How good are Dobsonian telescopes really?

In this video, I will dive into the history, design, and features of Dobsonian telescopes and discuss their advantages and disadvantages. I’m also going to tell you why in my opinion it's the perfect telescope for visual observations for the average hobby astronomer. Check it out!

Telescopes mentioned in this video:

Skywatcher Classic Dob 6”

Skywatcher Classic Dob 8”

Skywatcher FlexTube 8”

Skywatcher FlexTube 10”

Omegon ProDob 12”

Explore Scientific 12”

Thank you for your support!

[tjzambonischwartz]

I decided 25 years ago that dobsonians are the perfect telescopes for me. I hate fussing with computers, cameras, polar alignment, etc. I just want to see a LOT, with my own eyes, and I want to easily point and look. I started observing with small refractors and binoculars in 1993, but in 1998 I got my first 6" dobsonian and never looked back. Other scopes have come and gone from my arsenal, but that 6" is still my favorite. It's unbelievably sharp.

I hope to build my first homebuilt dobsonian later this year, a 12" truss scope.

[jimdawson]

Always enjoy your videos, production quality is great, very informative and enjoyable, I can tell you put a lot of work into your videos, glad I found your channel

[rafaelalexie]

Mă bucur enorm că am descoperit canalul tău!

[yogidemis]

I bought a 10 inch dobsonian Skywatcher for my first telescope and got better lenses and a Barlow, I'm happy on what it can do. I paid 550 brand new so for the price and it's the quality, I couldn't be any happier with it.

[AY-qfpg]

I think that for observers over their long term career, they need 3 types of telescopes!

- The grab and go 4 inch refractor
- the compact travel refractor with a camera tripod
- And the biggest light bucket you can carry!

[paulcontursi]

Excellent video - very informative. My first scope was a 4 inch Newtonian on a very heavy equatorial mount. Since I live in a heavily light polluted urban area and my main interest is lunar and planetary visual observing, I've switched to a 6 inch Maksutov Cassegrain and I really love the long focal length and significant resolution, especially when I look at the Moon.

[giannibtt]

I just recently bought the ES Ultra Light Gen 2 Dob, and I am glad that this model is confirmed among the best. The design is very cool, and it's also funny to use and put together every time. I use it with the Skeye app for Android completely manually and I can put the smartphone in any position pointing 'indirectly' at objects. I just applied some fluorescent stickers on the mounting points to make it easier in the dark and in the observations. Thanks for your videos.

[Youtuber-kunk]

I recently finally jumped aboard this hobby with an 8" f/5 newt and I love it. I'm so curious to how it would be to look through a 12" or larger.
I just bought a Tele Vue Delos 10mm and it is fantastic. I can only encurage you guys to get at least one high class eyepiece instead of buying and selling through a lot of mid class and lossing money on the way.
I live in the north so during the summer I only have the sun and the moon to look at, but wow that moon really really pops with the Delos. At 1000mm FL and 10mm eyepiece with 72 degree AFOV the moon almost fills the view.
To use a newtonian on a mount with tracking is so enjoyable. Point and admire.

[keyboard_warrior_cagematch]

They are excellent. I've had FAR more fun visual observing with my 8" dob than with my expensive 😭 astrorig. Planetary, lunar, deep sky, etc. I brought it out to Big Bend, Texas this summer and saw countless galaxies, it was mesmerizing.

[danielbarbieri]

Dobsonian telescope is the best affordable telescope one can buy.
It's a very good customisation basis. And at f5 or f6 very versatile tools. From beginner to advanced everyone will be happy with a dob. 8" seems to be the more versatile, but with a flextube you can go to 10" if you can afford it.

[TheRealRamora]

thanks for the video, really good. I've just picked up a second hand 12" skywatcher and its light enough for me to man handle it into the boot of my car and take it out into the country (had to improvise with some gaffer tape handles because it is so bog I can't lit it easily without this).

[tuunaes]

Flextubes are actually heavier than solid tubes!
Sturdy enough collapsing/extending mechanism simply weights more than length of tube it replaces, making weight half way to step bigger solid tube.
SkyWatcher's global site sucks when it comes to specs, but US site has far more complete and precise specs.

[moritzheintze]

The best telescope is the biggest you can take to a dark observation site. This makes truss-tube dobs like you say in 11:23 the *number 1* for visual observations. My best viewing session was with a 24" in Namibia.

[runningstandstill]

Hello Bogdan. How well detailed visually does your 12” dob do with globular cluster?

[fastbow]

I would love to see videos of you IN THE FIELD with actual astronomy equipment! You are always in the studio for entire video all we see is your face and an occasional picture of astronomy equipment!

[Skev_]

Hi! Can anyone tell me what the phone attachment is at 4:27 ? I'm assuming its an app like Stellarium?

[RaimondoScaccia]

Salve sono Raimondo piacere. Complimenti per il lavoro che fai. ❤
Domanda, io che sono un neofita che problemi avrei un dobson da 10"? E meglio un dobson da 8" o da 10" per il sistema solare e Deep Sky? Grazie mille arrivederci ❤

[justklaas]

Note that with further investments, dobsonians are very capable of delivering perfectly acceptable photographs of the objects in the night sky. E.g. a computerized alt-az mount, combined with an (astro) camera, and (free) software like sharpcap. Of course, a laptop or desktop (with extension cord) is needed as well. With this software, you can take very short images which are then "stacked" to construct an image. The short exposure + softwares deals with the field rotation. Remember, most dobsonians have quite a wide view and a very large aperture. So collect a lot of photons in a short time. For even better images, a focal reducer/field flattener can be obtained. Another route that can be taken, is not to buy a "goto" dob, but an equatorial platform. Finally, starting astrophotography is never cheap. Even in case a dobson is used. Costs can be minimized, in case you use: 1) a second hand dobsonian, 2) a second had DSLR body, 3) a self built equatorial platform (many people have build such a thing). It is worth checking the youtube channel of "keep it simple astronomy" for starters.

[Tuffjobs]

Does the skywatcher Dob take 2” eyepieces and allow DSLR photos? I’m talking about the focuser 😊 thanks

[MilkyWayMishaps]

Excellent video! Can you use an F4 newt for planetary observation? I know the magnification would be limited but I am considering one scope with my budget on a good mount, especially for DSO.