For £2.5k? Nice buy! Please post some views on your channel! Also, you may as well get some major views if done correctly. Did you know you can monetise your videos here on YT and get paid for that? So post your telescope videos asap, I'll be the first one to check them out!
I own this scope. 14" Sky Watcher GOTO Synscan Dob. It is a great scope. I can set it up and tear it down by myself. I bought it ust over a year ago. I was one of the first people in Canada to own one . The GPS option is a must
I MUST have one of these. I currently have a 12 inch Meade Lightbridge dob. My 8" Sky-Watcher newtonian scope has some of the best optics I've ever seen so I anticipate this being really impressive.
I have just ordered the 14" version of this scope. I'm hoping that I can reach the eyepiece without standing on anything. Anyway, great to see a video of the 16". BTW a 14" scope has a 36% increase over a 12" and the 16" has an increase of 78% over the 12", so that's an enormous amount of light it's collecting.
I've got mine on the way. Feel like a kid on Christmas day!! Now I just gotta invest in a few Ethos "gas grenade" eyepieces (might have to sell sell the house to obtain them but you know how expensive astronomy can be!) :D
Skywatcher GOTOs can do both (I have tested it with my Skywatcher 14" GOTO.) I actually used the manual positioning for the 1st week prior to getting a battery supply and recharger kit. Even at high magnification (using 10mm eyepieces with a 2x 2" Powermate) it isn't too twitchy & whats great is that it tracks an object in view even after going inside for a coffee. One time it even managed to track Orion which I couldn't see visually, only through the eyepiece (at 90 degrees to the horizon!)
Thanks for the review! Strongly considering buying one. Just one minor correction regarding the video. The host says, "A mirror this size [16"/400mm], just to give you an idea, is capable of collecting something like 35% more light than a typical 12" or 300mm Newtonian mirror system". Actually, a 400mm mirror captures 78% more light than a 300mm mirror.
I own this scope. 14" Sky Watcher GOTO Synscan Dob. It is a great scope. I can set it up and tear it down by myself. I bought it ust over a year ago. I was one of the first people in Canada to own one
Same here, great scope aren't they? If the base of mine were any larger than the 780mm it wouldn't fit through the door. Its amazing when I brought this scope because the 16" model was like $500 more. It was $2600 from BTOW Australia (including delivery), so for that price you can't go wrong. I asked Bintel (Australia based telescope store) to match it and they if they sold it to me for that much they wouldn't make a profit.
This is a great scope and even though i have only been able to try it one because of the damn clouds, strong winds and the horrible moon im impressed. I watched m13 when it was fullmoon and it was awesome. Looked at it before in a 10 inch scope but this was alot better.. And another tip for you guys who consider buying this, or any scope for that matter is to get a Binoviewer to use with it and look at the moon, its outstanding and also look at the Orion nebula is almost like flying in space into the smoke of the nebula.. The 3D views you get with the bino is super!
yes you can see more the just globular cluster if you get out to a nice dark place use a line filter or a narrowband filter emission nebulae pop out at you!
The tracking capability of this scope is amazing after a two star alignment. For example I was observing Epsilon Lyrae using a power of 360X and went in for a cup of tea and left the scope running and when I returned both main stars were still well centred in the eyepiece.
I got the 10" Model, while you can move it around manually, it's not as easy as shown in your video. When I move mine there is the motor resistance, making it hard to turn. Also has bad backlash, but still find it and easy scope to use. Think the best alignment I can get is around within 2 degrees, so never had it track perfectly, but good enough to use for awhile. As they are stepping motors, when it does move you see it move in steps rather then one smooth movment.
Saw this exact video published under a sky-watcher channel just minutes ago. It hadn't posted a new vid in over a year. In the background is a smaller tube mounted on an EQ. We're any mirror mods necessary to convert it? I know some brands don't have a primary mount that is compatible w/ EQ systems.
Hi there, they had our permission, on a goodwill basis, to show some of our videos. That permission was withdrawn, as regards new videos, some time ago. The instrument in the background, on a G11 GEM, is an 8" Flextube OTA. This just about works - but no bigger. The larger models would all require too much additional bracing to make it worthwhile mounting the tube like this. The primary cell, though far from perfect, is not the main problem. When used with a GEM, the collimation of the larger models drifts significantly relative to gravity - largely due to flexture in the head (secondary and focussor assembly) as this structure's support has a single fold symmetry and was designed to encounter the effects of gravity in only one direction. Rotate the tube just 25 degrees away from the original Azimuth design posture and the secondary slumps away from collimation in a way that is immediately apparent in the eyepiece. I hope this helps. KR RJD A&NTV
Yes it's a Flextube 8" on a GEM at the rear - well spotted. Given that the Flextube tube design expects to encounter the influence of gravity from one direction only - I would submit that only the 8" is sufficiently 'over built' to risk GEM mounting. Other apertures would require progressively greater degrees of reinforcement to prevent sagging and loss of collimation. KR RJD
If your GOTO SynScan is capable of both "Tracking and Pointing" you have a FULL Astro-Photographic Telescope, ALL you need is a Reflector Off-Axis system for your Guiding C.C,D, and Pro-DSLR as your intake Camera,just Superb!!!!
I can do that with the 350 Flextube Synscan, but it does require 'alittle' strength. I find the views are more than worth it however. The hardest part is probably lowering the OTA assembly down onto the base. You do get used to it, but its good to have another person with you there the first time you do it incase you "drop" the tube, or even worse - yourself with the tube on top of the base! :-O
Hi there, We used toi have a SkyWatcher (SW) 16" Flextube on wheels in our showroom and it was blissfully easy for one person to wheel it in and out. We supplied and sometimes fitted wheels to lots of SW 12", 14", and 16" Dobs in the UK. We always used the same set of wheels for all sizes. There used to be a nice set of wheels available from Ikea for their 'Kallax' shelves (named after a drafty old northern airport, Swedes uh?). The accessory wheelset featured a 35 to maybe 40cm long, 35mm wide, flat steel bar with a wheel at each end - one wheel on each set has a lock. The wheels were very good quality with no wiggle on the vertical or horizontal axles. The mod simply required that you cut each bar in half and use the two lock wheels and one other. Each bar set needs one extra hole to be drilled near the cut end. The feet on the base of the Dobbo are removed and the hole used as the first anchor point for the hole on the bar nearest the wheel (the wheel will be in a perfect position at the very edge of the SW Dob baseplate). The plastic foot is put back on top of the bar as a giant washer. You will need to drill a small (1.5 to 2mm) shallow pilot hole to anchor the cut end of the bar and 25mm chipboard screw can be used to secure this end. Problem: a quick look online suggests that the wheelset may have been discontinued or at least the design changed somewhat. I found some, here and there, with additional vertical tabs welded to the bars and these would need to be removed - and I can't speak on other less obvious variations there may be in dimensions and build quality etc. But Ikea Sweden - no longer lists this accessory at all - and that does not bode well for reliable availability in Ikeas worldwide. Anyway. I hope the certainty of the idea, at least, helps a bit. KR RJD A&NTV
Hello! I have the same telescope (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!
Good evening I intend to buy a Dobson 16" synscan goto in Europe. I am writing to you, since your distributor in Italy, Auriga, no longer sells this product, and is unable to give me the information I need. 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)
wow a really fantastic Dobsonian Telescope. Check my wish list. 😎 However, the best telescope is the one used the most. A sturdy hauling wagon & a pickup ramp.. Thanks.
Hello....I purchased the Skywatcher Flextube 200p and am unsure how to collumate it...and it needs collumation!! The rear primary mirror doesnt appear to have collumation screws...but rather three regular Phillips screws which are super tight & appear to be holding on the outer trim ring to the OTA. Any suggestions??? I'm very disappointed. :(
@Christiaan Baron That's a possibility..... however It was already a cool night and I had the Scope set up a good 30 minutes before using it. My issue is where are the collumation screws for the primary??
Check your manual as some Skywatcher newts have fixed primary mirrors that are not adjustable. From your description this may be the case with your model,in which case all the collimation possible is via the secondary.
I like this telescope , is it possible to make Planets' videos ? Is the tracking system is enough accurate for planets tracking ? using for example the Inova PLA MX camera ?
Hi there. Yes, in principle, you should be able to use it for web-cam type planetary imaging. With high focal ratios, using high-powered (3x or 4x) Barlow lenses, tracking errors will be enough to allow the target to drift off a small CCD chip fairly regularly but the manual slow speeds are quite smooth and predictable so keeping the image corrected manually will be perfectly feasible. But bear in mind that although short 1000 frame videos will be easy enough to capture - the gradual effects of field rotation will make the final processed images harder to align. I couldn't actually find any good images shot through a Flextube 400P GOTO online but plenty of good stuff captured with the smaller models though. A&NC TV
Hi, there is few people in the finnish astronomy forum, who owns this scope. One guy shoot many, 25sec exposures from few deepsky objects with DSLR and the stacked pictures looks very nice. Another guy use this telescope, with 4xpowermate to jupiter and saturn and he shoots the best planetary pictures in finland
As you have said this telescope can track object. But can it be used for Astrophotography? I suppose it doesn't compensate field-rotation. Therefore, if it is put on equatorial platform it only needs to be rotate around one axis to track object. But the question is will it rotate in one axis taking into account the equt-platform? Or is there any other way to use it for astrophotography? Kindly tell me in detail if possible upload a video explaining astrophotography with this telescope?
Astrophotography doesn't "require" field rotation compensation (an equatorial platform). Sure, field rotation will be an issue if you're used to a small scope on a big tripod, but this kind of scope compensates for that with its humongous light gathering capability. Exposure times will still be limited, yes, but you can just take more shots.
I'm wondering where you buy one of these sky watchers with the synscan / GoTo. I've been looking all over google but it seem they only want to sell the sky watchers without the synscan / GoTo features. I want to buy one and shoot photo's so it's kind of a must have.
Hi there, 12v 2.5amps is minimum spec. but a small gel-cell battery system used to jump-start small cars has proven to be popular because as it's fairly cheap and small enough to ride on the base of the scope. Typical spec on one of these is 12v (to 13.8v) 7Ah. Typically you will also need a cigar lighter cable terminating in a hollow tip 2.1mm centre positive plug. I hope this helps. KR A&NTV
My SkyWatcher 254mm. 10" Dobsonian is Solid White-Enamel Aluminum. But Truss-Expanded Dobsonians I cannot understand how you can "maintain the Collimation of the Instrument because the Truss-Bars move from side to side and De-Collimate the Instrument. I prefer the Solid Aluminum Tube in White-Enamel SkyWatch because it maintains the Collimation and One can slide the Tube into a Hatch-Back Automobile. but a 12" and 14" Solid-Tube you will need a Hatch-Back 4 door Van with Rear-Hatch-Back Jeep!!!!
We should clear one misconception about all telescopes, no one is going to see in real time any glamorous colour images as seen on various pictures and promotional media, I own a 14" Meade LX200, and still find it hard to see a clear image of most galaxies, like whirlpool galaxy, some you don't even see at all, because when you get a go to telescope, and ask it to go to a particular galaxy, and you know it should be there, but you can't see sod all, in the case of whirlpool galaxy, you just see a faint cloud like image, quite disappointing really, the images you see in real time are no where near promotional media, however, you do see stars and planets more brighter and clusters brighter, just about the only little colour image you see is that of Orion Nebula, where you can see that hint of blue and purple colour with clarity, but then again you can see that through your binoculars too. All those glamorous images are created by long time camera exposure, which is not same effect as if we were seeing things in real time with our eyes. So if you were to use a camera photography and image stacking software, you might as well get a smaller scope. But don't let me put you off, a 14" telescope stands out better against smaller scopes when it comes to see and study very faint stars, star pairs, and some features of moon, and other planets are better seen on a larger telescope. But no glamorous images like the Hubble telescope, all are timed images, or images composed over a length of time using your digital camera and software to clean up noise and some images created by stacking a series of images which i personally feel is adulterated images, not real image. So if you ask me, I am quite disappointed even with my 14" meade LX200, I now wish i could go for a 24" to see many more galaxies that 14" has failed to show in average sky conditions in london. So when I bought this 14" telescope in order to compensate for heavy light pollution of London, it has not helped me much, you cannot see the
I agree to most of this..... Move it to another observation site by car is not easy but move it out of the garage or even to you neighbour is easy.. Key to success is Wheels. Two aluminum handles with whells and 2 bolts with wingnuts. (if thats what its called in English.) Open the garage and 2 minutes later its ready to start the align :) And i have the 16 inch Skywatcher like in this video at about 100 kilos.
That is a problem with your location, not your telescope. I live 20 minutes drive to the mountains, which has zero light pollution and exceptional viewing conditions. I have the 8" Skywatcher and got pretty good viewing conditions of Jupiter, Saturn and the Orion Nebula. I also had an 11" SCT which I sold, and the visuals were amazing. Granted - you won't see the same as what you get when you use image-stacking software, but you still see great visuals.
A large aperture telescope really needs a good dark sky to get the best from it, they are much more sensitive to light pollution so getting a large aperture to combat light pollution isn’t the answer, large apertures are also more sensitive to air currents as you are looking through a much wider column of atmosphere than smaller scopes. From a dark sky site you still won’t see the bright colours you see in many pictures but you will see considerable detail, in fact on bright nebulae, galaxies and globular clusters you see more detail particularly towards the centres where often long exposure photography over exposes these areas losing any detail, you have to be patient and use averted vision sometimes to see fine details but the efforts are worth it once you get your eye in so to speak.
Depends on the eyepiece used.The usual rule of thumb is X2 the diameter of the mirror in mm's giving 812X. Personally with reflectors I like to take a bit off for the secondary obstruction. This limit is a bit academic as seeing seldom allows powers over 300X anyway.When seeking magnification my main eyepiece I use is a old 12.5mm Orthoscopic giving a power of 144X. I have had this instrument up to 450X on occasion,but I've never seriously gone beyond that. Anyway this is more of a light grasp scope with magnification not so important.
Why not mount it in a depression, that way no ladders needed!. I think steps are a big drawback because you need very good balance to then focus on the eyepiece. Or just mount a camera and feed image to a puter or tablet screen mounted elsewhere - simples!....
Well as he says in this video you only need biceps like Popeye to move this telescope and popeye have really thin BICEPS. His underarms on the other hand...
Just ordered one of these, can't wait to see the views through it!!!
For £2.5k? Nice buy! Please post some views on your channel! Also, you may as well get some major views if done correctly. Did you know you can monetise your videos here on YT and get paid for that? So post your telescope videos asap, I'll be the first one to check them out!
Watching in 11/2021... it helped me a lot. Many thanks!
I own this scope. 14" Sky Watcher GOTO Synscan Dob. It is a great scope. I can set it up and tear it down by myself. I bought it ust over a year ago. I was one of the first people in Canada to own one . The GPS option is a must
I MUST have one of these. I currently have a 12 inch Meade Lightbridge dob. My 8" Sky-Watcher newtonian scope has some of the best optics I've ever seen so I anticipate this being really impressive.
I have just ordered the 14" version of this scope. I'm hoping that I can reach the eyepiece without standing on anything. Anyway, great to see a video of the 16".
BTW a 14" scope has a 36% increase over a 12" and the 16" has an increase of 78% over the 12", so that's an enormous amount of light it's collecting.
I've got mine on the way. Feel like a kid on Christmas day!! Now I just gotta invest in a few Ethos "gas grenade" eyepieces (might have to sell sell the house to obtain them but you know how expensive astronomy can be!) :D
Skywatcher GOTOs can do both (I have tested it with my Skywatcher 14" GOTO.) I actually used the manual positioning for the 1st week prior to getting a battery supply and recharger kit. Even at high magnification (using 10mm eyepieces with a 2x 2" Powermate) it isn't too twitchy & whats great is that it tracks an object in view even after going inside for a coffee. One time it even managed to track Orion which I couldn't see visually, only through the eyepiece (at 90 degrees to the horizon!)
Great review. Many thanks!
That's an impressive instrument. I have the 12 inch version and it's close to the limit of what one person can handle.
Thanks for the review! Strongly considering buying one. Just one minor correction regarding the video. The host says, "A mirror this size [16"/400mm], just to give you an idea, is capable of collecting something like 35% more light than a typical 12" or 300mm Newtonian mirror system". Actually, a 400mm mirror captures 78% more light than a 300mm mirror.
remember the secondary mirror.
I own this scope. 14" Sky Watcher GOTO Synscan Dob. It is a great scope. I can set it up and tear it down by myself. I bought it ust over a year ago. I was one of the first people in Canada to own one
Looking at the smaller version but thanks for the details on the scope in general
Same here, great scope aren't they? If the base of mine were any larger than the 780mm it wouldn't fit through the door. Its amazing when I brought this scope because the 16" model was like $500 more. It was $2600 from BTOW Australia (including delivery), so for that price you can't go wrong. I asked Bintel (Australia based telescope store) to match it and they if they sold it to me for that much they wouldn't make a profit.
This is a great scope and even though i have only been able to try it one because of the damn clouds, strong winds and the horrible moon im impressed. I watched m13 when it was fullmoon and it was awesome. Looked at it before in a 10 inch scope but this was alot better..
And another tip for you guys who consider buying this, or any scope for that matter is to get a Binoviewer to use with it and look at the moon, its outstanding and also look at the Orion nebula is almost like flying in space into the smoke of the nebula.. The 3D views you get with the bino is super!
I have to 14" model and its unbelievable what it allows me to see..
Are you able to see Globula Clusters clearly?
yes you can see more the just globular cluster if you get out to a nice dark place use a line filter or a narrowband filter emission nebulae pop out at you!
Thanks for the info.
No Problems that's a big scope!
The tracking capability of this scope is amazing after a two star alignment. For example I was observing Epsilon Lyrae using a power of 360X and went in for a cup of tea and left the scope running and when I returned both main stars were still well centred in the eyepiece.
I have the 250 Version (10 inch) and it can be moved very easily by one man with it's mount. But the 400 version, wow, huge!
I got the 10" Model, while you can move it around manually, it's not as easy as shown in your video. When I move mine there is the motor resistance, making it hard to turn.
Also has bad backlash, but still find it and easy scope to use. Think the best alignment I can get is around within 2 degrees, so never had it track perfectly, but good enough to use for awhile. As they are stepping motors, when it does move you see it move in steps rather then one smooth movment.
Amazing télescope just beatifull
Saw this exact video published under a sky-watcher channel just minutes ago. It hadn't posted a new vid in over a year.
In the background is a smaller tube mounted on an EQ. We're any mirror mods necessary to convert it? I know some brands don't have a primary mount that is compatible w/ EQ systems.
Hi there, they had our permission, on a goodwill basis, to show some of our videos. That permission was withdrawn, as regards new videos, some time ago. The instrument in the background, on a G11 GEM, is an 8" Flextube OTA. This just about works - but no bigger. The larger models would all require too much additional bracing to make it worthwhile mounting the tube like this. The primary cell, though far from perfect, is not the main problem. When used with a GEM, the collimation of the larger models drifts significantly relative to gravity - largely due to flexture in the head (secondary and focussor assembly) as this structure's support has a single fold symmetry and was designed to encounter the effects of gravity in only one direction. Rotate the tube just 25 degrees away from the original Azimuth design posture and the secondary slumps away from collimation in a way that is immediately apparent in the eyepiece. I hope this helps. KR RJD A&NTV
Brilliant. But I will stick with my 250 Flextube Synscan - I can lift it on the base by myself :-)
Yes it's a Flextube 8" on a GEM at the rear - well spotted. Given that the Flextube tube design expects to encounter the influence of gravity from one direction only - I would submit that only the 8" is sufficiently 'over built' to risk GEM mounting. Other apertures would require progressively greater degrees of reinforcement to prevent sagging and loss of collimation. KR RJD
Very helpful video. Thanks!
Good luck R Rahith. It's a great buy from "Skies n' Scopes"
Man i love that scope
If your GOTO SynScan is capable of both "Tracking and Pointing" you have a FULL Astro-Photographic Telescope, ALL you need is a Reflector Off-Axis system for your Guiding C.C,D, and Pro-DSLR as your intake Camera,just Superb!!!!
I can do that with the 350 Flextube Synscan, but it does require 'alittle' strength. I find the views are more than worth it however. The hardest part is probably lowering the OTA assembly down onto the base. You do get used to it, but its good to have another person with you there the first time you do it incase you "drop" the tube, or even worse - yourself with the tube on top of the base! :-O
Thinking of buying a SkyWatcher Skyliner 250P FlexTube SynScan Dobsonian Telescope, any good.
This one is already a real hardcore in moving it around. I think the portability ends at about 10 inch dobsonian.
Hi there, We used toi have a SkyWatcher (SW) 16" Flextube on wheels in our showroom and it was blissfully easy for one person to wheel it in and out. We supplied and sometimes fitted wheels to lots of SW 12", 14", and 16" Dobs in the UK. We always used the same set of wheels for all sizes. There used to be a nice set of wheels available from Ikea for their 'Kallax' shelves (named after a drafty old northern airport, Swedes uh?). The accessory wheelset featured a 35 to maybe 40cm long, 35mm wide, flat steel bar with a wheel at each end - one wheel on each set has a lock. The wheels were very good quality with no wiggle on the vertical or horizontal axles. The mod simply required that you cut each bar in half and use the two lock wheels and one other. Each bar set needs one extra hole to be drilled near the cut end. The feet on the base of the Dobbo are removed and the hole used as the first anchor point for the hole on the bar nearest the wheel (the wheel will be in a perfect position at the very edge of the SW Dob baseplate). The plastic foot is put back on top of the bar as a giant washer. You will need to drill a small (1.5 to 2mm) shallow pilot hole to anchor the cut end of the bar and 25mm chipboard screw can be used to secure this end. Problem: a quick look online suggests that the wheelset may have been discontinued or at least the design changed somewhat. I found some, here and there, with additional vertical tabs welded to the bars and these would need to be removed - and I can't speak on other less obvious variations there may be in dimensions and build quality etc. But Ikea Sweden - no longer lists this accessory at all - and that does not bode well for reliable availability in Ikeas worldwide. Anyway. I hope the certainty of the idea, at least, helps a bit. KR RJD A&NTV
id use a nice little dolly
Think i do want to see the boxes!!
End of video...
Thanks.
Have One.........Love it!
Do you need a little stair to look in it like the 16 inch dob?
Hello! I have the same telescope (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!
Good evening
I intend to buy a Dobson 16" synscan goto in Europe.
I am writing to you, since your distributor in Italy, Auriga, no longer sells this product, and is unable to give me the information I need.
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)
i have 8 inch Sky watcher dob, but now i want this
I am thinking to buy a 200p can i use a 200p for astrophoto with a dlrs kamera?
That's really cool
wow a really fantastic Dobsonian Telescope. Check my wish list. 😎 However, the best telescope is the one used the most. A sturdy hauling wagon & a pickup ramp.. Thanks.
Hello....I purchased the Skywatcher Flextube 200p and am unsure how to collumate it...and it needs collumation!! The rear primary mirror doesnt appear to have collumation screws...but rather three regular Phillips screws which are super tight & appear to be holding on the outer trim ring to the OTA. Any suggestions??? I'm very disappointed. :(
@Christiaan Baron That's a possibility..... however It was already a cool night and I had the Scope set up a good 30 minutes before using it. My issue is where are the collumation screws for the primary??
Check your manual as some Skywatcher newts have fixed primary mirrors that are not adjustable. From your description this may be the case with your model,in which case all the collimation possible is via the secondary.
at 09:10 is the telescope on the right the 200p flextube goto?
I like this telescope , is it possible to make Planets' videos ? Is the tracking system is enough accurate for planets tracking ? using for example the Inova PLA MX camera ?
Hi there. Yes, in principle, you should be able to use it for web-cam type planetary imaging. With high focal ratios, using high-powered (3x or 4x) Barlow lenses, tracking errors will be enough to allow the target to drift off a small CCD chip fairly regularly but the manual slow speeds are quite smooth and predictable so keeping the image corrected manually will be perfectly feasible. But bear in mind that although short 1000 frame videos will be easy enough to capture - the gradual effects of field rotation will make the final processed images harder to align. I couldn't actually find any good images shot through a Flextube 400P GOTO online but plenty of good stuff captured with the smaller models though. A&NC TV
thank you very much for your answer. I am using an 8"SCT pictures from planets nice , on a powerfull 16" it will be fantastic
Hi, there is few people in the finnish astronomy forum, who owns this scope. One guy shoot many, 25sec exposures from few deepsky objects with DSLR and the stacked pictures looks very nice.
Another guy use this telescope, with 4xpowermate to jupiter and saturn and he shoots the best planetary pictures in finland
As you have said this telescope can track object. But can it be used for Astrophotography? I suppose it doesn't compensate field-rotation. Therefore, if it is put on equatorial platform it only needs to be rotate around one axis to track object. But the question is will it rotate in one axis taking into account the equt-platform? Or is there any other way to use it for astrophotography? Kindly tell me in detail if possible upload a video explaining astrophotography with this telescope?
Astrophotography doesn't "require" field rotation compensation (an equatorial platform). Sure, field rotation will be an issue if you're used to a small scope on a big tripod, but this kind of scope compensates for that with its humongous light gathering capability. Exposure times will still be limited, yes, but you can just take more shots.
can i ask how wide the rocker box is?
Mind = Blown
is N 406/1800 a bigger one than that? or is it same that big?
I'm wondering where you buy one of these sky watchers with the synscan / GoTo. I've been looking all over google but it seem they only want to sell the sky watchers without the synscan / GoTo features. I want to buy one and shoot photo's so it's kind of a must have.
Old video now but how the heck is that finderscope 'easy to use' ??
what power source can you use for these?
Hi there, 12v 2.5amps is minimum spec. but a small gel-cell battery system used to jump-start small cars has proven to be popular because as it's fairly cheap and small enough to ride on the base of the scope. Typical spec on one of these is 12v (to 13.8v) 7Ah. Typically you will also need a cigar lighter cable terminating in a hollow tip 2.1mm centre positive plug. I hope this helps. KR A&NTV
Hey . Anyone can tell me which is good gotoAZ or goto collapsible telescope?
Is Sky-Watcher Skyliner-400P only for viewing and not for astrophotography?
It can be a photo tool but you will need a focal reducer ( high quality) to focus on a DSLR. But I cant imagine the wonders of what you will catch.
I'm saving up to buy the 12 inch telescope. Does anyone have it already? If so, can you tell me how well it works?
My SkyWatcher 254mm. 10" Dobsonian is Solid White-Enamel Aluminum. But Truss-Expanded Dobsonians I cannot understand how you can "maintain the Collimation of the Instrument because the Truss-Bars move from side to side and De-Collimate the Instrument. I prefer the Solid Aluminum Tube in White-Enamel SkyWatch because it maintains the Collimation and One can slide the Tube into a Hatch-Back Automobile. but a 12" and 14" Solid-Tube you will need a Hatch-Back 4 door Van with Rear-Hatch-Back Jeep!!!!
Impressive. Shame that you could not show some photos that it possibly is cable of.
We should clear one misconception about all telescopes, no one is going to see in real time any glamorous colour images as seen on various pictures and promotional media, I own a 14" Meade LX200, and still find it hard to see a clear image of most galaxies, like whirlpool galaxy, some you don't even see at all, because when you get a go to telescope, and ask it to go to a particular galaxy, and you know it should be there, but you can't see sod all, in the case of whirlpool galaxy, you just see a faint cloud like image, quite disappointing really, the images you see in real time are no where near promotional media, however, you do see stars and planets more brighter and clusters brighter, just about the only little colour image you see is that of Orion Nebula, where you can see that hint of blue and purple colour with clarity, but then again you can see that through your binoculars too. All those glamorous images are created by long time camera exposure, which is not same effect as if we were seeing things in real time with our eyes. So if you were to use a camera photography and image stacking software, you might as well get a smaller scope. But don't let me put you off, a 14" telescope stands out better against smaller scopes when it comes to see and study very faint stars, star pairs, and some features of moon, and other planets are better seen on a larger telescope. But no glamorous images like the Hubble telescope, all are timed images, or images composed over a length of time using your digital camera and software to clean up noise and some images created by stacking a series of images which i personally feel is adulterated images, not real image. So if you ask me, I am quite disappointed even with my 14" meade LX200, I now wish i could go for a 24" to see many more galaxies that 14" has failed to show in average sky conditions in london. So when I bought this 14" telescope in order to compensate for heavy light pollution of London, it has not helped me much, you cannot see the
I agree to most of this..... Move it to another observation site by car is not easy but move it out of the garage or even to you neighbour is easy.. Key to success is Wheels. Two aluminum handles with whells and 2 bolts with wingnuts. (if thats what its called in English.)
Open the garage and 2 minutes later its ready to start the align :) And i have the 16 inch Skywatcher like in this video at about 100 kilos.
That is a problem with your location, not your telescope. I live 20 minutes drive to the mountains, which has zero light pollution and exceptional viewing conditions. I have the 8" Skywatcher and got pretty good viewing conditions of Jupiter, Saturn and the Orion Nebula. I also had an 11" SCT which I sold, and the visuals were amazing. Granted - you won't see the same as what you get when you use image-stacking software, but you still see great visuals.
A large aperture telescope really needs a good dark sky to get the best from it, they are much more sensitive to light pollution so getting a large aperture to combat light pollution isn’t the answer, large apertures are also more sensitive to air currents as you are looking through a much wider column of atmosphere than smaller scopes. From a dark sky site you still won’t see the bright colours you see in many pictures but you will see considerable detail, in fact on bright nebulae, galaxies and globular clusters you see more detail particularly towards the centres where often long exposure photography over exposes these areas losing any detail, you have to be patient and use averted vision sometimes to see fine details but the efforts are worth it once you get your eye in so to speak.
someday it will be mine
It,s highest magnification is 720x
Depends on the eyepiece used.The usual rule of thumb is X2 the diameter of the mirror in mm's giving 812X. Personally with reflectors I like to take a bit off for the secondary obstruction.
This limit is a bit academic as seeing seldom allows powers over 300X anyway.When seeking magnification my main eyepiece I use is a old 12.5mm Orthoscopic giving a power of 144X. I have had this instrument up to 450X on occasion,but I've never seriously gone beyond that.
Anyway this is more of a light grasp scope with magnification not so important.
Cordial saludo, de casualidad tienes por ahi un video de lo que hacen tus sky watcher, especialmente los de 12" o un poco mas? grácias
Why the heck is that finder scope A) in that position & B) a straight through? It makes zero sense.
hang on there matey!! A 400 DOB isn't that bad to lift!! A couple bags of spinach and a weeks worth of brussell sprouts and she'll be right!! :-D
I've got a 114mm 1000mm Helios refractor love it
I thought my 12" Skywatcher was tall.
Why not mount it in a depression, that way no ladders needed!. I think steps are a big drawback because you need very good balance to then focus on the eyepiece. Or just mount a camera and feed image to a puter or tablet screen mounted elsewhere - simples!....
Hmm, not portable enough for me. Might go with a 10 or 12 instead.
Look at the bladdy soize of that!
Big mama
even at a mere 200 mag.....your fingertip touching the scope in any place will be like my ex blowing breath in your face....disastrous
Well as he says in this video you only need biceps like Popeye to move this telescope and popeye have really thin BICEPS. His underarms on the other hand...