6" refractor or 8" reflector ???

[dweller25]

Which scope will show the most visual planetary detail :-

Skywatcher 6" F/8 achromat refractor.

Skywatcher 8" f/6 reflector.

??????

Anyone had both these scopes, would appreciate some feedback.

[John]

I've had both and I have to say that I enjoyed the 8" F/6 dobsonian (Skywatcher) much more. I found the 6" refractor a beast and it would have needed a much more robust (and expensive) mount than the EQ5 it was on to have been effective. The dob was a bit of a revelation to me for planetary viewing plus of course it's dead easy to set up and move about. I found tracking became 2nd nature after a while, even at 250x which is about the max usable magnification.

In terms of views, the 8" more than equalled the 6" and without the false colour.

John

[Rusty Strings]

It's aways difficult to make a decision between two scopes like these, I had a similiar dilemma two years ago when I wanted a new scope after not having one for ten years. I knew that the optical performance was obviously important, but I had to be reminded of the more practical issues such as weight, and ease of setup. I ended up with a SW 200P on an EQ5 and I'm glad I did. I've since built a dob mount for it which gets used if I want a very quick setup and I'm trying for a high DSO count. The EQ mount is for when I'm planning a session on a one or two targets and I want motorised tracking (can't be bothered to push it).

I think the bottom line is that, had I gone down the big (and heavy) refractor road, I may have not been out with it as often, unless of course, it's in an obsy.

John

[GazOC]

I've owned both and echo the comments below, the 8" reflector is easier to mount, goes slightly deeper on DSOs and is comparable on planets but without the false colour.

Of course, on the other hand the refactor has no cool down issues and shouldn't need colliamating.

[brianb]

the refactor has no cool down issues

Don't know about that specific refractor, but medium/large refractors can have exactly the same cooling issues as anything else. Sealed tubes worse than open ones. Thick lens at the star facing end worse than thin one.

shouldn't need colliamating

Shouldn't but in practice might ... and refractors are a real beast to collimate, it's usually impossible without an optical bench. Some 'fracs come with a basic mechanism for squaring the objective cell to the tube, but this doesn't help where (as is fairly common) a shock during transport has displaced the objective elements with respect to each other. At least, if they're right, they tend to stay that way, unless you entrust the tube to the gentle mercies of a courier....

[GazOC]

When I had a 6" f8 by the time had the scope out and I had set everything up and was ready to observe it was cooled down and ready to go.

If it arrives out of collimation and theres no way to get it collimated then just send it back to the dealer. Simple.

Lets not needlessly over complicate this eh?

[dweller25]

OK, thanks for the answers.

I started a new thread with an alternate question :-)