Ray Mondo

On 11/01/2021 at 10:15, DanWri said:

Some fantastic modifications there. Excellent job! Really wish I had the DIY-mind to replicate it.

Thanks, good idea

On 11/01/2021 at 11:39, Barry-W-Fenner said:

 

You look well covered there @Ian McCallum great EP collection!

I must stress that it was a combination of factors that made me sell the BST range and purchase a few of the Morpheus range. It is true that to my eye the longer focal length BST eye pieces seemed to create a large amount of elongated star shapes in the 300p (Coma?) However after a decent collimation of the 300p the 5-8 & 12 seemed to perform very well in this scope. The other factor was after purchasing the 14mm Morpheus and using it in the 300p I was extremely impressed with the optical performance, wide field of view and excellent eye relief.

Back on topic 🙂 BST Eye pieces are extremely great value for money.  I found them to have a much sharper image than the supplied stock eye pieces, They also offer a decent 60 degree fov and comfortable eye relief. I was particular fan of the 8mm for x150 & 15mm x 80 viewing. they both gave very nice medium and low power views. 
 

@Ray Mondo

The 200p was also my 1st scope, I do still have it now. It is a very impressive scope. Looking at Jupiter through it for the 1st time genuinely made me step back from the eye piece in shock at what I was actually seeing.  It has given me great views of Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn and Uranus along with a number of deep sky objects all with the BST EP range.  A truly wonderful combination.

Regards

 

Barry

Thanks Barry

2 hours ago, Whistlin Bob said:

It's pros and cons- a good prime eyepiece will beat a good zoom, but a zoom wins hands down for convenience. My most used eyepieces are the Baader zoom, OVL Aero 30mm and Celestron 7mm. I use the zoom most of the time, it's great for zooming out, finding your target and then finding the right magnification. I use the 30mm for large targets (eg the veil, m31, the Pleiades) and the 7mm for close in work (the moon, planets and planetary nebulae). The improvement from the zoom at 8mm to the prime at 7mm is marginal, but it is there. The zoom will magnify by 150x which gives you a lot of detail. The scope will go much deeper on a night of good conditions but most nights you don't want to go too much deeper than 200x. Things get better, but the quality doesn't improve.

thanks 👍

Are the optics in the zoom as good as buying separate pieces? 
How close will the zoom get the view of the moon?

1 hour ago, Whistlin Bob said:

That's very similar to my setup and I'm very happy with it.  If you order the 200p, you can keep an eye on the 2nd hand market and if one comes up in the meantime you can cancel and save yourself both a wait and some money. Most  astronomers seem to take good care of their gear and a Dob is a very simple piece of equipment: there really isn't much to go wrong if the mirrors are ok.

I also use the Baader zoom and find it excellent, although as @Pixies points out the Hyperflex is a fair bit cheaper and seems to be very well thought of (I haven't any experience of it myself).

The other point I'd make is that I have the matching Barlow for the Baader zoom, but almost never use it. I bought it at the time because it seemed logical and I was seduced by the idea of greater magnification- but in fact I find that the extra power on a 1200mm scope rarely improves the view- I have a 7mm Celestron with a larger FOV than the Baader and this seems about the optimum high power for the Skywatcher. I know you're on a budget, but the other items to consider that have really helped me are:

- A RACI finder. It prevents you needing to do Yoga to find an object when searching near the zenith.

- A Rigel, Telrad or cheap RDF finder. I use this to place the scope approximately. Whether you need either or both of these will depend a lot upon your skies. The better your skies, the easier a task it is to find stuff. I live in suburbia and it isn't easy!!

- Something adjustable to sit on- like an ironing chair or a drummers stool. Being comfortable whilst observing really adds to the pleasure of a session. I do quite a lot of imaging- which is nowhere near as relaxing- and I have a stressful job. Gazing into deep space is almost therapy for me- being uncomfortable spoils the experience!

Good luck with whichever path you take.

Thanks for your help 👍

2 hours ago, Pixies said:

Be aware that the zoom's FOV decreases as you zoom 'out'. It means that it's not great when acting as a wide-angled finder view.

Another option is to get the equally well-reviewed OVL Hyperflex zoom (7.2-21.5) and an additional 30mm (or thereabouts) eyepiece. At a min focal length of 7.2mm, you won't need to immediately get a barlow.

I have the Baader zoom and matching barlow, but managed to get them secondhand. You often see them for sale, so perhaps you don't need to order at the same time. If the scope if going to be many weeks' wait, perhaps keep the cash and watch the usual places for suitable secondhand bargains?

Also, you'll find that many new dob owners swap the straight finder for a Telrad/RACI combo. But there's no rush for that.

Thanks for your advice 👍

13 hours ago, Whistlin Bob said:

I feel for you a bit here- you're caught on the horns of a dilemma and no amount of good advice is going to make your mind up for you. The reason for that is that both scopes are more than capable of covering your stated needs and more besides, so no-one is going to be able to point out a killer reason for you to jump one way or the other. 

I got into astronomy 5 years ago with a 200p. I love it and I still use it a lot (5 minutes ago in fact- I'm just thawing out a bit before going back out!) despite the fact I now have a 14" too.  I've also used several ten inch dobs and they're a little bit better but not much. In your shoes I would probably go for the extra aperture, mainly because otherwise I'd always be wondering, but if you do go for the 8 inch you'll still have a great scope.

Thanks for the reply. 
 

I do feel a bit lost but it’s the budget and portability/storage I’m thinking twice about. 
 

If I go with the 250 I’ve blown my budget for now and I wanted a quality eyepiece and a Cheshire. 
 

Im thinking of this combo (see pic), any thoughts?

Thanks

Will a Barlow help the 8” or does a better quality eyepiece with a lower number do a better job?

Thanks for everyone’s help, it’s very appreciated. 
 

Ive heard that the 10” may struggle in the UK with atmospheric conditions and the 8” may be better. 
 

it’s a tuff one really. 
 

4 hours ago, 200pman said:

There all good.just depends on you really.

How much you are prepared to carry around .i have had a 200p for several years now.and ive been very pleased with it.

The other thing is the 200p will  easily fit in my little fiesta.

I have purchased a full set of BST eyepieces which are a big improvement over the std eyepieces.

I have enjoyed the 200p .yes there are better scopes out there.

But value for money its a great scope.

And i have no ambition to buy any other scope now or in the future.

Regards.

2 hours ago, Spile said:

There is a very good offer that has just been posted on here by FLO for a returned 200P.

That is what I have and very happy with the quality, size and performance.

I added a Baader Hyperion IV Zoom / Barlow which gives me the ability to easily move from 50X and 338X magnification and all points in between.

Thanks for your replies, 

I wish I could compare the 200 and 250 side by side with the exact same eyepieces. 
 

if the 200 performed with a negligible difference I would get the 200 as it’s quite a bit smaller.

I’ve tried searching for images taken of the moon with both but they’re all stacked images. 
 

Thanks for the heads up on the FLO return. 
 

Regards

39 minutes ago, Waddensky said:

Con 10": the 10" is larger and heavier than the 8", and also a lot faster (lower focal ratio), so you might need more expensive eyepieces to get acceptable views.

Pro 10": increased light grasp (although that is more important for deep-sky observation) and better resolution (more details on planets and Moon). Keep in mind that the latter also depends on the stability of the atmosphere and that might be the limiting factor on most nights.

The eyepieces that come with these scopes are acceptable enough to get started without the need to invest in other equipment. A quick snapshot of the Moon is possible, but in general a dobson is not very well suited for photography.

Thanks for your help

46 minutes ago, wulfrun said:

As long as you're ok with the extra bulk and weight of the 250, you probably won't regret waiting a bit for extra glass. Aperture is rarely a disadvantage as long as the weight & bulk aren't. For your budget, you could just about squeeze a decent short-focal length eyepiece or a zoom, like the OVL Hyperflex 7.2-21.5mm and still get the 250. The supplied 25mm eyepiece is OK-ish but the 10mm isn't very good, so either of the options I just mentioned would get you set for a while. Something to think about.

Thanks for your help

Hi,

Can anyone help please?

I have a budget of £500 ish. 
 

I want to look as close as I can at the moon and other planets and take photos of the moon also.

I would also like to see some DSOs as well.

I’ve been looking at the 200p and the 250px Dobs but if I went with the 250 I wouldn’t be able to afford more eye pieces for now so I was thinking of the 200p which would allow to get better glass and a Barlow. 
 

which would be the best route?

would I be best getting the 250 until I can afford the extra glass etc?

Thanks