If I buy a Dobsonian, will I regret it?

[johninderby]

The mirrors don't come from the same place. Meade mirrors are made by GSO and Skywatcher are made by Synta.There seems to be a bit more variation in the Meade mirrors, although they're usually good. However the Skywatcher mirrors seem to be very consistent, top quality (for a mass produced dob) every time.

The 250PX is a great choice, lots of satisfied users.

John

[Ralf]

I've got a slight problem. Since I've got a place in Cyprus I intend to buy the telescope there (for obvious reasons). However, there is only a sinlge place selling telescopes there and I've been in contact with them. I was told that the 250PX solid tube version is out of stock and possibly discontinued. They do have the flexi tube version. Is there a disadvantge in having the flexi tube version (eg problems with collimation, more interference from other light sources etc...) Again your help will be much appreciated.

[lulu57]

I found the more you think about things the harder the choice becomes.

Just get it

Yeah...

Astronut's 12" dob blew my socks off...

It was envy at first sight.

[acey]

If you can get the solid tube 8-inch then it might be better as a first scope than a 10-inch flextube.

I have the 12-inch flextube and love it, and I don't mind the couple of minutes it takes to collimate and align the finder every time I use it. But I started out on an 8-inch solid tube (which rarely needed collimating) and when I first got that I thought it was huge.

With a flextube you'll definitely need a light shround if there are direct light sources at your viewing site. My experience of planetary viewing with it so far is that it's little different from the 8-inch. Deep-sky is a totally different matter - there's a big difference.

Andrew

[hal2000]

Regarding Brian's (Irishbloke) post earlier, I have had a look through his 10" Skywatcher a few times, including following the length of Markarian's chain, and it was excellent. I have a 12" Lightbridge, and the Skywatcher is just as good.

[acey]

Markarian's chain also looks great through my 8-inch solid tube from a dark site. You see roughly half a magnitude fainter with each 2-inch step of aperture increase (in the 8-12 inch range). To a beginner that's not really noticeable - most galaxies are faint smudges in either an 8-inch or a 12-inch.

I've seen nearly all of the Herschel 400 with the 8-inch (not to mention the Messiers). Only ones I haven't seen are the ones I haven't bothered looking for yet. I found the 8-inch a great scope to use - it lasted me for nine years until the advent of the flextube persuaded me to upgrade.

[kd001]

Is there a disadvantge in having the flexi tube version (.

It might even be an advantage. I believe the collapsible versions are newer. And in his review of the Skyliner 300P Ade Ashford pointed out that the flextube version had superior optical performance than the solid tube version. Though I'm not sure if the same goes for the 250PX models. I should point out that I am also a beginner like you but hopefully someone who is more of an expert will confirm my comments.

[John]

It might even be an advantage. I believe the collapsible versions are newer. And in his review of the Skyliner 300P Ade Ashford pointed out that the flextube version had superior optical performance than the solid tube version. Though I'm not sure if the same goes for the 250PX models. I should point out that I am also a beginner like you but hopefully someone who is more of an expert will confirm my comments.

I know Ade and I had a look at the scope that he reviewed. The optics of that one were excellent plus of course he is pretty good at collimation however as far as I'm aware the Flextube uses exactly the same optical sets as the Skyliner so you are just as likely to get excellent optics in the solid tube and maintaining accurate collimation (essential for wringing the last drops of performance from an F/5) will be slightly easier to maintain in the solid tube IMHO.

That said, I've got a Lightbridge 12" and I'm very happy with it

John

[acey]

The 12" flextube has serious issues with stray light, which reduces contrast and makes for poorer views, especially planets. Partly this comes from the open-tube design - first thing you need to get is a light shroud (the Astrozap costs about £70, otherwise make one). A dewshield (home made) cuts down a bit more on internal reflections in the scope, but I intend to flock mine to improve things more. I suspect that the gloss black paint on the struts doesn't help matters, and the spider might need repainting too. All simple jobs, of course. But if the scope is to be used in areas with direct light sources then they need to be considered.

With my 8-inch solid tube (an Orion SkyQuest) I never felt the need of any mods at all, though admittedly I was a beginner when I first got it and consequently less fussy.

I also preferred the stability of the 8-inch in comparison with the 12-inch flextube. In the latter I find too much wobble when focussing at high powers, which again makes for less satisfactory planetary viewing.

For visual deep sky at dark sites it's fantastic - that's what I bought it for.

But if I were starting out again I'd still go for an 8-inch solid tube first.

[Camkorn]

Well you guys have certainly sold the Skywatcher Dobsonian to me too! THanks ;-)

[hamit]

you know what, thank everyone for contributing to this post, this also helped me make my mind up on whether to get a Dob or not!, it also made me make my mind up on buying the 250PX! but that comment:

"I suppose the only possible regret would be ... not buying a bigger one...

Peter...."

is it worth the extra bucks to buy a 300PX skyliner?...

[acey]

Look at the weight, not the cost.

[Chris H]

If you want a dob mounted scope with 10 inch aperture and are worried about not finding DSO's go for the Orion XT10i it is a solid tube scope but you get the best of both worlds you can cruise around the sky checking things out and if you can't find some thing you can turn to the intelliscope feature. This scope does not have tracking like the skywatcher.

[bish]

I've recently changed my scope. It was a really tough decision between the skywatcher 250 dob and 200 on an eq5. I only went for the 200 on eq because I have stared trying my hand at imaging with my DSLR on my old scope (need to get some motors again now!). I think if I had gone for the dob I would have been just as happy. It was almost a toss of a coin I was so undecided. I may end up getting a big dob in the future (and a good refractor, and PST etc, etc...)

[Casus belli]

One of the joys of owning a dob is tracking down faint objects by hand. Think of it as the thrill of the hunt. Its easy. If it wasnt I couldnt do it. Im very proud of my ability to do this.

I own the 10" lightbridge. I love it. You need a light shroud but its easy to set up (with practice) and its a joy to use.