Skywatcher 250xp

[Katash707]

Does anyone have any opinion on the skywatcher 250xp scope like is it any good or is anymore like this price but better thanks

[Tinker1947]

There are better Dobs but at a price the 250px is value for money

Skywatcher 250px

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/dobsonians/skywatcher-skyliner-250px-dobsonian.html

The Orion offering, better but around twice the price

http://www.orionoptics.co.uk/VX/vx10-10l.html

[John]

I've owned and used the 200 and 250 Skywatcher dobs and used a number of other ones as well. Optically they are really pretty good and there is consistency there as well. 90% of the time the Skywatcher or similar will deliver comparable performance to the more expensive alternative such as the Orion Optics one. Considering the price difference when bought new, the Skywatcher's performance per £ spent is very hard to beat.

[Katash707]

Yes I looked at 200 dob is this also a good scope to

[Paul73]

I've got one. Great scope.

Just make sure that you are happy with the size and weight.

Paul

[John]

Yes the 200p is also very good. It just depends whether you would like the additional light grasp of the 250 countered by it's heavier weight and faster focal ratio which challenges low cost eyepieces more.

The question of which to go for comes up frequently and at the end of the day I reckon the decisions made go 50:50.

[Katash707]

I'm ok with size and weight I know u get more light gathering with the 250 but will I still get some good views with the 200 I currently own a 70/900 refractor but would like to look in to a reflector for more deep sky objects so the question I'm asking is the 200 good enough for this

[knobby]

I think that as you've asked the question, if you did get the 200 it would be an improvement on your frac but you'd always be wondering ... Should I have got the 250 ?

[Katash707]

I see ok I'm getting a idea what to go for thanks

[Size9Hex]

I've just bought the 250. It's awesome, and I have no regrets at all, but it is big. I'm pretty fit, and it's easy enough to carry the two pieces separately from the house to the garden. It's awkward to shift around once it's assembled though. Even if you are happy lifting the weight, consider lifting that weight of an awkward shape, with a fragile pivoting OTA, lenses sticking off the sides ready to be knocked off by a door frame, and the whole thing slippery with dew or frost with no handles where you want them. Not wishing to deter you but consider it before you buy. As I say, despite the above, I think it's awesome :-)

[spike95609]

I can heartily recommend the 250px, it's a superb scope and a joy to use. With DSOs the more aperture you have the better. I wouldn't say that 250px will give you an incredibly improved view over the 200p, but an improvement it will be, and one that you will notice. For me the 250px struck a happy balance between price, performance and weight. There are some exceptions to this, but generally speaking scopes start to get heavy and rather expensive from this point on.

[HIP3802]

I agree wholeheartedly with Spike above - The 20PX is a good balance of price, weight and performance.