[Satchmo]

Originally Posted by Profiler

For example, I haven't yet come across someone who says "I used an AP Starfire for 5 years but then I sold it in a heart beat because I got fantastic/better views etc etc from a 10' Dob/Newt"

Its funny you should say that - but I have related on this forum before of the night at ASNSW 's Wiruna property when Clives 7" Starfire stood unused with a crowd of people viewing Jupiter through an older stock 10" F6 Dob circa 1980's that stood next to it . There were a load more features visible as there was now colour differentiation between festoons in the bands. The planet disc in the 7" was sharp but all the bands were gray in fact all the detail was fairly black and white compared to the Newt. It was just plainly a more satifying view in the 10"

That 7" Starfire was a masterpiece but so long as the optics are good quality aperture simply rules - no free lunches there...