Celestron Evolution 9.25 vs C11 SCT - Help!

[Sonicfishcake42]

Hi all! 

I recently ordered a Celestron Evo 9.25 online and have since been informed that there isn't sufficient stock. I have the option of a refund, exchange (either add money or subtract for another scope) or wait upto 2 weeks for the Evo.

I had a browse on some other websites and the Celestron C11 SCT on VX mount caught my eye. There's only £200/300 difference in pricing with the EVO being the cheaper option. However the difference is 9.25'' aperture vs 11'' 

http://www.celestron.com/browse-shop/astronomy/telescopes/advanced-vx-11-schmidt-cassegrain-telescope

Celestron Evo 9.25: £1,900ish
C11 SCT: £2149

Upon reading the description there's a 41% greater light gathering capability in the C11 than the 9.25''. This seems like a big difference! 

Money isn't the issue really, I've been saving a while to get the 9.25 in the first place, i don't mind waiting an extra week or two. Quality and satisfaction is what I'm after. 

I'm not fussed about the wifi for the evo, it's a novelty not a necessity for me however the internal battery was going to be a bonus which I'm assuming the C11 is without? 

I want the scope for DSO and planetary viewing and I would like to get into astrophotography at a later date.

Weight and size aren't a problem as I'm lucky enough to be in the middle of a farm more or less so i wouldn't be going more than a few meters from my doorstep

Other 11'' models by celestron and other brands are significantly more expensive, so is this a real bargain? or should i stick with the EVO?

Is there a reason the C11 is so cheap (for a 11'') 

Any advise would be greatly appreciated 

 Sorry for the huge story!!

[BeanerSA]

If you are even remotely thinking of AP, go for the VX.

[damnut]

Hi There,

Whilst the 9.25evo is a great scope, this must be on the limit for a single arm mount. If you are looking to depart into ap then I would reconsider buying this setup. The vx mount is a capable mount but its capacity is 30lb, C11 is 28 so on the limit by the time you add on the usal accessories.

[brantuk]

Both good advice above. If you want to do AP it can be accomplished in one of two ways - using an Equatorial mount, or a Fork mount with a wedge and (in this case) reducer. The reason is that you need to be able to track in a single plane (RA) and fork mounts are essentially Alt/Az which only gives tracking in two planes - so a wedge conversion is necessary to make it equatorial for all but planetary imaging.

As to 11" or 9.25" - well the 11" is a big scope which on a single arm is nowhere near as stable as a dual arm - look at the dual fork CPC range if that's the way you choose to go. But my preference would be for a beefy EQ mount like the NEQ6, AZEQ6 or AVX which will take either scope.

The 9.25 is : "Optimized for astrophotography. Minimizes vignetting at the edge of the field of view. This reduces light drop off at the corners of your film plane" (from the advert).

However the 11" has a bigger light grasp and is great for observing some of the fainter dso's. Bear in mind both are long focal length scopes with high f-ratios (f-10) which is fine for imaging planets. But for imaging dso's a much lower f-ratio (usually around f-5) is the preferred option. Hth

[Sonicfishcake42]

Hi guys, thanks so much for your kind advice. 

Given the difference of only 2lbs on the C11 with VX mount won't be sufficient for my needs, and upgrading my mount within a few months won't be cost effective. 

So my decision lies between the evo 9.25 and the recommended CPC 9.25

I've come across reviews online and advice from evo owners which gives praise to the Evo's single arm durability in holding dew shields, cameras and upgraded finder-scopes with no issues however the CPC of course looks a lot more durable. I have little doubt that the evo will be sufficient with my load capacity.

So it comes down to minor pros/cons as the optics are identical (From what I've been told). 

Do you know of any differences between the evo and the CPC other than battery/wifi/dual fork/single fork mount?

Kind regards

James 
 

[PeterCPC]

You said "I want the scope for DSO and planetary viewing and I would like to get into astrophotography at a later date".

If that is still the case you will need an equatorial mount like the AVX. A CPC type mount will be ok for planetary imaging but no good for DSOs unless you use a wedge.

Peter

[Sonicfishcake42]

I'm currently looking into Celestron HD pro wedge and it seems to be compatible with both the Evo and CPC