If I Could Have Only ONE Scope...Which One Would It Be??

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[BennyColyn]

Saw the title, knew it was the 8" dob.

[EvenTheDogAgrees]

Holy moly, a 19 year waiting list for a telescope? That's insane!

[davidbentley]

Hello Mr. Ting! I am a 73 year old Retired Detective Captain, 30 years on the job, 18 years retired. I have followed your reviews for years! I have owned mamy of the scopes you have reviewed and recommended. You always do great and informative reviews. A person can't go wrong following your advice. I have enjoyed astronomy with a telescope since I was 10 years old. first using a Gilbert 40-80 power reflector. I used it to observe Sputnik!! Presently I have a 10 inch Orion Dob with push to computer. A wonderful scope. You keep me enthused with your intelligent reviews that are presented so professionally. You are an awesome asset to all amateur astronomers! I often tell people that ask what scope they should get to go to your reviews of so many scopes before buying and have never had one of them disappointed. Please continue your reviews, I love them!!! You are the best.

[jongoldsby]

The best scope is always the one you use the most.

[diablo]

Sitting in a chair and scanning the skies with my 10" Dob and 2" Televue Panoptic 35mm is absolutely magical

[TheYehat]

Ed is a legend. Back in the days we were reading his telescope reviews not because they were the only ones, but because of the relevance, sanity and wisdom coming from them. They're still relevant, the ultimate test of the time is not to be overlooked. Listen and understand what Ed talks.

[mryellowres]

I called an 8'' Dob' 5 seconds in to the video ! I don't have one anymore but being able to pick it up, plonk it outside and get amazing views is heaven compared to the Franken-blob of usb cables and electronics i have now.

[tsukiie]

I would say 6" Dob. I'm very satisfied with the vision of it. It's not too heavy nor bulky, when I'm in a good condition.

I usually use 50mm refracter, because I'm usually drunk at night.

[MarkLangenhoven]

I bought a Dobsonian based on your recommendations. However, I decided to upscale it a tiny bit to the 10 inch flextube Skywatcher. I could not be happier with it.

[hooya]

My wife got me a used XT8 for my birthday in July. She knew nothing about backyard astronomy except that I was interested, and had no equipment. She either did amazing research, or got really lucky! I'm excited to see this as the "desert island" scope on your list! I only knew I wanted a reflector, since more bang for the buck, and more compact. Had some scopes 30 years ago, and hadn't really kept up, doing mostly naked eye and binocular observing.

[rong.]

I’ve been searching and searching for my first REAL telescope. I was looking at the XT8. Thank you for helping me make my decision. 👍🏻 I’ve been binge watching your videos and a few others. Yours feel much more like an actual teaching video than a sales video...that’s very important to me...education of an item that I’m looking to purchase. Keep up the great work.

[tjzambonischwartz]

I'm a small dobsonian guy myself, but I'm not such a purist that I don't use a Telrad and a cooling fan.

I do use star atlases and starhop manually, though, and won't touch goto and DSCs. To h*ck with computers and phones in the field. I love SkySafari for planning my sessions, but prefer charts and books when I'm actually observing. I need to unplug and be alone with the sky.

[WilliamFrogge]

Currently own a 10" Orion dob and a 9.25 SCT and agree with you. Using the dob to find stuff is also more rewarding without the GOTO of my SCT :)

[amalone]

Couldn’t agree more with the last comment. My 8” dob gets so much attention when I’m viewing in public. It’s a wonderful way to meet and connect with new people.

[mendicant]

"It’s not about the equipment, it’s more the experiences that we have with it and the people we meet.” Well said man.

[PeteQuad]

Wow I can't believe I found you on Youtube. Your scopereviews web page got me into astronomy around 20 years ago. I read every inch of that page multiple times. Thanks!

[fdboucher]

Ed, you are very inspiring. I love your videos, and your stories… I've been through burnout myself, and I do appreciate your life experience and incredible expertise.
“It’s not about the equipment, it’s more about the experiences we have with it and the people that we meet.” I agree 100%…

[Wolfie]

I have been into astronomy for years and have watched hundreds of videos so I don't know how I missed your channel Ed. Thanks for a great and interesting video.

Having both the C6 and the 9.25 Celestron SCTs I was happy to see they rated so well with you.

All the best and I look forward to catching up with your videos.

[ytaky]

@13:27 I have a 0 scope collection by necessity.
But really enjoy watching you share your knowledge, and love seeing all these beautiful scopes.
The XT8 is in my dreams, i love how "simple" it is, and how "clean" it looks.

Best regards from the Azores.

[David-hmic]

Your choice of the 8" Dob is not a surprise. It's a great balance of price, performance and portability. In the coming months I intend to build a Dob base for my 6" reflector because its OTA weighs 20% of my 12" reflector OTA weighs, making it a viable scope for short viewing sessions. If I didn't have the 6" Cave and the 12" Intelliscope an 8" Dob would be on my Christmas list.