D&G

What does everyone here think about the D&G refractors? Was thinking about buying the 8" and would like to hear some opinions of them

Thank you

Brian Stout

Hi Brian,

I have an 8" F/12 D&G and think it is the best thing since sliced bread. Views of the Moon, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn are stunning. I use it in town near Los Angeles so not a lot of deep sky but when conditions permit is is great on globular clusters and brighter DSO. You will need a heavy mount to quell the shakes a long tube is subject to but it is well worth it. Feel free to contact me for more info:

[email protected]

Larry

D&G has a very good reputation. Give careful thought to how you are going to mount such a beast. Such a large and long ota is hard to mount well.

Clear skies, Alan

I've spent alot of time with a D&G 6" F15.
Really nice scope with fine optics.
Mono-chromatic wavefront quality in say green
light is similar to AP and better than some
Taks I've seen. There are almost no perceptible
aberrations except for false color. Chromacor
device can greatly reduce the color. Mechanical
fit and finish are similar to early APs, but not
quite as refined as best of current AP production.

Brian, D&G recommends mounts, such as the AP 1200, MI 250, Opti-Craft 2" shafts, Parallax 150 and the Losmandy 200 (Titan, now), all of which, with the possible exception of the Opti-Craft cost more than the D&G 8" refractor.
Good luck in your quest. Dom Q.

I use an Aries Chromacor which transforms my 8" F12 D&G from a very impressive to an utterly astounding planetary instrument. I think many achromat owners would be suprised how much detail is lost due to chromatic abberation.

It is hard to put into words how an unubstructed color-corrected scope can punch thru ordinary seeing. In theory a larger reflector (larger by the diameter of its secondary) can equal the contrast function, however that larger diameter is much more affected by seeing conditions. I believe this is the primary reason refractors can outperform reflectors.

I have also owned a 6" F20 D&G objective, folded, which was a superior lens as well (pre-Chromacor).