250px

[dtr42]

hi [its advice i'd like ] i have a 200 flex goto at the moment but have a chance of a 250px dob [it has an autofocus and wixey and setting circle ] for a decent price . my question is, is the difference worth the money? i will probably keep the flex tube [and the tal 1 i have as well lol] but was thinking i could always use a bigger scope .Has anyone got the 250px? [i had the 200p dob and it was good but how much better is the 250?] and because its an f5 as opposed to the f6 of my flex are the eps i have ok [revelation ep set and some celstron plossi's ]also could i eventually mount it on an eq5 or would the eq6 be better?

[Mutley]

Nope you won't notice the difference. Save your money.

[JamesF]

I reckon you would notice the difference, particularly on faint targets and in the ability to resolve individual stars in clusters, but the 250PX isn't at all kind to the Revelation eyepieces. My 250 flextube does horrible things to my 32mm Revelation plossl, so I've had to start thinking about much more expensive eyepieces, especially for wide field views. The consensus seems to be that if you can accept slight distortions towards the edge of the field of view then the Meade 5000 series and Explore Scientific eyepieces are ok, but if you can't then you've pretty much got to go with Tele Vue though there are a few other options at the expensive end of the market, too. I've not had problems with my BGOs, but obviously the field of view is very much smaller with those.

James

[Moonshane]

I tend to take the view that a jump in aperture should be at least 4" to get a notable 'wow' factor. therefore I'd agree. keep your money until you can afford a 12" (I'm being serious BTW).

[Naemeth]

I tend to take the view that a jump in aperture should be at least 4" to get a notable 'wow' factor. therefore I'd agree. keep your money until you can afford a 12" (I'm being serious BTW).

Or 16".

Just remember that the lower the focal ratio gets, the bigger the hole in your wallet gets, as to get a truly corrected image at ~F/4, you need a Coma Corrector and TV / Pentax eyepieces (recycling knowledge learnt on here ). Food for thought.

[estwing]

i went from 2.1/2" to 12.5"..now that was a WOW!

[Moonshane]

the lower the focal ratio gets, the bigger the hole in your wallet gets,

or the longer your ladder gets.

[Naemeth]

and the less portable your scope becomes, and the less easy it is to "hide". The list goes on really...

[dtr42]

ok guys so the answer is a no which is sound advice ,however the 12"dob seems rarer than hens teeth and to finance one[if i could find one ] i would need to sell the flex goto, plus the 250 is the same price as a 150p dob . so could sell the tal1 and a canon camera 350d which would pay for it leaving me a few quid for a badder hyperion click stop [which should be ok for the f4 ] also how big is the 12" ? [have tried to google it but can only see results for the 300 flex ]and what f/ratio is it cheers

[sunshine185]

If the price for the 250px is too good to refuse, I think you should go for it. Any increase in aperture its worth it and if you are getting it for a bargain then even better.

[CJBooth]

Nobody has yet suggested you compare the two scopes yourself.

I'd suggest you get a look through a 250PX yourself and compare this to your experience with a 200P. Otherwise you are largely reliant on opinions.

[dtr42]

yeah will do that ,the guy lives about 40 minutes from me, so will probably arrange a wee meet up to have a look and compare scope's [as its under 200 quid it still is a bargain [2 years old but mirrors /ota look fine in the pictures]

[8472]

If you do decide to sell the flextube, I would think you would get good money for it, as it seems people seem to like paying way over the odds for used ones.

[dtr42]

yeah was thinking the same. maybe pop it on abs or the classifieds here . have decided to get the 250 it might not give the WOW but it will probably give a wow factor and for under 200 bucks i cant complain.if i sell the flex i may end up getting a 12" or 14" or 16" or 20"