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I am a Total Newb in using Telescopes, and I am Looking to get something that I can clearly see planets, the Moon, and wanted a Good starter telescope, that I can grow into as I learn more. I am looking at two telescopes,
1. Apertura AD8 Dobsonian 8" f/5.91 Telescope with Accessories - AD8
Vs
2. Skywatcher 8" f/5.9 Traditional Dobsonian Telescope
Is the Quality of these two scopes about the same, or is one substantially better than the other.
Also which telescope comes with better accessories.
They both look like very standard dobsonians. i doubt one will be superior over one another. it seems the aperature ad8 comes with more extras, a cooling fan, moon filter, and a cheshire collimator . will be intresting to see what type of glass they are using. ohh and the aperature comes with a daigonal view finder which views the correct image orientation as all view finders are refractors and don't reverse the image,newtonian scopes revers the image, so the two will mate well when trying to find a target while viewing in the view finder.
scopes :gso/bintel f4 12"truss tube, bresser messier ar127s /skywatcher 10'' dob,meade 12'' f10 lx200 sct
cameras : asi 1600mm-c/asi1600mm-c,asi120mc,prostar lp guidecam, nikkon d60, sony a7,asi 290 mm
mounts : eq6 pro/eq8/mesu 200 v2
filters : 2'' astronomik lp/badder lrgb h-a,sII,oIII,h-b,Baader Solar Continuum, chroma 3nm ha,sii,oiii,nii,rgb,lowglow,uv/ir,Thousand Oaks Solar Filter,1.25'' #47 violet,pro planet 742 ir,pro planet 807 ir,pro planet 642 bp ir.
extras : skywatcher f4 aplanatic cc, Baader MPCC MKIII Coma Corrector,Orion Field Flattener,zwo 1.25''adc.starlight maxi 2" 9x filter wheel,tele vue 2x barlow .
ohh the aperture comes with a laser collimator, it's $50 more over the skywatcher, if i didn't have those extras then i would definatly grab the aperture, if you're storing the newt inside everynight then a cooling fan is a must have, it will cut down aclimation time significantly . ohhh dual speed focuser, just a bargin with the aperture !!!
scopes :gso/bintel f4 12"truss tube, bresser messier ar127s /skywatcher 10'' dob,meade 12'' f10 lx200 sct
cameras : asi 1600mm-c/asi1600mm-c,asi120mc,prostar lp guidecam, nikkon d60, sony a7,asi 290 mm
mounts : eq6 pro/eq8/mesu 200 v2
filters : 2'' astronomik lp/badder lrgb h-a,sII,oIII,h-b,Baader Solar Continuum, chroma 3nm ha,sii,oiii,nii,rgb,lowglow,uv/ir,Thousand Oaks Solar Filter,1.25'' #47 violet,pro planet 742 ir,pro planet 807 ir,pro planet 642 bp ir.
extras : skywatcher f4 aplanatic cc, Baader MPCC MKIII Coma Corrector,Orion Field Flattener,zwo 1.25''adc.starlight maxi 2" 9x filter wheel,tele vue 2x barlow .
I noticed that the Apertura had a 2" Crayford-style Dual Speed Micro 10:1 Focuser, Not sure if that is a benefit over a single speed or not on the Skywatcher.
My wife and I both worked for JPL / NASA for Years, My wife built the 1st and 2nd Mars Rovers. as well as many other projects.
as far as eye pieces go, i'll let the big time viewers have a say, but yeah the aperture comes with a 68deg fov 2'' which looks nice. you're realy going benifit with purchasing some extra eyepieces over with what comes with the scope, i recommend something around 6mm for planets, and a nice 2'' 40-50mm for good wide views. i casualy observe and still enjoye the stock 26 mm. ps, you are probably going to benefit a bit with the dual speed focuser when viewing planets ., i don't think you'll ever go back to a single speed after, dual speed is the staple of fine focus.
scopes :gso/bintel f4 12"truss tube, bresser messier ar127s /skywatcher 10'' dob,meade 12'' f10 lx200 sct
cameras : asi 1600mm-c/asi1600mm-c,asi120mc,prostar lp guidecam, nikkon d60, sony a7,asi 290 mm
mounts : eq6 pro/eq8/mesu 200 v2
filters : 2'' astronomik lp/badder lrgb h-a,sII,oIII,h-b,Baader Solar Continuum, chroma 3nm ha,sii,oiii,nii,rgb,lowglow,uv/ir,Thousand Oaks Solar Filter,1.25'' #47 violet,pro planet 742 ir,pro planet 807 ir,pro planet 642 bp ir.
extras : skywatcher f4 aplanatic cc, Baader MPCC MKIII Coma Corrector,Orion Field Flattener,zwo 1.25''adc.starlight maxi 2" 9x filter wheel,tele vue 2x barlow .
My Crayford that I retrofitted to one of my refractors beats the heck out of the stock R&P. I don't think you'd ever regret having a Crayford.
Some people have tuned up their R&Ps with very good results, but not everybody is inclined to try that.
============================================================================= I drink tea, I read books, I look at stars when I'm not cursing clouds. It's what I do. =============================================================================
AT50, AT72EDII, ST80, ST102; Scopetech Zero, AZ-GTi, AZ Pronto; Innorel RT90C, Oberwerk 5000; Orion Giantview 15x70s, Vortex 8x42s, Navy surplus 7x50s, Nikon 10x50s
Apertura would be my choice. Pretty much the same as my Zhumell scope, including the GSO Superview 30mm eyepiece, which is quite a workhorse. In fact produced by the same company, Gueng Shen Opitcal. I would use the stock eyepieces (30mm and 9mm) for awhile until you exhaust their capabilities and know what you want in a second series of eyepieces.
-Michael Refractors: ES AR152 f/6.5 Achromat on Twilight II, Celestron 102mm XLT f/9.8 on Celestron Heavy Duty Alt Az mount, KOWA 90mm spotting scope Binoculars: Celestron SkyMaster 15x70, Bushnell 10x50 Eyepieces: Various, GSO Superview, 9mm Plossl, Celestron 25mm Plossl Camera: ZWO ASI 120 Naked Eye: Two Eyeballs Latitude: 48.7229° N