Quote:
Originally Posted by CChelle
Wow! This is EXACTLY what I joined the forum for. I had done some research and found that most helpful experts reccommend and 8" dob to a beginner. However, as the sites I'd been to were not Australian, the most reccommended brand was Orion. Can anyone tell me about the Skywatcher and Saxon brands. Mostly I just want to know if they're good or not. I've heard some good stuff about Skywatcher but what about Saxon? How does it compare? Also, how much better of would I be 10" Dob? Portability is not an issue. I live in the boon docks so I wouldn't be going anywhere other than my back paddock and my husband has offered to make me a stand on castors for wheeling the whole set up in and out of the garage. The upside of living in a place that is isolated from star clubs etc is that I have dark skys to look at.  |
Skywatcher IS Saxon. : ) Saxon is the Aussie re-branding, specializing in slightly different scopes.
Well, I have an 8" f/5 Saxon from 2003. I had never heard of it before when I got it but it turned out to be of exceptional quality for its era. But They are made even better now, smoother too. I have used this to draw and map and all the planets except for Uranus and Pluto which are tiny little blank specs. In fact I'm not sure if it was Pluto but it could have been!
Yes excellent. You might want to use larger wheels. Castors might knock out the collimation if it goes bump bump bump de-bump.
Hell put it on a lawnmower like me, and get a 10" instead since it will be on wheels. : ) YES you need to put any 8" on wheels (unless it's truss), or it's very annoying to take out! VERY annoying! Primal enthusiasm does not last forever and is not always sufficient to overcome the 'weight barrier' of the scope. Sometimes you need to roll it out quick before it starts raining. I love doing that. Nice clouds in front of the moon!
