Reasons for Purchase:
I decided on an 8” Dob after spending lots of time researching which telescope would best suit my current requirements. For me it was the ideal compromise between aperture and portability and the price point left me some budget for additional items I knew I would need.
I opted for the SL 8”/F6 Dob from FLO because from what I could tell by looking at photo’s, videos, reviews and other information available on-line, the build quality seemed a cut above other manufacturers equivalents. The specification and clear bright images on the FLO website show the detail of quality and when the physical product arrived I was not disappointed; it really is a nicely built and well-designed product.

Un-boxing and assembly:
The scope arrived on time, delivered by DPD, with tracking information sent so I knew exactly where the product was during shipment. The scope was well boxed – a box inside an outer box. Inside generous polystyrene packers, boxes containing EP’s, etc, everything in poly bags. Can’t ask for better than that really. The base comes equally well boxed.
Assembly of the base is very easy and once built provides a stiff and robust support for the OTA. The tension knobs allow friction to be dialled in just-so and results in a beautifully smooth operation. The finder scope is well built, easy to use and fits well to the mount. Once assembled it is stiff and stays in place.

Operation – first impressions:
I was lucky in as much as I had a few clear nights soon after the scope arrived and got to first-light pretty soon. Moving it to the back garden in two halves is easy. I kept the polystyrene box inserts for the OTA to use as a rest when I removed it from the base whilst taking the base to the garden. The tube is quite large to carry but pretty light and easy to slot in place in the base in the dark.
I have never used a Dob base before but was delighted with how very simple it was to use. Also at how steady the scope is when looking at an object. Fine moves are easily executed with a light nudge in the needed direction and the image settles quickly after a move. What a great design.
I was quickly able to find targets using the finder scope and bring them into sharp focus. The 2” 30mm EP is a substantial piece of glass and very nice to use. M42 was easily found and observed. The Pleiades looked stunning and I kept coming back to them time and again to study the view. The 10mm EP is also not bad but didn’t really knock my socks off. I intend to purchase some higher quality EP’s – probably the Explore Scientific EP’s.

Collimation:
The scope arrived reasonably well set up but not perfect, this is to be expected. After much research on which collimation device to purchase I ended up buying the OCAL electronic collimator. I will leave a separate review of this. The summary however is that this great gadget allowed me to very nicely dial in the collimation and because it is PC based I have evidence of correct alignment that I trust.

Buying experience:
I placed my order on 20-11-21 and knew the product was not in stock – showing 30 to 40 days. I was prepared to wait as in my mind this was the best of the 8” Dobs out there and I know I would not be happy with another brand. FLO kept me informed of delivery date when I checked in with them as the 30 and then 40 days lead time approached. In the end the scope actually was shipped from FLO to me around mid-Feb 2022. This is fine for me and is completely out of FLO’s hands as logistics globally are un-predictable at present. And it was worth the wait anyway so overall the buying experience was as expected.

Would I recommend?
Yes, in a heartbeat. I am delighted with my purchase and it was worth the wait. The quality of product at the price point paid represents good value for money in my opinion. As well as that my product choice of an 8” Dob was also a good one as the size / weight / ease of use / optical quality factors are all in that sweet spot given what I was looking for. Not being able to physically view the product before purchase I was unsure whether this would be the case but thankfully it has turned out to be a good purchasing decision.

This is one quality piece of kit. Optically, it's as good as or better than the competition, but where it really scores is everywhere else! The mount runs smoothly in both alt and az, its focuser is smooth with no issues and it's very well equipped: RACI finder, integrated cooling fan and adjustable altitude bearings to achieve balance. Look to your laurels, Skywatcher!

After many hours of researching telescope options and opinions I finally decided to give Astronomy a go. I made 2 good decisions; the first was to purchase from FLO, the second was to go for the StellaLyra 8" Dob.

I emailed in to FLO with some questions and got some really helpful advice, and they sold the StellaLyra to me, with the extra quality of the finder, the eye pieces and the fine tuning on the focuser.

So I ordered it. Great service, well packaged and delivered next working day.

Size of the scope is impressive; quite easy to set up even if it does require a bit of guess work as there are no assembly instructions provided.

The finder scope is easy to adjust to line up with the main scope. I had to google how to focus the finder - but then that was a 2 minute job to sort out.

I've been lucky enough for the clouds to break a few times and got some good views of Jupiter, Saturn and the Moon. Straight away I could see the cloud bands on Jupiter and the moons. Saturn was a bit more illusive, and although I could see the planet and the ring with the supplied 9mm eyepeice; couldn't quite see the Cassini division. Maybe need a 6mm to get a little closer. Telescope is rock solid in the mount and there is not shaking, and seems very steady. I also like the adjustability on the friction for the az and alt movement. I had not problems setting the balance point, just took a few times of trial and error to get it where I wanted it.

Only one slight niggle, and I think a previous reviewer has also mentioned that the supplied 2" eyepiece won't focus unless pulled out slightly from the focusser. Doesn't affect the quality of the viewing experience, just doesn't match the quality and feel of the rest of the scope.

All in all; very pleased with my purchase. I just need a 6mm eyepeice and collimator to compliment the package.

I’m so glad I purchased this scope. Although, I already own a 10” Meade LX200 GOTO, an equatorially mounted 4” refractor and a Meade ETX70 GOTO, I have been hankering after a grab-and-go telescope with a large aperture for some time.

After comparing specifications from various companies, I opted for this FLO StellaLyra 8” owing to the inclusion of a 10:1 Crayford focuser, a right-angled finder scope and a mirror-fan (which is so quiet I can’t tell it’s even on).

It’s also supplied with a 2”, 30mm focal length eyepiece and a 1 1/4”, 9mm Plössl. Collimation was a breeze with a laser collimator (though don’t forget to check your laser collimator is itself collimated), the main mirror having a usefully marked centre spot. It only needed a slight tweak to bring it into collimation.

Overall impressions are very high and both the telescope and its Dobsonian base are very solid. The altitude and azimuth movements are very smooth with no “stiction”.

Both axes have tension controls and the main tube can be slid along its bearings to facilitate balancing. Constructing the base from its flat pack presented no problems, and the base incorporates a useful carrying handle and an eyepiece tray.

I was tempted to buy the 10” version, but I wanted minimum weight vs maximum aperture or else it would no longer be a grab-and-go, so I opted for the 8” which is easily transportable in its two component sections (scope and base). I can set this up in 5 minutes, with the mirror fan aiding rapid acclimatisation.

My first views of Jupiter and it’s Galilean moons were really crisp and bright at x200 power. Since then, it’s been cloudy!! It took a bit of getting used to having to star hop again after using GOTO scopes, but great fun.

Customer service from FLO was second to none. I ordered it one day, and it was delivered the next, along with great communications from FLO. Well done, in these days when good customer service is sadly so unexpected.

At £449, for such a great telescope, it’s amazing value, especially with the all-metal silky-smooth Crayford focuser and accessories.

This is my fifth telescope in the last 10 years. 3 were "goto" scopes with automated targeting for celestial objects. However, I have been intriqued by the number of experienced amateurs who have been advocating dobbies so I thought I would try one myself. Firstly you need to know that weighing in at around 20 kgs this scope is not easy to move around. Separating the scope and mount makes it possible, but an "assistant" is useful. However, once in position, I can see what the fuss is about. It is amazingly easy to point and stays in position while you fiddle with eyepieces. The very good right angle finder is essential, and makes finding a target relatively easy. The brightness and resolution of the image is terrific and the choice of eyepieces absolutely spot on. It is a handsome scope - my wife has allowed it in the living room. My only (slight) gripe is that the excellent option to adjust the centrepoint of the telescope to balance it is marred by the fact that the scope needs to be almost at the end of the adjustment to achieve balance. The instruction manual needs to be downloaded, but only really concerns assembly. I had to contact FLO to check which of the knobs on the end were the collamination screws (black) as opposed to the locking screws (white), avoiding an expensive mistake. But overall a handsome versatile and well-priced scope.

I’m really glad that i decided to go for this scope over the Skywatcher. The dual speed focuser and the 9x50 upright finder scope with a diagonal clinched it for me. The finish on the telescope is good and was very straightforward to assemble, although I had to look online for the assembly details. The collimation was almost spot on and only required a tweak. The optical performance was very nice with lovely crisp images. For visual astronomy you can’t go wrong with this telescope. This will keep me occupied while I’m saving for my astrophotography rig. The delivery and packaging was excellent, as was the service from First Light Optics

The Stella Lyra scope comes double boxed and very well packaged , on inspection it’s both wrapped and sealed inside the box so no water ingress is possible .
The base is of chipboard construction with quality hardware and captive nuts inset with a press fit into appropriate holes for a good fit the lazy Susan style azimuth plane is put together with roller bearings between two steel plates not friction plates as other models seem to have I added some lithium grease to the bearings to aid in manoeuvrability. The center bolt also has a bearing washer betweeen two washers which is a nice touch and aids free adjustable movement . It has a stew eyepiece tray with room for one 2” and 3 1.25” EP’s and is held securely to the side panel .
The OTA came in perfect condition and has the nice addition of some features which I fee put it at a different level to the other comparable options ; it has conical altitude bearings housed in a CNC aluminium block which is both adjustable for tension and balancing the scope itself . This is one part of the scope I think that is worth it’s weight in gold on other scopes you need to tension the alt bearings to get a balance OR add extra weights etc to balance it . This scope doesn’t need that and as such leaves you with a much sharper visually appealing scope that doesn’t require additions to work as it should the balance in operation and infinite adjustments to the centre of gravity allow me to completely loosen the alt bearings and have an extremely smooth motion to this scope whichever EP or accessory I choose to add .
It had a 2” dual speed CNC machined focuser which seems to be of excellent quality being both extremely smooth in operation and fully adjustable for tension etc being a Crayford it doesn’t loose collimation
It is well made and includes a 2”-1.25” adapter which also has threading for a filter although with long barrel EP’s it may not be that useful so be careful with a filter short barrel lengths only .
It has brass compression rings so will not mar your eyepiece collection and keep everything in good condition .
The primary has a center dot to aid in collimation and the collimation and lock bolts are both of an ergonomic design which can be done with gloves on etc a nice feature 😀
It also comes standard with an equalising fan and battery box to quickly acclimate your mirror to get observing faster the fan is quiet and effective .
Moving back up to the top of the OTA we have a nice 8x50 RACI finder scope with coarse adjustment once focused it produces a slight amount of CA on bright subjects such as the planets and moon but none that I can see On a normal star field , the field of view is relatively good for an 8x finder and is easy to adjust so far it has not lost accuracy and has stayed in good collimation to the main OTA .
Included accessories are a 30mm 2” EP which is good but does show some Coma around the edges but very useable (I’m impressed) a 35mm 2” extension piece 2” to 1.25” adapter a 9mm 1.25” EP of reasonable quality but eye relief is quite tight and the battery pack (AA batteries) to power the fan
It’s well built and a lot of thought has been put into the use-ability fit and finish of this scope .
In use as standard (after collimation) it provides very good images and the optical quality of this scope is very good , a great deal of time and attention to detail has been put into the design and accessory package of this dobsonian making it extremely useable with nothing else needed .
As far as I can tell so far in use I can only fault it on two points ….
1, the 30mm Eyepiece won’t come to focus unless you eithe use the extension or ; pull the eyepiece out slightly all my other EP’s from 32 down to 2.5mm have worked perfectly .
2, this is more a niggle than a fault ….
The main OTA dust cover that sits Over the spider seems to be quite thin and has no apeture mask/ stop ports which are common on other brands it’s not a game changer by any means and is a personal preference from me .
My overall opinion and observing through this scope I have detailed in other messages but I would highly reccomended this both on price fit finish attention to detail and the truely outstanding service I had (24hr delivery) through First light Optics of which I bought it from here in the Uk 🇬🇧.

I’ve been using the 8 inch version of this scope - it is excellent. The fit and finish is a cut above other scopes I’ve tried as I’ve got into this hobby - good attention to detail and just feels solid and well built. Features such as the ease of adjusting the central tightening bolt on the base, and the way the tensioning system works just lift this above some of the competitors for me.

The included accessories are very good, particularly the quality 30mm 2” eyepiece which I feel works very well at this focal ratio.

The scope moves smoothly and precisely in both altitude and azimuth and again this moment is an improvement on some of the more basic systems I’ve seen.

No written assembly manual so it’s a download for that, but once you’ve worked out how it all fits together it’s pretty straightforward. One minor point is that I do think a Cheshire collimating cap would have been a thoughtful low cost addition to include, but this is not enough to dock a star!

Overall this system is a pleasure to use for relaxing visual astronomy.

FLO is a great place to shop, in less than a week since I clicked on the webpage to get the telescope on my doorstep in Norway, very quick response to my questions via email.
This is my first "serious" telescope, so I don't have any information to compare, but it is of great quality and very easy to assemble. I am very happy to have followed various recommendations on web pages, where Dobsonian telescopes (particularly 8 " are the best option for beginners.