Choosing the Best 6" Dobsonian Telescope

With both the Apertura AD6 and Sky-Watcher Classic 6" Dobsonian telescopes featuring essentially identical apertures, focal ratios, and focal lengths, on the surface these may seem almost interchangeable. However dive a bit deeper and the choice is clear: with better supporting hardware, better accessories in the box, first-party accessory support, and an industry leading warranty, the Apertura AD6 Dobsonian 6" Telescope is the clear choice. Let's take a look at how these two excellent value options stack up!

	Apertura AD6	Sky-Watcher Classic 6"
Focal Length	1200 mm	1200 mm
Aperture	152.4 mm Tool-Free Primary Mirror Collimation Adjustment	152 mm Tool Required for Primary Mirror Collimation Adjustment
Focuser	2" Dual Speed 10:1 Fine Focuser	2" Single Speed Rack & Pinion
Rocker Base	Smooth Needle Bearing Azimuth Motion Drop-In Altitude Side Bearings w/ Tension and Weight Balance Adjustment 4 Slot Eyepiece Tray	Basic Teflon Pad Azimuth Motion Tension Adjustable Altitude Assembly w/ Extended Grips 4 Slot Eyepiece Tray
Magnification w/ Included Eyepieces	48x | 133x	60x | 96x
Finder Scope	6x30 Right Angle Finder Scope Strain-Free Finder	6x30 Straight-Through Finder Scope Essential Finder
Upgrades and Accessories Available?	Yes	No
Warranty	Apertura Absolute Warranty 2 Year Warranty w/ 3 Additional Years of SHARP Coverage	Sky-Watcher 2 Year Limited Warranty

A Closer Look

While this bird's eye view begins to reveal the Apertura AD6 6" Dobsonian Telescope's edge over Sky-Watcher's solid scope, a closer look reveals just how much these differences can impact your experience! Read on to zoom in on the exciting finishing touches that make the AD6 our 6" Dobsonian pick!

Fantastic Fine Focus

With a robust, dual-speed, full-metal 2" focuser the Apertura AD6 gives you a premium focusing experience at a value price point. With its second 10:1 fine focus knob, this focuser allows you to much more precisely bring your targets into focus, making resolving fine detail in sharp contrast easier than with the rough focus single speed of the Sky-Watcher Classic 6" Dobsonian. Its Crayford design allows it to glide across the focus range, while also holding even large 2" eyepieces in place with confidence.

Smooth Motion and Easy Adjustments

Moving the AD6 Dob to your target is a smooth experience with Apertura's rocker base and side bearing design. While both telescopes feature tension adjustable altitude bearings, the AD6's have an additional axis of adjustment for balance. This is a big help when adding accessories that make the scope more front or back heavy, making aiming the tube and locking it in place more difficult.

These bearings also drop solidly into the base, meaning you can simply lift the AD6 up and away without any disassembly. The base also features a needle-roller bearing on the tension adjustable azimuth axis, for a much smoother glide compared to the plastic disk system used in Sky-Watcher's Classic 6" Dob.

Thoughtful Accessory Inclusions

While both Dobs come with two eyepieces, the 1.25" set included with the AD6 allow you to see more out of the box compared to the Classic 6" Dob's. Apertura's 9 mm brings you 133x of magnification to Sky-Watcher's high power 96x, well suited for bringing small bright targets like planets closer and allowing you to walk across the lunar surface. While the Classic 6" eyepieces feature a 70° FOV to the 52° of the Apertura eyepieces, the AD6's 25 mm just about matches the widest field of view from that scope while providing a larger exit pupil, equating to a brighter wide field of view that will better reveal dimmer object like nebulae and galaxies.

Both telescopes feature a 6x30 finder scope to help guide your scope on target, however Apertura provides a right angle version to help make this process strain-free. This places the finder's eyepiece off to the side, in line with the observing eyepiece and making for a more natural experience compared to the straight-through finder of the Classic.

Stellar First-Party Accessories

When it comes to which telescope is better setup to grow, Apertura's wealth of AD line specific accessories make it no contest! Protect your investment with the Apertura Dob case or enhance its mobility with the Roll Easy Kit. While both offering are compatible with the wide variety of eyepieces available today, only the AD6 offers a tailor made kit to easily upgrade your telescope's optical performance and make the view through those accessories shine brighter, with the Apertura 6" Dobsonian Performance Upgrade Kit.

An Incredible Warranty

An analysis of an Apertura product would not be complete without referencing their incredible, industry leading warranty. While both these options come with a two year manufacturer warranty, Apertura goes above and beyond with an additional 3 years of coverage through their accident replacement program to ensure you can keep your scope in working order for many years to come. This warranty is also explicitly transferrable, meaning you can move this scope along to another budding astronomer with confidence as your experience grows.

While it is hard to go wrong with a 6" Dobsonian telescope, Apertura goes above and beyond to ensure that your telescope hits all the right notes. The Apertura AD6 showcases this perfectly, full of thoughtful inclusions and hardware choices that elevate it over competing options while maintaining a competitive value. If you're looking to enter the excellent word of Dobs, then the AD6 is the telescope for you!