No-one seems to mention Nexstar 5SE as an option......?

[theburnschap]

First post so please be gentle!

I have been looking at options, and seem to have settled between the 4SE and the 6SE - but the expense of the 6SE was putting me off. And whilst I have seen it advertised a few times, I have never really noticed the 5SE on any forums or reviews. Is there a reason for this?

Apart from the size difference, is there any reason to avoid the 5SE? I have seen a good deal which includes a powertank too, and with an original budget of around £400, I was heading in the direction of the 4SE. Then I saw the 6SE and wondered if I could hold off and save up for the 6SE.

The 5SE might help to appease my noobie desire to go as big as I can afford so I might not need to upgrade too early.......

Any thoughts?

[sparkyjon]

i think the problem with the 5se is there is too much competition there's a few 127 maks out there that have goto and are a fair bit cheaper. the 4 is popular with people wanting a small scope and then 6 and 8 for people wanting bigger aperture..

the 5 se does have a slightly better mount than most goto mounts that come with 127 maks but is it worth the extra for viewing purposes

[Naemeth]

For £400, most people go for an 8" Dobsonian (http://www.firstligh...-dobsonian.html) with some accessories as the aperture will allow you to see much more. Of course, it's not GoTo and it's not quite as portable, but it's a very good price for the aperture .

[ilove1995]

Hi & welcome to SGL.

Like what SparkyJon says there is quite a bit of competition for 5" mak scopes. For some reason there is a big difference in price between the 4se and 5se for just an inch more aperture. Both scopes use the same mount but the price difference is around £300. The 6se is considered the best value in the se nexstar range. I went for the 4se but mainly because I got it new on special offer though I am very happy with it's performance. If I was to recommend a mak to someone then it would be the Skywatcher Skymax 127. It has more focal length than the 5se and is much cheaper. It's a popular scope for imaging planets/moon as well as for visual use.

For general observations then you can't beat an 8" dobsonian like the skywatcher which costs around £300.

Al

[damnut]

Hi There,

Naemeth & Sparkyjohn have this covered. If you could let us know what you want to observe and if this is to be a portable socpe then we could fill it out a bit more.

In essence the 5se is a great scope with goto but has long focal length and therefore a norrower field of view, but does have goto! (as do most of the 127mm Maks & Scts in this size).The dob would give more bang for buck but is much bigger and has no goto (or nudge to) out of the box at that price.

There is your dilemma!!

Cheers

[theburnschap]

Really I'm looking for something that will help me get into skywatching more and help me to get out there with my young children so they can enjoy it too. Jupiter is a particular fave, and have loads of personal reasons for wanted to look at this beauty and its moons, but I would love to try to go through all the Messier objects too.

[damnut]

Hi There,

I suggest that you come along to a local astro group and see what other folk are using before parting with hard earned cash EMS can be found here :-http://www.eastmidlandsstargazers.org.uk/

Local group in East midlands with dark sites at Wymeswold & Belper..

Cheers

[sparkyjon]

well if it's just planetary and lunar a 127 mak is a great start , the 8" dob will open the sky up more as it's better on deep space objects like galaxies, for £400 you could buy either one, but as said the dob wont have goto, which is great especially for the youngsters to get learning.. the other thing is the dob will take up a little bit of space,but if you think you'll be bored of planetary viewing quickly and you have enough storage , the 8" dob will hold the attention longer..

my choice was to go for the smaller 127 mak because of storage my current set up suits me perfectly, i did have a 200mm newtonian on an eq-5 but storage was a huge issue. then i got hold of an 8" schmidt cassegrain (like the 8se) this was amazing bit of kit , but again a little chunky and it didnt have goto options which i think i will need in the future for laptop control..

i think really it's best to think about all aspects of want you want and can you handle it.as in storgae and transport. it does help with whittling down the options, i did it a little backward but i'm now very happy with my choices..

[Mark at Beaufort]

Welcome theburnschap to the forum. I started my interest in astronomy in the 1960s but because of family commitments my interest declined. However, in 1999 I bought a 5" Celestron Nexstar goto and it was a brilliant little scope. I quickly regained my knowledge of the night sky and enjoyed viewing the Moon, Planets and the brighter DSOs.

I accept that you pay alot for the goto mount and yes you will get better views with a 8" Dob for far less than the cost of the 5SE. However, I remember when I bought the 5" SCT I looked at a 5" Mak Cass and both have their advantages and disadvantages. I think if my main interest was Moon, Planets and Double Stars I would go for the Mak Cass but for general viewing I think I would prefer the SCT.

So there is nothing wrong with the Nexstar 5SE its whether you want to pay for the goto to help you find different objects. When you gain experience I bet that aperture fever will set in and you will buy a bigger scope - I know I did and now undertake all my observing by star hopping.

Good luck with your final decision.

Mark

[theburnschap]

Thank you all for the replies guys, and I had been looking at the EMS group as I am pretty new to this. I got hooked after sitting outside up in the north east of Scotland, where the Milky Way is beautifully clear. I have been using my binoculars though sat in my back garden in Leicestershire recently and wanted to get better views of the things I love watching.

[damnut]

Hi There,

EMS are a friendly bunch and meet frequently. Would give you an opportunity to use some kit prior to purchase.

Cheers

[PaPa Doc]

The reason I bought my 5 SE is the wedge feature. I found the 4'' too small, and I would have loved to have 6 SE but it doesn't come with a wedge & I didn't want to spend more money getting into the hobby at that moment. I have had no troubles with the 5 SE at all, it's light, portable, the goto scope is great for anyone who is just learning about the many facets of the hobby but does not want to be over whelmed by the information available. Visually, although this winter has been poor in Western Canada for viewing in reasonable weather, I did manage to find Jupiter along with 4 moons with the 5 SE, during a night of great viewing in minus 27 C. Saturn was observed during an early morning session & the few general pics I've taken so far are not too bad. I would not want to depend on this mount for long exposure photography, but anything under 3-5 minutes would be ok. I only say this because so far I have not tried any exposure longer then 5 minutes, I do not know how well the scope preforms in longer exposures, Yet!

Had the 6 SE included the wedge mount, I would have gladly paid the $100 difference. For me, it was the wedge mount vs mirror diameter of 1".

Cheers!