Sky-Watcher Flextube 300P f/4.9 Dobsonian Telescope

Brand: Sky-Watcher

SKU : SW-S11740

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  • Aperture: 305mm (12")
  • Focal Ratio: f/5
  • Focal Length: 1525mm
  • Optical Design: Sky-Watcher Dobsonian
  • Will ship directly from Sky-Watcher in the continental US

Product Details

  • The Sky-Watcher 12" DOB is a big gun. If you are shooting for well resolved, elusive 12th-magnitude fuzzies, you now have the power. In fact, a very significant wow-factor extends down to viewing the stuff people usually concentrate on with 8" and 10" telescopes. Except they say, "WOW!", when they view through this super aperture amateur 12" SW telescope. You can not only be a hero to yourself, but a mystical guru to other backyard astronomers, scout groups, friends, and neighbors. Astronomy is a great hobby to share, and a SW 12" DOB makes you potentially the hit of any star party.

    Everything in deep-space appears brighter, and wider in extension with the SW 12" DOB. Many of the more challenging to resolve objects in smaller diameter telescopes now reveal their essential structure. Objects just within the threshold of a 10" aperture now appear more prominent and may be worth dwelling upon for extended periods. Comet hunters will delight in the fainter magnitudes that are possible to discern in the SkyWatcher 12" Dobsonian telescope. Here at last is a telescope within the threshold to tackle elusive deep-space gems like the Horsehead Nebula in Constellation Orion. Located in Constellation Perseus, M76, is a very faint nebula of 11th magnitude. The SW 12" will capture this baby like you want to see it. M97, a planetary nebula in Ursa Major is very faint, but as a serious amateur you will want to see it. No worries, the Sky Watcher 12" DOB will fulfill your quest. M61, a spiral galaxy in Constellation Virgo, will reveal spiral arms as you would hope to see them, but you will need a SW 12" telescope to resolve them well. The list goes on, and you will delight in planning your own journey of exploration.

    The incremental resolving power of the SkyWatcher 12" aperture is beyond just being impressive, it's within amateur astronomy's super aperture threshold where the lucky observer is able to resolve well, many, many objects that smaller telescopes just don't have the horsepower to detail satisfactorily because they can't pull in enough light. Again, Sky-Watcher's compact, collapsible optical tube design makes this super aperture 12" DOB a far more practical decision to purchase.

    Observing with a Dobsonian has been described akin to shooting ducks in a barrel because it is so easy to find your target. Just swing your Sky-Watcher Dobsonian to the quadrant of sky to be searched, and scan the vicinity. The included 8 x 50mm right angle optical viewfinder provides both magnification and light-gathering to help narrow your search. The standard-equipment backlash-free 2" Crayford Focuser insures ultra smooth focusing adjustments, and the multi-coated, 4-element Plossl eyepieces (25mm and 10mm) provide a spacious 52 degree Apparent Field of View.

    To ensure mechanical ease-of-use, Sky-Watcher USA uses a high-performance Teflon bearing system in both axes, combined with tension adjustment in altitude to facilitate setting the appropriate amount of friction, assuring smooth vertical and horizontal manual movement without free-play from small bumps or gusts of wind. This also eliminates the need to have a balanced optical tube as in an equatorial mount. Sky-Watcher's Teflon bearing system is preferable to the use of ball-bearings. Ball-bearings make unintended movement of the optical tube more difficult to control. Fortunately, at low power, deep-space objects leisurely drift through the field of the Sky-Watcher 12" Dob, so constant mechanical adjustment of the telescope's orientation isn't needed to keep objects in the field of view.

    Sky-Watcher's revolutionary truss-support concept allows the optical tube's front and back cells to collapse together, aligning on the truss support rods which can then be locked down for easy and secure telescope transport. This one piece, low-hassle OTA design is mechanically simple and results in large aperture telescopes that can be reasonably handled and transported by one individual. This innovation gives Sky-Watcher users tremendous functional ease-of-transportability.

    The Sky-Watcher 10" Dobsonian utilizes quality components throughout. Pride of workmanship manifests itself in high quality standards of optical and mechanical fabrication. The polishing process for primary and diagonal mirror yields smooth mirror surfaces ensuring good contrast, and properly corrected optics show minimum alterations to the optical wave-front.

    Aluminum is vacuum-deposited to the front glass surface on each primary mirror and elliptical diagonal mirror and then over-coated with hard quartz (SiO4). Additional layers of Titanium Dioxide (TiO2) and (SiO4) are then applied. Dust covers help keep your telescope clean when not in use.

    The mechanical and structural components of the OTA exhibit rigid construction and outstanding stability. The mount construction is sturdy and rigid. Mount design, while simple, facilitates smooth motions about both axes. Quality accessories enhance the observer's viewing experience.

  • specifications

    Aperture305 mm (12")
    Camera/Eyepiece Connection2" Nosepiece
    Dawes Limit0.08 arcseconds
    Focal Length1500 mm
    Focal Ratiof/4.9
    Free ShippingYes
    Glass TypeBorosilicate
    Highest Magnification610x
    Light Gathering Power1898x
    Limiting Magnitude16.2
    Optical DesignDobsonian
    Reflectivity94%
    Secondary Obstruction70mm
    Tube Diameter362mm
    Tube Length1397mm
    Tube Weight84.5 lbs
  • included items

    • 12" f/5 Collapsible Dobsonian Telescope
    • 8 x 50 RA Finderscope & Bracket
    • 2" Crayford Focuser
    • 1.25" Adapter
    • 10mm Plossl Eyepiece (1.25")
    • 25mm Plossl Eyepiece (1.25")
    • Dust Cover
    • Eyepiece Tray

Product Reviews

Customer Reviews
4.8 Based on 6 Reviews
5 ★
83% 
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  • 2021
P
04/12/2022
Phil
United States

Sky Watcher Flextube 300P Dob

This Dob was a big upgrade from my Celestron StarSense Explorer LT 114AZ. I had been waiting on a Celestron 8" Edge HD since March 2021 when I saw that one of these was in stock January 2022. I immediately chatted with Kurt at Optcorp customer service. He was able to help me change my order to this beast. Thank you Kurt! It was easy to assemble and I strap it to a dolly for ease of mobility using the padding from the box to keep from dinging the scope. The moon pic below was taken with the included 25mm Plossl eyepiece, the Celestron NexYZ 3-Axis Universal Smartphone Adapter and iPhone 12 with NightCap camera software (free download). This scope really brings out Orion's Nebula even in light polluted areas. I can easily see that Saturn has rings, March-April 2022 and can't wait until the views are better. I live just south of Arlington, Texas in Bortle Class 7 skies.

OPT Telescopes Sky-Watcher Flextube 300P f/4.9 Dobsonian Telescope ReviewOPT Telescopes Sky-Watcher Flextube 300P f/4.9 Dobsonian Telescope Review
A
02/23/2019
Anonymous
United States

Love the 12” Dob!!

The SW 12 Dob was a retirement present from my family! I have it all assembled and ready to go outside but as yet haven’t been able to get a session in because of all the rain we’ve had. But I will be using it asap. I’ve wanted this scope for a long time and can’t wait to get outside!! Love this scope big gun light bucket!!

AH
01/05/2019
Andrew H.
United States

Customer Service at OPT.

I just bought a 12" Sky-Watcher collapsible Dobsonian telescope from OPT which is really great but I also want to make sure that everyone knows that OPT's Customer Service is outstanding.

FH
11/04/2018
Frank H.

Purchase of 12 inch Dobsonian Sky-Watcher

I estimate that my new SW Dob with personal up-grades comes in around 160 lbs. New base, GPS and auto everything to keep it short. The primary and secondary mirrors are as close to perfect as any I've seen or used. The OTA has dust covers & light shroud so nothing gets in. With the Dob fully extended, you have a difficult time deciding on what to look at first. I wrote down twelve astronomical objects that I really wanted to see and got out a set of dice. The rest was history, for me any how. What an awesome telescope. If you run out of things to look at, you probably should go back to a pair of binoculars. You can view as much as you like, however you should think about some digital photography of the many beautiful Sky objects. I reasoned that I was getting this telescope for my grandkids to have some quality time with grandpa. Just like the HO trains I've been collecting. Now, if I cannot use my telescope grandpa has his trains to play with. I am now expanding my Sky-Watcher telescope's selection of eyepieces. You can always use 1.25" dia. eyepieces with an adapter for the 2" focuser, but you do lose a little in the process. Find a few eyepieces you are comfortable with and expand from there, if you need to. Getting a good DSLR camera that has an adapter for your Dob will help you take and share some fantastic digital images. I highly recommend the Sky-Watcher series of telescopes, especially 12" and bigger. You will be amazed at what you can see and do.

OR
09/22/2009
Old R.

Customer review

I've used this 3 times (total use in heavy dew - no dewing on the secondary. Focuser robust, smooth & solid. Knocked off a half point for the 2 adapter - why a 2 adapter for a 2 focuser? Motions in both axis's smooth with little to no vibration. Don't even use the altitude brake. No tools needed to collimate the primary. 2mm allen wrench needed for the secondary. Collimation is close from setup to setup. Less than 5 minutes spent and you're good to go. I would rate the mirror from good to very good with pin point images. I'm highly satisfied with the mirror quality. Contrast is very good without the shroud but I've got one ordered anyhow. I'm nervouse about something falling in on the mirror through the open struts. Heavy plastic, fitted covers for the mirror section & the upper cage. Dislikes: 2 focuser adapter. Likes: this telescope is good to go from the box and is a pleasure to use without mods. Remember though that this is a 12 telescope and is going to be heavy to move. Some of the other, major telescope makers should take a lesson from Skywatcher on how to build a dobsonian telescope right the first time! One more thing, for what this thing is selling for now ($795, it's a steal!

M
09/24/2009
Michael

TransPort

Nice scope, but awkward to move alone