Refractor or Relector or SCT??

[Poita (Peter)]

Originally Posted by AG Hybrid

But you can get a 2nd hand 8 inch dob for as low as $300. Mind you I havnt seen one come up for that price recently.

What if he has to colimate the SCT? If I was a beginner and had to figure that out I'd probably lose the will to live.

I don't understand why people find collimating an SCT difficult, I find collimating a Newtonian far more annoying. It really is a straightforward and pretty easy job, especially for visual, and the C8 holds it really well.

As I said in the first post, everyone will have their own opinion, get out there under the stars with some owners, heft some of the scopes, get a look through them, and see what takes your fancy.
My main advice would be buy 2nd hand, you often get extras thrown in and then if you do move your scope on, you are losing very little (if any!) money when you upgrade.

[TrevorW]

Actually if I had the money I'd have one of each, especially while imaging, I've seen some nice results by combining data from different optics

[g__day (Matthew)]

The best scope is one you'll use and enjoy using!

To use it it has to meet your specific requirements - where you'll observe, does it have power, how much gear are you prepared to carry and set up, how sophisticated push to / goto etc are you happy to learn and a host of other factors you must decide on. A 24" SDM dob won't bring much pleasure if its too heavy for you to manage and you never use it. Any goto system will fail if you aren't happy to master it.

To enjoy it depends on your viewing site's seeing characteristics, the luminosity of the targets you prefer and the quality of all you optical gear and tracking mechanisms. So again you will control most of these aspects with your selections.

Hence the advice about star parties and budgets, there are about 30 user requirements questions you have to decide on before gear selection can be well honed.

A common usage pattern might suggest:

Cheapest bang for buck - 8" dob
Best initial imaging set up - widefield bright objects - 80mm refractor, DSLR and EQ5 mount
Simplest afforable, compact mount to set up use with computer aided goto - 8" SCT
Best value goto mount - 8" Newtonian

etc... all those views are very subjective and far over-simplify many trade offs. Astronomy is both tactile - you have to touch and use gear to see if its for you, and different folks like different things; I love seeing Jupiter and Saturn but loathe when the Moon is up - wrecks my imaging. I view the Moon, Venus and Mars maybe once or twice a year!

Horses for courses!

Matt

[Kal (Andrew)]

Originally Posted by AG Hybrid

But you can get a 2nd hand 8 inch dob for as low as $300. Mind you I havnt seen one come up for that price recently.

What if he has to colimate the SCT? If I was a beginner and had to figure that out I'd probably lose the will to live.

Collimating an SCT is alot easier than collimating a newt. You don't need any specialised tools, and it is only 3 screws to adjust!

[Kal (Andrew)]

Originally Posted by gregbradley

If you want to do imaging then refractors or Newts are better suited.

Depends on what type of imaging you want to do. For planetary imaging I'd take an SCT over an Apo (for aperture) or a Newt (easier to mount, less strain on the mount, longer focal length)

[gregbradley]

Originally Posted by Kal

Depends on what type of imaging you want to do. For planetary imaging I'd take an SCT over an Apo (for aperture) or a Newt (easier to mount, less strain on the mount, longer focal length)

Yes that's true.

Greg.

[brian nordstrom (As avatar)]

Bang on there Matt , my favorite and most used scope is my little 63mm Zeiss , that scope spins my wheels every time I look at the moon , or saturn , or jupiter , mars . venus , Yep I am a planatery observer ,
on deep sky this little refractor shows double stars like no other , even my 127 mm . Up to a point as apature rules of course . Nice optics . my Zeiss , remindes me and all who look thru her what excellent optics can show.
Brian.

Originally Posted by g__day

The best scope is one you'll use and enjoy using!

To use it it has to meet your specific requirements - where you'll observe, does it have power, how much gear are you prepared to carry and set up, how sophisticated push to / goto etc are you happy to learn and a host of other factors you must decide on. A 24" SDM dob won't bring much pleasure if its too heavy for you to manage and you never use it. Any goto system will fail if you aren't happy to master it.

To enjoy it depends on your viewing site's seeing characteristics, the luminosity of the targets you prefer and the quality of all you optical gear and tracking mechanisms. So again you will control most of these aspects with your selections.

Hence the advice about star parties and budgets, there are about 30 user requirements questions you have to decide on before gear selection can be well honed.

A common usage pattern might suggest:

Cheapest bang for buck - 8" dob
Best initial imaging set up - widefield bright objects - 80mm refractor, DSLR and EQ5 mount
Simplest afforable, compact mount to set up use with computer aided goto - 8" SCT
Best value goto mount - 8" Newtonian

etc... all those views are very subjective and far over-simplify many trade offs. Astronomy is both tactile - you have to touch and use gear to see if its for you, and different folks like different things; I love seeing Jupiter and Saturn but loathe when the Moon is up - wrecks my imaging. I view the Moon, Venus and Mars maybe once or twice a year!

Horses for courses!

Matt

[NorthernLight (Max)]

choose whatever you want but bear in mind that apperture can only be replaced by more apperture.
since newtons offer the biggest onjective diameter per dollar and a dobson style alt/az mount is basically a freeby on scopes sold with it, you could have a 16" telescope for the costs of a 8" sct on an eq mount that needs be pol aligned- otherwise the goto doesn't work.
the views of a 16" dob are by far, very far, superior to any 5" apo when it comes to the faint objects.
apo's maybe sharper, have more contrast, have no coma and may even have flat fields, granted. but in the area of visual observing by amateurs the vast majority prefers apperture and lots of it.
photography is an entirely different field.

clear skies!

[GeoffW1 (Geoff)]

Originally Posted by AG Hybrid

But you can get a 2nd hand 8 inch dob for as low as $300. Mind you I havnt seen one come up for that price recently.

What if he has to colimate the SCT? If I was a beginner and had to figure that out I'd probably lose the will to live.

Hi,

I come out in hives if I think about collimation too much, but SCT are really not too bad if you fit Bob's Knobs. And they hold it a bit better I reckon. Being f10 probably helps.

I would have had to be an orangutan with the 12" dob to collimate the same way. That was what reduced me to tears in the end, it made me feel like a tram conductor.

Cheers

[NorthernLight (Max)]

there are other ways to collimate a newton.
i am using a laser collimator that allows convenient collimation from the rear in under a minute.

[netwolf]

As some have said before the best scope is the one you will use most.

1. If you have a pair of binos 10x50 use them to try and find some objects. See if you are ok with using manual techniques like Star hopping to find objects.
2. Attend a local Astro club viewing night and talk to the people there, and look through different scopes. Some clubs will even lend you equipment.

I like the 8" SCT's, as they are I find more portable and easier to use. And the 8" SCT is i find the sweet spot. Some say collimation is difficult, but I have not found that to be the case. Especially when using Bob's knobs. I think the new 8" Edge HD is a very nice and versatile scope. But more than the optics, spend more on your Mount. Indeed I would urge you to first think on this subject before the optics. Optics can be replaced, investing in a good mount is a long term investment.

[5ash (Philip)]

I would think that with only one mirror to adjust a SCT would be the simplest of all reflecting telescopes to collimate .
Philip

[Irish stargazer (John)]

I used a pair of 10x50 binos for 15 years before buying my first scope, an 8" sct which I still use 16 years later. It's a nice scope, easy to move around and great optics. Only had to slightly colimate it once despite shipping it to Europe and back and recently from Melbourne in a 20 foot container. I recently bought a 12" Dob and I love the simplicity of it, very easy to set up and use. Ready to observe in minutes and great views and no electronics to go wrong. For visual observing I would recommend an 8" dob. If you decide you need more aperture or want to take photos it would be easy to sell and upgrade to something else. A bargain for under $500.