Telescope Comparison
Bresser Messier N-150/750 vs Sky-Watcher Skyliner 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 · £414
The maximum-aperture visual reflector
- 200mm 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
- 17.5kg 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
Sky-Watcher Skyliner 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 Skyliner 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
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 200P's f/6 provides more magnification per eyepiece — better for fine planetary detail.
Mount type
Sky-Watcher Skyliner 200P'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 6.2kg 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 200P 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
| Target | Bresser Messier N-150/750 | Sky-Watcher Skyliner 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 resolves extraordinary lunar detail — crater terracing, rilles, and the Straight Wall are all within reach at 200×+ |
| 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 1200mm focal length and 200mm aperture show the Cassini Division, cloud banding on the disc, and multiple 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 bands, the Great Red Spot, and Galilean moon shadow transits are all accessible at 150–250× |
| Mars | Good Disc and polar cap visible at opposition; some dark surface markings detectable in good seeing | Good Polar cap and dark albedo markings visible at opposition; the 1200mm focal length benefits from a Barlow for extra image scale |
Deep sky | ||
| Orion Nebula (M42) | Excellent Bright nebulosity with extensive structure visible; Trapezium resolved; f/5 gives good wide-field context | Excellent Bright nebulosity with layered structure, the Trapezium cleanly split; some colour perception possible under dark skies |
| Andromeda Galaxy (M31) | Excellent 750mm focal length and 150mm aperture show the core, dust lane, and outer halo in a wide-field eyepiece | Moderate 1200mm focal length shows the bright core and inner dust lanes well, but the full 3° extent of the galaxy overfills the field even with a wide 2-inch eyepiece |
| Open clusters | Excellent Wide field at low power frames clusters like the Double Cluster and Pleiades beautifully | Moderate Smaller clusters like the Double Cluster and M35 look good, but large objects like the Pleiades overfill the field at 1200mm focal length |
| 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 M13, M92, and M3 — a major step up from smaller apertures |
| Faint galaxies | Good 150mm pulls in galaxies across Virgo and Leo as defined smudges; brighter examples like M81/M82 show shape and contrast | Good 200mm reveals dozens of galaxies in Virgo and Leo as distinct glows; spiral structure visible in the brightest examples under dark skies |
| 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 1200mm focal length gives too narrow a field for sweeping Milky Way star fields — a short-focal-length instrument is 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 doubles below 1 arcsecond; f/6 is shorter than ideal for splitting but performs well with quality eyepieces |
| Astrophotography (planetary) | Good 150mm at 750mm focal length works well with a planetary camera and Barlow; no tracking needed for short video captures | Challenging Aperture and focal length are sufficient for lucky imaging with a high-speed camera, but manual tracking makes keeping the planet centred very difficult |
| 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 recommended Manual Dobsonian mount has no tracking — exposures beyond a fraction of a second show star trails |
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 a few minutes each session assembling the tube on its equatorial mount and polar-aligning, but once you're set up, you can track objects by turning a single slow-motion knob — a real comfort at 150x on Saturn that the Dobsonian can't match.
- You're getting a genuinely excellent dual-speed Crayford focuser at a price point where most competitors ship a basic rack-and-pinion — nailing focus on a tight double star or a planetary disc feels noticeably more precise than with the Skyliner's stock focuser.
- You're giving up 50mm of aperture to stay under £230, and you'll feel that loss most on deep-sky nights: M13 stays granular rather than fully resolved, and M51's spiral arms remain elusive where the 200P starts to reveal them.
Sky-Watcher Skyliner 200P
- You'll pull the rocker box out of the car, drop the tube on top, and be observing in under five minutes — no polar alignment, no counterweights, no fiddling with latitude bolts — and that simplicity means you'll actually use this scope on a work night.
- You're buying the aperture jump that matters most in visual astronomy: that extra 50mm over the Bresser turns M13 from a granular blob into a resolved swarm of stars and gives you a genuine shot at seeing spiral structure in M51 under dark skies.
- You'll nudge the tube by hand to keep Jupiter centred at 200x, and that gets old faster than you expect — the Bresser's equatorial slow-motion controls feel like a luxury by comparison when you're chasing fine planetary detail.
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 is the least forgiving common Newtonian speed for collimation errors — if you don't check and adjust it regularly, you'll see degraded star images and lost contrast, especially at higher magnifications on planets.
The included equatorial mount ships without motor drive, so objects drift out of view at high power and any astrophotography beyond a snapshot requires purchasing a motor upgrade — and even then, mount flexure limits what you can achieve with a camera attached.
Coma at the field edges is pronounced at f/5 with wide-angle eyepieces, so if you invest in a nice 82° eyepiece you'll want a coma corrector to go with it, adding to the real cost of ownership.
Sky-Watcher
Sky-Watcher Skyliner 200P
The tube is nearly 1.2 metres long and the total package approaches 24kg — you need a car boot that can swallow it and a storage spot that can accommodate it, making this a serious commitment of household space.
There is no tracking whatsoever: at 200x on Jupiter you'll be nudging the tube every 20–30 seconds, and there's no upgrade path to motorised tracking without replacing the entire mount.
The open tube exposes the secondary mirror to dew and stray light; you'll likely end up buying or making a light shroud, and on humid nights you may find the secondary fogging before you've finished your observing list.
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'll love this if you're a beginner who wants one package under £250 that includes an equatorial mount — you're curious about pointing a camera at the Moon or a bright planet, you like the idea of slow-motion tracking controls, and you're happy to learn collimation and accept that your deep-sky views will be good rather than great. This isn't for you if you want the best possible visual views for the money, or if spending ten minutes on polar alignment before every session sounds like a chore rather than a learning experience.
The maximum-aperture visual reflector
Sky-Watcher · Sky-Watcher Skyliner 200P
You'll love this if your priority is seeing the most through the eyepiece for under £350 — you want to resolve globular clusters into stars, chase galaxy detail in Virgo, and you don't mind nudging the scope by hand to keep objects centred. This isn't for you if you live in a flat with no lift, if you need a scope that fits in a rucksack, or if the idea of manually tracking objects at high power sounds frustrating rather than meditative — the Skyliner rewards patient, visual-first observers and punishes anyone hoping to bolt on a camera.
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 Skyliner 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 Skyliner 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 Skyliner 200P
View Sky-Watcher Skyliner 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 Skyliner 200P |
|---|---|---|
Apertureⓘ The most important spec — bigger = more light = better views | 150mm | 200mm |
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/6 |
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 200P |
|---|---|---|
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 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 (10:1 reduction) |
Size & weight
| Spec | Bresser Messier N-150/750 | Sky-Watcher Skyliner 200P |
|---|---|---|
OTA Weightⓘ Optical tube only — useful for comparing mount load capacity | 5kg | 11.2kg |
Total Weightⓘ Full setup including mount — this is what you lug to the car | 13.5kg | 17.5kg |
Tube Length | 670mm | 1200mm |
Tube Material | Steel | Steel |
What's in the box?
| Spec | Bresser Messier N-150/750 | Sky-Watcher Skyliner 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 correct-image 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 200P advantage · Greyed cells: equal or subjective.