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8" VS 10" Dobsonian
Hi People,
I've been reading, and reading, and reading for a few weeks now, weeding out those scopes which are simply trash ( Ebay ), or out of my league right now ( Meades with Goto's ).
Basically, as many people have put it "I get my best bang for buck with one of these 8 or 10 Guan Shengs.
As people have already said, the Guan Sheng models look like great value for the money, so that is where I am headed. Andrews is only 15 minutes from my place.
Now to the questions, assuming I do go ahead and purchase a telescope ( I've been using binos for a month or so )
a) Will I be able to either replace my mount with a computerised version later, or upgrade the mount itself ? I would like to take a shot at astrophotography one day
b) Should I purchase a collimator when I purchase the scope, and should it be a cheshire or laser version ?
c) Which way do I go - 8 or 10" - is there really that much more light gathering power in comparison to the price ?
d) Is what I get with my first purchase sufficient - should I look at an extra eyepiece or two ? and what about a barlow ?
e) I wear glasses and suffer from astigmatism - could this be a problem ?
f) Could someone give me the dimensions and wieght for the 8 and 10" models - I need to determine whether I could fit them in my little Hyundai Accent ( fortunately the back seats fold down ). Can the scope be easily damaged by repeated trips in a vehicle ?
g) The binos I use arn't really that crash, they cost me some $65 and are 50X7's - with all the light pollution, they give an ok view of the moon, and I can definitely get some colour resolution from Mars and Saturn, plus can make out some nebulae. How much more would I actually be able to view from an 8 or 10". Would the light pollution living with so many street lights, etc, make viewing from home not worth the effort ?.
Anyway, thats about it for now. Hope I havn't simply bored you all totears with the same questions that other newbies ask.
Regards,
Neo ( As in Neo Cortex - not the one from the Matrix )
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