Venzen

Are people just trying to achieve a wider field when moving from a 1.25 to a 2. Is that the only reason to use a 2?

No doubt sound advice here. I'm mostly asking as the questions pop up, for future reference.

Any reason I wouldn't want to upgrade a C9.25 with a celestron 2" diagonal?

So there is no need to buy Starsense if you have Skyportal?

Anyone have an opinion on whether, if set up with a C9.25 avx, these two accessories are worth their price in terms of added convenience?

Ok, just bought the ZWO. Thanks. Still looking for accessory suggestions, if any more come to mind!

Thanks, yeah, I think the idea will be viewing first, with some lunar and planetary imaging as the primary. Just need to know what accessories would make that goal most easily realized. What about camera suggestions?

I'm buying some equipment that was bought as a birthday present in July for a person who ended up not wanting to deal with the mass or learning curve of the equipment. What I'm getting is the following, as described by the seller. Celestron 9.25 advanced vx and everything that Celestron includes with that kit. Also, they had bought and are including: "12mm 1.25 eyepiece, 3xBarlow, 25mm Plossl, lighted reticle finder, skyportal, 120 to 12v converter." I know I'll need a 6.3 focal reducer, right? But what else would you recommend I buy to upgrade or better equip this base setup for overall viewing and astrophotography endeavors? Thanks!

Update: So, if I want something in hand for Christmas (the place that appeared to actually have them, didn't , sad face), it looks like I need to decide between: A Nexstar 8 SE, or Standard 9.25 advanced VX with some extras (from the person I mentioned in an earlier response). Price difference is about $800, not really an issue, but I mention it in case it sways any opinions. I know she'll want to take pictures of the moon and the planets, and I'd like her to have the potential, should she decide to go down that road later, of trying her hand and patience with other images. Does that rule out the 8SE? Again, I'm dealing now in terms of what appears to be available for Christmas, which I admit isn't the smartest way to go about choosing a telescope. But, unless I'm absolutely going wrong here, I'm probably going to choose something.

I think this is a critical observation. In terms of reducing weight, I have the opportunity to pick up a lighter Celestron advanced VX mount with the 9.25 standard SCT, throwing in some extras like 3xbarlow, 12mm 1.25 ep, 25mm plossl, a 1.25 lighted recticle finder, and a skyportal, all for a decent price. (from a situation where a person wanted a telescope and got way more than they were interested in - they had in mind the stereotypical brass tube sort). My understanding is that the EdgeHD offsets fuzziness as the images or eye travels toward the periphery of the view, is that right?

I know she'll want to take photographs of what she finds. She takes photographs of everything already. I suspect the technical aspects of figuring out the scopes will give her some difficultly (she's sharp, though, a nurse anesthetist). I definitely don't want to create a frustrating situation (I can help her with the technical aspects of it, if necessary). I'd like something that can function pretty intuitively to start for basic viewing and photography, with the fine-tuning and more advanced features being nice to have once that learning is achieved.

Celestron CGEM II 8 EdgeHD vs. Celestron CGEM II 9.25 standard SC (SAME PRICE) Is this "6 one way, half a dozen another" situation? I'm buying a telescope for my wife for Christmas. It will be our first telescope. These two telescopes/mounts are in the price range I'm looking to spend. I've done enough research to know I don't have time to self-research this topic, and I realize that telescopes are NOT one-size-fits-all-purposes, however, I'm going to ask anyway... Is one of these better if the criteria were general "all-around" usefulness, not just out-of-the-box, but considering potential future accessory purchases. Thanks, I'll hang up and listen. 😃