Best eyepiece for an 8" Dob

[thebigasam (Sam)]

Im going to get a Sky Watcher Dob 8" ($500) or I could get a Sky Watcher Dob 10" ($900) but there is a fair price difference for me.

Say if i got a really nice eye piece for the 8" Dob would it have a better performance that a 10" dob straight out of the box?

If so, what eye pieces would make the 8" Dob better and have a performance like the 10" for a cheaper price?

thanks
Sam

[WynneP (Peter)]

Sam,

No straight answer. An 8" with a top quality eyepiece may outperform a 10" with standard eyepieces for a particular function for which that eyepiece is specifically designed, eg wide-field for deep space objects. Depends what you most want to view. A great compromise is a high-quality zoom, eg the Baader. This gives high quality views and covers a range that would probably require 4 separate eyepieces. However, it's not particularly wide-field.
My suggestion would be to go for the 10" and then see which focal length eyepieces you use most. Then upgrade later (may be able to pick up a bargain in the IIS classifieds).

Peter