Celestron NexStar Evolution 8

[nicoscy]

Actually I have, I had a Nexstar 8SE and a friend has the 9.25 tube. There is a significant difference going from 8 to 9.25. Funnily enough, a lot more than going from the 9.25 to the 11 inch!

[JG777]

^{Siliy question, but do you need wireless router to connect a smart phone or tablet to the Nexstar Evolution, or does it have it's own router?}

As nicoscy says you just get your phone or tablet to search for Wi-Fi and it will find the Evo and connect. It is a open network so not sure how this would work in a field full of Evos....If your at home you may have to get your device to 'forget' your other network as this can get in the way of connecting.

So much better with a tablet and so much better with SS4 pro .

[Nova Load]

I'd better start saving for a Evolution 9.25...and a tablet

[Baz6170]

I've just ordered an Evo 8 from Amazon - for once, the cheapest price I could find!  If, like me, you're mostly an observer with limited time, the Evo scopes are a good choice as they offer a truly grab-and-go solution.  No more tangled/wrapped power cables to trip over, dead-easy levelling and alignment methods, simple app-based control, built-in red illumination for the EP tray, USB power point for your phone/tablet, AUX ports for accessories - basically everything you need to get out there and get observing in as short a space as possible, all in one package.  I like doing a small amount of lunar and planetary imaging via webcam/laptop, and have had good results from my 4SE, so I expect to get similar/better results with the Evo 8 too; I know the Evo 8 isn't the scope to go for if you're really into AP, DSO's and long exposures, but if you just want to share your hobby with friends/family via photos/videos, this scope will allow you to do that just fine.  I had originally considered either an 8SE or a CPC800XLT for my next scope, but after reading about the Evo 8 I knew it was the right scope for me.  Let's just hope my choice turns out to be the right one! ; )

[Helen]

I've been using mine for a while now and it really is great for grab and go, and particularly outreach events    I can carry it with a scope on it (as long as I'm careful!) around the garden to get best viewing spots and the alignment is easy.  The best bit is solar system align, so setting up for solar in the day is a doddle (I so wish skywatcher would put similar functionality on their mounts!).

Enjoy

Helen

[Baz6170]

I've just ordered an Evo 8 from Amazon - for once, the cheapest price I could find!  If, like me, you're mostly an observer with limited time, the Evo scopes are a good choice as they offer a truly grab-and-go solution.  No more tangled/wrapped power cables to trip over, dead-easy levelling and alignment methods, simple app-based control, built-in red illumination for the EP tray, USB power point for your phone/tablet, AUX ports for accessories - basically everything you need to get out there and get observing in as short a space as possible, all in one package.  I like doing a small amount of lunar and planetary imaging via webcam/laptop, and have had good results from my 4SE, so I expect to get similar/better results with the Evo 8 too; I know the Evo 8 isn't the scope to go for if you're really into AP, DSO's and long exposures, but if you just want to share your hobby with friends/family via photos/videos, this scope will allow you to do that just fine.  I had originally considered either an 8SE or a CPC800XLT for my next scope, but after reading about the Evo 8 I knew it was the right scope for me.  Let's just hope my choice turns out to be the right one! ; )

Well, my Evo 8 arrived this morning and is now ready for first light tonight, if the predicted clear skies happen!  First impressions are that it's a lot more solid than the SE range, particularly the tripod and mount - there's a lot of metal about, so it feels more 'premium'.  The clutches work really well and I connected the scope with both the SkyPortal and SakySafari Pro4 apps without a hitch, so that I could test moving the scope, and I have to say it appears to be really responsive.  I think Celestron have done a great job on the design and feature set of this scope - can't wait to try it out, and then I'll report back and post an update.

[Baz6170]

Well, my Evo 8 arrived this morning and is now ready for first light tonight, if the predicted clear skies happen!  First impressions are that it's a lot more solid than the SE range, particularly the tripod and mount - there's a lot of metal about, so it feels more 'premium'.  The clutches work really well and I connected the scope with both the SkyPortal and SakySafari Pro4 apps without a hitch, so that I could test moving the scope, and I have to say it appears to be really responsive.  I think Celestron have done a great job on the design and feature set of this scope - can't wait to try it out, and then I'll report back and post an update.

Excuse the background lol

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/80140668/Evo_8/evo8.jpg

[Baz6170]

After using my Evo 8 for a couple of nights, I can confirm that it's the easiest-to-use scope I've had - everything worked as it should - I connected my iPad to the scope WiFi first-time and used the tablet to control the device the whole of the first night, 3-star alignment was a doddle as usual (I'm used to it from my 4SE, which has never failed to align) and slewing to targets was spot-on every time (I do spend a lot of time getting my 3 alignment stars absolutely dead-centre, to get the goto as accurate as possible).  I used the Sky Safari Pro 4 app to navigate around the sky, and it was flawless, improving my stargazing experience no end, mainly due to the ease of selecting targets and slewing to them, plus the added info on each target (usually including an image) made identifying objects really simple (especially faint DSO's).  The 8" OTA is a complete joy, I can see why many people have raved about them for so long - collimation was spot-on out of the box, and images were pin-sharp (I use a bahtinov for focusing btw).

Only two other things spring to mind right now - the motors are a bit noisy, but not too loud (defo louder than my 4SE though), and on the 2nd night I used only the hand controller, which I must say was loads more accurate for controlling the alt/az, especially when aligning.

Can't wait to get back out there!

Cheers

Baz