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Sky-Watcher 8" f/5.9
| Brand | Sky-Watcher |
| Part Number | |
| Availability | available |
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Product Info
Overview
Reviews
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Aug 5, 2009
8" Skywatcher DOB
Pros:Great for the money, Light gathering
Cons:Azimuth mount, 10mm Plossl that came with it
Comments:I first received a 2.5"-3" cheap department store refractor for Christmas ($200). It was a gift because my fiancee knew that I was interested in astronomy. At first I was all eager to have a peek at the sky. I was OK with the views I received looking at the moon. Everything else was not so great!
Bottom Line: Would you recommend this item? Yes
I thought to myself that telescopes have to be better than this so I went online and started looking into what telescopes are the best for beginners? Keeping cost in mind, I ended up returning my department store junk. Ultimately i found out that the bigger the scope, the more light gathering power you get. So the Dob telescopes looked to be the best for the $$$.
I spent $430 Canadian for a 8" Skywatcher. From the day I took it out of the box until now, which is almost two years later, I still love it! It's about 100x better than the department store refractor, and after learning a bit more about astronomy I know that it was a good choice. If I were to start all over I would have chosen a 10", just to gather a bit more light for the globular clusters in a light polluted sky. But the 8" I'm sure is fantastic in darker sky areas. I still have many things to look at in the sky and so little time.
The 8" DOB is great. The eyepieces I received were a 10mm Skywatcher super plossl (not so great an eyepiece) and a 25mm Super plossl (a really good eyepiece). I found the alt-azimuth mount to be a problem - I didn't like how it rotated so I did some mods. I bought a lazy susan bearing assembly (ball bearings) for $10. I took off the plastic shims it was rotating on and placed this ball bearing assembly. It worked out great and the mount rotates smoothly now.
All I can say is that this Dob is great for the money and if you want to learn the sky manually. I love it. It's great when you navigate to a DSO. I will most likely buy a "goto Dob" later but for now I like learning the sky manually.Sep 9, 2007A good starter scope
Pros:Great value, relatively portable, well built.
Cons:Tension-adjustable bearing system takes some getting used to. Straight-through finder.
Comments:My girlfriend and I are just getting into amateur astronomy, and after some research, I purchased this for her birthday.
Bottom Line: Would you recommend this item? Yes
We have been very pleased with the scope so far. We like the ability to just pick up the scope, put it in the backyard, and start observing in seconds. The accessories that come with the scope are decent, but we have since picked up a right angle finder to replace the straight-through finder that came with the telescope (and have saved ourselves some neck strain in the process).
The optical mounts are sturdy - once collimated, the optics stay generally where they are put. We have made a five hour car trip with the scope in the back seat of the car and arrived with the mirrors in the same place as when we left.
We are looking forward to many years of fun with this telescope.Sort by
