Stellalyra v skywatcher mirrors, any difference?

[stafford_stargazer]

Just looking at reflector telescopes by stellalyra, they are more expensive than the skywatcher equivalent.

What do you get for your money and are the optics the same as skywatcher or better?

Thanks 

[cajen2]

Can't compare the optics, since I've never used a SW, except their Heritage 150p tabletop (which is optically very good). However, StellaLyra scopes have many advantages. On my 8", the az axis was buttery smooth, and the alt was excellent. You can do so much more with the SL: the alt bearings are adjustable to achieve good balance and it comes with some really useful accessories: a RACI finder, a cooling fan with battery pack, a focus extender and two better than the usual giveaway EPs. So imo, the SL is better value.

[John]

Mirror-wise I think the GSO made Stellalyras are about the same as the Synta made Skywatcher dobs in terms of optical quality.

The Stellalyras have a number of nice features, as identified by @cajen2 above, which explains and justifies the price difference.

 

[Spile]

The Skywatcher is a great telescope and I would recommend it without hesitation if you find a good used one. Review on my blog below. However the StellaLyra/Apertura comes better equipped so represents better value for money if buying new imho. For example it cost me £120 to upgrade to a RACI and dual speed focuser. The one think I like about the SW is that you can carry it in one piece.

[Mr Spock]

I can only comment on the ones I've had. I've had two SW 250's - a blue tube Newt and a Flextube; optics on both were excellent with no problem reaching high power. However, the SL 12" is much better with probably the best optics I've had on any scope. Plus the ergonomics and build quality are in this century rather than the last. SW really need to update their scopes to modern standards.

[Guest]

I have used both Synta and GSO scopes, maybe its just me but it seems that the images in the GSOs are just a little bit better.  Not a huge amount but it was noticeable