First scope dilemma: which 8'' dob?

[wasteland]

Hello, I'm Marco and as you might guess, this is my first post here!

After a 20-year long passion for Astronomy (which is to say 5/6 of my life) I've finally decided to take the big dive and buy my first scope. After a month worth of reading and analyzing the various possibilities, I've opted for an 8'' Dobsonian, which is almost everywhere lauded as a great starting point for the more passionate beginners. 

That being said, I've found two interesting deals and can't quite decide which one to choose:

Orion xt8 plus  (~560€)

• Allegedly improve base system
• 2'' dual speed crayford focuser
• 25 mm and 10mm eyepieces
• 2x barlow
• Solar filter
• Thmbscrews for regulation of the secondary mirror

Orion xt8i (670€)

• Intelliscope
• No dual speed focuser 
• No solar filter
• Same eyepieces
• Regular screws for the secondary mirror

The PLUS clearly comes with a much better selection of accessories and the structural upgrades are supposed to make it more user friendly, which is a good added value due to my inexperience. On the other hand the intelliscope that comes with the xt8i could very well be a major factor in getting the best experience from this telescope since it's likely that I will be observing moderately light polluted skies most of the times.

Which do you think I'd better go for? 

Thanks a lot in advance!

[nmoushon]

For first scopes I always suggest going with goto (if your budget can allow it of course). My reason being is that it will help you get to see a LOT of objects without having to spend the time searching for them....sometimes this could be refrased as not having to go through the frustration of searching for them. This tends to get people more hooked into the hobby as they dont have to go through the sometimes frustration of finding objects, especially if you have moderate to heavy LP. Plus there always the option of not using the goto and search for object manually. Plus goto is great when you are trying to show others different objects. Its a pain trying to nudge a scope and keep the object in the EP when trying to get 5 different people up to the EP.

The accessories are tempting though. The only big plus out of them are the solar filter and the upgraded focuser. But I dont think they would be enough for me to not have goto. I couldnt find any info on the solar filter when I did a quick search. So I have no idea what the brand is or the quality of it. Thats a big problem for me as solar viewing has the potenial to be very dangerous. The focuser is an upgrade but its not an expensive upgrade to do. You can find second hand ones for very very cheap.

Oh and welcome to the forum!

[John]

The Inteliscope "push-to" system has a good reputation. It's probably worth the modest additional cost for a newcomer to the hobby and it's benefits overshadow the things that they leave out in the "i" version.

It does not drive the scope though, like a full GOTO system does. You have to provide the motive force to move the scope to the desired object and then track it while observing.

[wasteland]

The xt8i doesn't have a proper GOTO, it's more like a cheaper and less automated compromise. I'd still have to nudge the scope, but the software will at least tell me how close I am to the object i'm looking for in terms of altazimuthal angles. I kind of like the idea, to be sincere. It preserves somewhat the thrill of the chase and substantially reduces the overal cost of the scope by a factor of 2.

Here's the link to the xt8 PLUS page, maybe there's something I've failed to notice http://eu.telescope.com/Orion-SkyQuest-XT8-PLUS-Dobsonian-Reflector-Telescope/p/107014.uts?keyword=orion%20xt8#

And here's the link to the INTELLISCOPE version http://eu.telescope.com/catalog/search.cmd?form_state=searchForm&siteCode=EU&keyword=orion+xt8i

[ghostdance]

I thought the Plus came with some kind of upgraded mirror too? May have that wrong tho -it's awhile since I was looking at one online...

Intelliscope is very good (I've never used Goto, but for some reason I just prefer to push-to, seems like I'm more involved, lol) and is good in LP skies (London!). On the Plus, I like the idea of the dual speed focuser, but the rest of the package (Barlow, solar, thumbscrews etc)...not too bothered. Not sure what the base improvements were (as I said, it's been awhile) apart from that contrasting strip round the bottom...

But... is there is an upgraded mirror? And would the difference to the standard be noticeable? Dunno, simply.

If finding very faint fuzzies is as difficult for you in your skies as me in mine, I'd go Intelliscope...but that Crayford does sound nice!    But as nmoushon said - easily upgraded to. At a cost of course...how the lire doing?

Edit - thx for the links. The Plus blurb talks about 'enhanced mirror coatings' but it's not clear whether these are different to the i version....Plus is a nice colour tho!

Editedit! Seems to be the same mirror glass and coatings in the specs...so no upgraded optics.

[wasteland]

The above post is addressed to nmoushon, by the way (I don't seem to find an edit option for my previous posts!). 

@John: yeah, I was sort of leaning towards the intelliscope option myself, as the remaining accessories can still be bought over time, while upgrading the whole telescope is a much less cheap business.

[John]

I believe the optics in both scopes are the same. The specs say "diffraction limited" in both cases which is what you would expect from the Orion, Skywatcher or GSO dobsonians.

[xtreemchaos]

hi mate both the scopes are great but i would go for the second one you can allways add the 2'' dual speed crayford focuser later and  the bobs knobs . now goto is handy but i like the hunt my setup only has tracking motors i did have goto but found i hardy ever used it but the IntelliScope database, would i sure be usefull. so i would go for the xt8i.all the best charl. clear skys for all

[ghostdance]

The above post is addressed to nmoushon, by the way (I don't seem to find an edit option for my previous posts!). 

You need a post count of 250 ( I think) to edit. So, it will come! But no 'post-farming'...

[Rusty-Gunn]

I will say the Crayford duel focus is indeed a bonus. Fine focus knob works very well. The Crayford was the item I felt was a bonus when I bought my 8".

[Night Hawk]

Hi Marco, I'm a newbie who has been only gazing for a month or so. My scope is a 200p dob. Like you I did loads of research as you have, ended up with the 200p. For me personally I enjoy finding what I'm looking for manually, using stellaium & start chart apps. I also have a telrad and telrad star charts which are great.

It just depends on what you want to view and how quickly you want get there. What do you want to do? Punch in some no's and let goto point you there or to take the trouble learning about your scope, how to keep your planet/messier in view and focus, and learning about what you are looking at how you got there?

I would also recommend Turn Left at Orion which was suggested to me by many SGL members when they've helped me with query's. It's a great read.

All the best and don't be shy in asking any questions however daft you may think it is as this forum is full of great experienced members who are always happy to help.

[trogre]

I second Turn Left at Orion ,plus a red torch to use it outside.

[damnut]

Both are great scopes and will give years of service. I would agree above that the 'nudge to' will get you up and running quicker. In addition to the two books suggested also download a planetarium program. Plenty out there but try stellarium its great and free, to be found here :-- http://www.stellarium.org/

[Pig]

Marco,

My first two scopes were "GoTo" and I found it a very useful tool indeed, especially in the winter months as the cold can be quite an obstacle when observing, the time it actually takes to find targets with "non GoTo" can also be quite frustrating and may put some people off observing altogether. However, as time passed I actually stated to enjoy the challenge of finding objects myself and now my set up is totally manual. I have no problems finding targets, especially so with the aid of a free software program called Stellarium.

As for the two scopes you have mentioned I am unable to advise on which one is the best option as I have no experience of them

[hal2000]

I have an Orion xt10i, and the push to function can be useful for finding more obscure objects. But I rarely use it, as it is usually just as quick to use the red dot finder and right angle finder.

The Orion dobs are very good, but other brands are just as good. The Revelation 8" dob from Telescope house with the addition of a Telrad finder, would be a good choice, although I'm not sure how much it would cost to get it to Sardinia.