Comments on Skywatcher 200mm

mathewb · #1 13-11-2007, 12:08 AM

Hi all,

I have been lurking for a while and decided to take a leap of faith and join this community proper.

I'm looking at getting a Skywatcher 200mm with GoTo as an early xmas present for the family

I was wondering if anyone has read any independant reviews on this scope?

Its the best that I can afford at the moment, as I dont want to get a DOB as I'd like to be able to take photos at some stage and I have heard you cant track easily with a DOB for an extended period of time.

Any thoughts would be welcome.

Slainte,
Mathew B.

matt · #2 13-11-2007, 12:31 AM

Great scope for the money.

I owned that scope on the EQ5 with dual axis motors and had a ball with it for about 12 months.

If you can afford it...I recommend you spring the dollars for that package, although I have no idea how much you are looking to spend?

An 8" reflector will allow you to see plenty.

Just get yourself a few good eyepieces and you are on your way

Welcome to IIS, by the way

iceman (Mike) · #3 13-11-2007, 05:47 AM

to IceInspace, Mathew!

I haven't used one myself, but I do know that the 8" skywatchers are great scopes. Put one on an EQ mount, and you're already set for astrophotography.

I'm not a huge fan of newts on EQ mounts for visual use as you need to rotate the tube quite a bit depending on which area of the sky you're looking at.. but the 8" newts are a lot shorter than my 12" newt, so it's probably less of an issue and not too bad to deal with.

[1ponders] (Paul) · #4 13-11-2007, 08:38 AM

mathewb

What mount is the skywatcher listed with? EQ5, HEQ5, EQ6?

janoskiss (Steve H) · #5 13-11-2007, 10:40 AM

A Dob mount is much more convenient for visual observing and for a grab and go setup. I'd recommend you get an 8" Dob and an EQ mount to put the tube on for astrophotography. EQ6 would be nice and solid with the 8" on it. HEQ5 would do. EQ5 doable but you'd have to be a bit of a masochist.

Astro78 · #6 13-11-2007, 07:34 PM

I have the same scope on an EQ5 (different brand, same factory in China - Synta) bought second hand and highly recommend it.

Technically the mount is at it's limit so wouldn't be ideal for long exposure photography but for visual it's great.

Don't underestimate the advantage of, once polar aligned, walking away for extended periods and having an object you've worked hard finding still being in view. In my case without motors, by just turning one knob which essentially represents time.

being fairly new - i couldn't live without the slow mo controls either.

Also (sorry for harping on) -I'm constantly going back and forth to the PC's skychart software for directions of DSO's/Galaxies etc, a dob mount would surely be frustrating here. Although must admit to never using one!

Omaroo (Chris Malikoff) · #7 14-11-2007, 08:36 AM

Yep - I bought the scope Matt was referring to from him. Now I've had it for a fair while, and while it doesn't get used much any more it is still one of my faves. It's a great compromise between ability and carry-ability. Well collimated they give very good views indeed.

Cheers
Chris

Lee · #8 14-11-2007, 10:09 PM

I would also get the Dob and an EQ mount - the Dob base won't add much to the package anyway - and is far better for visual observing too.... as Mike said - a newt on an EQ mount is a bit unpleasant, unless you are 8 foot tall!
and welcome.....

kiwidoc66 · #9 16-11-2007, 11:35 AM

Just took delivery of the 200mm skywatcher on a dob mount yesterday - sky cloudy overnight so I can't give first light report yet. Nice and solid though and seems to be well collimated straight from the box.

Astroman (Andrew Wall) · #10 16-11-2007, 11:54 AM

good stuff, I use an 8" F6 SW Newtonian on my EQ6, not a problem, although I use it as a guidescope mainly and use the 80mm as the main imaging camera.

kiwidoc66 · #11 16-11-2007, 08:52 PM

New scope, first view this evening. Not the best seeing with low broken easterly cloud. Still, seems to be very good. Nice view of Jewel Box in crux even though it was low on the horizon, colours of stars very obvious. 47 Tucanae clear and bright, even Jupiter looked good at twilight before it disappeared behind trees - I thought I could make out faint cloud band at 40X. All in all I'm very pleased with it and cant wait for a clear night...

bluescope · #12 16-11-2007, 09:19 PM

Hi Mathew

I have a SW200mm F5 Newt and EQ6 Pro ( gotto ) equatorial mount and I use it a lot even though I also own a SW254mm F4.7 Newt, a 180mm SW Maksutov Cassegrain and also a 90mm Meade Mak ( gotto ). The 8 inch aperture gives crisp, bright, relatively widefield views of most objects of interest and it is quite convenient to use i.e. not too heavy to setup and not diffcult to get to the eyepiece for viewing. The 10 inch can require a foot stool to stand on at certain positions. I rarely take my 180mm and 90mm Maks out these days although I like them both.
You can check out images I have taken with the 200mm Newt by checking my profile and looking at threads I have posted.

Welcome to IIS and have fun, that's what it's all about.

Steve