Something to think about

Last weekend I finally got the 12 inch out under dark skies, and it was great. Since I got the 12" the poor 8" has seen very little action. That problem was rectified the other night, I decided that I wanted to go out for a quick look from the backyard and the 8" is way easier to move. The point is that I have been telling myself how much I NEEDED a bigger scope, had to have a bigger scope, and though I love my new scope, I now have more appreciation for the 8". I think getting a 8" instead of a 10" scope is fine and just wanted to put that out there.

Hey Dave, my 8" SCT had the same problem. Once I got a bigger Dob, the LX-90 was sentenced to solitary confinement for several months. I finally took it along to a couple public star parties. I would set it up to track on an object for a while and have all the curious folks take a look in it, while I dialed up other things in the Starmaster. Worked really well.
Then, a couple weeks ago, I took it up to Mt. Pinos, having invited my 14 year old nephew to come along. He figured out the Meade GoTo right away and was thrilled to be at the helm the rest of the night.
I should start using it out in the back yard again. Too much light pollution for the Starmaster.
Linton

I think getting a 8" instead of a 10" scope is fine and just wanted to put that out there.
======

Over the years I have been doing web astronomy thing the question of the 8 inch vs 10 inch DOB has come up many times...

A couple of years ago I had an XT-8 as well as a 12.5 inch Discovery DOB.

Well right here on astromart, along comes an OPT Starhunter 10 at a very good price so I decide to go for it. These scopes are made by GSO and essentially identical to the Hardin Scopes.

So, I had 8, 10 and 12.5 inch DOBs...

What I found was this: The 8 inch never got used. Oh, I took it out a few nights but eventually I would put back and pull out the 10 incher.

Unlike the 12.5 inch which is big and a bit awkward to move about, the 10 inch is easy to setup and while somewhat larger than the 8 inch, both scopes require essentially the same amount of effort to move. The 8 inch at F6 and the 10 inch at F5 are essentialy the same length, the important factor in getting the scopes into a car or through a door easily.

And that added 56% mirror area is quite noticeable in the 10 inch, much closer to the 12.5 inch scope on the fainter ones than the 8 inch.

So there are many nights and many trips where I choose the 10 inch over the 12.5 inch simply because of the ease of transport and good performance but there were never any times when I prefered the 8 inch over the 10 inch.

My conclusion was this....

I think both 8 inch and 10 inch Asian DOBs are neat scopes and well designed from a size point of view to be portable, easy to use and potent. You really can't go wrong with either one.

But the 10 inch was thoughtfully designed so that it an overgrown 8 incher and if one can afford it, it is the way to go. Those 12 inch F5 DOBs big enough to be on the other side of "easy to move" and easy to fit in a car so if one had either an 8 or 10 inch, well the smaller scope would get used a great deal.

After a year or so, I decided it was time to move the XT-8 along to someone who would use it so I donated it to a fledgling astronomy club it the desert. I have never missed it.

Jon

Thanks for this thread. it was helpful. I will be using a pickup truck with a camper shell, so space is no issue. Now i'm thinking at least 10" and maybe a 12" if i can find a really good price on one.

Bob