Zhumell Z8 Dobsonian Reflector

The Zhumell Z8 Dobsonian telescope features an 8” parabolic primary mirror that captures a substantial amount of light and produces crisp, bright images free of visual defects like spherical aberration. 

You’ll also get two fully multi-coated eyepieces: a 2” 30mm eyepiece for wide field views and a 1.25” 9mm eyepiece for higher magnification. With the Z Series, Zhumell has put your money where it belongs: into the telescope’s optical system.

The Z8 is fairly standard in optical quality among all of the 8” Dobsonians out there (which is unsurprising since there are only two different OEMs for them). Some literature claims that the Z8 has enhanced reflectivity coatings with 94-96% reflectivity compared to the standard 89–93% reflectivity on most coatings, which would theoretically give it brighter images. 

The Z8’s mirror cell is collimatable and uses springs, but there are also 3 “mirror lock” bolts on the back. Supposedly, these are to compensate for any weakness in the springs, but the springs can handle the mirror just fine, and they could always be replaced if necessary.

Zhumell Z8 Dobsonian telescope – Advantages and Disadvantages

Advantages

1. Great mechanics and construction
2. Eyepieces contain fully multi-coated optics
3. Gathers significant light to generate bright, high-resolution images
4. Operating it is an easy, straightforward process. 
5. The adjustable azimuth bearing system permits smooth, even object-tracking motion.
6. Moon filter reduces the brightness leading to increased definitions of images
7. The aperture provides a great balance between magnification and field of view

Disadvantages

1. Heavy- The portability and convenience factor is your main problem with the Z8.
2. 9mm Eyepiece- The 9mm eyepiece is disappointing compared to the other accessories.

Technical specifications of the Zhumell Z8 Dobsonian Reflector

Optics

1. The optics follow the Reflector optical design.
2. The focal length is 1200mm, with a focal ratio of f/5.9 and an aperture of 203mm.
3. It has a limiting stellar magnitude of 14.
4. It has the highest theoretical magnification of 400x.
5. Its lowest useful magnification is 29x.

Mount and Tripod

1. Dobsonian mount with Teflon bearings.

Physical appearance

1. It has an assembled weight of 54 pounds.

What comes in the box with the Zhumell Z8 Dobsonian?

1. Zhumell Z8 Newtonian OTA
2. Dobsonian Mount with manual clutches
3. 2-inch focuser with adapter
4. Eyepiece Rack
5. 1.25 inch 9mm Eyepiece
6. 2-inch 30mm Eyepiece
7. 8×50 Finderscope
8. Moon Filter
9. Laser Collimator
10. Lens caps

What can you see with the Zhumell Z8 Reflector?

• Saturn’s rings
• Jupiter’s cloud belts
• Numerous moons of both gas giants
• The Great Red Spot
• Cloud details on Saturn
• Mars’ dark spots and ice caps
• Virgo Cluster of galaxies
• A handful of emission nebulae

Recommended accessories for Zhumell Z8

• Telrad Finder- The Telrad complements the Z8’s 9×50 RACI finder well and provides a zero-power reticle with circles 0.5, 2, and 4 degrees wide.

• Agena 15mm Starguider and SVBONY 6mm Redline – provide a good “sweet spot” for viewing galaxies, the entire Moon at once, and some globular clusters, and good magnification for lunar and planetary viewing on even a sub-par night.

• A UHC or ultra-high contrast filter greatly enhances the view of emission nebulae with the 76mm AZ.

My personal experience with the Zhumell Z8 telescope

Operating this 8″ Dobsonian is an easy, straightforward process. The Zhumell Z8 features a primary mirror cooling fan that quickly establishes thermal equilibrium to allow long viewing sessions without waiting. 

As soon as setup is complete, push the scope on its ball bearings toward the object you wish to view. When you have your target centred in the included 8×50 finderscope and eyepiece of your choosing, use the dual-speed Crayford focuser to enable exceptionally fine focus.

Other Reflector telescopes by Zhumell

1. Zhumell Z114 Portable Altazimuth Reflector Telescope -It can be used to produce sharp images of double stars. The Zhumell Z114’s wide field of view makes it a great instrument for low-power sweeping and finding your way around the sky.

2. Zhumell Z130 – The largest and most capable of the three Zhumell tabletop Dobsonians, which places the Zhumell Z130 in a bit of an awkward position both mechanically and price-wise.

3. Zhumell Z12 Dobsonian telescope – It has the highest theoretical magnification of 600x. The Zhumell Z12 has a massive 12” parabolic primary mirror that captures a substantial amount of light.

4. Zhumell 76mm AZ Reflector – It can go all the way to a potential ceiling of 224x magnification. The Zhumell 76mm AZ Reflector can observe the finest objects in the night sky.

5. Zhumell Z10 Dobsonian telescope – It has a 2” 30mm eyepiece for wide field views and a 1.25” 9mm eyepiece for higher magnification. The Zhumell Z10 has a focal length of 1250mm, with a focal ratio of f/5 and an aperture of 254 mm.

6. Zhumell Z100 Portable Reflector Telescope – It delivers impressive, detailed images from a quick peek at the sky. The Zhumell Z100 features a simple and streamlined mechanical design.