Meades Lx70 8 inch newtonian or Celestron advanced vx8 inch newtonian

[Siins]

Hello everyone about a week i posted to get some adviceon the lx70 6 inch Maksutov-Cassegrain or the lx70 8 inch newtonian well i decided to go with the Newtonian but now my dilemma is choosing the LX-70 8 inch or the Celestron advanced vx8 inch newtonian by the looks of it the celestron comes with a much better tripod and its a goto which im not to concerned with as im playing on getting a motor drive if i was to get the LX-70.. i just want to get the better of the two in quality and performance and i like that they both come with tripods in a combo deal. .. if the skywatcher came with a tripod i most likely go with a skywatcher. .... Any advice is much appreciated  Thank you 

[John]

In terms of the scope (ie: the optical tube) they are all the same.

In terms of the mount, the Celestron is the better deal because the 2" tripod legs make it more stable and the mount is GOTO.

Optically though, you won't see any difference.

 

[Dave In Vermont]

There is a trick I've used quite a few times (with excellent results) for getting more stability from a mount when it's at about it's maximum capacity - and it shows by it's tendency to show lots of vibration. Most recently in a AZ-4 mount with a 150mm SW Maksutov:

I tie a several-pound weight to the center-bolt that attaches the mount to the tripod. This I allow to hang on the line below the bolt about 15 inches, maybe hitting the spreader-bars that hold the legs apart - but not too much apart. I find this seemingly unwieldy weight-and-cord stills the vibration down very well indeed.

As for what to use as a weight? Let your 'inner-artist' loose for a solution!

It works,

Dave