SCT & Newtonian shootout!

[AztecastroMcJ]

lol didnt realise u sold one already (DOH)

do u now have 2 Maks?

[philsail1]

Yes James, I do now have two Skywatcher Maksutovs - a 90mm (which I use for photographing birds and wildlife), and a 127mm which I intend to use for the same purpose. I will probably sell the small Mak - after doing a comparison test between them.

I will keep the 8" Newtonian.

I can understand your idea of selling everything and buying a large SCT (12"), but I've got to the stage where I'm a bit "worn" out with "chasing" bigger and better scopes! (hoping to find that perfect scope!).

At least owning just the 8" Newt and 127 Mak, makes the choice of deciding which scope to set up for a seesion, that much easier.

The Skywatcher Maksutovs seem to be very nice scopes - light enough to transport and set up easily, and give very nice views (certainly of the Moon and Planets). I know they don't have all the "bells and whistles" that say the C8i had, but for the price, they are an excellent basice scope which I think anyone starting out in Astronomy would be pleased with.

As you might have seen from my other posts, my next big "adventure" is going to be in saving for a new DSLR!

Regards,

philsail1

[Generacy]

If the Newt won over the SCT, then what does the SCT have to justify the 2-3 times price difference the SCT has over the Newt? Is portability and convenience in setup that valuable that people would pay 2-3 times the Newt amount for an SCT?

[dweller25]

If the Newt won over the SCT, then what does the SCT have to justify the 2-3 times price difference the SCT has over the Newt? Is portability and convenience in setup that valuable that people would pay 2-3 times the Newt amount for an SCT?

Yes

[E621Keith]

If the Newt won over the SCT, then what does the SCT have to justify the 2-3 times price difference the SCT has over the Newt? Is portability and convenience in setup that valuable that people would pay 2-3 times the Newt amount for an SCT?

An Orion Optics 8" Newtonian OTA cost £700, only £60 cheaper than a C8. It's a premium grade Newtonian vs a mass produced SCT.

[E621Keith]

Forgot to add, SCT is my easier on eyepiece, you can get away with cheap eyepiece on an SCT, while you will be limited to premium grade eyepieces on a fast Newtonian.

[Generacy]

An Orion Optics 8" Newtonian OTA cost £700, only £60 cheaper than a C8. It's a premium grade Newtonian vs a mass produced SCT.

Okay, that makes sense. So if the mass produced SCT went up against a mass produced Newt, say, this Skyview Pro, then the results would have been different, and the SCT may have well come out on top? The difference I see between the Newts is the "High LUX" coating, f4.5 instead of f4.9, and 8 point mirror cell support. Anything else that I'm missing between the two Newts that would contribute to the difference in quality?