badhex

Yes, I had a similar thought. Maybe they don't sell too well just as an OTA due to the high price, or some other manufacturing related reason.

Our posts crossed in the aether!

Hi @PlankWithANailIn Not sure where you saw that on the site, could it be lbs and not kg or a 'misprint'? I've seen it variously listed between about 2.7kg and 3.5kg but no more than that for just the OTA. I actually was debating between a Skymax 127 and C5 but part of the reason I went for the C5 is that it's about 0.5kg lighter than the Skymax by most accounts. Here's a screen grab from the US Celestron site that says six lbs and further down the page lists as 2.7kg: https://www.celestron.com/products/c5-spotting-scope

Welcome Dave! And I disagree James 😂

I got a message from FLO earlier today who advised me that they are not aware of any differences between the OTA vs the one supplied with the Astro-Fi 5 / 125 which is great news, as I'm now rather set on the C5. I've read (admittedly only in the last couple of days since I discovered it) distinctly average things about the mount, mostly around the WiFi being flaky, but I actually have no use for it either way as my intention was to use the C5 on a SW AZ-GTi which I'm very happy with. I've had experience of the RDF on a Skymax102 so I would assume it's the same type, it being synta, but I'm likely to be using the goto at least for the fainter DSOs etc., being that most of my observing is from a Bortle 8 location, and I remember star-hopping to faint objects when I was in London could sometimes be quite soul destroying. I'm also all set for EPs but always good to have a couple of spares for one reason or another.

Oh BTW @AstroTim I did see your 5SE when trawling - were I in Notts and not Berlin I might have taken you up on the ad!

Thanks! Posted the question here so as to keep the topics separate.

Thanks both. Yes, I had thought the same about both the tube and the accessories. The tube even (in photos where the back can be seen) appears to have the same orange anodised cover plate for the focuser, and presumably those standard synta RDFs must be cheaper to produce than the finderscope supplied with the spotting scope version. The Kellners and diagonal look very basic and I wouldn't be suprised if the diagonal is the same one provided with the Travelscope 70 which is truly awful and not at all flat. Still, even with all of those cost savings, it still feels suspiciously cheap, which makes me nervou about purchasing one. I wonder, if they decided to drop the C5 from the range of OTAs for whatever reason (production costs or low sales?) that maybe they have just slapped the horrid blue sticker on and coupled it with a WiFi mount to get rid of remaining stock?

Hello all, having debated with myself for days about a Skymax 127 vs C5, I took the plunge with the C5 but after ordering found that its no longer available and seemingly discontinued altogether. I've since seen the Celestron Astro-Fi 5 which looks exactly like a C5 on a goto mount with some very basic accessories but is suspiciously cheap - i.e. the same price as the C5 OTA. https://www.firstlightoptics.com/astro-fi-series-telescopes/celestron-astro-fi-125mm-5-inch-schmidt-cassegrain-sct.html#in_the_box Is it actually a C5 with a garish blue sticker, or something inferior? It boasts XLT coatings and looks pretty much identical. I've asked FLO if they can clarify, but does anyone have first hand experience of the scope? Thanks all!

Holy moly, you couldn't make it up. Having debated with myself for days, I pulled the trigger on the C5 over the weekend, only to sadly get a message from FLO saying that it's been discontinued 😭 Oddly enough, I have actually found the Astro-fi 5, which appears to be a C5 with a garish blue sticker on a computerised mount - however, it's the same price, which makes me wonder if its inferior in some way. I'm going to try and confirm that, because if it is the same I can just sell the unwanted mount.

Great image and well done on the accolade! I have very little experience of solar (observing or imaging), but I'm also quote keen to get involved at some point. I have a Baader filter for my 80ED but have somehow never got round to it. Anyway, congrats once again!

Thanks both. Actually, once upon a time I tried my hand at keeping Perisesarma bidens - or the Red Clawed crab. I had two, and called them Pulsar and Nebula after the eponymous celestial objects. From what it sounds like, spotting the nebula is as hard as keeping them!

I think partly it's that once I'm at high enough mags to resolve it, I'm just missing it. I don't have an RDF but will ll maybe try your trick with very low power EP and report back.

Still no joy on this but very limited opportunities to keep trying. I am resolved to resolve it eventually!

Thanks all. I know there's probably not much in it - apart from price and availability! I like the idea of the C5 because it's something new to me and is a touch more portable/grab and go, but I'm just a bit put off by paying 230GBP more for minuscule differences. Like I said before, if the Skymax was available now I might have already pulled the trigger but I'm worried it won't arrive before the dark sky trip, plus I'd like to look at Mars before it completely disappears Good to hear it works well on the AZ-GTi - that is the intended partner for whatever I go for!

This is such a brilliant post - huge credit to all the great replies so far. The only thing I will add, and which has been said before - is that "usefulness" really is in the eye of the observer, as it were. For a variety of reasons but mainly convenient setup/cool down times, I have found the recent holiday purchase of a cheap (but surprisingly good, optically) Celestron travelscope 70 to be much more "useful" than my SW 80ED, and certainly if I had any of my other, larger scopes currently available to me, I bet they would get much less frequent use.

Hi all, So I know this question has come up tons of times before and I have read through most of the existing posts on this topic but I guess I have a couple of things specific to my situation. Also I've now thunk myself into a corner and looking for outside perspectives! So currently I have an Evostar 80ED which I love the widefield views from. I am currently awaiting shipment of an EQ6-R Pro as my current mounts just can't really cope once I add the diagonal and chunky WF EPs. As I will have a good sturdy mount, I also plan in a couple of years to finally take the plunge on a C9.25 as I've always wanted one for that planet killing/manageable size sweet spot. In the meantime, I have been enjoying getting set up really quickly with a tiny travelscope 70 plus AZ-GTi, which is a surprisingly good combo for WF but obviously doesn't serve well for planetary. I will also have 3 nights in late December at a Bortle 3 site where I plan to take the 80ED/EQ6 and the AZ-GTi plus planetary companion. In (completely inaccessible) storage I have a skymax 102 which I loved, so my first thought was a skymax 127 which I know pairs well with the AZ-GTi but is not radically bigger than the 102 so perhaps is a bit of a duplication. I'm also considering the C5 - perhaps giving me prior experience of an SCT, and slightly lighter with quicker cooldown. Lastly, I think I would initially have just bought the 127 from a cost perspective if everything was currently available, but they are sold out everywhere whereas the C5 is not,even if quite a lot more expensive. I've thought about it too much now and I don't know what to do! Help!

Clothes peg user here too, on my old Skymax 102! 🙋

Maybe skywatcher should do a new model for the ultra-portable lovers - the EvoGrab ED!

Love this!

I *may* have recently also purchased a Baader Morpheus 17.5mm (the one seen in the picture) so if I've worked it out right, the FOV will be about the same as your Antares. I have largely spent my entire observing time with this scope and EP combo - seems to be a perfect match!

A month or two ago whilst on holiday on a mediterranean island with reasonably dark skies I impulse bought a Celestron Travelscope 70. The tripod and diagonal were absolutely terrible of course and the EPs bog standard, but once I got back home and coupled it with decent kit, I'm genuinely surprised at how well it performs. A few nights ago I spent 3 hours with almost perfect, clear skies (albeit bortle 8 with a pesky 2/3 moon) and the overall experience for such a tiny scope was remarkable, even more so given the quick setup. The irony is that of everything in the pictures, the scope is the cheapest item

Lovely! Big fan of the GSO barlow! What's the skinny boy in the middle of the bottom row?

Hahah good point! Done

It's been a very long time since I last posted here but I felt I must give a quick update about my 2" case. I have just acquired my very first bit of green and black - and it is truly monstrous!