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Just about to buy a SW flextube Dobby...

GeorgeH

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GeorgeH

GeorgeH

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After much reading from your good selves about views on different scopes etc...till my head hurts, I've decided to buy a Skywatcher 250 Flextube Goto Synscan thingy...I like the sound of the gadgets to point it at stuff.

I'm not (yet) into astrophotography so not bothered about bolting big DSLRs onto eyepieces but I would appreciate some advice about video cameras/ccd cameras...

If I did want to get into pictures later, what would be a good small video/camera to use with this scope ? I do understand there may be better scopes for this but just for now...this scope.;)

Also what shiny farkles would you recommend to compliment the scope ? ;)

Santa best get on the weights...

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Astronut1982

Astronut1982

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Hi George,

I've got the 300p & they are awesome scopes, easy to set up & use. I'm sure you'll love it!!

It's not the best scope for astrophotography though, I've tried a few times with mine with not much luck apart from taking pics or vids of the moon. It has a fast f ratio of 4.7 which isn't ideal for solar system objects & because it is on a alt/az mount it's not ideal for DSO either unfortunately. If you try some short exposures though, you might have some luck but as I said before they're not designed for it. You really want a EQ mount for DSO astrophotography.

If you do want to try & get some pics though you could do worse than buying one of these:-

Buy Philips Pre flashed SPC880 CCD webcam bundle at Morgan Computers

The only thing is, I believe they can take a while to deliver. I have one of these for taking vids of the Moon & solar system objects then stacking them using a program called registax. If you want to try and capture DSO you'll need a DSLR or cooled CCD camera.If I've gotten anything wrong, I'm sure someone else will point you in the right direction.

Either way its a great scope for observing & you'll see some awesome sights with it!

Clear skies

Jeff

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swamp thing

swamp thing

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Hi

I have no experience with the 10" but an observing buddy of mine has the 16", it's pretty cool.;)

The Goto and tracking work very well indeed, and are very impressive.

I love the way you can leave it tracking while you make a brew.;)

Regards Steve

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littlebeagle

littlebeagle

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I took delivery of the 200p flextube synscan on Wednesday, it's my first scope, I'd love to tell you how easy it is to use but it's been cloudy every night so I haven't a clue ;) .

On the flip side it's my first scope and it was very easy to put together, if you have any questions I'm happy to answer them. It's quite heavy, I'm actually glad I didn't go any bigger for my first scope as it's at the top end of what I'd call easily transportable.

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GeorgeH

GeorgeH

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I took delivery of the 200p flextube synscan on Wednesday, it's my first scope, I'd love to tell you how easy it is to use but it's been cloudy every night so I haven't a clue ;) .

On the flip side it's my first scope and it was very easy to put together, if you have any questions I'm happy to answer them. It's quite heavy, I'm actually glad I didn't go any bigger for my first scope as it's at the top end of what I'd call easily transportable.

OK...thanks for that littlebeagle.

Do you know if the scope can be connected to a laptop to show the eyepiece view on the laptop screen ;).

It would be easy then to show my parents what I can see.

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xyz

xyz

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I am thinking had about the 250mm synscan goto. I live in a rather light polluted area and think that it could be helpful finding some of the targets that elude me at the moment. I did read this thread with some interest - clearly there may be some challenges in getting optimum performance from the scope.

http://stargazerslounge.com/discussions-scopes-whole-setups/159938-skywatcher-az-goto-alignment-accuracy.html

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Cloudy

Cloudy

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Hi!

I am also gravitating over a Skywatcher 250 Flextube Goto Synscan like GeorgeH and not interested in astrofotography ... for the time being. I already have a Skywatcher Dob 250 (no tracking or goto) and must say that the scope is absolutely great in almost any sense: a true light bucket, portable, easy to assemble, etc. But I got tired of the hand-tracking (too lazy for that I guess) and for that reason alone I am thinking about the model in discussion here.

Question: does anybody have first hand experience on the accuracy of the tracking and Goto function of this scope? i have to admit that just the look of this scope fascinates me but I really want to make a decision based on experts opinions.

Thanks in advance for any advice and Clear Skies!!

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Astronut1982

Astronut1982

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I have to say I don't really have much of a problem with tracking on my 300p.

When I set up, I align north but don't worry too much about the level at the moment [building an adjustable platform for it though to do so].

After I have done my 2 star alignment & found my 1st object its always only a little bit off the centre. I then use the handset to align it to the centre & it stays in the fov for a good 15 -20 mins without any further adjustments with the handset. If I do want it to stay there longer I just move it back to the centre with the handset.

The one thing I would recommend you also buy to go with the flextube is this :-

First Light Optics - Astrozap light shroud for Skywatcher FlexTube

It will help to block out any stray light which can ruin your viewing.

Jeff

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