6" Refractor Vs 10" Dob

[SuperG]

I have a very limited budget (~$700AU). I'm often told this a personal choice. I currently have Celestron EQ130 (130mm x 650 mm) and a Skywatcher 90 mm (F10) refractor. But both don't have enough light gathering ability to see things from Sydney.

I like to do visual and a bit of imaging of bright objects but my current two are poor performers on what I want to do next: targets like Jupiter, Saturn, Orion and Ring Nebula (imaging and visual).

I have two potential new scopes in my budget; a GSO 10" 250mm x 1250mm Dobsonian ($650 @ Andrews) and a 6" 150 mm x 1200 Skywatcher Refractor ($680 @ Sirius Optics/ ad in issue 81 of Aust Sky & Telescope).

Opinions please.

[dannat]

for imaging nebula id stick with the 130x650

for visual if it were me i prefer a 6" refractor over the 10" dob -this creates a problem as you still need a solid mount to support it--i like the views a refractor gives over a newt under light pollution, it cools faster & planetary views will be better till the newt cools really well/collimated properly

[raymo]

The scope is a matter of personal choice [ I'd go the 10" for visual ], but
I think I'm right in saying that the GSO Newts will not allow prime focus imaging. Perhaps an owner can confirm this. Skywatcher Newts do
allow prime focus imaging, if you decide on the 10" scope.
raymo

[cometcatcher]

At the local astronomy club we compared a SW 6" F8 refractor and a 12" GSO Newt. The Newt was better, as it should be. For visual, aperture wins, unless you have severe jetstream. In which case the refractor would likely be better.

For photography I'd choose neither. The refractor (unless ED or APO) will have chromatic aberration and the reflector may need to be modified. Remember also that you need a good tracking mount for deep sky and those start at $1200 and go up from there.

[SuperG]

Thanks for the replies so far. For photography I was thinking to let things drift through the FOV and stitch multiple videos together. But I think if I need to mod the dob to get a cam on it that could be a problem.