In article , aar4teen88
@fast.net says...
I was just looking at the dobsonians again, and had another question.
Both the Celestron 10 inch and the Orion 10 inch both say that they
have a "maximum useful magnification" of 600. The Hardin 10 inch
Dob's "maximum useful magnification" is only 250. I know that
magnification isn't all that important, but that seems like a pretty
big jump, although I'm not sure 'cause I'm new to all this. Does
anyone have any thoughts on why the Hardin would be so much lower than
the other two?

IMO, Celestron and Orion are being pretty doggone optimistic, while
Hardin is probably closer to the truth on many nights. However, I think
250x is probably a bit low. Years ago, 60 x aperture in inches was a
rule of thumb, but I'd personally put it more in the 35x to 40x range.

Orion has a bent toward excessive (IMO) hyperbole, reminiscent of Radio
Shack, but maybe that's just a byproduct of a highly competitive market.
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