Celestron 130 SLT Vs Celestron 5se

[Astro_Rob]

Basics:

Hello guys, I have recently been doing some research for a new scope that I wish to invest in and, as you can see from the title, I have narrowed it down to the 130 SLT and 5se, both from Celestron.

Price range:

£300 - £600

(The 5se is currently on Amazon for £660 which I would be able to stretch for)

Intrests:

Basic planetary viewing

More focuses of Dso though and would like the possibility for astrophotography with my Canon EOS 700D SLR camera. (I am more interested in the views alone though, photography is not essential.)

Nebula, Star clusters and galaxies are of significant importance also.

 

I would just like your guys' opinion on which you think is the best and why, thanks in advance! Clear skies.

 

 

[PeterCPC]

Both would be ok for planetary viewing but neither would be good for DSO astrophotography as they are both Alt/Az mounts. If you want to image DSOs you really want an EQ mount first and foremost and then I would suggest a short focal length refractor or reflector like an ED80 or 130pds. But these will not be very good for planetary work as the image scale will be small. Unfortunately there is no one solution to both these requirements. This is why people have several scopes.

Peter

[Cjg]

@Astro_Rob I've owned the 5SE, was a super scope and it's pretty good for planets with a longish focal length of 1250mm, (better on the planets than the 130 with a 650mm focal length) tracks nicely too. You'll see plenty of the brighter Deep Space Objects, but it's not ideal for astro photography, as Peter has explained.

You'll also need a dew shield or heater with the 5SE, from the get go, they are dew magnets and without one, in the UK you'll find the front fogging up in no time... With both scopes, you'll also need to factor in some form of power supply too; neither mounts will last that long on a set of 8 duracell (or other) batteries, especially in the winter time..

Had my 5SE for three years and loved it, sold it when I purchased a short tube refractor and manual mount.  That said, I did have problems with a power board on the mount (it needed replacing, the UK importer David Hinds was singularly unhelpful and without the help of the retailer; First Light Optics, I would have been screwed).

Good luck,

Chris