SW 150p or 200p dob?

[OK Apricot]

Hey guys, really itching now, I need a telescope. For the time being budget is reasonably low £350 ideally but would stretch to the 8" dob if really worth it. 

My question is for starting back up, is the extra 2" aperture worth it? Am I going to see that much more? My favourite targets were globular clusters, definitely prefer deep sky to lunar/planetary. 

Sorry if it's a silly question - it's been a good few years! 

[John]

With deep sky targets and globular clusters in particular, the more aperture you have, the more resolution you get, the fainter you can see and the more interesting the views are. As your skill and ambition as an observer develop, you will want that additional light gathering power.

If your interests were primarily the moon, planets and double stars then I think the 150mmm would be great but for deep sky objects,  as much aperture as you can get is the way to go, in my opinion.

 

 

Edited January 22, 2022 by John

[cajen2]

Also take into account the storage and portability factors. 

[OK Apricot]

Thank you.

I remember having a 200p and 150 refractor on an HEQ5 pro so that's where I'm getting this toss up from - if 6 is "enough" for now. The views were pretty similar from what I remember but the 200p definitely had the edge on the DSOs. Portability not so much of an issue. 

 

[johninderby]

The SW dobs have been around for ages without any updates but now there are alternatives such as the StellaLyra and Bresser dobs which are much better specced and better value for money although optics are similar.

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/beginner-telescopes/stellalyra-6-f8-dobsonian.html

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/beginner-telescopes/stellalyra-8-f6-dobsonian.html

Unfortunately the Bressers are sold out everywhere at the moment and looks like being months before they are back in stock.

Edited January 22, 2022 by johninderby

[cajen2]

If your preference is for DSOs and portability isn't a factor, I'd go for the 8". Otherwise, you'd always be wondering what you were missing.... Having said that, I've been very impressed by what I've been able to see with my 6" dob.

In either case, careful choice of eyepieces is important IMO.

Edited January 22, 2022 by cajen2

[OK Apricot]

The StellaLyra 8" seems to be a few Bob more than the SW - I may have missed it but what makes this brand worth the extra? 

Cajen2 - what's impressed you most about the 6"? Could you give me an idea of what you're seeing? 

Thanks for the input ladies and gents. 

[johninderby]

48 minutes ago, OK Apricot said:

The StellaLyra 8" seems to be a few Bob more than the SW - I may have missed it but what makes this brand worth the extra? 

 

The 8” StellaLyra is far better equipped which means it doesn’t need money spending on it after the initial purchase unlike the SW. The StellaLyra already has the upgrades that you would want such as a proper RACI finder, a crayford focuser, adjustable alt bearings, roller az bearings. cooling fan, decent eyepiece etc.

Stuff that those new to dobs don’t realise are impprtant.The SW solid tube dobs are now a bit dated and badly in need of bringing up to the level of the compettion

Edited January 22, 2022 by johninderby

[OK Apricot]

Thanks for pointing that out John. Definitely makes sense. Reading more about them currently and I'm getting butterflies. Maybe I should increase my budget slightly! 

[johninderby]

Spending a bit more initially can save money in the long run. I know it can be confusing when scopes look a lot alike but when you dig down into what is included you can make the right decision.

And of course helping someone to spend their money is a favourite sport on SGL. 😁😁😁

Edited January 22, 2022 by johninderby

[cajen2]

39 minutes ago, OK Apricot said:

 

Cajen2 - what's impressed you most about the 6"? Could you give me an idea of what you're seeing? 

Thanks for the input ladies and gents. 

Mine is the Heritage Flextube 150p. I was expecting a mediocre performance compared with high-end scopes, but properly collimated, I've seen excellent detail, splitting the doubles Alnitak and Rigel, for example. Views of the moon are also wonderful (not usually considered to be a dob speciality!). Overall, it's been very capable - a good all rounder.

[OK Apricot]

Thanks. Of course - I'll need to get a collimation tool. Something else to consider. What's M42, M45 like with your 150? What eyepieces are you using? 

[John]

What you see of deep sky objects will depend heavily on the sort of conditions you observe under. I took a 6 inch scope to the SGL star party at a darkish sky site a few years ago and it showed deep sky objects better than my 10 inch could from my back yard.

 

 

[OK Apricot]

This is true. I guess I'm trying to compare the two with sky quality as the control. Reading and reading I'm more inclined to stretch to the 8", and very tempted by the StellaLyra indeed. 

My first taste of SGL peer pressure! 

[200pman]

8" If you can carry it.Store it.I love mine.

Im 64 years young.

And i can manage it 

[OK Apricot]

Loving that base and strut 😎

Will most likely go the 8" route - though it may be the regular 200p over the StellaLyra as they aren't in stock for a while. This is one of my best qualities - impatience. 

[cajen2]

Er...Flo anticipate getting more SL scopes in next month....😉

[Spile]

The 200P is a great telescope and as you can see from my blog (link below) easily upgradable. That said if I could get a StellaLyra I would go for that.

[Captain Scarlet]

2 hours ago, 200pman said:

8" If you can carry it.Store it.I love mine.

Im 64 years young.

And i can manage it 

I have to say that is possibly the most pimped-up scope I've seen in my 4-5 years on SGL. Meant in an entirely good way! Every non-standard feature is something I noticed and thought "oo good idea!". There just seems to be one fly in the ointment. That yellow-handled screwdriver. It looks as though it's magnetically attached? I hope it didn't cause an injury when it flew across the patio towards the (neodymium?) magnet ?

Seriously though, I'm impressed!

Magnus

Edited January 22, 2022 by Captain Scarlet
typo

[johninderby]

You want a pimped up dob? 😁

My old OO 14” with StellarCat drive.

Edited January 22, 2022 by johninderby

[Priesters]

OMG, does it have an engine 😂

[OK Apricot]

Why worry about portability when you can just drive your scope where you're going 🤣

[johninderby]

It was a bit of an OTT project I suppose. 🤔

[JeremyS]

30 minutes ago, johninderby said:

You want a pimped up dob? 😁

My old OO 14” with StellarCat drive.

Don’t think the original owners were too impressed 

[200pman]

1 hour ago, Captain Scarlet said:

I have to say that is possibly the most pimped-up scope I've seen in my 4-5 years on SGL. Meant in an entirely good way! Every non-standard feature is something I noticed and thought "oo good idea!". There just seems to be one fly in the ointment. That yellow-handled screwdriver. It looks as though it's magnetically attached? I hope it didn't cause an injury when it flew across the patio towards the (neodymium?) magnet ?

Seriously though, I'm impressed!

Magnus

Thanks.since this taken ive fitted a cooling fan.which helps more than i expected easy job to do.and powered by this.will last 7 hours.

Clear skies.