mak vs dobsonian

[stickbow]

hi all

I have a skywatcher 150 pro maksutov, this is mounted on a HEQ5 goto mount, I am thinking of trading it in for a 10" or 12" mead dobsonian and was wondering if this is a step up or backwards, I use it for planetary mostly but also some deep sky stuff, any thoughts would be helpful so if you use a dob what are your thoughts, cheers.

[spaceboy]

Two totally different beasts and both good for their intended purposes. A 10 or 12" dob will knock the socks off a 6" any day of the week regards light grasp and so fainter stuff like nebs and galaxies but the 6" MAK properly cooled with its closed tube design and superb optics will on average perform better than the faster larger newts. That said the newts should perform when seeing and everything else plays ball due to the light grasp and resolving factors. As you will see most members have more than one scope and this is often the reason why. There isn't one scope that excels at everything unfortunately.

Not a direct answer but I hope this helps in some way ??

[Fluke]

If you're not bothered about imaging defo go for the biggest Dob your money can buy.

I had a 127 Mak until trading it in for a 12" Dob recently. For visual observations there is no comparison, it's a Dob all the way for me.

When I want to start astrophotography then I'll look again at a big SCT

[damnut]

Hi There,

You have a great scope, on a substantial mount. Have you thought of keeping the mak and buying a used dob which would be c£350??.

Also if you have not used a scope like the larger dobs, it would definitely be worth you going to your local astro group and see one in the flesh. The big dobs are light buckets but do act like a sail in a breeze.

Your compromises if you swap will be speed of setup and initially loss of goto, its not a case of step back or step up, in terms of the scope apperture is king, but not if you do not use it as much. If you have not had the scope long I would stick with it untill you have used a few other scopes and found one that then takes you forward.

Happy New Year.

[estwing]

yes i wouldn't brush that Mak to one side

[MorningMajor]

I have a small MAK and a big Dob - both have their place the dob wins hands down in the "fuzzy" hunt but I still enjoy dragging the mak out every so often - Beware of the size of a 12" or larger Dob - they are heavy and take up a fair bit of storage space - but if you have the room, go for it

[Ajohn]

If you want a one scope does both solution something like an mounted 8in newtonian with good optics. Optimum would be an F6. I would hope your mount would cope with that. 10in usually requires a faster F ratio and that's not a good idea for the planetary end of things or wide field really as aberrations go up like a rocker and they get a bit cumbersome to move around at F6. I had one once. Something along the lines of an orion vx8l is hard to beat in terms of a do it all scope other than maybe a sct plus accessories. Personally I feel those come into their own at around 10ins. I have owned an 8in and the biggest advantage really over a newtonian is compactness. An 8in F6 will give you better views of planets if conditions are up to it and is also wide enough for nebulae work. Even photography. I'm surprised this style of scope isn't mentioned much on here as it's suitable for all sorts of things and way way more capable than 5 or 6in models of any type.

John

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[stickbow]

thanks for the info everyone, I will stick with my setup for now as I will get the chance to try a dob soon.