equatorial bands at 150x+ | Excellent Multiple cloud belts, Great Red Spot, and Galilean moon shadow transits visible at 150–200x |
| Mars | Good Disc and polar cap visible at opposition; some dark surface markings detectable in good seeing | Excellent 200mm aperture and 1000mm+ effective focal length (with Barlow) reveal dark surface markings and polar cap at opposition |
Deep sky | ||
| Orion Nebula (M42) | Excellent Bright nebulosity with extensive structure visible; Trapezium resolved; f/5 gives good wide-field context | Excellent 200mm gathers abundant light showing layered nebulosity, the Trapezium cleanly split, and wisps extending well beyond the core |
| Andromeda Galaxy (M31) | Excellent 750mm focal length and 150mm aperture show the core, dust lane, and outer halo in a wide-field eyepiece | Good 1000mm focal length captures the bright core and inner disc but crops the full 3° extent of the outer halo; dust lanes visible with averted vision |
| Open clusters | Excellent Wide field at low power frames clusters like the Double Cluster and Pleiades beautifully | Good 1000mm focal length narrows the field somewhat — compact clusters like M11 look superb, but large ones like the Double Cluster need a low-power wide-field eyepiece |
| Globular clusters | Good 150mm begins to resolve stars at the edges of M13 and M22; cores remain granular but not fully resolved | Excellent 200mm resolves individual stars across much of M13 and M5; smaller globulars show granular texture rather than featureless fuzz |
| Faint galaxies | Good 150mm pulls in galaxies across Virgo and Leo as defined smudges; brighter examples like M81/M82 show shape and contrast | Good Enough aperture to detect galaxies in the Virgo Cluster and show spiral hints in M51 under dark skies, though many remain subtle |
| Milky Way / wide field | Good 750mm focal length is slightly long for sweeping panoramas but still delivers rich star fields at low power | Not recommended 1000mm focal length is too narrow for sweeping Milky Way star fields — a short-tube refractor or binoculars are better suited |
Other | ||
| Double stars | Excellent 150mm aperture resolves sub-arcsecond pairs; f/5 is forgiving enough with quality eyepieces, though less clean than f/10+ refractors | Excellent 200mm aperture resolves sub-arcsecond pairs; the f/5 ratio is not ideal for tight doubles but delivers clean splits with good collimation and a Barlow |
| Astrophotography (planetary) | Good 150mm at 750mm focal length works well with a planetary camera and Barlow; no tracking needed for short video captures | Not applicable |
| Astrophotography (deep sky) | Not recommended The included EQ mount has no motor drive or tracking — long exposures are not possible without upgrading to at least a single-axis motor | Not applicable |
The real tradeoff
Both scopes are capable. The question is which one fits the way you actually observe.
Bresser Messier N-150/750
- You'll set up faster and pack up lighter — the 150mm tube and smaller EQ mount are noticeably less cumbersome than the Explorer 200P, so you're more likely to actually haul it outside on a weeknight rather than waiting for the perfect weekend session.
- You'll be impressed by the dual-speed Crayford focuser, which is genuinely unusual at £229 and makes dialling in sharp focus far less frustrating than the single-speed rack-and-pinion on the 200P — you'll notice the difference most on planets and tight double stars where the last fraction of a turn matters.
- You'll see M31's dust lane and resolve the edges of M13, but you'll hit a ceiling on fainter targets where the 150mm aperture simply runs out of light — galaxies in Virgo will be smudges you detect rather than shapes you study, and that gap will nag at you once you know what the next 50mm of aperture can do.
Sky-Watcher Explorer 200P
- You'll spend 10–15 minutes assembling 20kg of mount and tube before you see anything, and you'll need a plan for where to store it — but the reward is that M13 starts resolving into actual stars across its face, and M51 shows spiral structure instead of a featureless glow.
- You'll feel the EQ5 mount straining under the 200mm tube when you try to attach a camera and guide scope — it works for visual, but astrophotography will teach you quickly that this mount is at its payload ceiling and you'll be fighting balance and flexure.
- You'll get noticeably sharper, more detailed planetary views than the Bresser — Jupiter's Great Red Spot and shadow transits become accessible targets, and Mars at opposition shows genuine dark surface markings rather than just a disc with a polar cap.
The dark side
Every scope has a personality. Here’s where each one gets difficult.
Bresser
Bresser Messier N-150/750
The included EQ mount has no motor drive, so at 150x and above objects drift out of view in seconds — long-exposure photography is completely off the table without buying a separate motor, and even then the mount's flexure limits what you can achieve.
The f/5 focal ratio produces noticeable coma at the edges of wide-angle eyepieces, and because the fast ratio is less forgiving of misalignment, you'll need to collimate regularly or the image quality falls apart faster than it would on a slower scope.
Despite being smaller than the 200P, the tube and EQ mount still require a few minutes of assembly and polar alignment each session — this is not a grab-and-go setup.
Sky-Watcher
Sky-Watcher Explorer 200P
The scope will almost certainly arrive needing collimation after shipping, and the f/5 focal ratio means even small misalignment is punishing — you'll need a collimation tool and the willingness to check it before every session.
No tracking motor is included, so at 200x objects drift out of the field within seconds; long-exposure imaging is impossible without buying the optional RA drive, and even then the EQ5 mount is at its payload limit with just the tube — adding camera gear pushes it beyond comfortable capacity.
The assembled setup weighs roughly 20kg and the tube is over 900mm long, making transport a deliberate logistical decision rather than something you do on a whim.
Which is right for you?
Two different buyers. Two different right answers.
The sky-learner's equatorial scope
Bresser · Bresser Messier N-150/750
You're a beginner who wants a serious deep-sky visual scope without spending more than £250, and you value getting more sessions in over getting the absolute most from each one. You'll love the dual-speed focuser and the fact that the lighter setup lowers the friction of getting outside on a clear night. You're open to upgrading later, but right now you want to learn the sky and see real nebulae, clusters, and galaxies — not just the Moon and planets. This isn't for you if you're already dreaming of long-exposure astrophotography or if you know you'll be frustrated by faint galaxies that remain shapeless smudges rather than resolved structures.
The sky-learner's equatorial scope
Sky-Watcher · Sky-Watcher Explorer 200P
You're an intermediate observer — or a committed beginner — who's ready to invest in a scope you won't outgrow in a year, and you don't mind spending 15 minutes on setup to get genuinely deeper views. You want to resolve globular clusters into stars, detect spiral arms in galaxies, and see real planetary detail on Jupiter and Saturn. You're willing to learn collimation, deal with a bulky kit, and accept that astrophotography will require further investment in motors and possibly a better mount. This isn't for you if you live in a flat with no storage, if you want to observe from a balcony, or if the idea of wrestling a 20kg setup in the dark sounds like a reason to stay indoors.
Our verdict
The Bresser Messier N-150/750 is designed to get a new observer to the eyepiece quickly with minimal friction. The Sky-Watcher Explorer 200P assumes you already know what you want from the sky, or are genuinely willing to put in the learning time.
If this is your first telescope, buy the Bresser Messier N-150/750. You'll spend a year learning what you actually want, and those lessons are cheaper at £229. The Sky-Watcher Explorer 200P is the scope to buy when you've outgrown your first one and know exactly why you want it. If I had to choose for a first-time buyer: the Bresser Messier N-150/750.
Bresser Messier N-150/750
View Bresser Messier N-150/750 →Sky-Watcher Explorer 200P
View Sky-Watcher Explorer 200P →Deep field: Full specifications
Every data point, for those who want to go further.
Full specifications
Fields highlighted in blue or amber indicate the better value for that spec. Data is manufacturer-stated and may vary.
How much can it see?
| Spec | Bresser Messier N-150/750 | Sky-Watcher Explorer 200P |
|---|---|---|
Apertureⓘ The most important spec — bigger = more light = better views | 150mm | 200mm |
Focal Length Longer = more magnification potential | 750mm | 1000mm |
Focal Ratio Lower f-number = wider field of view; higher = more magnification per eyepiece | f/5 | f/5 |
Optical Design The type of optics — each design has different strengths | Newtonian Reflector | Newtonian Reflector |
Coatings Better coatings = more light transmission through the optics | Parabolic primary mirror, fully coated | Parabolic primary mirror with multi-coated optics |
How do you point it?
| Spec | Bresser Messier N-150/750 | Sky-Watcher Explorer 200P |
|---|---|---|
Mount Type The mechanical system that holds and moves the telescope | Equatorial | Equatorial |
GoTo Computer-controlled pointing — finds any of thousands of objects automatically | ||
Tracking Motor keeps objects centred as the Earth rotates — essential for astrophotography |
The focuser
| Spec | Bresser Messier N-150/750 | Sky-Watcher Explorer 200P |
|---|---|---|
Focuser Size 2" accepts wider eyepieces and gives better low-power views | 2" | 2" |
Focuser Type Rack-and-pinion is standard; Crayford and dual-speed are smoother | Dual-speed Crayford (2" with 1.25" adapter) | Dual-speed Crayford |
Size & weight
| Spec | Bresser Messier N-150/750 | Sky-Watcher Explorer 200P |
|---|---|---|
OTA Weightⓘ Optical tube only — useful for comparing mount load capacity | 5kg | 6.2kg |
Total Weightⓘ Full setup including mount — this is what you lug to the car | 13.5kg | 17.5kg |
Tube Length | 670mm | 850mm |
Tube Material | Steel | Steel |
What's in the box?
| Spec | Bresser Messier N-150/750 | Sky-Watcher Explorer 200P |
|---|---|---|
Eyepieces Included eyepieces — more is better, but quality matters more than quantity | 25mm and 10mm eyepieces | 25mm and 10mm Super eyepieces |
Finder Scope Helps you locate areas of the sky before switching to the main eyepiece | 8x50 optical finder | 8x50 right-angle finder |
Diagonal Tilts the eyepiece 90° for comfortable viewing — useful on refractors |
Blue highlight: Bresser Messier N-150/750 advantage · Amber highlight: Sky-Watcher Explorer 200P advantage · Greyed cells: equal or subjective.