Telescope help!

[umadog]

The 10" will gather 56% more light than the 8". The effect of this is more or less as you describe: it will help to bring out details and objects that are faint at 8" but it won't be strikingly better. Personally, I'd go for the 10" as it isn't substantially less portable.

Buy yourself a Telrad finder along with the scope. Most people find them much easier to use than a traditional finderscope. You can, of course, have both traditional finder and Telrad set up at once.

A Dob is a nice choice for a first scope, btw.

[sammy1404]

thanks umadog, ill look into getting a telrad at some point, for now though i want to get the scope and start learning then when start getting better at astronomy then ill buy stuff for the scope like different eyepieces etc then maybe an eq mount for photography

[G0JVK]

my only advise on this is whatever you decide to get in my humble opinion would be to place my order today 3/1/11 before midnight as after that the increase in VAT will apply and you'd probably save yourself a few £'s . it's got to be worth it don't you think.

Regards Rob.

[umadog]

I agree you might want to hold off a little before buying eyepieces but the very reason I mention the Telrad now is because it will help you get started and learning. You will find new objects more easily with a Telrad. That's why it's worth buying sooner rather than later.

[sammy1404]

oh right ok ill look into that then thanks!

[AlexM]

You won't regret getting a telrad straight away for a dob. The telrad on my 10 inch dob is the best bit of kit I've bought and makes navigating the sky far, far easier than a finderscope for me. Second best was the laser collimator. You'll need to get used to collimating a 10 inch dob fairly regularly if mine is anything to go by(I have to move it outdoors every time I want to use it) and a laser makes it much more simple for people like me that struggle with a cheshire collimator.