"Rich Lauzon" wrote in message m...
From my observations the most prevalent scope amongst serious amateurs is
the 8" and 10" SCT. I have a homemade 10" Dob which has been a great scopes
for many years. About two years ago I built a 90mm achro. refractor and find
I am using it more and more. Just a few days ago I ordered one of these 80mm
ED's from Orion to replace it and can't wait to get it. I think the buyers
of the SCT's are disappointed with these instruments and in someway regret
their purchasing decisions or at least long for another instrument with
complimenting features. The more observing I do the more I enjoy low power,
wide field views and I don't think I'm alone. Recently when set beside club
members with their SCT's there is always excitement about looking through my
refractor even though it is not a premium Apo. The high contrast and wide
field make the views more pleasing. At the recent Lunar eclipse I was a late
arrival but once my refractor was set up the others starting packing up
their gear and took turns watching through the refractor. Obviously this
was a perfect opportunity for a decent refractor to shine but there have
been other similar experiences. I've also heard the comments from those
looking through my Dob. that they can't believe how much better the images
are and how easy to that scope is to use compared to their fork mounted
SCTs. So bottom line to me, if there is any scope design that doesn't make
sense to me particularly for visual observing it is the SCT.

This must depend on other factors. The folks I generally observe with
in Northern Califnrnia mostly have dobsonians in the 18" to 30" range.
There are a couple of SCTs and a couple of refractors used as
secondary telescopes. There are a couple of dobs under 18". OTOH, we
have observing spots with relatively good skies - if the weather
cooperates, mag 6-6.5 skies are the norm. Plus, most of the year, we
have observing locations with altitude - at least 5,000 feet. I'm now
wondering if this has something to do with the prevalence of large-ish
dobs in our group.

Clear skies,
Shneor Sherman