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Old 29-01-2009, 02:22 AM
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darkskybondi
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darkskybondi is offline
 
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Sydney, Australia
Posts: 110
I was the the same situation recently. The 12" scopes look great and I've taken a view through them and they are nice, but the cost/benefit isn't good - too bulky, not worthy of the benefit.

I went for the skywatcher collapsible 10" dob. In hindsight I probably could have been perfectly happy with the solid tube (170 bucks cheaper too) but it does make laser collimation easier because you can easily see the secondary mirror. I imagine cleaning would be easy too.

I strongly recommend the 10" skywatcher, either solid tube or truss. They've gotten great reviews. I also looked through the GSO-branded Bintel 12" solid, it's beautiful but big. Be prepared to spend extra on a couple of improvements to the mount. If you can go for the 10" Bintel for around the same price ($680 for the Skywatcher from York) then I'd say consider that too.

My limited experience is that a 12" seems wonderful but you will be more than happy with a 10" - the price/aperture/portability equation is just right with them.

Cheers
DSB
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