Orion SkyQuest XT8 (IntelliScope) Dobsonian


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Orion SkyQuest XT8 (IntelliScope) Dobsonian
The new mount design is better. Assembly is easy. Orion's support is good - both email and phone.

Overall Rating: 9
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Orion SkyQuest XT8 (IntelliScope) Dobsonian
Base assembly/lining up the finder/collimation took 1 1/2 hours.
VERY SIMPLE.

Under the stars it performs very very well.

Overall Rating: 9
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Orion SkyQuest XT8 (IntelliScope) Dobsonian
I like all the mechanics of this scope a lot. It is easy even for me, a beginner to find things in the sky using the included finder scope. The views of the moon and what I could see of the planets (just before they disappeared for the year) were bright and pretty crisp as expected. The Orion nebula was also quite a sight through this scope. The star test didn't look quite like I have read that it should but it didn't seem very far off and I haven't yet tried the fix suggested in S&T's review.

Overall Rating: 8
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Orion SkyQuest XT8 (IntelliScope) Dobsonian
Very pleased with the scope for value. EP's need to be upgraded, but are very usable

Overall Rating: 8
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Orion SkyQuest XT8 (IntelliScope) Dobsonian
Mechanicaly sound, great optical performance especialy when you consider the price tag. S&T's mechanical fixes are highly recommended, especialy the teflon "sliders" for the azmuth motion. Great value.

Overall Rating: 9
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Orion SkyQuest XT8 (IntelliScope) Dobsonian
An outstanding scope for beginners and experienced users alike, especially for the money ($500). Comes with a good (not excellent) 6x30 finder and two good (not excellent) Sirius Plossls, 25mm and 9mm. Plenty of light gathering ability. Crisp contrast for a Newt. Minor astigmatism, 90% correctable with felt pads, a la the 1/00 S&T review. Plate mirror, but no appreciable cooling issues noticed in cool Spring weather. Very well ventilated. Buttery smooth focuser. Smooth and stable Dob mount. Rugged construction all around. An excellent value.

Overall Rating: 10
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
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Orion SkyQuest XT8 (IntelliScope) Dobsonian
I have owned 4 doby's in the last 6 years including models from celestron meade
starfinder and bushnell and I can't compare any of these with the skyquest.
Overall quality is a giant step forward and for the optics, apart from a longer cooling down period, the mirror is as good as any newtonians I have
used. Star testing showed very slight undercorrection my guess and I stress
this is only a guess I feel the optics final peak to valley wavelength would
be 1/7. Images of Jupiter and saturn were better than my SCT 9.3 inch, better
contrast and overall sharpness.Compared favorably with 6.5 inch Refracor.
The finder is ok and the mount is comparable to any commercial dobys out there

Overall Rating: 10
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Orion SkyQuest XT8 (IntelliScope) Dobsonian
Outstanding optics, better images than friends Discovery 8 inch doby
Saturn looked great at 200x very good contrast and sharpness
Very impressed with plate glass mirror
Only slightly undercorrected in star test
Only negative cool down time approx 60-70 mins

Overall Rating: 10
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Orion SkyQuest XT8 (IntelliScope) Dobsonian
I purchased my scope in October of 1999. The views through this little scope have been very amazing. The only complaint i have is the cheap EP's and the excessive friction of the mount. These are very minor since they can be corrected. The optics in this dob are very impressive.

My 2 cents

Overall Rating: 9
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
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Orion SkyQuest XT8 (IntelliScope) Dobsonian
have used celestron starhopper, starplitter compact , meade starfinder
as well as discovery at recent starparty and in my mind there is no comparison
Skyquest wins hands down optically and is also better mechanically.
Star test indicated very minimal undercorrection but images were excellent.
Jupiter was crisp and sharp and only the discovery got close to it in performance. When i compared the two scpes on m30 in capricornus there was no comparison
Skyquest image was brighter and more contrasty.
Im very impressed

Overall Rating: 10
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Orion SkyQuest XT8 (IntelliScope) Dobsonian
Very easy to assemble and use. Quality components throughout. I feel very good about choosing this for my 1st scope. Everyone who looks through it is impressed. This is the "perfect" telescope for a 1st time purchaser or anyone who wants a quality scope at a reasonable price.

Overall Rating: 9
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Orion SkyQuest XT8 (IntelliScope) Dobsonian
I WOULD LIKE TO AGREE WITH MY FRIENDS WHO HAVE SUBMITTED THERE ASSESMENT
ON THE SKYQUEST FROM THE SAME LIBRARY INTERNET FACILITY THAT THE SKYQUEST IS
OUTSTANDING. I BORROWED ONE FROM OUR LOCAL ASTRONOMY CLUD AND FOUND IT
TO HAVE FIRST CLASS OPTIC AND A GOOD TO VERY GOOD MOUNT. WE SET UP ALL THREE
SKYQUESTS ON MARCH 16 AT HALLS GAP MELBOURNE AUSTRALIA AND COMPARED IMAGES
AND FOUND THE VIEWS TO BE GREAT. SHARP AND DEFINED AND PRETTY MUCH THE SAME.
STARTESTS INDICATED A MIRROR THAT WAS BETTER THAN YOUR DIFFRACTION LIMITED VARIETY.
ONLY NEGATIVE IS EYEPIECES COULD BE BETTER QUALITY.NO NEGATIVE ON SCOPE ITSELF.
THANKS ORION, I WILL NOW PURCHASE ONE LIKE ME FRIENDS

Overall Rating: 10
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
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Orion SkyQuest XT8 (IntelliScope) Dobsonian
optically the best doby i have ever used
very surprised with plate glass mirror

Overall Rating: 10
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Orion SkyQuest XT8 (IntelliScope) Dobsonian
An excellent 8 inch 'scope. They just don't come right out of the box any better than this, at least in this price range. Make no mistake, no matter what you pay for a scope in this size range, you won't get one much better than this.

Overall Rating: 10
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
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Orion SkyQuest XT8 (IntelliScope) Dobsonian
Easy to put together- took about half hour. Bright sharp images. Super easy and smooth mount- particularly like the spring arrangement for tensioning. For a low cost dob, the focuser has a great feel. After collimation, star tested fine with nice diffraction rings and found only slight descernable astigmatism at edges. Price/value combo unbeatable.

Overall Rating: 10
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
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Orion SkyQuest XT8 (IntelliScope) Dobsonian
Mechanicly, this is a great scope; very smooth and stable alt-az motions (after very minor mod.s, see S&T refviews "6 8 inch Dobs"), an excellent fucuser, and a very nice finder. The primary tests well, perhaps a little over-correction and turned edge. Very bright, detailed images. Cool down usually takes about 40 mins, and continues to improve a little from there. After dealing with a 10" Meade EQ Starfinder it's a real blessing to simply plop the base, tube, and "Roll a chair" down and start observing with ease and comfort. I love this scope... now. It took a while to get there, though. Here's why:

As appears to be common with XT8's, my scope was astigmatic, and failed to resolve <4 arc sec.s, and would not reach acceptable focus at >150x. This put's the scope in the "turd" classification. I contacted Orion, and they promptly sent a 3 point primary support kit, free of charge (a fix ala S&T review), which made no improvement. Suspecting the secondary, I purchased a new secondary from Orion, which made sleight, but not acceptable, improvement. At their request, I sent the scope to them. I was told they would artificial star-test the scope, and that I'd get a "perfect" scope back. After they recieved the scope, I was informed that they don't have an artificial star set up, and that there are no real stars out durring normal business hours. They performed Ronchi and Faucault tests on the primary, and found it to be free of defects, which I already supposed, in light of my own testing. If they had artificial star tested it, as they suggested they would, they would have seen the very obvious "flipping eliptical Airy disk". Instead, they sent the scope back un-repaired, telling me I should spend more money if I'd like a perfect scope, and that there was nothing wrong with the XT8 anyway. Waist of time and money.

In the end, I replaced the secondary with a Meade secondary. What a great, and fairly cheap fix!!! The scope NOW lives up to the catalouge description of "difraction limited (as opposed to astigmatism limited) exsquisite optics (as opposed to tollerable only if you don't use it above 100X)". I can now easily resolve 2 arc secs (Epsylon Lyrae no prob.) and attain crisp focus at 250X, perhaps more (seeing permitting). Now that the scope performs as it should have "off the shelf", it is a VERY fun and reliable scope.

If you buy this scope, be prepared to replace the seconday (not an Orion), unless, of course, I just happened to have recieved the only 2 astigmatic secondaries they've ever sold. And, while their support staff is very easy to reach and they are very accomodating, be prepared for no real fixes. If you star test this scope, and the stars become eliptical as you approach focus, and this elipse flips 90 deg when you pass focus, and the axis of the elipse follows the optical axis of the scope, suspect the secondary! Fix this and you'll have a great scope. Why Orion couldn't do this when they had my scope in their hot little hands is really beyond me. Certainly contrary to thier reputaion.

Despite this issue, I'd still buy this scope. Everything except the secondary are just too good at this price to pass up.

Overall Rating: 9
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
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Orion SkyQuest XT8 (IntelliScope) Dobsonian
The scope arrived well packed and in good shape. The secondary was well positioned in the OTA, and collimation was very easy. I made all of the refinements suggested in the S&T Jan 2000 article, which helped make the AZ motion smoother and more predictable. The star test was very good...concentric rings inside and out of focus. The supplied finder, though bright, is straight through and difficult to use. Replaced with a Parks 8x50 RA finder, which I love. Images are very clear, and contrast is very good. When well collimated, stars are pinpoint sharp. Mount is very stable. This is a very easy to use scope ergonmically, well sized for an individual 5'5" to 6' tall (best while sitting). Can't wait for the gas giants.

Overall Rating: 9
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
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Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=39373


Orion SkyQuest XT8 (IntelliScope) Dobsonian
I'm delighted with this scope. Great optically and mechanically. After a slight adjustment to the collimation (using a Cheshire eyepiece) the star testing produced good concentric circles. A Ronchi test showed perfectly straight lines (meaning no aberrations). Therefore, no need to do the S&T fix of the primary mirror. Motions are smooth and rock-steady, viewing at 266X is easy.

I've easily split the Lyra double-double at 100X with this scope. And imaged thousands of stars in M13. Can't wait to view the planets!

In my opinion, you can't beat the value of this scope. Great all-around package for only $500 (and I'm pretty picky!)

Overall Rating: 10
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
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Orion SkyQuest XT8 (IntelliScope) Dobsonian
Ive used the Starslitter 8 inch tube at our local club
and found the Skyquest optically as good if not slightly better contrast
wise. Very surprised to see that the optics are plate no really concern
slight cooling down issue.
The scope is very smooth with a good focuser not excellent as mentioned elsewher
Eyepiece are useable and finder is ok.Ive replaced the focuser and use other e/p's
Scope looks great.
Secondary 25% of primary is right on limit for Newtonian in my opinon.
The thing that sets this scope apart from others is the Primary mirror.
I had my tested on the double pass Autocollimated Ronchi test on a bench
and the optics were at a estimate 1/6 on the wavefront (at the eyepiece)
I have owned a variety of scopes and purchased this for my son, but I have
found for a starters scope this is outstanding

Overall Rating: 10
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
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Orion SkyQuest XT8 (IntelliScope) Dobsonian
what can i say this is my 4th doby, starplitter tube meade starfinder
celestron starhopper and a home made job
this is the best ive used
optically very surprised as mirror is glass
but images are very good, overall scope is good
but the difference to others is the optical quality

Overall Rating: 10
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
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Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=39376

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