Orion SkyQuest XT8 (IntelliScope) Dobsonian

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Orion SkyQuest XT8 (IntelliScope) Dobsonian
Excellent mechanical performance and good optics. Smooth motion, thanks to the spring tension mechanism. Optics improved further after I added more support for the mirror as suggested by S&T in their review. Planets are really beautiful, deep sky object are awesome!
Easy to transport/carry around, a very enjoyable telescope!!

Derrick

Overall Rating: 9
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
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Orion SkyQuest XT8 (IntelliScope) Dobsonian
For those just getting started, this might be the scope. $500 never showed me this much. Simply buy a star chart, (rotating) point the scope at the general area, and things like nebula, galaxies and doubl-stars come into view. A absolute must is to throw out the finderscope that comes with it, spend another $40 for a telrad and buy a 2x barlow lens. I've owned only smaller aperature reflectors (4 1/2") and the first view through the 8" at the same objects showed unbelievable improvements. Smudges turn into bright cores which can almost be resolved into individual points of light. The planets can be magnified to greater levels without getting dim or "dirty". I guess my only second thought is whether or not I should have waited for the new 10" Skyquest. However, if moving the scope outdoors is a problem due to weight, go with the 8". I don't use the useless handle to move it, (it doesn't really work) I simply squat and lift the scope from the underside of the base. It barely clears the door going outside. I'm told the 8" SCT I was considering($1000) instead of the Skyquest won't show me any better views of deep sky objects. So if your like me, save the extra $500 for accesories.

Overall Rating: 9
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Orion SkyQuest XT8 (IntelliScope) Dobsonian
The Orion XT8 is a Dob and a very good one. I bought this particular dob because of the reviews I read. I was NOT dissapointed. It was packed fairly well and went together perfectly. Once I learned to collimate the optics and I get it right-on the stars are pinpoint. Good Plossl EPs. Good smooth movement to anywhere in the sky in just seconds. I bought the shorty barlow for more power. The moon - good detail. Jupiter - three bands. Saturn - Cassini division. Orion nebula - Can begin to see lines and folds in the nebula and not just a fuzzy patch. Nice beginner light-bucket.

Overall Rating: 8
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Orion SkyQuest XT8 (IntelliScope) Dobsonian
Extremely happy with my choice for a first telescope. My cousin who owns a celestron star hopper, is jealous. The Base is very stable and I've since added a 22mm Vixen LVW, which is quite a hefty eyepiece and I don't have any problems with balancing. The addition of a rigel or telrad is plus and a 90' 8x50 finder scope makes this telescope a joy to use. It performs very wellunder the night sky, the views I get are outstanding.

Overall Rating: 10
Weight: 3 (Unreliable Vote)
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Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=39381

Orion SkyQuest XT8 (IntelliScope) Dobsonian
I would have given this scope an "8.5" rating, but it wasn't available. As a beginner, this is a great scope to start out with. It's small, very portable (I tried a Celestron 8" and it weighed 10lbs more, with an 8" longer tube), and has everything (almost) a beginner needs to get started. The 25mm and 9mm are of mediocre quality (I am upgrading after having the scope only 6 months), the 9mm especially-its field stop is not even circular with an apparent field of only 45 degrees. The finderscope is quite good, the focuser is AA++ excellent! With extremely smooth motion for a regular R&P. The CorrectTension works just as good or better than they say, even a 14mm UWA (26oz) doesn't unbalance it!

The mirror shows a great amount of astigmatism (my eyes are NOT astigmatic). I tried the felt pad thing suggested in S&T 1/00, and this didn't improve it. Also it has a tendency to dew or frost up very easily. I left my scope out once for 4 hours and the entire thing dewed up the primary, the secondary, everything! Blame this on the metal tube, which otherwise makes for a VERY nice looking scope. The eyepiece rack is nice and handy, great for quick changes at the eyepiece.
Conclusions? Buy this scope. The good DOES outweigh the bad. In all a telescope that you will enjoy spending clear nights with.

P.S. Does anyone have another solution for the astigmatism? If so email me at: niemail@juno.com.

Overall Rating: 9
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
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Orion SkyQuest XT8 (IntelliScope) Dobsonian
Amazing scope. BUT DO THIS:
1) If it keeps coming out of collimation its because of the stupid spring on the bolt that holds the secondary mirror. I guess in theory its supposed to maintain tension against the collimation set screws, but that's theory. Get rid of it and you won't have to re-collimate for months.
2) Request and install the three-point primary mirror support kit that's free from Orion.
3) If you're having trouble moving in azimuth, its because Orion got ridiculously cheap with those stupid teflon chunks. Go to you local hardware store and ask for teflon furniture "sliders". They cost 10 bucks and will make the motion silky smooth.
4) Get at least one high quality eyepiece and a high quality barlow -- NOT A $40 MEADE OR CELESTRON.

Enjoy. Its an amazing scope.

Replace the finder too when you get a chance.

-Dustin Osborn

Overall Rating: 10
Weight: 3 (Unreliable Vote)
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Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=39385

Orion SkyQuest XT8 (IntelliScope) Dobsonian
This scope has been great for me, optics seem as near perfect as you can get especially for this price range, the mount works well, but perhaps (for me) a little stiff with the azimuth motion (i tried the s&t fix up but still didn't help much, shall try teflon as apposed to milk bottle plastic) the only major thing is the eyepieces seem to blur around the edges a bit, but as i said for the price they are fantastic, and recommend this scope to anyone who is looking.

Overall Rating: 9
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
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Orion SkyQuest XT8 (IntelliScope) Dobsonian
This is the first telescope that I've purchased and I'm very happy with it. I'm making out the 11th-12th magnitude moons of Saturn from my apartment balcony that's bathed in city lights. I can't wait to see how it performs in a dark location and after letting my eyes adjust. Cool down time isn't as bad as I thought it would be, even during the cold of winter. My only real complaint about the telescope is how the finder scope bracket mounts to the tube. Even when the nuts are tight, the finder scope bracket will easily turn a few degrees each way and will slide back and forth making finder scope alignment almost impossible. I corrected this by using a Dremel to grid the bottom of the finger nuts to an angle allowing the screws to barely fit inside the holes for the finder bracket. Now it doesn't turn or slide around.

Overall Rating: 9
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
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Orion SkyQuest XT8 (IntelliScope) Dobsonian
This is the first scope I have owned, and it is still the only one. I've had it for a year. It's very easy to set up. The OTA is very light, the base a little heavier, but easy to carry with the handle. It has a lot of little convenience features and no "dead-end" features like on other scopes. Sure, it costs a bit more than the Meade or Celestron, but it's worth it. With a REAL 6x30 finder, a really nice, smooth focuser, and good eyepieces (though not as good as my 35mm Ultima has proven to be) I'd consider it a great value if you want a scope you can use "right out of the box." It also has a little eyepiece shelf, so you don't have to fumble around. One issue: Collimation. It's kind of a pain, since you have to use a screwdriver, not thumbscrews. But it seems to give very good images. I recently found M51 with it. Cooling is a bit of an issue in below zero weather, but when it's that cold I rarely go out anyway. The motions are very smooth and easy to get used to. The springs help a lot with balance. Another thing: The altitude trunnions come loose easily, so be sure and tighten them well! Overall, I'd strongly recommend this scope to a starter who wants large aperture at a low price.

Overall Rating: 9
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
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Orion SkyQuest XT8 (IntelliScope) Dobsonian
The scope is great right out of the box. A few improvements make it superb.
I added a Rigel Quickfinder (which makes starhopping easy). I cut rings from plastic cartons and placed them at the axis of the base as suggested by S&T, and also added teflon furniture sliders.
The movements are very smooth, the views are very good, and the scope is very easy to transport and set up. Collimation is simple (with help from the wife), and the collimation holds. Even my Nagler doesn't upset the balance.
I use the Orion-supplied eyepieces for public viewings, and bought for myself a 30mm Ultima, a 12mm Nagler Type 4, a 5mm University Optics orthoscopic and an inexpensive barlow. I'm as happy as a clam.

Overall Rating: 10
Weight: 3 (Unreliable Vote)
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Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=39389

Orion SkyQuest XT8 (IntelliScope) Dobsonian
This is my first "real" telescope, and I am very happy with it. It was easy to assemble and collimate, and seems to hold collimation well. The supplied EP's (25mm and 9mm Plossls) are adequate, and I've found a 6.3mm Plossl and the Shorty Barlow to be useful accessories for planetary viewing. I am considering upgrading to UO Orthos, but the Plossls that came with the XT8 are certainly usable. My rating of 9 is based on a 10 optically and about an 8.5-9 mechanically. I'll go into the mechanical details first. Motion is fairly good, but a bit sticky in the azimuth. I have not attempted the milk-jug washer fix described in S&T, however, so I didn't take off too much for that. The mount in general is very stable, and the only times I've noticed vibration was with about a 30MPH wind. At 42 pounds, this is about as big as a scope can get and still be carried as one piece (that was one reason I didn't go with the XT10). Set up time is about 1 minute (not counting cool-down), which involves removing the caps, placing the EP's in the rack, opening the door, and carrying it outside with one hand on the handle and the other on the base. That's it! The main problem is with the finderscope. As others have noted, it is poorly mounted to the optical tube, so it will move around if you accidentally bump it. This means you have to align it frequently and use caution not to bump it, a minor problem but enough of an inconvenience to take off a point. The other problem I've had mechanically was that the bolts that hold the tube to the base came loose quickly, which made the scope very unstable in the altitude direction. I have recently tightened these, and am waiting to see how they hold up over the next few weeks. A very minor problem since it's easily fixed, so I didn't deduct any points for that. Optically, this scope was impressive. Plan ahead for cool down time, in zero degree (F) weather 1:15 is minimal, and 2 hours is preferable. (I try to bring it out around 4:30 for a 6:00 sunset time.) When well collimated under good seeing conditions, the star test was nearly perfect... maybe some astigmatism, but nothing significant enough to matter for most applications. Some of the things I've observed with the XT8 under good conditions from light-polluted (mag 4) skies: Jupiter (190x-266x)--at least 8 distinct bands, the GRS, various disturbances in the equatorial belts, all four moons as tiny discs with noticeable color and size variation, and shadow transits. Saturn(190x-380x)--Cassini Division is visible regardless of seeing, on good nights all the way around, hints of the Encke minimum, the Crepe ring, the shadow of Saturn on the rings, a dark equatorial band on Saturn, and 5 moons: Titan, Rhea, Tethys, Dione, and Iapetus. Venus (133x-266x)--nice bright crescent, crisp and clear edges, but not much detail. This will be true in any scope. Double stars(190x-380x)--Splits stars of comparable magnitudes with clear black space between them at anything over 2" separation on a good night. The closest pair I've split so far is 52 Ori, listed at 1.3" separation. Seeing was good, but not perfect, so I might try something even closer on an exceptional night. Globular clusters (133x-190x)--Unfortunately the only one I've had a chance to observe so far is M3, but it was impressive. I was able to resolve countless stars with averted vision. Open clusters (48x)--M35, M44, M45, M48, M50, M67 were all very nice, with bright pinpoint stars. I'd like a wider FOV for M44 and M45, so a 32mm Plossl might be a consideration (You can't go lower power than 32mm on a 1.25" focuser and see any improvement in FOV). Orion Nebula, M42 (48x-266x)--Wispy structure is clearly visible, and that was from Mag-4 skies. Trapezium is easy under any seeing conditions at higher powers, and the E component is visible with averted vision. Galaxies (48x)--Not the best targets for Mag-4 skies, but I've managed to find M65, M66, and M77 with averted vision. M31's core is a nice bright oval, but I haven't been able to see the dust lane yet. I'll have to try that one under darker skies. That's not to say those are the only galaxies you can see with this scope, those are simply the only ones I've tried! Stars--I've seen down to mag-12 from my light-polluted backyard, so I'd think mag-14 would be reasonable under a dark sky. This implies Pluto (mag 13.7) is a definite possibility, if you know exactly where to look. Overall, this is an excellent scope, certainly one of the best in this price range. I'd recomment it to anyone looking to purchase their first real telescope on a budget of less than $1000 (unless of course you want to take on the XT10). Just be prepared to lose a significant amount of sleep over the first few weeks if skies are clear...

Overall Rating: 9
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
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Orion SkyQuest XT8 (IntelliScope) Dobsonian
This may be the web sight dedicated to improving the XT-8! Like PM541, my scope didn't like high-mag. Following various tips,I mounted my own pads at the primary mirror, added washers under the rubber "feet" to insure they didn't contact the mirror, and then "marked" the center.I then removed the secondary(Thanks, PM541 for the tip!) and found that the clamp was EXTREMLY tight on the secondary, and glued besides!I felt that the secondary mirror cradle may not be flat, and the clamp may be bending the mirror slightly. I repositioned the clamp and gave the mirror about 1/8 inch play. The mirror is now de-stressed, and the foam backing under the mirror takes up the play! The result is a near-purfect star test, and much better performance at high-mag! I was limited to 160X before modifications, now I need to purchase some single-digit eyepieces! Also, if you over tighten the 3 secondary adjust screws too tight, the support will deform, and the image will drop, yet appear collimated! I stopped centering the secondary support in the focuser tube,
as per the manual. Instead,I now center the image of the primary mirror in the focuser tube with the eyepiece out. Try it, it really works! I no longer lust after 8 to 12 inch cat-eye scopes, this one really delivers!
Chris Brown
tiffbrown@earthlink.net

Overall Rating: 10
Weight: 3 (Unreliable Vote)
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Orion SkyQuest XT8 (IntelliScope) Dobsonian
I have yet to take my brand new XT8 out (You know, the old 'New Scope - Poor Weather' syndrome), but I must compliment Orion on this product -- the three point mirror cell fix has been fixed, and the collimation screws have been replaced with thumbscrews :)
I plan on taking the mirror cell out tonight and marking center on the primary for collimation purposes. I can carry the whole scope in one hand, and am doing a mod on the rocker box to ensure the OTA stays put while transporting it.

Here in South Texas, I'm guessing the views of Omega Centauri will be spectacular - just can't wait.

THANKS ORION!!

--Bob Zamites
San Antonio, TX

Overall Rating: No Vote
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Orion SkyQuest XT8 (IntelliScope) Dobsonian
The focuser is a problem. The mirror cell is poorly designed.

Overall Rating: 8
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Orion SkyQuest XT8 (IntelliScope) Dobsonian
My previous submission didn't include any examples of the XT8's optical performance after the upgrades I mentioned...Lake Isabella, North California, viewing from a well-lit trailer park...Jupiter's moons have definite size differences, M81, 82 very bright, M65, 66, NGC3628 in single field (32 plossl) look like a happy face!. Sombreo (M104) shows dust lane at 80x, definite shape! M108, M97 (owl nebula) in single field, very bright, almost can make out owl's eyes! M51 shows arms, detail! Eyepieces used include stock 24mm, 32mm Orion Plossl, 15MM Axiom, 12mm Ultima. Tried 3mm T-view Radian on moon under poor conditions, NO image breakdown! How many 600 dollar scopes can show you M1 and NGC 2158 with direct vision AND be carried over your head? Better get yours before Orion raises the Price!

Overall Rating: 10
Weight: 3 (Unreliable Vote)
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Orion SkyQuest XT8 (IntelliScope) Dobsonian
I am really thrilled with my new XT8 scope. I did make a few minor changes and am reaping the benefit of these changes.
- I added the milk jug washers to the main bolt on the cabinet, and then added furniture sliders. RESULT- much smoother rotation.
- I took out the secondary mirror and replaced it much looser in order to prevent mirror stress.
- I took out the primary mirror and added 5/8 inch foam to the base plate in order to relieve mirror stress.
- I marked the primary for use with the orion collimater.
Final Results- Slightly undercorrected, very slight astigmatism, and a decent star test. I can now see so much more over my old 3.5 in. refractor. The images are very sharp. My improvemennts really helped with astigmatism and the images are awesome. What a great buy. I couldn't be more pleased!

Overall Rating: 10
Weight: 3 (Unreliable Vote)
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Orion SkyQuest XT8 (IntelliScope) Dobsonian
This is a very good scope for the money. I've enjoyed every hour that I've used it. The only problem I've found with the unit is the finder scope. It is fairly fragile, and rather difficult to get centered so that one can look through the fider with one eye and at the stars in the sky with the other. I've replaced it with an 8x50 (standard on the XT10) and I've been happy ever since.

Overall Rating: 9
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
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Orion SkyQuest XT8 (IntelliScope) Dobsonian
Would you do better at twice the money? Yes. Would it be worth it? Probably not.

Overall Rating: 9
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
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Orion SkyQuest XT8 (IntelliScope) Dobsonian
Until I found this web site, I thought I was the only mug who had problems with this dob. Deep sky performance was fine, but I could resolve closer double stars with my Tasco 60mm refractor (even with the 6mm Huyghenian eyepiece!).

Star testing showed over-correction, turned edge, rough surface and astigmatism! Of course I didn't learn the rudiments of the star test until the guarantee had well and truly expired. Changing the secondary mirror improved the over-correction and rough surface, a modified mounting fixed the astigmatism, and a 1/4 inch mask got rid of most of the turned edge.

I now have a 7 & 1/2 inch scope that performs like I thought it should. I have split doubles as close as 1.3" and am hopeful I can go further in good seeing. The scope was a four, it is now an eight, so I have rated it in-between. Buy it, but be prepared to modify.

Overall Rating: 6
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
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Orion SkyQuest XT8 (IntelliScope) Dobsonian
I wrote a review before on 12/30/2000 saying that I had a problem with astigmatism that did not come from either my eyesight or the primary mirror. I read a review from 8/27/2000 that said that when he replaced the secondary with a Meade secondary the astigmatism went away. Well, I went ahead and purchased a secondary from LUMICON for $49.50 (free shipping with check). The astigmatism was gone! I did have to go through quite a bit to get the 1.83" mirror to fit in the holder. But when all is said and done I've got a non-astigmatic 'scope with 0.5" more light gathering power! (The original secondary is only 86% [or so] reflective but the LUMICON secondary is 95% reflective. Do the math and you get an extra 1/2 inch extra aperture!) So, for those of you who have tried the primary felt pad thing, and still have astigmatism problems, try this solution, IT WORKS!!!

Overall Rating: No Vote
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