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8" decision!

BoisBlancBoy

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BoisBlancBoy

BoisBlancBoy

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For the price range I bumped myself up to I have found these two scopes that I really like but wanted to here some options from you guys.

http://www.telescopes.com/telescopes/dobsonian-telescopes/skywatcher8inchdobsoniantelescope1.cfm

http://www.telescopes.com/telescopes/dobsonian-telescopes/zhumellz8deluxedobsonianreflectortelescope.cfm

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cotterless45

cotterless45

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Get the second one, 8" at f6 is ideal. Can't beat a solid tube 8" Dob.Black's a good colour, fed up with most stuff being white at night over here.

Trusses are a nuisance, all sorts of fluff and stuff ends up on the mirror even with a shroud. With a truss you'll be checking collimation, but I understand these are quite good at keeping it. You'll be needing ,

clear skies,

Nick

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barkis

barkis

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Only $20 separate the two you've linked to here BBB. I don't know what price difference is due to, but it is not a huge difference anyway.

The specs are almost Identical, and both seem nice units to me, although I'm not familiar with the suppliers of these scopes.

Only one, ZHUE023 specifies its mirror as a Parabola, although it would be unlikely the other would be a spherical mirror at f6.

The Cele422 tube appears to be retractable, which would be an aid in transporting to another observing site if needed.

The focusers on both look good too. Fair deals both of them, and they will perform well.

Collimation of the optics will require periodic adjustment possibly, and the Cele422 if it is a retracting tube, will need careful checking to ensure

collimation isn't affected too much by regular use.

Good luck with your choice. I'm sure either will reward you with some great astronomy.

Ron.

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BoisBlancBoy

BoisBlancBoy

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Thanks for the opinions! I think when I can I will get the Z8.

One question. From what I have read that a scope closer to a f/10 is better for viewing the planets and the moon. The Z8 is f/6, will this cause me any issues from viewing them well?

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Schorhr

Schorhr

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That does Not influence it, really.

Regarding photography focal length and a "fast" aperture Ratio is importaint, but visual, you can get almost any High magnification.

Older eyepiece Designs with Löw focal length had poor eye relief, but modern ones even allow people with glasses to use them comfortably.

With a Plössl or Kellner type eyepiece, under 9mm eyepiece focal length you will to have to press your eye close against it, which is uncomfortable and your eyelids may grease the lens.

TMB HR Planetary eyepieces for example are available as low as 2.5mm, so even at a short focal length you can reach high magnifications.

WIth a 8" and 1200mm focal length, a 6mm eyepiece will already give you 200x. Due to air transparency more is not allways possible anyway...

You could get a 30€ UWA eyepiece in 6mm, a 9mm and a 2x achromatic barlow for €17 to get 200x, 133x, and with barlow 266x and 400x for maximum magnification if the conditions are excelent...

There are better barlows, but as a uwa or hr-planetary eyepiece costs €30 to €45, it's usualy better to get another eyepiece if you want the best quality. As very high magnifications only work occasionaly, the mentioned one is fine for a start setup.

Don't forget a good overview eyepiece, the uwa are only available up to 20mm, that's 60x magnification at 1200mm focal length.

Still a 20mm or 15mm uwa would fit nicely into a eyepiece set for the 200/1200.

A 30-35mm erfle eyepiece (70-100€), 2", could be a nice adition for a somewhat budget solution, but of course a 30mm Plössl for 16€ would do at the beginning, even though the field is narow compared to the wide angle eyepieces. There are 40mm Plössl for 1.25" but they have about the same field as the 30mm, so just have a smaller apparent field of view.

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floppygoose

floppygoose

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Just thought I would share this, but my wife surprised me and bought the 8" Z8 for me for my birthday. It should be here in a few days!!

You lucky boy, I'm lucky to get a cake! When I bought my 8" Dob the wife didn't speak for about a week! Imagine having one bought as a present... awesome! :smiley:
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Richardisgreat

Richardisgreat

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well done with the new scope and happy birthday, you must give us a quick first light report. I myself have the skywatcher 200p flextube and i must say i really love it, however having the flextube dobsonian means i wont be able to upgrade the mount due to the fact that i wont be able to get the rings around the tube properly, I went for a flextube dobsonian goto as a budget comprimse over a solid tube on a eq5 without goto. I now find myself wanting to take photos with the scope :) typical. Over all though i am pleased with the flextube and the apature is great and benifits greatly if you can get to a dark site. I managed to glimps the eskimo nebular with mine on my last outing which i was very pleased with, faint as it was :) clear skies.

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