Sky-Watcher’s 6” Traditional Dobsonian (also known as the Skyliner 150P) is quickly becoming one of the most popular and highest-recommended sub-$350 telescopes, and with good reason. The 6” Traditional offers some of the best value of any telescope in its price range, and enough accessories out of the box that you don’t have to buy anything else right away.
In This Review
(4.9)
*Rankings and ratings are calculated by comparing similar telescopes, in this case, 10 telescopes between $225 and $300.
The Optical Tube Performance Of Skywatcher 6″ Dob
The 6” Traditional uses basically the same optical tube as the Orion XT6. It’s a 6” f/8 Newtonian – a design fairly easy to manufacture to tight tolerances. The f/8 focal ratio also makes the scope perform well even with cheap eyepieces such as the scope’s included “Supers” (which will suffer from astigmatism and other aberrations in faster scopes), and the 48” (1200mm) focal length puts the eyepiece at an ideal height for children or seated adults. The tube will fit across the back seat of most vehicles, though probably not in the trunk.
The 6” Traditional uses a single-speed 2” rack-and-pinion focuser, which largely consists of metal – unlike the 1.25” plastic rack-and-pinions found on almost all cheaper scopes. This focuser works quite well for visual use but the adapter system Sky-Watcher includes is a little confusing, requiring you to swap out 2” and 1.25” extension tube adapters depending on which size eyepiece/accessory you are using. You can get a 2” to 1.25” compression ring adapter and leave the 2” extension tube in all the time to solve this, however. The 2” eyepiece format allows you to get a wider field of view than possible with 1.25” eyepieces at low magnifications, making it easier to find targets and fit larger ones in one field. However, with the widest-field 2” eyepieces there may be some vignetting due to the rather small secondary mirror in the scope, which is inadequate to fully illuminate the field of view of all 2” eyepieces.
SkyWatcher S11600 Traditional Dobsonian 6-Inch
Price – $713.99
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Reviewing The Accessories
In addition to its ubiquitous 1.25” and 2” extension adapters, the 6” Traditional includes two 1.25” “Super” eyepieces which seem similar to Plossls – a 25mm (48x) and 10mm (120x). These eyepieces will serve you well to start but we’d recommend picking up a 30mm “SuperView” type eyepiece (for 40x and a super-wide field) and 6mm “goldline” (for 200x), or more expensive and fancy eyepieces if your budget suits them, to get the most out of the scope.
The included finderscope is a rather basic 6×30 unit, which works just fine, but the aperture is a little small, the images are dim as a result, and the ergonomics are less than ideal. A Rigel Quikfinder or Telrad is a good replacement or supplement to this finder, as is a 9×50 or 8×40 finderscope.
About the Mount
The 6” Traditional uses the same mount design as the larger Traditional Dobsonians. The altitude motion is provided by two round plastic bearings riding on Teflon cylinders attached to the interior of the mount; tensioning is provided with a spring-loaded knob (basically just a bicycle handle and a hardware store spring) on one side; the other knob serves no purpose besides aesthetics/symmetry. Overall the altitude bearing system works well – arguably better than the spring system found on the Orion Dobsonians, though inferior to the GSO/Zhumell bearing style – but the knobs stick out and have an annoying tendency to grab loose clothing or bump into you. Additionally, there is no compensation for top-heaviness when using heavy eyepieces/accessories like other commercial Dobsonians which have spring-tensioning or movable bearings; all you can do is tighten up the altitude knob or strap counterweights of some kind to the back of the tube, and either is less than ideal.
The azimuth bearing of the mount is the standard Teflon-on-laminate job, and the entire mount itself is made of particle board and assembles in minutes.
Looking For a Better Option?
Skywatcher 6″ Dob is our most recommended telescope for someone with a budget between $225 and $300.
If you have a flexible budget, you may choose to increase your budget and pick the best from our $300 to $400 telescopes’ category.
Final Verdict
I would highly recommend the Skywatcher 6” Traditional Dob almost anyone. For beginners, 6” of aperture is enough to show you a lot and keep you happy for a long time without breaking the bank, and the 6” Traditional allows you to do serious viewing right out of the box without having to purchase a real finderscope or medium-power eyepiece like the Orion XT6. The 2” focuser also allows you to upgrade to fancy wide-field eyepieces later on. For the hobbyist who may already have a larger scope, the 6” Traditional is a great “grab n’ go” scope that can still take your expensive eyepieces and give you great views.
Rank
In $225 - $300 category
Skywatcher 6" Traditional Dob Awards
Based on positive ranking from our team of experts and telescope owners, the Skywatcher 6″ Traditional Dob has earned the following awards in our buyer’s guides.
Best Telescope
Best for someone on the budget of $285 - $350 on Best Telescopes guide.
Best Dobsonian Telescope
Best dobsonian in the range of $300 - $350 on Best Dobsonian Telescopes guide.
Best Kids' Telescope
Best advanced and serious telescope for kids on Best Kids' Telescopes guide.
2 thoughts on “Sky-Watcher 6” Traditional Dobsonian Review”
Rather interested in buying such a traditional Dobson telescope , but can they only be used table-mounted , are they of any use in the field , or do accessories exist for fieldtrips ?
ps very goods website , your recommandations will guide my purchase
I have a Skywatcher 150, which I place on an unpadded wooden footstool to raise it to a convenient height . You might also consider a home-made stand such as described at
http://eyesonthesky.com/DIYImprovements/Tripods/SuperSimpleTripod2x4.aspx except you will probably want a wider top and maybe eliminate the hinges (thus it won’t fold).