NexStar 8SE or NexStar Evo 6?

[Baz6170]

Hi all

I'm thinking of upgrading to a new goto/tracking scope, and have around a grand to spend.  I don't get a lot of time to use a scope and I'm pretty much just an observer, but do a little lunar and planetary imaging with a SPC900NC now and again.  My first scope was a NexStar 4SE, which has been a great grab-and-go scope that's enabled me to see quite a lot of stuff, even given its small 4" aperture.  I've also got a Revelation 8" dob, but it's not getting a lot of use as it's a pain to cart in and out of the shed, keep collimated, and (to my shame) I find manually tracking with it a bit tiresome (probably due to how automated the 4SE has been).

So, I'm really looking for a new grab-and-go scope with goto and tracking, and am favoring another mak due to ease of care/maintenance.  I'm currently considering a couple of NexStars, the 8SE and the Evo 6.  I really need a scope that's not going to be cumbersome or time consuming to set up, due to the limits of time I have available to observe.

My dilemma is that while "aperture is king" is continuously sounding in my head, I'm wondering whether to sacrifice a little bit of aperture in order to get a newer/better mount, which I think is what the Evo 6 will provide.

What do you guys think?

Cheers

Baz 

[laudropb]

Hi I think I would go for the bigger aperture, but you do realise that both these scopes are not Maks.

[Chris]

Both these scopes are SCT's not Maks, they are similar, the corrector at the front of an SCT isn't as thick as a Mak so they tend to be lighter. SCT's can require the occasional tweak of collimation via the three secondary mirror screws at the front of the scope, but generally they hold collimation very well unless knocked about:

I've heard that the 8SE is under mounted which would be a worry for me, but 8" is a nice jump in aperture from 4". 

I wonder if there is a third option like a second hand CPC800?

otherwise as you stated the 8" Dob was too much to cart out, I would be tempted by the Evo 6, it has a lot of nice features like an intregrated long life battery

[Baz6170]

Yeah, my mistake, I forgot the 4SE was the only mak in the SE range and that the other 3 scopes were Schmidt-Cassegrains! I've heard that the 8SE suffers from vibration, which is a worry, although the 4SE has a similar problem so I might just be used to it, and it won't be too much of an issue. The Evo 6 appears to have better motor gearing than the SE range, and that's something I would like to have for piece of mind, but of course it's 6" and not 8"...if only I could afford the Evo 8! 2nd hand CPC is something I've considered before, but I didn't find any good examples at the time, maybe I should look again...