Celestron CPC Deluxe 800 HD vs Skywatcher GOTO 10 Inch 250 DOB Tracking Telescope
Went to look at scopes today - decided its about time to buy... After a lot of research and procrastination ( about 6 months worth ) - I've finally narrowed it down to the Celestron CPC Deluxe 800 HD or Skywatcher GOTO 10 Inch 250 DOB Tracking Telescope. This is my first scope so would like any thoughts on either
Hi Phoenix 21, As Rod771 said ,both would be a great entry into astronomy; indeed the huge majority of people only a few years
ago could only have dreamt of ever owning such a scope. Having
said that, let's have a look at them.
They are very different scopes; each has pros and cons.
The Celestron is a great all round scope, is reasonably portable,
is very good, but not superb, for astro imaging; has enough aperture
to satisfy you as you learn about astronomy in general, and scopes
in particular. Against it is definitely the price; much dearer than the
10" Dob. Secondly, I have found the viewing experience through my
10" S.W. collapsible Dob to be a definite step up from my C-8 SCT,
and other 8" SCT's I have used.
The S.W. 10" collapsible GO TO is great value for money.
It is portable for most people, the tube being around 14kg.
It is easy to set up and use. Great viewing experience,especially
if you step up to a couple of 2" eyepieces.
It has limited astro imaging capability, due to the altazimuth
mounting. In the final analysis it depends on your priorities.
If you are mainly interested in deep sky observing[galaxies, nebulae
etc:] then no contest, go for the 10" Dob. If you think that you might
want to do some astrophotography, then maybe the Celestron might be the way to go. A final word about maintenance. The Celestron will
need less attention. The primary mirror will stay pristine for many
years, being enclosed, and if the tube is handled carefully, the
mirror collimation need only be checked occassionally.
The mirror in the 10" Dob will very slowly deteriorate, being open to the elements, but you might not own it long enough for that to worry
you. You will need to check, and probably adjust, the collimation
more frequently. Collimation is treated as some mystical science
by many newbies, but it is not difficult. Whatever you decide you'll
end up with a great scope, so go for it.
raymo
Hi Ros,
Welcome to IIS
I agree with what Raymo has said above.
For visual there is no comparison, the 10inch DOB outperforms the 8inch SCT by streets. (Actually, my 10"DOB out performs even my 11" SCT for visual).
I would chose the 10 inch. Ive looked through one recently and the views and the tracking was impressive. Due to the focal length the 10 inch will give wider views.
The views weren't as bright as my 12" but its also a considerably smaller scope. Much easier for packing up into your car and taking it to a dark site.
Of course, the 8" is handy for travel too. Even more so then the 10". Another thing to consider regarding the CPC8 is that if an electrical issue or software error occurs your scopes useless. If your battery runs out in the field its also done. The 10" Dob works fine without electricity if something goes wrong in the field. Its probably a moot point. But, I always think about these sort of things when I decide my equipment choices.
You can disengage the clutches on the CPC800, so if the battery dies you can still use it. Without power it won't be as easy to manually track with it as with the dob (mainly due to the long focal length and the short tube - really small movements will be needed!!). Dobs were designed for manual tracking, so the dob will be perfectly functional even if the electronics die.
