Orion XT8 plus

[Darren27]

I spent sometime over the weekend looking at various scopes to see if I can get any closer to making up my mind on what to buy.

I am considering an 8" dop and was reading several comments regarding the Skywatcher, most felt it was a good scope to start with but several people recommend that to get the best out of it you would need to upgrade the eye pieces.

I was reading in a recent magazine a review of the Orion XT8 plus, which appears to be almost the exact same scope with a very subtle change to the mount. However it came with what appear to be much better eye pieces, a 2" 28mm "Deep View" a 1 1/4" 10mm Sirius Plossl, Orion Barlow and solar filter.

Comparing the individual prices, it looks like the package price for the eye pieces is cheaper than buying them separately. Has any one any experience of these and do you think it's worth paying the extra upfront, compared to the cost of a 200p?

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[Peter Drew]

I have an Orion XT8 with the "Intelliscope" push-to facility which is excellent. The 2" fit 28mm eyepiece is quite good and actually works very well on my 16" SCT,, the 10mm Sirius plossl is fairly ordinary but better than some of the stock eyepieces.     

[Darren27]

Cant quite stretch to the 8" Intelliscope, but could go for the 6" instead.

So do I scratch the gadget itch or the aperture itch?

I'm really struggling with that decision.

[Astro Imp]

Cant quite stretch to the 8" Intelliscope, but could go for the 6" instead.

So do I scratch the gadget itch or the aperture itch?

I'm really struggling with that decision.

A lot will depend if you know or are willing to learn your way around the sky.

From my own experience and from what I have read on here a 6" scope is a good introduction to the hobby but an 8" is for a lot of users a keeper.

[Darren27]

I'm willing to spend the time learning my way across the sky, already doing that in a limited way with my little 60mm refractor, but my two young son's who are both very interested in observing have very limited patience while "Dad is fiddling with the scope".

A 6" is going to be a huge improvement over my current setup, but I cant help thinking sooner or later i'll be looking for something bigger.