A dob or a mak?

[Arbennek]

I currently have a pair of 10x50 bins,  with a view to getting a scope in the next couple of months,  once I've sold one of my bikes to make some room/money.

Like all newbies I was heading towards an 8" dob,  but have recently found a love for double stars and while reading about them,  have learnt the merit of maks.

Basically what I'm asking is,  how much of a compromise would I be making regarding the rest of the night sky if I got a mak just to focus on doubles? 

[Mr Spock]

What size Mak?

[Arbennek]

Good question.

My budget is £300-350, so most likely a 127.

[Mr Spock]

The 127 will lose out to an 8" Dob in every department. The Dob will see much fainter DSOs with 2½ times fainter objects and, see a lot more planetary detail with it's higher resolving power.

The Mak will have tighter looking stars, but, it's resolving power is 0.91" as opposed to the 8" Dobs 0.58". So, you may well see more doubles with the Dob!

[Timebandit]

Hello and welcome to SGL

If it's a 127 mak then you will be better off going for a 8" Dob IMO , just so much more light grasp ability and therefore resolve dso so much better and more details with planetary. IMO a 8" reflector dob and you will not look back

The skywatcher 200p is a great scope for this matter and highly recommend 

I hope the above helps☺

[Arbennek]

Awesome, just want I needed to know. Thanks for the help.

[Cosmic Geoff]

Be aware that the atmosphere will have a bigger negative effect on the performance of the larger scope, so that the improvement in resolution will be less than the theoretical (or even non-existent) when 'seeing' is bad. Also the collimation, eyepieces, etc all have to be the best. Also, for observing at high magnification, powered tracking is a great convenience, and it is a lot cheaper to provide that for a 127mm Mak than for a 203mm Newtonian.

[Louis D]

Also keep in mind that the massive meniscus corrector of a Mak takes quite a while to reach ambient temps and tends to dew up fairly easily.  An 8" mirror can take a while as well, but the bigger issue is tube currents which a cooling fan can help with.  Dewing is a non-issue with solid tube dobs in my experience.  Truss tube dobs are another story.

[Cosmic Geoff]

The dewing problem on a Mak or SCT is real, but can be largely solved by making a shield with a cheap roll of cardboard or camping mat.