[Startrek (Martin)]

I welcome any advice from IIS members who have used or know anybody who have used either a recent Bintel 8” f5 OTA and/or a Skywatcher black diamond photo 8” f5 OTA so I can make some sort of comparison and decision later in the year to upgrade my astrophotography kit
I’m going for an 8” f5 newt on an NEQ6R mount

I currently have a Bintel 6” f6 OTA on a HEQ5 mount using a canon 600D DSLR which is used 80% for astrophotography and 20% Visual
This is a great little rig which I will eventually keep in Sydney and the 8” upgrade kit will find its home at my holiday house 220km away on the NSW south coast ( good dark sky site in my backyard) The 6” is great but has its limitations though.

I’m into light buckets not refractors for the moment ( that may change in the ensuing years when size and weight become a factor due to my age - I’m nearly 60 )

The Bintel 8” is about $160 cheaper than the Skywatcher but it is nearly 1kg heavier (fortunately cost is not a prime concern for me in my retirement)

Both scopes have dual Crayford focusers

Both scopes have 1000mm focal lengths

Both scopes have 200mm primary mirrors BK7 glass ?

The Bintel 8” has a 62mm secondary but I can’t find any data on the Skywatcher secondary

The Bintel GSO dovetail bar and tube rings on my existing 6” are poorly designed and manufactured. I have to guess when I assemble it if the tube rings are aligned , there are no locating seats or guides for you to tighten up on to. I don’t know whether the Bintel 8” is any better or the Skywatcher is manufactured with a good locating seat / purpose fit on the tube rings and dovetail bar.

Collimation on my Bintel 6” is a snack (takes me a couple of minutes )so I’m assuming both Bintel and Skywatcher f5 will be simple as well (I use a laser collimator )

The Bintel 8”comes in a semi gloss white finish but the Skywatcher comes in a black speckle fleck finish. I’m thinking if I set my scope up permanently for a couple of nights imaging, the Skywatcher will take a lot longer to cool down due to a higher ambient temperature absorbed throughout the day due to the black absorbing colour??

I don’t know which scope would be prone to flexure ( if any ) my 6” has a focal length of 900mm ( only 100mm less than the 8” ) and does not suffer from flexure. I have taken exposures of up to 80 seconds with just drift alignment, no guiding and no star trailing ( round stars to edge of field )

Any advice welcome in regard to choosing either the Bintel or Skywatcher 8” f5 OTA for 80% astrophotography and 20% visual

Thanks in advance