bosun21

I bought the 8” Stella Lyra Dobsonian and a 127 Maksutov Go to when I rekindled my astronomical journey. The Go to takes a little reading beforehand but it’s a pretty straightforward process to use and find your way around the sky with. The Dobsonian with the simplicity and 8” of aperture gives me a lot of enjoyment star hopping around the sky. If I was only to buy one of them then I’ll go for the 8” Dobsonian. But one mans food, is another mans poison. Good luck 👍

Why the large difference in price when they are the same size and magnification from the same manufacturer?🤔

Hi 👋 and a warm welcome to SGL

What would you recommend as a decent astronomical binocular in the size range of 20x80? Up to about £400. Thanks Steve

I have only had a short time with the 18mm last session before the clouds intervened and I was pleased with what I was seeing. I’ll wait for my 10mm to arrive and then I’ll put them both to use. I’ll let you know how I find them

Just bought one. I bought the 18mm last week

“ A lucky bag “ Now that does bring back memories

As a rule of thumb for myself, I am also inclined to lean towards the more comfort aspects you mentioned. However I don’t mind making the sacrifices when it comes to planetary viewing. I noticed that there’s a 10mm BCO in the buy & sell for £40. I’ll have a look at it or i may just buy a new one for £49

Yes I did notice this in the BST eyepieces. I have bought the full set of the Starguiders( apart from the 3.5mm) and also the Baader Hyperion Zoom. I’ve got enough to be getting on with and have decided to now build my EP collection one high quality addition at a time. In regards to my planetary question, it’s contrast I’m chasing. Not FOV or ER. Are the orthos or TMB’s contenders?

Thanks and I obviously vary the fl of the zoom depending on the seeing conditions. What I’m asking is would a Barlowed high quality flat field EP of say 18mm be better than a mediocre 9mm. So if I bought several higher fl EP’s and a good Barlow etc could i save myself having to buy higher quality short length EP’s?

I know all this about focal length and magnification etc. In theory my Dobsonian would be 2 x 200mm = 400x and my Maksutov 2 x 127 = 254x. What I’m asking is for any decent short focal length eyepieces and whether a Barlow or extender is feasible, or am I better sticking to the EP’s alone and forgetting the Barlow etc

👋 Hi Stephen, welcome to SGL

See edited post

What is a decent eyepiece for magnified views of the planets and moon?. Should I consider a decent Barlow or extender?, or am I best aiming for short focal length EP’s?. I have a 8mm and 5mm Starguiders, Baader Hyperion Zoom 8-24mm. I was also thinking about orthos. That’s the thing I’m finding about astronomy, is that there are so many roads to take, with multiple doors at the end of them. PS:- Looking for directions I have an 8” Dobsonian and a 127 Maksutov

I have actually just bought myself a SVbony UHC and a Lumicon OIII. Then the Astronomik UHC and OIII became available on a back order i made! So I now have two of each all 1.25mm

From what I have read the SVbony and Optolong filters are the same .

Thanks for that and it’s just the end cover I’m looking for as i store the scope indoors

I never thought of that 🤔, and I bet it’s a lot cheaper as well

Wish I had a small 14” Dob 😂

Where can I buy an elasticated dust cover for my 8” Dobsonian? My existing cover is loose and is continually falling off. I tried FLO but it says unavailable for the 8”. Thanks

I have the 15x70 Oregon’s and I love using them. To be honest I found them too heavy for hand held observing. I use them on a little lightweight tripod and it’s great. It’s still a lot less work than setting up one of my scopes

As the owner and user of the 8” Stella Lyra Dobsonian I am extremely pleased with this scope. Taking it outside is easy enough once you split it up into the OTA and base. As for your choice ,I would definitely stick with the Dobsonian ,and as to which one ? I’m going to point you in the direction of the Stella Lyra (slight bias perhaps). Whichever one you choose, enjoy.

I think that i already know the answer to this but I just need the answer to be confirmed. Say for example i am using an 18mm EP in my F6 Dobsonian. That gives me an exit pupil of 3mm. What happens to the exit pupil if i were to introduce a 2x Barlow to the arrangement? Will it be reduced to 1.5mm?. Thanks 🤔

My SVbony 18mm UF arrived yesterday and first impressions are positive. Just need a clear session to put it to the test. Really solid unit

What camera did you use? Thanks