Telescope Comparison
Bresser Messier N-150/750 vs Sky-Watcher Skyliner 150P
Same optics. Different mount philosophy.
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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 · 150mm · £229
The maximum-aperture visual reflector
- 150mm Newtonian on a floor-standing Dobsonian alt-az rocker box
- Good for: full visual programme — planets, Moon, globular clusters, galaxies, nebulae
- No alignment required — set up and observe in under 10 minutes
- No motorised tracking — targets drift at high magnification as Earth rotates
- 13kg total — designed for a fixed garden or regular dark-sky site, not casual transport
The full picture
The numbers that separate these two scopes — and what they mean at the eyepiece.
Aperture
Effectively equal light-gathering. Aperture won't settle this comparison — the mount, focal ratio, and observing experience are what differ.
Focal length
Sky-Watcher Skyliner 150P'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
Bresser Messier N-150/750's faster f/5 delivers wider fields with any eyepiece — better for open clusters and large nebulae. Sky-Watcher Skyliner 150P's f/8 provides more magnification per eyepiece — better for fine planetary detail.
Mount type
Sky-Watcher Skyliner 150P's Dobsonian is immediately intuitive — no alignment, push to aim, observe. Bresser Messier N-150/750's equatorial mount requires polar alignment before each session but tracks the sky as Earth rotates, keeping objects centred.
Weight (OTA)
Bresser Messier N-150/750's optical tube is 1.8kg lighter. Relevant if you plan to use it on multiple mounts or carry the tube to dark-sky sites separately.
Optical design
Bresser Messier N-150/750 is a Newtonian reflector (mirrors, needs occasional collimation); Sky-Watcher Skyliner 150P is a DOBSONIAN. Different optical formulas produce different strengths — reflectors give more aperture per pound; refractors give sharper contrast and require no collimation.
At the eyepiece
Both scopes · same aperture
Both are 150mm Newtonian reflectors — light gathering is identical. What you see through each depends on your eyepieces, your sky, and the steadiness of the atmosphere, not which scope you bought. Saturn's rings separate clearly from the disk; in good seeing, the Cassini Division — the dark gap between the A and B rings — is a genuine target at moderate magnification. Jupiter shows two equatorial cloud bands reliably, four Galilean moons changing position night to night. The Orion Nebula (M42) shows real nebulosity around the Trapezium, which splits into four stars at moderate magnification. The Andromeda Galaxy (M31) fills a wide-field eyepiece, the bright core distinct from the outer halo. What separates these scopes is the mount, the setup experience, and where you can use them — not what you see through them.
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 spend your first few minutes polar-aligning the equatorial mount, and you'll need to learn what that means — but the reward is smooth, single-axis tracking by hand that keeps objects centred more intuitively at high power than nudging a Dob.
- You'll notice the difference the dual-speed Crayford focuser makes the first time you try to nail focus on Saturn's rings — it's a genuinely unusual inclusion at £229 and saves you an early upgrade.
- Your wide-field deep-sky sessions will be noticeably richer: the f/5 focal ratio gives you around 1.6° true field with a 25mm eyepiece, enough to frame the Pleiades whole or sweep Milky Way star clouds — but you'll also see coma smearing stars at the edges of wide-angle eyepieces, which the Skyliner's f/8 avoids.
Sky-Watcher Skyliner 150P
- You'll set the rocker box on the ground, drop the tube in, and be observing in under two minutes — no polar alignment, no counterweights, no tripod legs to level, just point and look.
- You'll find the f/8 focal ratio more forgiving at high magnification: planets snap into focus with less fuss, coma is negligible even with budget eyepieces, and collimation doesn't need to be as precise to deliver sharp views.
- You'll feel the narrow field of view as a real constraint when you want to frame the full sweep of M31 or drift through Cygnus — at 1200mm focal length, your widest true field is about 1°, roughly half what the Bresser delivers.
The dark side
Every scope has a personality. Here’s where each one gets difficult.
Bresser
Bresser Messier N-150/750
The f/5 focal ratio produces noticeable coma at field edges with wide-angle eyepieces — a coma corrector is an additional cost that undermines the budget appeal.
The included EQ mount has no motor drive, so objects drift out of view at higher magnifications; adding a motor or GoTo upgrade to enable astrophotography pushes the real cost well beyond £229.
The mount is adequate for visual use but shows flexure and vibration with camera equipment attached, meaning even basic astrophotography beyond lunar snapshots is compromised without a full mount replacement.
Sky-Watcher
Sky-Watcher Skyliner 150P
There is no tracking whatsoever — at high magnification you'll be nudging the tube to re-centre objects every 30–60 seconds, and there is no upgrade path to motorised tracking on a Dobsonian rocker box.
The tube is approximately 1.2 metres long, making it awkward to store in a small flat and heavy to carry to a dark-sky site compared to shorter or collapsible designs.
The included 25mm and 10mm Plössl eyepieces are basic — serviceable but noticeably soft compared to even modest aftermarket replacements, so budget for at least one better eyepiece early on.
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 want the option to try astrophotography someday, even if it's just short-exposure shots of the Moon and bright planets — the equatorial mount gives you a foundation the Dobsonian simply can't. You're also drawn to wide-field deep-sky sweeping: framing the Pleiades, scanning the Sagittarius star clouds, or fitting all of M31 in one view. You don't mind spending five minutes on setup and polar alignment, and you're willing to learn collimation on a fast Newtonian that punishes sloppiness. If you value the dual-speed focuser and the EQ mount as stepping stones toward more serious astronomy, this is the scope that grows with you — but not if you want to just plonk something down and start looking.
The maximum-aperture visual reflector
Sky-Watcher · Sky-Watcher Skyliner 150P
You want to walk outside, set up in sixty seconds, and spend your evening looking through the eyepiece rather than fiddling with a mount. You're drawn to the Moon and planets first — Saturn's rings, Jupiter's cloud bands, lunar craters in sharp relief — and the f/8 focal ratio rewards exactly that kind of high-power observing without demanding expensive eyepieces to control aberrations. You're happy to learn the sky by manually finding objects, and you don't care about astrophotography. If you live in a flat with limited storage, though, think carefully: the 1.2-metre tube is the biggest single object either of these scopes asks you to house.
Our verdict
These two are closer than most comparisons on this site. The spec differences are genuine — mount type, focal ratio — but neither is the wrong answer for a typical observer starting out.
If I had to choose between them: the Sky-Watcher Skyliner 150P is the scope most people will be using regularly six months from now. The Bresser Messier N-150/750 rewards you more once you know what you're doing — it's worth revisiting after your first year.
Bresser Messier N-150/750
View Bresser Messier N-150/750 →Sky-Watcher Skyliner 150P
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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 Skyliner 150P |
|---|---|---|
Aperture The most important spec — bigger = more light = better views | 150mm | 150mm |
Focal Length Longer = more magnification potential | 750mm | 1200mm |
Focal Ratio Lower f-number = wider field of view; higher = more magnification per eyepiece | f/5 | f/8 |
Optical Design The type of optics — each design has different strengths | Newtonian Reflector | Dobsonian |
Coatings Better coatings = more light transmission through the optics | Parabolic primary mirror, fully coated | Parabolic primary mirror, fully multi-coated |
How do you point it?
| Spec | Bresser Messier N-150/750 | Sky-Watcher Skyliner 150P |
|---|---|---|
Mount Type The mechanical system that holds and moves the telescope | Equatorial | Dobsonian |
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 Skyliner 150P |
|---|---|---|
Focuser Size 2" accepts wider eyepieces and gives better low-power views | 2" | 1.25" |
Focuser Type Rack-and-pinion is standard; Crayford and dual-speed are smoother | Dual-speed Crayford (2" with 1.25" adapter) | Rack and pinion |
Size & weight
| Spec | Bresser Messier N-150/750 | Sky-Watcher Skyliner 150P |
|---|---|---|
OTA Weightⓘ Optical tube only — useful for comparing mount load capacity | 5kg | 6.8kg |
Total Weightⓘ Full setup including mount — this is what you lug to the car | 13.5kg | 13kg |
Tube Length | 670mm | 1150mm |
Tube Material | Steel | Steel |
What's in the box?
| Spec | Bresser Messier N-150/750 | Sky-Watcher Skyliner 150P |
|---|---|---|
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 | 6x30 optical finder |
Diagonal Tilts the eyepiece 90° for comfortable viewing — useful on refractors |
Blue highlight: Bresser Messier N-150/750 advantage · Amber highlight: Sky-Watcher Skyliner 150P advantage · Greyed cells: equal or subjective.