Second thoughts

[jwallis]

Having been an owner of a 300 DOB, the views were really good. Now I would like a scope that would give me  a very good view of the moon, and planets, but in the same sentence, I would  also like to start taking some photos of the moon in detail, and the brighter dso,s. After reading so many write ups on the pros and cons of refractors, I am tempted to buy a 150 pds , or the 200 version. As for mounts, I was looking at the heq5 to begin with.  Would this set up be ok weight wise  on the mount to begin with, and what views would I get for visual, after a 300 DOB????

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

I think a 6" or even an 8" might disappoint after a 12". I would rather have an imaging rig and keep the 12" for visual

[Alexgopro]

I believe Moon Shane has a guide on improving the planetary views with your large f/5 dob by "masking" it off? I was planning on reading into this today actually!

There is a planetary imaging guide for large dobs in the beginner imaging section (it's a sticky)

If it were me I'd play with all the DIYs just to expand my knowledge.

You probably know this but with imaging you are likely not going to be watching much of anything unless you bring along another scope

Looking forward to see what others have to say though.

[John]

Your 12" dob should be giving fabulous views of the Moon and Planets. It's not going to handle the imaging but the scope that will do that won't rival the visual views that the dob gives (or should give). This is why folks end up with more than one scope !

[Coastliner]

Having been an owner of a 300 DOB, the views were really good. Now I would like a scope that would give me  a very good view of the moon, and planets, but in the same sentence, I would  also like to start taking some photos of the moon in detail, and the brighter dso,s. After reading so many write ups on the pros and cons of refractors, I am tempted to buy a 150 pds , or the 200 version. As for mounts, I was looking at the heq5 to begin with.  Would this set up be ok weight wise  on the mount to begin with, and what views would I get for visual, after a 300 DOB????

I would also be interested in hearing folks views on this.  I have the Skyliner 200p Dob and have just (Wednesday) taken delivery of the AZ-EQ5-GT, so my setup is very similar to yours. I am also looking for suggestions for a more suitable OTA as I find the 200p tube a bit difficult to handle, and is too heavy for AP on the EQ5. I'm thinking of the 150pds.