Customer reviews
Fantastic scope
Review by T. L. on 25.04.2023 16:22:48( 5 / 5 )
I've had this scope for a year now and it's been fantastic.
Considering this is a usual go to scope for a beginners, here are some other purchases are made to make this scope even more enjoyable:
- A 6mm goldline eyepiece. You can pick this up rather cheap but they are a huge improvement over the 10 mm that comes with the scope, especially for planetary viewing. The other 25 mm eyepiece that comes with the scope is perfectly fine.
- A laser colimator (takes less than 5 mins to collimate the scope)
- A telrad - takes some time to understand how it works but starhopping to objects is super easy compared to starhop through the finderscope.
If you add an EQ platform & astrocamera to this scope you can do fantastic EAA on bright objects and combined with a planetary camera & barlow you can take great shots of the planets (see my website www.astrothib.com for some examples)
A telescope is successful for visual observation.
Review by . Е. on 14.08.2021 15:14:41( 5 / 5 )
A telescope is successful for visual observation.
The image in the eyepiece is of good quality. The moon will hit you with its craters. Saturn will show its rings. Jupiter will show its four moons and its cloud bands. At times, in good conditions, cloud bands can show barely noticeable details.
Closed clusters look like piled silver coins. Open clusters are also beautiful.
I watched from the terrace of a moderately lit city. I can say that under very good conditions I have seen galaxies up to 10 magnitude.
I sold the telescope to start basic alt-az astrophotography
telescope.
But if you have the money you need, you can get a suitable equatorial mount to mount the telescope on it and take pictures.
Sometimes I miss this telescope and its clear image.
If you want to advance even more in visual observation, you need to get a telescope with a larger aperture. But remember that weight and size increase.
Success!
The best investment i've ever made.
Review by LOL221 on 15.02.2018 22:19:11( 5 / 5 )
I bought it last year in mid July and forgot to leave a Review.
Dobsonians are Light buckets. You cant get a better price/performance ratio than this. The Oculars are not the best but they do what they do, and they do it great!. When comparing to my old 76/900, the 76/900 feels like it was a waste of money. This 8 inch Scope is by far the best thing a Beginner can get because: Its easy to assemble and it doesnt take long at all, again the price/performance ratio is AWESOME, It really doesnt need as much collimation as everybody will tell you, but you do need to collimate it before using it the first time. The Views are sharp clear and bright, You can do basic planetary imaging with videos and Its not really that heavy for 8 inch so you can carry it alone. You can start seeing detail and single stars in Clusters and Nebulas and you will be able to see Galaxys (most of them will be smeared grey blobs of light with halo around them). If you decide to buy it and take a look at Orion for example, make sure to have medics on your side because you may Pass out from the Beauty this thing will show you!
I would reccommend to get the Basic Planetary Filters (Blue, Red, Green, Yellow) and a UHC Filter (tries its best to remove light pollution you may have) to enhace your views even further!
So if you want an awesome Telescope, definitely spend your money on this one!!
10/10 would buy again.
Brilliant product!
Review by L. S. on 10.06.2016 12:11:40( 5 / 5 )
What more can I say ... dobsonian light buckets for the win! That thing has brilliant mirrors for the price. Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Moon... with a 5 mm good eyepiece... no worries in good viewing conditions the resolution is awesome! Wanna see the cassini division - BAM! Wanna see shadows on Jupiter of Jupiter's moons? - BAM! Wanna see the polar caps on Mars? -BAM! Awesome scope! Great optics!
Fear not, this is what you want - Part 2
Review by soniC on 17.02.2016 04:04:49( 5 / 5 )
After having this scope for 3 years now I figured I would make a follow-up review and review how it is after many more viewings. I've seen Saturn's rings (with the cassini division), Jupiters moons with discernable features on Jupiter, the Orion Nebula (M42). Obviously the Moon is extremely clear on such a scope. I upgraded the eyepieces obviously as time has gone on (Celestron Vixens, super wide angle EPs, 2x Barlow lens etc.)
While having this scope I found myself wanting to take astrophotos, because I want to share my passion for astronomy and there aren't many that appreciate it whereabouts I live in Sweden. I just want to add that it IS possible to take astrophotos with this very model if you want to hook up your DSLR to the actual eyepiece. There is a guide on youtube showing you exactly that. Search under "Attaching an SLR camera to your Newtonian Telescope" made by the British "Astronomy and Nature TV." The Skywatcher has the advantage of being easier to modify (Quite easily) compared to e.g. an Orion telescope where you are forced to get a barlow lens and things get a biy shaky.
This "Newt" gets 5/5 stars still, and as mentioned by other reviewers, just upgrade the accessories as you go along. The best accessory you can get is the "Telrad" finder- that is worth it's weight in gold and has saved many frustrating moments in case you are a beginner like me!
Fear not, this is what you want.
Review by soniC on 05.06.2013 13:00:04( 5 / 5 )
I read the reviews from Aki, Saphiron and Maciek over and over until I almost knew them by heart. Now that I have finally received my Skyliner, I can only say that I agree with them and have some more to add:
I was back on forth on what scope to get. Final choice was between this and the 6 inch Skyliner. I finally caved in and bought this (pricey!! :-O) along with the following great accesories:
Omegon binos 10x50 (porro prism)
Telrad finder with base
Skywatcher collimation eye piece.
Philips Planestron
All i can say is, dont worry about your choice. Skywatcher is a great brand. I received my shipment yesterday and assembled it all tgthr. MIND YOU, the instructions are incomplete for the base of the dobsonian. You have to figure out some things yourself, so if you arent handy, then look it up on the net. IT wasnt hard to figure out. After some collimation (much wasnt needed) with my eye piece, I ventured out on my balcony (low light pollution) not expecting much, as it was a hazy night (only a few stars visible.) I point it in the SE horison and WOW! I have no idea what I saw (I think it was a deep sky object) but I couldnt stop looking at it. I would def. recommend getting some more eyepieces, perhaps a barlow x2 as well, as the scope can handle it.
What are you waiting for? Buy it!
Great Scope
Review by Maciek on 18.07.2012 10:12:47( 5 / 5 )
I totally agree with two other reviewers (Aki and Safiron). Highly recommend this scope. You get more with skywatcher than orion and the quality of what you can see is the same. Now I only think what other accessories to use, especially eyepieces. The fun just starts.
Impressive Quality
Review by Saphiron on 20.04.2012 19:50:01( 5 / 5 )
It's my first big scope and I gotta say it's awesome. When I've decided to buy 8" Dob I basicly had two options: this scope and Orion alternative (in black). If you are where I was, then go for Skywatcher. It's cheaper you'll get better finderscope with slightly illuminated cross (Orion has Red-Dot), two eyepieces instead of one, and 2" extension tube. So in the end you actually get more for less money. No need to worry about quality I dont think Orion is made any better then Skywatcher It's just more expensive.
If you're newcomer and this is your first scope or had a small 3" like me don't hesitate and go for 8". It's best compromise between price and performance. There is not much of the visual difference between 8" and 10" but It costs much more. It's also large to transport, It has smaller focal ratio so you will more likely need coma corrector. So you will pay big mount of money for 2" of apeture. Believe me 8" is big enough. If you wanna go larger go for 12" or more.
Great Scope
Review by Aki on 20.07.2010 18:24:58( 5 / 5 )
For the price, the view is marvellous. Galaxies down to magnitude 10 are visible in pitch-black skies with adapted eyes.
The Azimuth movement is a little stiff, but not notably so; tracking planets at high powers is not difficult, but it is a bit jerky.
A good investment would also be a good 2" eyepiece, perhaps around 20mm-26mm, as the eyepieces included are a 10mm, 1.25" and a 20mm, 1.25".
As telescopes go, though, it's tough to find a better deal if you're a relative newcomer. This is my second telescope, and it'll last me a long time.
Very Good 1st Scope
Review by Silverhoof on 11.08.2014 14:31:37( 4 / 5 )
I only ordered this telescope after GSO N200/1200 Dob (with fine focus Crayford) was delayed a bit too many times. There is not much difference between GSO and Skywatcher - one is maid in China (GSO) and the other in Taiwan (Synta). Between them two they supply pretty much all commercial telescopes on the wast - they are just re-branded by different companies (Skywatcher, Orion, Celestron, Zhumell, Apertura ...). GSO and Synta dobsonians are neck and neck so it really doesn't matter which one you pick - the optical tube assembly (OTA) will be pretty much identical. So it's the accessories that come with them that put them apart (like fine focus Crayford on that GSO I wanted; but unlike Skywatcher it only comes with one eyepiece).
Anyway, to the Skywatcher dobsonian 200/1200. I give it 4 out of 5 stars. 5 starts would mean that this product is perfect, considering cost and all. So let me tell you pros and cons and I'll start with the cons first.
Cons:
•low quality eyepieces that come with the scope. This telescope is capable of so much more than the original eyepieces that come bundled with it would lead you to believe. They are the cheapest kind you can find and really do no justice to the power of OTA. They are not even plossel. They will serve you OK at the beginning since you would not know any better, but you'll start thinking about replacing em very fast.
•straight through finderscope. This this was made in hell. It will make you suffer, it will bring you pain. Why would they put this on a dobsonian I have no idea. I would much rather have nothing (and thus reducing price by 20-40€) than the finderscope that comes with this dobsonian. Just one night will be enough to convince you about getting right angle correct image (RAIC) finderscope and/or Telrad.
•sticky base. It's just teflon pads so adjusting the telescope can be a bit annoying, especially at high power. GSO comes with roll bearings, but that's not perfect solution either. For this one you'll just have to mod it yourself (search the internet).
Pros:
•200mm primary mirror is big enough to really open a lot of night sky for you. Really only the dimmest DSO (deep space objects) will be out of your reach. Keep in mind that the stuff you'll be hunting for was discovered using much, much, much crappier telescopes. Good quality primary mirror is what you are paying for in dobsonian telescopes. Everything else is basic. This telescope will show you planets (rings and moons of Saturn even with the eyepieces that come with it), deep sky objects (galaxies, nebulas, clusters) and I don't even have to point out the Moon (which any telescope will produce good image of).
•ease of use. This is basics, no computers, no alignment. You just place it on the ground and you are good to go. I personally enjoy the fact that there is no computer guidance - where is fun in that? Just type in the object you want to view and telescope will turn itself towards it. No thrill of exploration what so ever, no joy of learning the night sly on your own. By keeping it so simple there is really nothing to break or fail.
Keep in mind that this is dobsonian and you'll have to collimate it. Don't worry, it's only painful at first. There are gadgets that will make it easier for you, but for starts all you need is a old film canister. If you like to tinker with things, you'll even enjoy collimation :)
So, final words. 4 out of 5 starts. If this telescope would come without finderscope and eyepiece, I'd give it 5 out of 5. So it's ironic that the accessories that are bounded with it bring the value down in my eyes. You'll replace the finderscope, you'll replace the eyepeices. Only thing that you'll keep is an OTA, and that's 5 out of 5!
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