8 inch Dobsonian Questions

[profnudgy]

I'm in the market for my first telescope and with the help of reddit and my own research, I've decided to purchase an 8 inch Dobsonian.

I'm very confused about the "right" brand to buy.  At the end of the day, I'd like to prioritize quality first and foremost.  If I have to pay a few more dollars, so be it.

A lot of folks on reddit recommended the Zhumell because of everything that you get for the price.  I'm skeptical, though, because I'm worried that I might be sacrificing the quality of the main instrument for additional accessories.  I'd rather buy the highest quality main scope and then purchase accessories down the road (or get them as birthday / Christmas presents).

Any thoughts?  Should I just get an Orion and be done with it (assuming that Orion is the gold standard of quality) or does it really not matter?

Thanks so much.

[RikM]

An 8" Dob is a great telescope and you are right to prioritise mechanical/optical quality over bundled accessories. Both Zhumel and Orion USA are respectable middle of the road brands. I am sure you would be happy with either of those. The premium 'Orion' brand people talk about is Orion Optics UK rather than Orion USA. OOUK are optically significantly better than either of the brands you mention but mechanically rather 'average' though lighter and easier to handle.

[John]

Hello and welcome to the forum !

Orion (USA) dobs are made (mainly) by Synta, the same company that make Skywatcher scopes. Zhumell are made by GSO, the same company that makes Meade Lightbridges.

Both are good mass produced Chinese scopes that perform well for what they cost and both are very popular on USA based forums such as "Cloudynights".

Over here in Europe the GSO dobs are marketed as Telescope Services (Germany) and Revelation (UK) and the Orion (USA) scopes are sold alongside their Skywatcher equvalents. All are popular with their owners.

[laudropb]

I have the Skywatchers 8 inch Dob and it is a great scope for the money. I did have to change the supplied finder scope to make viewing more comfortable and like most I have purchased several better quality eye pieces, but the optics of the scope have never let me down.

[profnudgy]

Thanks for your help, folks!!!

Have a great weekend.