Comparison: 8" LX200 to 12" Lightbridge?

[Russell]

  Started out at age 18 (am 52 now) with a 60mm refractor.  I dreamed of one day having something like an 8" LX200 GPS.  In 2005 got my dream.  Wow, what a difference!  Now I am thinking of getting a 12” Lightbridge.  Strictly from a visual image and light gathering perspective (obviously there is no way to compare goto capability, electric focuser and so on) should I expect a significant difference?
  I know this is a relative question and I welcome any perspective but I imagine some of you own also an 8” LX200 and I would love to hear your opinion.  I am thinking of getting it before the end of the month.
Thank you for taking the time to respond.

[Tony]

I've not used the Light Bridge, but have gathered that the geater aperture allows you to see much more detail and such from faint objects under good conditions. GOTO on my scopes has been a Godsend as often light pollution in Pasadena, makes visual astronomy very difficult. The GOTO has centered objects that I might have had great difficulty finding. Never used one of the Orion Inteligent DOBS either as they profess to combine large aperture DOBS with some degree of assistance in finding things. I had an LX90 equipped with a wedge for imaging and really loved that scope. I switched it out for an equatorial mount that can accept optical tubes of different focal lengths and the mount, weights and tubes can be assembled in components where I found my LX90 once adjusted for polar alignment, needed to be moved as a unit... pretty heavy and awkward.

I'm getting there with my imaging, but I sorely miss the simplicity and always successful results with my LX 90! Getting the new rig up to speed has been a steep learning curve with many frustrations! I'd sure recommend visiting a star party and looking at what its like.

[Russell]

Thanks Tony.  Sounds like some great advice and no doubt, the best advice is to look before you buy.  As I understand it a 12" aperture scope has over twice the light gathering capacity of an 8" (the area of a 12” circle compared to an 8” circle) but how that translates into real world viewing I just don’t know.  And certainly having good conditions is everything.  Living on the gulf coast of Mississippi, it is not often I get good skies.

[wolf359]

Hi Folks

I thought about a lightbridge before my ETX125 PE and still wonder if its worth the better view to the heavens.... I had a newtonian years ago and was forever cursing it upside down for the shaking/vibration it caused when adjusting eyepieces and the like... but would the lightbridge suffer from this too?

Wolf359