Anyone owned/owns both 10" and 12" dobs? Looking for comparative feedback!

[DJ N]

I am close to ordering myself a visual scope, and basically the choice is coming down to either a 10 inch or 12 inch dob. My question is, has anyone owned both of these scopes at any time, and are they able to provide input to whether there a significant difference in what you can see between the two. I know in theory, the 12 inch is capturing 1.44x the light, however I understand that you need to double the effective light gathering area to see a significant difference.

I have come up with a bit of a check list between the two to help me in aid in making a decision, but it isn’t really helping me. I am concerned that if I get the 10 inch, I will be always wondering why I did not go for the 12 inch.

The other scope which I suppose could be factored into the equation is the Skywatcher flex dob, but I have noted some comments on some of the overseas forums that there are issues with the slider bars being under-designed for the 12”.

Attribute...................... GSO 10"....... GSO 12" .......SW 12" Flex

Mass OTA...................... 14kg ............20kg
Mass Base .....................10kg ............12.5kg
Fit on back seat ..............Yes ...............No ...............Yes
Fit on EQ6 ......................Yes ...............No ...............Yes



Some points of summary from the above, the 10” dob in my mind would be a lot more “portable”, thus allowing me to take it in the car with all my imaging gear (EQ6, ED120, ED80 etc…) when I head off to dark skies. In addition, the 10 inch OTA can be mounted onto my EQ6 for lunar imaging, whereas I would not want to mount the 12” as it would exceed the limit on the mount. As for the Skywatcher version, you are paying quite a premium over the GSO variety (in addition the GSO includes a cooling fan and 10:1 focuser).

Does this make sense? Is anyone able to shed any more light? HELP!

Look forward to comments.

Cheers.

[bmitchell82]

Well i can give you an over view.

As being apart of a small group (quite funny actually to see them setup) that has a 12" SW solid tube, 10" SW solid tube (mine) and a 8" Solid tube all riding on the back of the faithful EQ6 steeds this is what it comes down to.

If your doing visual, the 12 will show more detail theres no 2 bob about it, its upto you to know how to look, an untrained eye will notice very little difference, a trianed eye will go wow!

You have to decide if it is going to be a imaging scope or a visual scope staight up and if so what imaging are you doing? you have mentioned about Lunar/planetary imaging in which case the 12 is the only way to go, the 10" isn't bad don't get me wrong ive taken a few cracker Saturn shots but the 12 just gets that much more detail.

Dont be fooled. a 12" can ride apon a eq6 as long as it is well maintained and well balanced.! my 10" imaging rig is approximately 26kgs which is well past the "stated load rating" my friends 12" is 20kg, with his 120mm clestron long tube refractor and black diamond 80 ED is up around the 30+ thats excluding the counterweight... and he always pulls nice crisp stars auto guiding at sub pixel values cleans that up nicely...(sure the mount wont last a lifetime but by the time your mount needs new gears and worms youll be upgrading anyhow and the gears and worms arnt expensive...)

So this is what i would think about the tube length of the 12" is approximately 1.5meters, 10" 1.3 meters, flex 1 meterish. Take into account that the dob base is HUGE. the 10" is half a meter wide and half a meter tall, the 12" is a damn site bigger.!

In the end aperature rules. get the biggest you can afford/manage that is fit for the job that you want it to do! (also if your crafty and know what your doing you can always fit a Flex dob on the back of an eq6... some carefully placed mounting blocks. hey presto!

[sally1jack]

:rofl:There is a 14"coming out & GSO have a 16'truss dob also rumors of a 20"in the breeze .....never big enough.
Its all a compromise work out what you want to do & where it has to fit &throw in cost, Pick one that ticks all the boxes the best.


goodluck

Phil

[Astrolabe]

Hi Daniel

I currently have both the 10" and the 12" GSO Dobs. I have no experience with the collapsible Skywatcher or with astrophotography.

Viewing wise, there is noticeable difference between the two, and for this alone I will go for the 12". Interestingly, the first Dob I bought was a 12" but because I had to take it up and down a few steps, I found the bulk and the steps a bit too scary. I then sold the 12" and bought the 10". Later I bought another 12" because I found the bulk of 16" overwhelming even in the shop. If I had an observatory, it would be a different story.
So transportation wise, the 10" is better unless you have a larger station wagon or a van. The weight is not a big issue but the bulk of the 12" is. I also find that I can observe seated at all altitudes with the 10" Dob.

I keep them fully assembled, one is stored in a shed at a semi dark site and the other at my house.

I hope that this helps.

George (astrolabe)

[DJ N]

Thanks for your comment Brendan, Phil and George. My heart is saying go for the 12, but my head, the 10 inch. I think I will have to procrastinatefor a bit longer. The worst part being I don't have a station wagon!!

Cheers guys:thumbsup:

[iceman]

I've owned both, and did significant observing in my 10" but not so much in the 12" (it's primarily to photograph planets).

The 12" is significantly larger than the 10", so if portability is a major concern, then yes - go the 10".

You *can* put the 12" on an EQ6 (I do), but you'll need a heavy duty dovetail and custom rings. It increases the cost a lot.

There are ready available rings for a 10" newt so the solution is easier and cheaper to mount on an EQ6.

[scopemankit]

Does this make sense? Is anyone able to shed any more light? HELP!

The 12" will shed more light! The 10" is more portable. Are you going to take the scope to dark areas? If so. will it fit into your car? A 10" F5 will comfortably lie across the back seat of a car, as 12", maybe not. There ia also the weight factor and the size factor to to take into account when carrying your scope. On deep sky objects the 12" wins (Omega Cen is a wow!) There are so many variables that whichever you choose will be the best and the worst.

Sorry for the confusion, I have a 14" truss scope and would not change down to a smaller size in spite of the slog to get it setup.

[Paul Haese]

Hey Danny, get the 12 and leave it at my place. That way when we are imaging we have a scope to take a look at the sites above our heads. That is if Tim does not bring the 22!

I like the 10" that Tim built though, more portable.

[Rodstar]

I recall the good old days when a group of us observed at the Paint Ball place at Kulnura - Iceman (Mike) had his 10" dob and Frogman (Anthony) had his 12" dob. I would often look at the same object side by side in those two scopes, and time and again, the 12" gave clearly brighter images.

If you are wanting to push the limits with dimmer deep sky objects, particularly faint galaxies, the 12 inch will be much better. If however you are doing the open cluster/planetary/moon caper, then the 10 inch will be more that enough to be well satisfied.

As others have said, portability is a huge difference. The 12 inch seems almost twice as big to handle. It is harder to fit into a car comfortably, but would be OK if just moving around the backyard etc. The 10 inch is easy to move around, very light and portable by comparison.

Good luck..whichever way you go you will have a wonderful time of discovery.

[DJ N]

Thanks for the replies guys!! The sad thing is, my first 'proper' scope was a 10 inch dob which I sold a couple of years back when I started going down the imaging path. Really regret letting that one go as it was a custom built jobbie. Live and learn I suppose. Will let everyone know how I go once I make a decision.

Cheers,

Daniel

[DJ N]

I suppose that is part of the resaon of getting a visual scope. Give us something to do whilst imaging. Just need to be able to fit everything in the car, that is, all the imaging gear plus a dob!!;)

[DJ N]

Hmmmmm...... just noticed the 12" Lightbridge is reduced at Bintel. That plus Bobs Knobs, some new springs and a shroud....... and to think my 40th is only a few months away!! :):whistle:

[pgc hunter]

I own a 10" GSO and a 12" custom built dob. I never compared them side by side (try taking BOTH a 10 and 12 outside - then back inside, in one hit for a workout)!!!

But some differences I've noted, Jupiter shows more detail and is "smoother" in the 12", faint planetaries show more detail, and the 12" inch has the edge over the 10 on faint galaxies and galaxy clusters. The most obvious difference I've found is on the Homunculus Nebula. The 12" shows a surprisingly more intricate complex when compared to the 10".

The difference is barely noticable on brighter/larger targets like open clusters, large bright nebulae and starclouds.

I think where a 12" will really shine over the 10" is when hunting targets at the threshold of vision. For brighter/larger targets, the difference is negligable.

[bmitchell82]

Well if your using it as a visual scope to give you something to do during imaging runs. get a 12" Flex dob that will keep you entertained for the long hours. :D