Zhumell is a brand-name. I believe their scopes are manufactured by the Guan Sheng Optics company (Taiwan), which also manufactures for other brands. The scope I got is detailed and sold here: http://www.telescopes.com/telescopes/dobsonian-telescopes/zhumellz8deluxedob.... I was originally looking at an Orion XT8, but the better accessory package from the Zhumell, free shipping, and the good reviews won me over to Zhumell. I been very pleased with the purchase so far. For $379 you get: - 8" aperture - A RACI 8x50 finder scope - Crayford focuser - Primary mirror battery-powered cooling fan - 2 eyepieces (2" 30mm and a 1.25" 9mm) (I mis-remembered the mm size of the 2" in my observation report) - A "moon filter" for the 1.25" ep - A laser collimator (which I had to collimate) - Knobs for collimating the primary mirror (no wrenches or screwdrivers required) - They throw in a nice-quality green laser pointer as well for free. - The alt and az tension systems are adjustable and provide very nice movement. I think some of the images on the website are from the non-deluxe model. All-in-all, for the price it's a really nice package to get going in astronomy. I've been really happy with it thus far. Small enough to be fairly portable (Fits assembled in the back of our Honda Odyssey), but enough aperture to give some really nice views. Now I just need to learn the sky a bit better. Down the road, I'm hoping to get a Telrad finder and to expand my eyepiece collection. So far, though I have plenty to keep me busy for a while. I hope to write up a full review if I can find the time. Dan On Wed, Feb 4, 2009 at 7:00 PM, Chuck Hards <chuck.hards@gmail.com> wrote:
Dan, what is a "Zhumell" Dob? Never heard of it. Is it an optical configuration, or a manufacturer?
On Wed, Feb 4, 2009 at 5:41 PM, Dan Hanks <danhanks@gmail.com> wrote:
I took out my Zhumell 8" dob
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