Not sure which way to go, casagrain or dobsonian

[John the clock]

Hello, I’m new to astronomy & had my mind set on a 10” celestron dob, with Starsense, nearly pulled the trigger, then got offered a Meade 8” Lx 10 on a motorised tripod not goto a few hundred pound cheaper, I have had a look into both now I’m still confused , I live intercity so most of my viewing will be from my garden which I believe the casagrain is better suited but the dob has better images and is a 2” bigger apature more light gathering, which way to go 😳😳😳

[Peter Drew]

As a declared beginner I think the 10" with StarSense will give you more enjoyment at this stage.  I have the equivalent and the system is excellent.    🙂

[doublevodka]

Ed Ting has just done a review on the 10 inch dob which will be worth a watch, it looks like a nice piece of kit

 

[John the clock]

I have managed to get an 8 Newtonian on a Goto EQ5 mount at a snip, so I thought  at my stage worth a go if I don’t like the scope always got a not so bad mount, may then get a big casagrain one day, as I’m new to the hobby im thinking spend wisely at the start build my gear up, Skywatcher scope so it’s not a hobby killer.

[doublevodka]

3 hours ago, John the clock said:

I have managed to get an 8 Newtonian on a Goto EQ5 mount at a snip, so I thought  at my stage worth a go if I don’t like the scope always got a not so bad mount, may then get a big casagrain one day, as I’m new to the hobby im thinking spend wisely at the start build my gear up, Skywatcher scope so it’s not a hobby killer.

Not a bad place to start at all there, and both will have a decent resale value should you decide to move them on later down the line. With the EQ5 you also have the opportunity to use different optical tube assemblies such as a cassgrain or refractor which you wouldn't have been able to do with the fork mounted Meade

[Cosmic Geoff]

3 hours ago, John the clock said:

I have managed to get an 8 Newtonian on a Goto EQ5 mount at a snip, so I thought  at my stage worth a go if I don’t like the scope always got a not so bad mount, may then get a big casagrain one day, as I’m new to the hobby im thinking spend wisely at the start build my gear up, Skywatcher scope so it’s not a hobby killer.

Hope you get on with that combo.  Nothing wrong with either the scope or the mount.  The Synscan GoTo may be a steep learning curve...

[Jimbo64]

I'm thinking similarly of what to get to replace my wonky 8" dob (see: https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/401726-what-eaa-set-up-would-you-choose-if-you-had-to-start-again-from-scratch/), but when I think of opting for the EQ5 the difference in price/ payload to the HEQ5 makes me think that's a better value and future-proof option. 

But then again, reviewing the HEQ5 and EQ6-R-pro takes me down the spiral of justifying ever increasing spend. I blame the hobby!

 

[Guest]

Oh man the dob vs insert anything else question.  I am going to grab some popcorn 

[Guest]

The only way to know which to get and which you will be happy with, get your hands on them.  Find a astro club, even if you have to drive a couple of hours and see which one works for you.  

[bosun21]

26 minutes ago, Mike Q said:

The only way to know which to get and which you will be happy with, get your hands on them.  Find a astro club, even if you have to drive a couple of hours and see which one works for you.  

Very sound advice.

[Louis D]

On 26/10/2022 at 11:12, Jimbo64 said:

I'm thinking similarly of what to get to replace my wonky 8" dob (see: https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/401726-what-eaa-set-up-would-you-choose-if-you-had-to-start-again-from-scratch/), but when I think of opting for the EQ5 the difference in price/ payload to the HEQ5 makes me think that's a better value and future-proof option. 

But then again, reviewing the HEQ5 and EQ6-R-pro takes me down the spiral of justifying ever increasing spend. I blame the hobby!

The sheer weight of these EQ mounts puts me off immediately.  My wonky back makes dealing with the heavy head, legs, and counterweights a literal pain in the back.

[Cosmic Geoff]

If one likes an 8" Dobsonian, that's fine.  But if you decide it's not for you, the options (at the same aperture) are to go for an equatorial mount, with the pluses of potential use for imaging, having GoTo, and the minuses of increased cost, weight and complication.

Or go for an 8" SCT, with a much lighter OTA and the potential for having a lightweight GoTo mount in a portable visual setup, or an equatorial mount with potential for imaging.  Or on a heavy duty fork mount if that takes your fancy. 

[SthBohemia]

On 23/10/2022 at 17:47, John the clock said:

Meade 8” Lx 10 on a motorised tripod not goto

A handful of +++++ for the Meade over any Dob. GOTO is simply a lazy mans addition. The fork mounted Celestrons and Meades are STABLE and track well if mounted on a suitable heavy duty tripod or pier (the dual arm ones, not the single arm creatures).

My preference being to mount Meade SCT's on Celestron Ultima or CPC forks, which are a little better mechanically and electronically than the Meade forks.

[Artik]

Generally I suggest to go for a Dob but drop SSE - take other dob without it, keep extra $200 they charge extra for better eyepieces and/or filters or on better scope in first place (better focuser, finder etc)

There is an alternative to SSE that helps you finding objects - but it is free and open-source : AstroHopper - it solves the same problem but little bit differently - instead of plate solving you align on a star or planet close to target you are looking for.Unlike SSE it does require to learn the night sky a little bit. But finally it solves the same problems with almost the same ease.

It is highly popular in my local community so you can see sometimes 1/2 to 1/3 of dob users navigate with AstroHopper.

Disclaimer: I'm the author of this app

[Louis D]

1 hour ago, Artik said:

Generally I suggest to go for a Dob but drop SSE - take other dob without it, keep extra $200 they charge extra for better eyepieces and/or filters or on better scope in first place (better focuser, finder etc)

There is an alternative to SSE that helps you finding objects - but it is free and open-source : AstroHopper - it solves the same problem but little bit differently - instead of plate solving you align on a star or planet close to target you are looking for.Unlike SSE it does require to learn the night sky a little bit. But finally it solves the same problems with almost the same ease.

It is highly popular in my local community so you can see sometimes 1/2 to 1/3 of dob users navigate with AstroHopper.

Disclaimer: I'm the author of this app

How does it differ from SkEye?  Is it possible to tilt the phone for easier reading and still align on objects?  Any plans to add plate solving with the selfie camera to improve accuracy?

[Artik]

4 hours ago, Louis D said:

How does it differ from SkEye?

SkEye uses magnetic sensors to find direction while AstroHopper uses gyro. Gyro is accurate enough for short movements - that what makes this setup such useful. Note that SSE uses gyros as well after plate solving.

4 hours ago, Louis D said:

 Any plans to add plate solving with the selfie camera to improve accuracy?

Not at this point, it is also tricky in terms of alignment since camera does not point towards the view of the scope. Additionally potential patent issues the Celestron holds.

From users I know that the process is actually as fast as with SSE. 

4 hours ago, Louis D said:

Is it possible to tilt the phone for easier reading and still align on objects? 

What do you mean? To make it not parallel to the OTA?

From the experience when phone is parallel it is simples to attach the phone. 

[Gaffie]

When I use my eq mounted newt, i miss the easy setup and point and go of the dob. When I use the dob I wish I had the slowmo controls for tracking (and the nicer focuser) from the eq setup. So both get their turn depending on how much time I have and whether I feel like lugging the heavy mount around.