[Shiraz (Ray)]

I have 2x GSO Newts and a CF 250f4 Skywatcher. The GSOs have great optics but are mechanically a bit dodgy without a lot of modification. The SW CF has much better designed mechanicals and has been a real pleasure to use - even the standard focuser was OK with a 1kg imaging train load. Fitted with a Moonlite focuser and in a permanent setup, it comfortably holds collimation (and focus) for months. It has well designed baffling + excellent optics + a stiff tube + thin spider vanes and is (just) light enough to put on an EQ6. Not sure how the tube stiffness will stand up under the weight of an SBIG imaging train though - it is fine at (1kg + SX AO), but the SBIG setup is a lot heavier than that.

I got an RCC1 coma corrector so that back focus would not be a problem if I wanted to go for AO (it has been temporarily fitted with an SX AO with no issues). The RCC1 works well with the 694, so should be fine with an 8300 (it will vignette, but probably not excessively so - I have used mine with an APSc and it was acceptable).

Downsides of the SW are:
- the interior black paint in mine turned out to be water soluble - which was interesting when it dewed up.
- collimation is stable provided that nothing is bumped. I accidentally brushed against my camera the other night and had to stop and re-collimate everything. It was nowhere near as nice to use when I was breaking the system down each night, since occasional bumps were inevitable.
- the black CF looks great, but is a dew magnet. I needed to cover mine with reflective Al tape - made a huge difference, but looks pedestrian.
- even with the CF tube, it needs regular refocusing as the temperature changes (a big disadvantage of f4) - digital focus (automatic or temp compensating) is pretty much essential.

these scopes are not "point at the sky and press the button" easy to use, but they are not too demanding and the rate at which you can get images is impressive.