Which 8" Telescope

[John]

....Seeing as how it comes with adapter to use both 1.25 and 2" eyepieces would it be best to stick with my existing 1.25 lenses or get 2" ones, and are the BST Starguiders available in this size as I don't seem to be able to find them......

Stick to the 1.25" eyepieces for now but you might want to consider a 2" one for low power / wide field views in due course. There is no need to switch wholesale to the 2" format as the only advantage they have is being able to show a wider field of view than 1.25" ones at low magnification. Many folks end up with one or two 2" eyepieces and the rest the 1.25" size

[spektrumdx8]

Cool,, thanks John...

Will have to sell some of my gear as I'll have too many(!!) and I've only got one set of peepers - will keep the mak 127 and the ext 90 as because me and the wife car share,

I can still do stargazing with the smaller scopes in a rucksack on my Suzuki 400 scooter....

If I had to get just two lenses and a decent barlow for the 200p, what would you use????

Bear in mind I wear specs !

[SkyGibbon]

Did your Skywatcher come with a barlow? Here in the U.S. it comes with one on purchase. If not, I like the TeleVue barlows. I have a 2x and 3x. You could also get the adjusting barlows, that go for 1.5x - 3x. As far as eyepieces go you can get some really nice ones that compare favorably to the expensive ones. I would choose a quality 25mm and a quality 16-18mm. The Baader Hyperions are nice as they are 2" and 1.25" in one eyepiece. They also sell a ten dollar 14 or 28mm ring that in essence gives you another quality eyepiece by moving the glass forward cutting your 25mm to 12mm. Great deal if you ask me. They are 68 degree eyepieces. If you are going to do some photography, make sure you have enough in-focus for your camera. My newtonian would not focus up without a barlow, which of course will increase your mag.