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Originally Posted by DJ N
So now I find myself considering a "grab and go"which I can pick up without disassembly.My first thoughts were for the Skywatcher 127 maksutov or the Skywatcher 120mm f8.3 (maybe succumbing to aperture fever once again). Has anyone any thoughts or other suggestions?
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Firstly, Hi and welcome to IIS
That second scope can be a difficult choice to make, and each one comes with its own set of comprimises. First thing to realise is that aperture does indeed rule, and no view from a smaller scope will equal that from your dob, so in order to use it more it needs to be as light and simple to use as possible.
IMO its a damn shame that so many small scopes come with an eq mount. Their drawbacks are the need for counterweights, and having to rotate the ota or diagonal as the scope is pointed around the sky. They are popular with starter scopes im sure because they look cool and techo
I would definately love to see some more decent alt-az tripod mounts in the market.
After buying an ED80 refractor and being dissapointed with it, I sold it and bought myself a
5" f5 newtonian on an alt-az tripod mount.
These are my reasons for choosing this package.
- Its lightweight and easy to pick up and carry. It gets more use than my 10" dob.
- Simple to use. Push it like a dob and fine tune with the slo-mo controls
- It sets up and knocks down for transportation in no time, and takes up very little room.
- It cools quickly, unlike a mak-cass.
- Higher eyepiece height for less tripod extension compared to a refractor.I can use this standing up and no messing with diagonals.
- No colour like a short tube achromat and better at planetary/lunar whilst also good for nice wide fields, unlike a mak-cass.