cajen2

Patience, Grasshopper....

Just a tiny wee telescope on its way......😉

Apart from image quality, I need two other things: a wide FOV (I can't stand that 'looking through a straw' feeling, plus I don't want to be nudging my dob every five seconds) and good eye relief (I view by hovering over the EP). So: Any of my three Morpheus for medium - high mags, My StellaLyra 2"20mm 80° for low - medium mags. I'd be seriously upset at losing any of these.

Good buy, Ian. You must tell us how you get on with it.

My Pentax XW 5mil is 395g. No problem at all.

An 8" actually has 77% more light-gathering capacity than a 6". My 8" StellaLyra is an F/6, so it has a good focal length for both wide-field and higher mags. Please also note that the SL has a two-speed focuser, not single-speed like most of the competition, not to mention a very good RACI and lots of other advantages. If you think you can manage it, sure, go for the 10" but I think you'd see a marked improvement with the 8" too, especially on DSOs.

I have three of the Morpheus range (6.5, 9 and 12.5) and two XWs (5 and 14). In my 8" dob, the views are almost identical, but I somehow feel they have different 'characters', with the Pentaxes feeling clear, efficient but cold and the Baaders warm and involving. This seems to me to be scientific nonsense but I'm always happier with a Morph on the scope. It smacks of the endless vinyl v. CD debate.

I don't know about 'calculate' but it would be quite happy with that. Even better if you've done the PTFE tape mod. Mine doesn't complain with some fairly weighty EPs on it (Pentax XWs, for example).

To answer your question about a bag to protect the OTA: https://www.firstlightoptics.com/telescope-bags-cases-storage/oklop-padded-bag-for-200mm-1200mm-newtonians.html I have one and it's sturdy and well made.

Oh, and about the bag, my Oklop is for the right size scope (8") but doesn't quite fit unless I take off the alt bearings, which is a pain. It may be worth getting the bag for the next size up to obviate this.

I went through precisely the same decision 11 months ago and opted for the StellaLyra (8"). I'm so glad I did. Apparently, there's not much to choose between that and the SW optically, but I've looked through a couple of SWs at star parties and the difference in design and build quality is huge. The SL has butter-smooth bearings in both alt and az (a lazy-Susan), a nice RACI finder to save my poor back, adjustable alt bearings to get balance and even a cooling fan. All told, for not much extra cash, I'm delighted with my SL.

Can't do any harm and, who knows, it might just work. As a planetary filter, I've found darkening and colour change to be negligible on Jupiter and Saturn. There is just a subtle improvement in detail.I look forward to using it on Mars, where it's supposed to be excellent.

In your place, I'd try the cheapest option first - a filter for your frac. I recently read (it may well have been on here) a review of the three Baader filters which purport to combat CA. The Contrast Booster won over the Semi-Apo and Fringe Killer. I bought one, even though I have a dob, simply because it's also a good planetary filter. So if you bought the CB and it didn't reduce CA enough, you haven't really lost anything.

I don't know how much this weighs - @FLO don't say, but it has to be lighter than the 8x50 or 9x50 options: https://www.firstlightoptics.com/finders/sky-watcher-6x30-right-angled-finderscope.html

That's what I do, Nik. In fact I never switch on my RDF now: I just use it as a rough sight, then catch the target in my RACI.

Alternatively, there's this: https://www.firstlightoptics.com/sky-watcher-az-go2-telescopes/sky-watcher-star-discovery-150i.html I don't know that particular scope but it has the same excellent parabolic mirror as my Heritage 150p. Or you could go tabletop: https://www.firstlightoptics.com/heritage/sky-watcher-heritage-150p-flextube-virtuoso-gti.html The second one will need collimating occasionally but the first has a fixed mirror.

@FLO regularly sell and ship to the US. Have you also checked stock levels on the DX6?

The most critical part of an optical train is the mind. Certain things defy rational analysis, for example, why do I feel that the difference between my Pentax XWs and my Morpheus EPs, both of which give me perfect views in my F6 dob, is so marked? The Pentax 'feel' cold, impersonal and efficient and the Morpheus warm and involving. The answer has to be me and me alone. Similarly, some swear by the views in a refractor, some in a cat, some in a newt and refuse to be swayed by logic. As my mother always said: "It wouldn't do for us to all be the same." Sorry, bit off topic.

Oh, don't! You're only making it worse!

I love my Morpheus EPs so I"d dearly love to get the 17.5mil - said to be the best of the range- but I have a StellaLyra 68° 18mm. I just can't bring myself to get rid of it - it's an excellent little eyepiece. I don't think a 0.5mm difference in f/l really justifies shelling out £££. Sigh.....

From my part, you're very welcome. There's nothing worse than seeing someone buy the wrong scope for themselves, getting disheartened and giving up the hobby.

When I have to transport my 8" dob, I do use an Oklop bag to protect the OTA. They do one for a 10" too: https://www.firstlightoptics.com/telescope-bags-cases-storage/oklop-padded-bag-for-250mm-1200mm-newtonians.html Afaik there's no bag for the base, but this has a handle and is easy enough to shift.

And Ed knows his stuff. Interestingly, the Orion in the video was the somewhat down-market version with no RACI and more primitive, non-adjustable alt bearings. For anyone who doesn't know, @FLO sell the StellaLyra version, with all the bells and whistles. My scope! 🤣🤣🤣

@FLO quotes a f/l of F/8. This would make it ideal for both.

Firstly, I've never looked through a Starfield, so I can't say anything from experience but I've seen some very positive reviews and the specs look tremendous. If it performs as expected, you will probably get pin-sharp stars with great contrast and low or absent CA. Its view of a particular target might well be better and clearer than in the Heritage (so it should be: it costs 3x more!). What you WON'T get is more light-gathering. Even though it's a relatively large frac at 102mm (4"), it would be outperformed on this by the Heritage (150mm/6"). So the choice is yours. A good larger dob will allow you to see more and give better views. The frac should give you clearer and more impressive views of the brighter targets and of course lend itself better to AP if you decide to go down that route.