A 16" mirror will collect about 78% more light than a 12" mirror (presenter said 35%). Relative Light collection is related to the ratio [Di^2/Do^2] where Di and Do are the diameters of the two mirrors being compared.
The additional light lets you cut down on exposure times in astrophotography. What is more important for pure observing is the aperture size and magnification of your overall system. A larger aperture size will create a smaller PSF (for the ideal lens/mirror its an airy disk PSF). Higher magnification zooms in on those PSF. Your eye can not really take long exposure to gather more light, so you want to maximize what your eye can do in this instance, and its increase magnification and lower PSF size (increase resolution).
I've had mine for about 18 months now and have had no problems with it. The two star alignment is easier if you fit a Telrad finder in addition to the optical finder but once set up it tracks well and usually finds objects even within a 10mm eyepiece giving a power of 180X. All the equipment is there to do DSLR photography out of the box(apart for the M42 converter ring) and with my Canon 1100D have imaged stars down to about 15th magnitude without serious trailing.Its allowed me to produce some lovely images of a wide range of deep sky objects and doubles like Rigel. Admittedly it does make a bit of noise when slewing at full speed but because of its decoder system this is seldom necessary. The mount is virtually silent when tracking. A shroud is highly recommended as it affords protection from dew and falling eyepieces,but annoyingly these are quite expensive for some reason. Its a lovely scope for the price I only wish there was more clear night in my area.
@@eclipse369. HI Eclipse, I have downloaded images of Venus,Neptune with Triton and deep sky objects on the Stargazers Lounge Forum using DSLR . Obviously the images are not as good as ones taken taken with proper astro imagers but if you would like to see whats possible with this scope and a DSLR look at the Deep Sky Imaging section of the forum for the most recent (several pages in by now)username Les.
@@Mandragara HI There, My scope is permenantly set up in a sliding roof observatory,Im afraid the 16" Flextube is far too heavy and cumbersom for regular transportation. I think that would go for the 14" as well.The 12" is probably about managable but I would personally recommend you restrict yourself to the 10" in your circumstances. It would be far better to go for a smaller aparture than miss observing opertunities because of setup difficulties. Good luck. Les.
@@starsnstuff842 Cheers! So what's the issue with transporting lager scopes? Is it just the weight? Or do they damage themselves under their own weight easily? I can easily lift 30-40 kgs above my head so when I see tube weights of like 25 kgs, it doesn't seem so bad, or am I just naive?
@@Mandragara It's the size more than the weight. I have a 10 inch tube dobsonian, (non goto) and while it is easily within my ability to carry the weight of it, it makes it challenging when the points to lift it are near the centre, meaning that you are holding the weight far out in front of you. Try holding a weight equivalent to that out in front of you, you'll find it's much harder than lifting it up close to your body. But also, I don't own this scope, I'm just guessing from my 10" experience
Great demo. Thanks for sharing your little stairstep unit. At our starparties (Griffith Observatory) we can get 10,000 to 25,000 people for just one evening viewing; this device would be invaluable. Love all your videos.
This is a great scope had mine for a while but have only been able to use it once so far due to clouds, wind and fullmoon... I made handles like on a wheelbarrel and that makes it easy to roll in and out from the garage or even to my neighbour if i want to.. Exellent scope.
Ive been setting this up and taking it down on my own couple times a month now for almost a year, It definitely monster, walking around with that tube puts a lot of stress on my elbow joints, i can feel it pretty good on my weak arm
If you're in the UK, try First Light Optics or Rother Valley Optics - either of these should be able to get it. The UK importer is Optical Vision Limited.
I've had my 8" GSO dob for about 11 years and have decided to upgrade recently, and something with a GOTO. I was really toying around with the idea of an SCT but in reality my heart remains with the dob and aperture. I'm not really gunning for astrophotography or anything like that and I'm a fiend for 2" eyepieces...plus I'm more a visual observer. You're making me consider a 16" over a 12"....you bastard :P
I originally wanted a 10" skywatcher skyliner. Then I found a nice 12" StellaLyra Dob. AND THEN the beastly 16"... How I wish I had extra cash. I will have to settle with the 12" 😅
Good quality scope. The base can be disassembled to make it easier to transport. The finder scope is straight through, and is inconvenient. The focuser, as he said is smooth, but it takes some adjusting. Use the extender tube. Sorry to see that both eyepieces are 1.25", it would have been nice to get a 2.0" This is a BIG scope, do NOT move it by yourself. You will likely need a ladder to work with it. And don't forget that open truss. You will need to add some poles or rods and place a cloth to absorb stray light.
No way you can capture the ISS, it's far too quick.telescopes can only move at the speed of celestial bodies like planets or stars for tracking,which is very slow.trying it manually is like trying to find a needle in a hay stack
HUGE mistake at around 4:13 ...16" mirror will collect 77.7% more light then 12" mirror not 35% as it is mentioned in the video. This is misleading, serious advertising error that may discourage potential buyer to make a purchase if buyer will not cross reference that info with other source. The mistake of that magnitude should have been mentioned in the description of the video.
I saw at least 1 of the smaller mirror scopes mounted on an EQ. I know some types have issues w/ the mirror support and can't be converted to EQ. Guessing this brand isn't hampered by that?
And you can adjust the length of the focal lenth to acquire prime focus photography or observational focus, without using various types of adapter tubes ?
No, focal length is determined by the curvature of the primary mirror. If you don't extend tube all the way some of the light will miss the secondary mirror.
Hello there. I have a question. Not about the 16 dob( there is nothing left unanswered from this great review) but for that truss tube behind it on the eq mount. I have the 10 inch truss tube dob from skywatcher. I was wondering if i can mount it like the one you have there on an eq mount? Would it balance on declination? What aperture is the one i see in the video?if it doesn't balance could i lower the truss tubes to the middle position and extend the camera 10cm from the focuser? Please help me because i can't buy an eq mount and a second scope for astrophotography at the same time. Would the neq 6 skywatcher manage it?
Good evening I intend to buy a Dobson 16" synscan goto in Europe. So I have these questions. 1) How tall is the collapsed system in total? 2) Is the position of the focuser in the upper ring modifiable, ie to position it on the opposite side? 3) Does the power and precision of the motors on the two axes allow me to do high resolution planetary photography with good precision (tracking) and reliability? Thanks a lot for the answer Karl-Heinz Macek Venice (Italy)
The three parallel tube design is cool for collapse-ability, but the lack of rigidity is a *huge* drawback. You need to keep the upper cage as light as possible, and keep all component weights up there as light as possible. Not easy to do since most everyone will he using heavy ultra-wide field eyepieces. When moving the telescope through it's altitude range the flex in the upper end causes significant shifts in pointing accuracy - and more importantly - major shifts in collimation. A three tube parallel truss design demands very beefy tubes. The tubes used in this scope are simply *not* up to the task.
Just bought one of these with non go to mount and can’t wait for it to be delivered. Would really love some advice on good bino viewer to go with it. Thanks 🙏🏻
Can a really big aperture on an Alt-AZ compete with a quality Eq with low aperture ? Imaging deep sky and some short exposures of the planets, stacked. Combined with video'recordings..I have been told that the only way to photograph the distant planets is by using video and selecting the very few frames of clear images ? Then the only question remains how big should a deep sky OTA have to be to get good pictures of the most popular nebulaes, clusters and maybe double stars. A big bright Dobsonian might be the only way to look at the night sky with the naked eyes and Only seeing colors above 12 inch aperture ?? Should I get a 9.25, 11 or 14 inch SCT for photographing ? Or 16 to 20 inch for visualization ?? I was hoping maybe a 9.25 or an 11 inch SCT would be enough for any type of CCD or DSLR photographing ???
Lovely scope! I am quite new to this but are there more constellations, stars and nebulae in the southern hemisphere? Are there any images taken with this scope to be seen here on the net? Will the mirror surface degrade with time?
4ft or 1.2m high pointing straight up. I sit down on a chair to look through mine most of the time. The optical tube assy on it's own weighs 15Kg which is heavy enough for most people, including me. The stand is considerably lighter. Both fit easily into a small car too. Please note the 8"-12" models only have course focusing, not fine as well. I get great sharp images from my 10" scope, even with modest eyepieces. Just make sure you collimate it properly to start with and then you only need to re-collimate each setup by tweaking the extension arms when you open it up as these are what go out of alignment between viewings, not the mirrors! It saves you a lot of time on each set up. I apologize if I have over answered you. Cheers.
I've saved enough (for next years taxes) to buy one of these... they're only $3655. Do you think I should go for it and just say "fuck uncle Sam"? I've even got enough for $1000 worth of accessories as well!
Dear Sir. I would like to update the motor controller of my DOB Goto 14" SynScan. My dobson telescope has a built-in Wi-Fi module, therefore the proper loader is: Windows program: Motor Controller Firmware Loader - WiFi, Version 1.79 But, I don't know what is the proper firmware for updating the motor controllers. There are several files on the Motor controllers page, but any of them talk about my DOB Goto 14" SynScan. Please, could you tell me what is the proper firmware? Thanks in advance
I am not an astrophotographer and dont wanna be, I just wanna point out and see the galaxies live with my own eyes. Is this the one for me? price is irrelevent, I just want to see them with my own eyes please answer
I wonder if there exist rotating image sensors compatible with this type of telescope like you can get on the bigger PlaneWave telescopes..??? Eliminating the need for an Eq. mount ??
Obviousli, it's best to have a shed for this. But I Wonder if you need to think of other Things in a Northern Place. I live in Norway, and you can get from summer to Winter about 50 degrees celsius variation, and 30 below freezing in the Winter, when conditions are best for observations here. Can this Equipment stand the Cold if left at a cabin on a mountain in a shed when temperatures hit 30 below freezing?
Hello! I have the same telescope (but the 12" version) and I've always had this doubt: have I to remove the white foam (about 5 mm tick) between the fix round base and the mobile round base? I have the feeling that it makes the telescope rotate badly but I have not found written anywhere that needs to be removed. Many thanks in advance!
I pulled the primary mirror from my 12 inch do and tried to clean it. No luck. Seems mat or oxidised. Can I use a metal polish to make it shine again or do I have to get it to an expert to re-coat it ??
Metal polish will completely destroy mirror, that's not how you make it shiny. Likely your mirror is old. Mirror must be recoated every 10-12 years more or less, if not you running into possibility of damaging surface. Telescopes cost a lot of money and you really need to learn more about your hardware. Good luck!
Thanks for the video. *Skyliner* 400P? Oops! I was hoping to see the rocker box being collapsed. Oh well. I notice there doesn't appear to be a centre spot on the primary. I would have thought that was essential because these collapsing telescopes need to be collimated every time you set them up. Also, how does a 16" mirror only provide 35% more light gathering power than a 12" mirror? Not taking into account secondary obstruction because I don't have the data to do so, a 16" mirror is 77.77% larger in area than a 12", so the extra light gathering power should be of approximately the same order. I have dual-encoders on another one of my mounts and it really is a fantastic feature, but while this does seem like a very nice scope, I think if I would have to use a step anyway I would probably get a 20" and make it really worthwhile.
It does have a centre mark to aid collimation although despite the flextube name and how it works they hold collimation surprisingly well and the whole thing is very rigid in use. The presenter here made an error with the light gathering power, a 16” will collect 78% more light than a 12”.
hi there sorry i dont know yer name this is colin i sold my 16 inch meade a few years back not enough time . but now have some more time on my hands. just a few questions what is the base like on this has it go legs . well feet . is it best located on cement . can i take it that u have to collimate every time out . and is a collimator a must . some say the cheshire is better than a laser ,any thoughts on that. i would be using for planetary imaging and general observing which webcam??col ,.
How much difference does it make to how you can view planets and stars compared to something more standard like an ED80 ? Will things appear bigger or is it more about light and clarity?
i have a black diamond 200/1000 and i cant seem to see Saturn or mars Venus through it is that sound normal?? what telescope would you have to get so that you can see mars Saturn Venus etc clearly or as clearly as possible , or can you get a eye piece for the black diamond that works for those planets?
Well I can see them in my 130/650, so maybe your finderscope is not aligned, or your telescope is not well collimated. In a 200/1000, you should see details on saturn rings easily. Venus is not a big deal, it doesnt show much detail, just a brown yellow ball
Cheap flexi crap , used one at a star party , it really was terrible. The goto has no power in the gearing at all, dew is a big problem, felt like I would break it at any second. Oh and it is very noisy indeed .
wannahockaloogie wannahockaloogie You are talking out of your bum hole!!! I’ve had both the 12” and 16” versions of this scope and had absolutely no problems with either. They are very quiet too, especially compared with an LX200 which really are noisy.
this video needs pauses with graphics to headline each point of the content in segments. this is too much gobblety gook garbled info. im a published amateur astronomer.
