SkyWatcher USA now operational

[Siguy]

I just noticed that the new Synta-owned USA branch of Skywatcher has an online store and is apparently accepting orders.

http://www.skywatcherusa.com/home.php

All though most of them are just the same Synta telescopes sold by Orion and Celestron already, they have some combinations not offered by either. They're also the only USA supplier of Skywatcher "flex-tube" Dobs.

Prices look very reasonable, the APO refractors even have 2'' Dialectric diagonals and dual speed focusers.

I love the color scheme.

[Lazarus Long]

This seems the appropriate spot for a question I'm having! Hope I'm not hi-jacking this, since I do wonder how you would compare this company's scopes to others.

I'm looking into getting my first telescope. The Dobsonians are appealing price-wise, but what I've read seems to indicate they don't like suburban areas. Since most of my viewing will probably be done around the back yard with the occasional venture to a star gazing field, would a Refractor be the way to go?

I've been looking at:

1. Orion SkyQuest XT8 Classic Dobsonian
2. Orion AstroView 120ST EQ Refractor

but now the Sky-Watcher 100AR EQ5 PRO Refractor from Skywatcher looks pretty nice!

I apologize if this is an in-depth question, but I feel a bit overwhelmed with my choices since I'm not sure exactly what I should be looking for. Thanks for any help!

- Lazarus

[RickJ]

This seems the appropriate spot for a question I'm having! Hope I'm not hi-jacking this, since I do wonder how you would compare this company's scopes to others.

I'm looking into getting my first telescope. The Dobsonians are appealing price-wise, but what I've read seems to indicate they don't like suburban areas. Since most of my viewing will probably be done around the back yard with the occasional venture to a star gazing field, would a Refractor be the way to go?

I've been looking at:

1. Orion SkyQuest XT8 Classic Dobsonian
2. Orion AstroView 120ST EQ Refractor

but now the Sky-Watcher 100AR EQ5 PRO Refractor from Skywatcher looks pretty nice!

I apologize if this is an in-depth question, but I feel a bit overwhelmed with my choices since I'm not sure exactly what I should be looking for. Thanks for any help!

- Lazarus


My experience is there's no substitute for aperture no matter where the scope is located. The only limit is when it gets so big you find it too much work to haul out. Then you've gone too far with aperture fever. No matter the light pollution you'll see more with more aperture. When I lived in a town of 250,000 I routinely viewed galaxies at 350x and higher with my 10" scope that were 13th magnitude and fainter. High power dims light pollution faster than it does small galaxies so at such powers they become visible against the sky glow. Ditto faint stars in globular star clusters. For objects not helped by power you still get at least as good of view as the smaller scope as to contrast with the sky and finer detail is always seen in the larger scope.

So I'd go with an 8" dob over smaller scopes unless the size is a physical problem.

Rick

[kookbreaker]

This seems the appropriate spot for a question I'm having! Hope I'm not hi-jacking this, since I do wonder how you would compare this company's scopes to others.

I'm looking into getting my first telescope. The Dobsonians are appealing price-wise, but what I've read seems to indicate they don't like suburban areas. Since most of my viewing will probably be done around the back yard with the occasional venture to a star gazing field, would a Refractor be the way to go?

I've been looking at:

1. Orion SkyQuest XT8 Classic Dobsonian
2. Orion AstroView 120ST EQ Refractor

but now the Sky-Watcher 100AR EQ5 PRO Refractor from Skywatcher looks pretty nice!

I apologize if this is an in-depth question, but I feel a bit overwhelmed with my choices since I'm not sure exactly what I should be looking for. Thanks for any help!

- Lazarus

As others noted, Aperture always wins. Some folks say that light pollution limits things, but not really. Refractors do give a somewhat more crisp image, and some folks genuinely prefer them. But honestly, for your first scope I would say the reflector is a much better bargain and much more suited to a beginners needs.

[kookbreaker]

One thing to consider is that SkyWatcher only has one level of quality control. I know for a fact that Orion has in-warehouse inspection of the product as it comes it. Celestron may do the same, but all I know about that is from a few exchanges with the Synta owners that it may not be as intense as Orion's.

This might be a concern, as in-factory inspection may not as intense as some folks are used to.

[Siguy]

One thing to consider is that SkyWatcher only has one level of quality control. I know for a fact that Orion has in-warehouse inspection of the product as it comes it. Celestron may do the same, but all I know about that is from a few exchanges with the Synta owners that it may not be as intense as Orion's.

This might be a concern, as in-factory inspection may not as intense as some folks are used to.

Yes, but they come out of the same factory. Synta doesn't really make bad scopes.

How bad is the light pollution where you are? Aperture wins unless you're really deep into the city.

I personally would go with the XT8 if you want to get the best out of the few deep sky objects you can see from a light polluted area.

But the 120ST is still a good scope with many fans. However, being an f/5 achro, chromatic aberration will be an issue. You should check out the Orion 100mm f/6. That has slightly less aperture but is collimatable, a big plus.

[kookbreaker]

Yes, but they come out of the same factory. Synta doesn't really make bad scopes.


No. They do not, in general. But that's at least partially because they been kept in check with inspections in the American companies. Otherwise there is a strong tendency for Asian manufacturers to slip into mediocrity. Only with constant light pressure do they keep the quality up. It also make certain that they will continue to improve their products. An example of this is the Dobsonian bases for the XT series. If you saw the totally Synta made Dob side by side with the Synta-tube-but-US-made-base Orion XT you would wonder where the heck the quality control was at Synta. After years of getting the brush-off about making the bases, Synta got the hint and started improving the base quality.

But in the meantime a lot of SkyWatcher dobs were sold with rather embarassing bases. I do not know if they transferred the quality across the board to their own present-day dobs.

[Siguy]

No. They do not, in general. But that's at least partially because they been kept in check with inspections in the American companies. Otherwise there is a strong tendency for Asian manufacturers to slip into mediocrity. Only with constant light pressure do they keep the quality up. It also make certain that they will continue to improve their products. An example of this is the Dobsonian bases for the XT series. If you saw the totally Synta made Dob side by side with the Synta-tube-but-US-made-base Orion XT you would wonder where the heck the quality control was at Synta. After years of getting the brush-off about making the bases, Synta got the hint and started improving the base quality.

But in the meantime a lot of SkyWatcher dobs were sold with rather embarassing bases. I do not know if they transferred the quality across the board to their own present-day dobs.
I'm pretty sure the Orion Dobs have GSO (Guan Sheng Optical) bases that are either made in Taiwan or China. Actually, the optics might even be GSO, too.

[kookbreaker]

I'm pretty sure the Orion Dobs have GSO (Guan Sheng Optical) bases that are either made in Taiwan or China. Actually, the optics might even be GSO, too.

Siguy, you are speaking to someone who worked at Orion:

Orion SkyQuest Dobs were originally made by GSO. The Taiwanese were not able to produce a proper base that satisfied Orion, so Orion contracted out to an American company to produce the bases.

Eventually, Orion moved production of the Dobs tubes to Synta in China. This was when they grew the 'dob knob' and other extra features. Bases were still produced in the USA.

In the meantime, Guan Sheng took to dob design to other markets in the US, making the bases as well as the tubes...(with less than stellar results in base quality). After that butter was spread too thin, they settled on one or two resellers. For a while almost every slightly larger telescope store was trying to sell them. Orion did not make a fuss over this as they wished GS to remain viable as a manufacturer, however they did draw the line when one sleazy seller stole Orion's images and copy to sell the GSO dobs.

Meanwhile, over the years, Synta tried several time to request making the entire dob. The examples they sent did not use the spring CorrectTension, but that could be changed easily enough. More telling was that the bases were made of horrible particle board, and the lamination would peel if you stared at it too hard. Sometimes China has had problems with softwood technology, which is trickier than you might suspect.

When I left Orion, the Intelliscope SkyQuests were being brought up to speed and the 'Classic' SkyQuest were being brought back after a brief hiatus. I do not know what Orion did, but I can say that the Classic SkyQuest base boxes have 'Made in China' on them.

It might be that the 12" Dobs tubes are still made by GSO. That was a limit Synta couldn't breach at the time I left, but Synta has been known to rise to the challenge...when they are challenged.

[Veeger]

Seems Sky-watcher USA has an operational website, but everything I looked at was 'out of stock'. Maybe the lights are on, but no one's home?