So Im thinking of buying a Dobsonian Telescope.

I've been poking around the telescope shops in Syd and done some searching online.
And think I've finally decided on one.

Id like to purchase the following
Skywatcher Black Diamond 16" Collapsible Dobsonian Telescope

www.ozscopes.com.au...



Can anyone comment on it? any pro's, con's?

Ideally Id like to get into astrophotography some day.
Its within my budget, has the ability to be controlled via laptop and I can setup the motorized base.

Any input from space fans would be appreciated.

reply to post by Agit8dChop

There are some kits available as well to build one .

I built a Dobsinian. I bought the 10" mirror, and hand built the rest using a sonotube. It came out great. The biggest problem is when you are looking at anything, even the moon, it quicly moves out of the field of view. A tracker would be nice...

Dobsonian telescopes are essentially very large reflector telescopes. The only thing that sets the Dobsonian telescope apart from other telescopes is its large, simple mount that allows the telescope to sit on the ground and swivel easily. Dobsonian telescopes are great because they are the largest scopes you can get for the least amount of money. Additionally, Dobsonian telescopes are very simple, requiring little technical fussing. The primary problem with Dobsonian telescopes lies in their portability -- they simply aren't. The scopes are usually too large and unwieldy to fit in a car. Also, Dobsonian telescopes are totally manual -- requiring you to use star charts, and making them less than ideal for astophotography.

I was looking into DOBs for the longest time, in particular the Skywatcher.

And YES, it's 100% recommended, I did a lot of research.

If you buy a vanilla DOBs without the motor controlled base, you basically get the best optics available for your money - while with other scopes, like those GoTo scopes you really pay the biggest chunk for the goto/computer controlled mount..which you WOULD not even need.

(Some astronomers actually enjoy "searching" for the objects instead of using a motorized GOTO mount where you simply enter the cords in a PC. There are also some alternatives for finding objects, beyond the Goto mounts which are also far cheaper. In my "research", most people had the simple skywatcher dobsons, NO motorized mounts, and i haven't really seen anyone voicing they would need one. You cannot do astrophotography with them anyway, they are pure visual scopes...this is another thing why a motorized mount would not really be necessary).

It is much better (in my opinion) to invest some money in good extra eye pieces (eg. wide-angle pieces and one or two planetary eye pieces) instead of thinking you need to connect the scope to a PC or need to have a motorized mount. This was the general impression i had reading around on many forums.

ALSO...there are no real differences in brands, there are a few brands which make Dobsonians, but the differences are neglectible. Although i remember there was some advantage using the simple, closed tube form and not that open one as seen on your picture...don't remember what it was tho.

Short: As a first, GOOD visual telescope for the best possible optics at a budget, it's perfect.
But if you want to buy this with the goal using it for astrophotography, it wouldn't be the ideal thing to get. A decent scope with a suitable mount for astrophotgraphy would cost A LOT more than a DOBs.

The closed tube keeps out extraneous light.

Thanks guys,
So by the looks of some answers your all pretty savvy on them?

IF you had $3k-$4k to burn, which model/scope would you buy?

reply to post by Agit8dChop

Craigslist has some really good offers on all kinds of scopes, used .

Originally posted by Agit8dChop
Thanks guys,
So by the looks of some answers your all pretty savvy on them?

IF you had $3k-$4k to burn, which model/scope would you buy?

Well you say you want to get into astrophotography, right? I wouldn't go with a Dobsonian if that's something you really want to get into. Although a dobsonian with a tracker can image the planets and moon just fine, you're going to have frustrations when you try to image deep space objects, comets, etc. An alt-az aligned telescope is subject to field rotation, which severely limits your maximum exposure length. Additionally, a telescope like that is not really designed to carefully autoguide and hold the view perfectly steady for a truly long duration exposure. With 3-4k to burn, here's what I would buy:

For a main telescope I'd get something like an 8" Meade LX200 ($2599 new):
www.optcorp.com...
For long exposures of deep space objects you'll need an equatorial wedge, figure about $170:
www.ebay.com...
For autoguiding and widefield imaging I use one of these, a simple achromat, but it's surprisingly good for $120, currently on sale for about $100 :
www.telescope.com/Telescopes/Refractor-Telescopes/Refractor-Optical-Tube-Assemblies/Orion-ShortTube-80-Refractor-Telescope-Optical-Tube-Assembly/pc/1/ c/10/sc/346/p/9948.uts
Of course, you need a way of mounting it on your LX200, so you need to get these parts as well:
Dovetail plate ($69):
www.optcorp.com...
Dovetail adapter (you need 2 for a total of $50):
admaccessories.com...
Rings ($20):
www.optcorp.com...
To offset the weight of the 80mm scope you need a counterweight system ($125):
www.optcorp.com...
And to autoguide you need an autoguider (since you already have a DSLR, you might find this to be your best option, $239):
www.optcorp.com...
This is essentially my setup with a few slight changes.

If you get a Dobsonian make sure it has a good mount. I have one and the mount is a little wonky. It makes it difficult to get the fine adjustment needed to look at anything other than the moon.

reply to post by Agit8dChop


A Dobsonian will be a good choice and the one you listed is fine although a very expensive. Is this your first telescope? so yes, I advice getting one which is a lot cheaper. Than you can upgrade if you want to go further into the hobby.

A great beginner Dobsonian is the Skywatcher Skyliner 250p. www.firstlightoptics.com...