Best DOB under $1500 in Australia?

[kana]

Hi guys!

New here and a few of my friends have suggested a quality DOB for my first telescope, and happy to spend $1300-$1500.

I was looking at the skycatcher 12" DOB, any other suggestions?

Many thanks in advance

[barx1963 (Malcolm)]

Originally Posted by kana

Hi guys!

New here and a few of my friends have suggested a quality DOB for my first telescope, and happy to spend $1300-$1500.

I was looking at the skycatcher 12" DOB, any other suggestions?

Many thanks in advance

Kana
Welcome to IIS!! I assume you mean Skywatcher? A couple of points. Fistly are you wanting a goto or a non goto scope? Obviously there are goto ones in your price range but they will be small aperture. Gotos usually work well but obviously there are electronics and motors that can go wrong and you still need a basic knowledge of the sky to successfully align them. Secondly are you thinking solid tube or collapsible. Again solid tube will be cheaper and are easier and quicker to setup but take up more room and can be harder to transport (depending on your car). Thirdly, have you seen a 12" scope. Many beginners are surprised how big one of these is. As a rough guide think of a smaller hot water tank!

Having said all that, the Skywatcher dobs are generally well made with pretty good optics.

Good luck with your decision!

Malcolm

[Screwdriverone (Chris)]

Hi Kana,

Welcome to Ice in Space

Yes, you could get a non-goto 12" Skywatcher dob (no motors or tracking) for $1500, but if that is your budget, I would HIGHLY suggest the Orion 10" GOTO Intelliscope from Bintel here http://www.bintel.com.au/Telescopes/...oductview.aspx

It is $1499, and 10" to 12" inches difference isnt much, BUT the convenience and tracking of GOTO and sky tours and push a button to find an object cant be beaten.

I know, I spent $1500 on a manual Skywatcher collapsible dob that didnt have goto, and while the views were great, the drudgery of finding things in light polluted skies was a pain. I sold it and bought an eq mounted 8" tube and havent looked back (for visual and astrophotography)

That Orion 10" goto (solid tube) dob I linked is a STEAL for $1499 and will probably be a scope you will keep for many many years.

That's my learned opinion

Cheers

Chris

[barx1963 (Malcolm)]

Chris does make a good point. Without knowing where you are located though it is hard to judge. I used a non goto 12" solid tube for years but a i have very mild light pollution so star hopping is relatively easy!!

Malcolm

[kana]

Awesome thanks guys. I was thinking the non goto setup, but from your experience the goto sounds like a better idea?

What kind of image difference is there between a 10" and 12" in our skies?

Thanks again!

[kana]

ps. I'm in Brisbane and will use it out West with no light pollution

[Screwdriverone (Chris)]

The difference between the 10" and the 12" is bugger all. The 10" is smaller in size and easier to handle and optically the visual difference is not much at all.

I loved the 12" mirror on my dob, but for me, having a trackable 8" scope which stays on target, I can't honestly say there is much difference to my eye apart from a dimmer image and slightly less detail, BUT that is comparing an 8 to a 12!!

The difference between a 10 and a 12 will be not much at all and the convenience of the smaller tube and goto will make up for the difference in money and wow factor.

Chris

[kana]

You guys made an interesting point regarding moving it in your cars. Chris did you fit your 12" in a sedan with seats down?

[barx1963 (Malcolm)]

I had no issues moving my 12" solid tube an a small wagon (Holden Astra) but it would have been a struggle in a sedan. The tube would fit on the back seat but the base would have issues. One possibility to consider is that the Orion dobs I believe can be fully dismantled including the base!

Malcolm

[kana]

Cheers Malcolm

You guys see much difference in the quality between the SW and Orions?

If you both take photographs using your gear I'd love to see them!

[cfranks (Charles)]

Originally Posted by Screwdriverone

The difference between the 10" and the 12" is bugger all. The 10" is smaller in size and easier to handle and optically the visual difference is not much at all.

I loved the 12" mirror on my dob, but for me, having a trackable 8" scope which stays on target, I can't honestly say there is much difference to my eye apart from a dimmer image and slightly less detail, BUT that is comparing an 8 to a 12!!

The difference between a 10 and a 12 will be not much at all and the convenience of the smaller tube and goto will make up for the difference in money and wow factor.

Chris

Sorry Chris, the difference is in the amount of light gathering and the surface area of the 12" mirror is 44% more than the 10". Can be important if you are chasing faint fuzzies.

Charles

[tones-]

you will probably find you would use an 8 or 10" dob a bit more than a 12"
a 12" dob is huge and pretty awkward to move around and store

if i was to start all over again the first scope id get would be an 8" dob because then you get the flexibility of having a dob thats easy to move around and that can also be easily EQ mounted

id even look at getting an EQ mounted 8", having tracking and goto in my view anyway can make up for an extra couple inches aperture

[kana]

Looks like I'll go with the 10", but after reading a lot more the DOBs aren't ideal for photography.

Anyone got any suggestions that they've used around $1500 that is a good setup for obervations and photography?

[Steffen]

You can do imaging with a Dob, and you can observe with an ED80. However, if you're serious about imaging and observing you need to get both.

Also, for serious imaging the telescope seems to play second (even third) fiddle, as far as the equipment goes.

Cheers
Steffen.

[AG Hybrid (Adrian)]

If you have a choice. Buy the 12". If you buy the 10" you will be forever wondering what you are missing. If you have back problems or a smart car get the 10". That being said. Visually the 10" does not give much away at the eyepiece. Its noticeable. But not dramatic.

[Steffen]

Originally Posted by AG Hybrid

If you have a choice. Buy the 12". If you buy the 10" you will be forever wondering what you are missing.

Unfortunately, this argument scales up in increments of two

Cheers
Steffen.

[omegacrux (David)]

Hi Kana
I have the 10in dob non goto and very happy with it !
On planets , nebs and globular's they are great
ps also have an ed80 , best of both worlds

David

[rustigsmed (Russell)]

I'd recommend getting the goto 10" you'll get nice views of everything. You can take some pics (see my goto 12" shots https://www.flickr.com/photos/80336656@N07/ ) to whet the appetite then later down the track get an astrophotography setup like a neq6 and ed80. And keep the dob for visual stuff. Although a 12" would be better for that in the long run

Best of luck, there isn't really a perfect medium so perhaps aim to get one now and one down the track

[clive milne]

http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/s...d.php?t=119483

[kana]

Thanks so much for the advice everyone - 10" goto dob it is