Which Scope would you Buy ?

[Outer Limits]

Hello Star Seekers

3 under consideration

 

GSO 10 " PRO Dobsonium

GSO  8 " PRO Dobsonium

Celestron Nexstar 8 SE

 

the first two i understand are purely manual everything

the 8 SE has the computerised help

happy to pay the extra if it makes a LOT easier

 

clear clean crisp vision of the planets and some further afield  galaxies nebulae etc is , everyones hope i guess

i recently saw in a friends scope some fairly distant object, name not remembered, he was excited, it was a blur...

i know its a how long is a piece of string question, but i dont want to look at blurs..

 

limited range of products where i am, mainly Celestron, GSO,

 

Price, yes i realise the 3 above  are way different in price

 

More than happy for other suggested ones from these 2 brands

i think a minimum 8 inch is what i need ??

 

Thanks so much.

 

[Cumbrianwolf]

Go-to and auto tracking is a very advantageous option that will make traversing the cosmos so much easier and enjoyable, albeit at the cost of being able to do it manually as you tend to get reliant on the go-to features. Aperture is king in regard to anything visual, not so much if you live in a very dark sky site, of which the majority do not. What you have chosen above is a good selection, and it comes down to personal choice, the Celestron being a much higher focal ratio will not offer such wide angle images on deep sky nebulae in comparison to the Dobsonian will but will excel on the planets whereas with the Dobs you may need a X2-X3 Barlow lens so that the planets are not micro dots in the eyepieces. Also include the cost of eyepieces, collimation tools and Barlow lenses into the budget. 

 

 

[Outer Limits]

Thank You, CumbrianWolf, Meow...

the other one i forgot to mention that may be a combination of the better of both worlds is the

Skywatcher Dobsonium 8 Flextube SynScan

 

but im thinking it might be way too fiddly to set up, or am i wrong

thoughts on this one if you could.

Thanks

[Cumbrianwolf]

The skywatcher flex tube is actually quite easy to set up as I had the 14" version and apart from the weight of the base unit for this larger telescope the actual telescope assembly was easy and quick including collimation as that will need to be done every time, 10" version is not too much to handle. Ha ha meow back, that was my big ginger tom called Neo in my profile pic. 

 

Edited December 24, 2022 by Cumbrianwolf

[Outer Limits]

Thanks, a few more hours research  confirmed your  advice

am i going to get a better image than something like this, or is about as good as it gets from one of these  scopes

 

[Cumbrianwolf]

20 hours ago, Outer Limits said:

Thanks, a few more hours research  confirmed your  advice

am i going to get a better image than something like this, or is about as good as it gets from one of these  scopes

 

The details are somewhat blurred in those images and that would be a case of bad seeing through the optics, which often happens, but when the skies allow you will see far more crisp and defined details on both planets, especially Cassini’s division is crisp and clear. Be aware that the images will be somewhat smaller, through the optics of a telescope.

Edited December 26, 2022 by Cumbrianwolf

[Outer Limits]

Thanks again for your thoughts and advice

plenty to ponder on now

Celestron  8 SE

or one of the 8 maybe 10 inch big dobs, im thinking the GSO is at least as good as a Skywatcher, maybe a touch better.

i understand the images in the scope will be smaller but if they are going to be blurred,,,,

but you suggest i should see a clear quite crisp image, albeit it small

but i did read an excellent review of the 8 SE, nearly pushed the button....

just  keep digging, you will always find the review you want.

[Cumbrianwolf]

1 hour ago, Outer Limits said:

Thanks again for your thoughts and advice

plenty to ponder on now

Celestron  8 SE

or one of the 8 maybe 10 inch big dobs, im thinking the GSO is at least as good as a Skywatcher, maybe a touch better.

i understand the images in the scope will be smaller but if they are going to be blurred,,,,

but you suggest i should see a clear quite crisp image, albeit it small

but i did read an excellent review of the 8 SE, nearly pushed the button....

just  keep digging, you will always find the review you want.

10" would be my choice and GSO are who make Skywatcher scopes, there is little difference as I had a GSO 10" under the TS brand, and it was identical to a Skywatcher 10" in all the specifications apart from the colour of the tube. The images would only be blurry if the atmosphere is turbulent, when it is calm an 8" or 10" will give you a perfect view of the planets and some deep sky object (DSO). http://www.deepskywatch.com/Articles/what-can-i-see-through-telescope.html I think that is where you got the images right and if so the above is pretty accurate.

Edited December 26, 2022 by Cumbrianwolf

[Outer Limits]

Thanks so much, again

GSO  GS 880 , i think will triumph

 

http://www.gs-telescope.com/content.asp?id=115

[Cumbrianwolf]

You won't go wrong with that option, I see that GSO sell direct through the dealer. You may be able to find one with a basic tracking system, as is used in the Skywatcher versions.

Edited December 26, 2022 by Cumbrianwolf

[Outer Limits]

No such luck with the tracking system  but i think compared to others its a fairly good price

660 of your GBP

 

https://www-thaiexcite-com.translate.goog/GSO-10-Dobsonian-Telescope-with-2-Crayford-Focuser-GS880.html?_x_tr_sl=th&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=sc

[Cumbrianwolf]

11 minutes ago, Outer Limits said:

No such luck with the tracking system  but i think compared to others its a fairly good price

660 of your GBP

 

https://www-thaiexcite-com.translate.goog/GSO-10-Dobsonian-Telescope-with-2-Crayford-Focuser-GS880.html?_x_tr_sl=th&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=sc

That is a very good price for such a large optical tube, go for it, I would say, also download a star map on your phone to help guide you around the cosmos. You will not get much better views than what this scope offers unless you were to jump up to say 16" and then they become a little unwieldy.

[Outer Limits]

Thanks so much for all your advice, ill most likely ask a few more questions , down the track

next pint is on me.

 

[Carbon Brush]

May I throw some questions in that have not been asked?
Where will you store the scope? Where will you observe?
What are your skies like?

 

If you store the scope in a shed, or on the ground floor of the house, and observe from the garden, a big dob, or other big newt is fine. Transport is not a problem.
If you live in a 3rd floor flat and use stairs, a big scope is a big issue. Especially if you don't have big muscles😁
If you intend to observe away from home and have a small car, again scope size is a consideration.

 

Having owned (or still own) various scopes in the size/weight range you are considering, I speak from experience of struggling with big scopes!

 

Recently while visiting (urban dwelling) family, I pointed out some easily seen bright objects. Jupiter and Mars. Unforunately Mars came in out of visibility depending on how far away we were from the glare of street lights.

 

There is saying (I have no idea who said it) The best scope is the one that gets used the most.

 

HTH, David.

[Nightspore]

On 12/26/2022 at 1:56 PM, Cumbrianwolf said:

10" would be my choice and GSO are who make Skywatcher scopes, there is little difference as I had a GSO 10" under the TS brand, and it was identical to a Skywatcher 10" in all the specifications apart from the colour of the tube. 

 

I don't wish to be obtuse or confrontational but are you sure Guan Sheng Optical manufacture Sky-Watcher Dobsonian or Newtonian scopes? I was always under the impression that they were actually made by the Synta production facility on the Chinese mainland. GSO have quite distinctive focusers that are unmistakable.

 

 

Above: TS branded 150mm GSO Newtonian.

 

I'm also fairly sure that 'Sky-Watcher' (essentially the house name of Synta) can source their focusers (and diagonals) from a variety of OEM's, including Long Perng. So sourcing from GSO could be a distinct possibility. Although this sourcing of parts is true of a lot of distributors and even manufacturers.

Edited December 30, 2022 by Nightspore

[Cumbrianwolf]

1 hour ago, Nightspore said:

 

I don't wish to be obtuse or confrontational but are you sure Guan Sheng Optical manufacture Sky-Watcher Dobsonian or Newtonian scopes? I was always under the impression that they were actually made by the Synta production facility on the Chinese mainland. GSO have quite distinctive focusers that are unmistakable.

 

 

Above: TS branded 150mm GSO Newtonian.

 

I'm also fairly sure that 'Sky-Watcher' (essentially the house name of Synta) can source their focusers (and diagonals) from a variety of OEM's, including Long Perng. So sourcing from GSO could be a distinct possibility. Although this sourcing of parts is true of a lot of distributors and even manufacturers.

I can always be proven wrong, of course, and no objection to that. I think that they all have a hand in each others parts bins. 🙂

[Nightspore]

18 minutes ago, Cumbrianwolf said:

I can always be proven wrong, of course, and no objection to that. I think that they all have a hand in each others parts bins. 🙂

 

Undoubtedly. Although GSO and Synta mirrors and construction are usually distinctively different IME. GSO do tend to build all of their own parts, including eyepieces. Although they could out outsource or even buy from other OEM's. Sky-Watcher are renown for buying from other OEM's.  

Edited December 30, 2022 by Nightspore

[Nightspore]

You know, I've been thinking about this. It could be a post covid supply chain issue. I don't think the PRC have always been totally honest about their real infection rate.