Jump to content

SkySurveyBanner.jpg.21855908fce40597655603b6c9af720d.jpg

Celestron Nexstar 4SE - Review / First Light


Astro_Baby

Recommended Posts

I think Jim yo9u may be right. I had an orange mini dress when young and it was one of my favourite bits of clothing.

But I also think theres something retro about the orange color which harks back to Celestrons first C8s - it would have been waaaaayyy out of my price range back then.

The orginal C8 has a sort of elegance about it and were it not for the rumours that the coatings weren't terribly durable I would have bought an original Mk1 C8 quite recently - well the coatings were one issue anyway.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...
  • Replies 36
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Hi

Gull blown Newb.. but just ordered a 4se rather than a skywatcher 127.. unfortunately due to stock issues as i'm far to impatient! (no skywatchers left in the entire world m ethinks!)

Will want to use for some limited DSO's and was wondering if you could recommend am eyepieced as my first upgrade (Ha.. even before it has arrived the money pit effect!).

Thanks in advance PS Its my first scope would have rather got something bigger, but really need portability so have elected for this with the hope of remedying with a good eye piece.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ohh - I mostly use mine for planetary -0 and if I had known you were looking I could have sold you mine. I mostly use a Baader Hyperion in 13mm in it. It might be worth you asking this as a new starter question as this thread is quite old. I have viewed stuff in the Nexstar 5SE with a Sky-Watcher Extra Flat which gave quite pleasing views.

I dont tend to use my Nexstar 4 all that much - theres nothing wrong with it its just its only one of a few scopes and lately I have been smotten with the charms of a Russian Refractor ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 year later...

Just bought one a couple of weeks ago.although its been cloudy there has been gaps.setup was very quick,and star align also quick once you got used to the different date system,as for finding objects it does so,and locks on,(i do like that feature) object is still thereduring the time it takes me to switch cameras,powerwise a power tank is required when using for long periods,but for the couple of hours i am out with it.the 8 superstrength duracell rechargables are working ust fine since i am only focusing one one object at the moment.this is an only so far review as i have not had the clear skies or ample time to put it through its paces yet.

well worth the £399 i payed for it..

Link to comment
Share on other sites

NexStar 4SE scopes are nice little scopes. They're quick to get going, when you are used to entering location and date/time details and they tend to track pretty well. The red dot finder is easy to use and it's easy to make a dew shield for the scope from some rolled-up card (as I did very effectively). One thing about it I'm not so keen on is the focus mechanism, on mine it seems a bit loose and doesn't feel very precise. As a grab and go scope though, it is very handy and works well. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well I am going to use mine in my garden for a bit and run it off a 12 volt car bat I hope ? so want need the 8 superstrength duracell till i take it out of town but then i can put it in the cig liter yes ?

The 12v socket in the car would work, yes. I think most people would say to avoid using batteries if you can. Just get a powertank: Skywatcher 7Ah Rechargeable Power Tank | Telescope Accessories | Rother Valley Optics available for less if you look. For some reason, the Celestron printed one seems to cost more than the SkyWatcher! :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...

Brilliant review. I have just ordered the Celestron 8 se. The OTA weighs roughly the same as my SW Heritage (although a bit beefier) so that made this larger scope more attractive to me. It comes with the Celestron powerpack, so thats one less worry....even though i have unlimited access to AA batteies.

I'm quite excited about the Go-To function. I've never even held a Go-to control before let alone used it. I'm no spring chicken. Its time i sat back and took it easy and let Go-To do the work for me.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

I'd like to add a few of my thoughts about this scope.

I tried one for a couple of weeks before changing my mind and taking it back.

My first scope was a tal-1 110mm reflector I bought second hand, and after using this for a while I decided I wanted to try go-to, and some photography, and the 4se looked like a logical choice as it should be simple to setup, and the wedge would allow for some longer length shots.

I found the 3 star allignment wouldn't work without accurate setup, but the 2star auto allign worked fine with some fairly inaccurate info; I set my location to London even tho i'm in Reading, and used the simple bubble level provided, along with the time to the nearest minute on my phone) and it would plonk objects into my 9mm eyepiece most of the time :icon_salut:

I was outside and aligned withing 5 minutes ! (altho it took a bit longer for the scope to cool down)

For photography, I liked the ability to use the extra mirror in the back to divert the light between the eyepiece and camera at the twist of a knob :) the tracking in alt-az mode allowed for up to 30 seconds of exposures once the gears had taken up and rather large backlash, however, the scope couldn't point at anything overhead with the camera attached as it would crash into the base (doh !)

In wedge mode, the tracking was more reliable (fewer shots showed trailing) however I didn't have a remote release cable for my camera, so wasn't able to take any longer exposures, hence I don't know just how long it would have been able to track acceptably for (acceptably for a begginer like me at least)

I found when focusing the mirror would shift a lot between direction changes, so it was a good challenge compensating for the mirror shift, and gear backlash when framing objects :)

After about 10 hours of use over 2 weeks, I was hooked on photography, and the tracking and f13 optics had reached the limitations of this scope under my light polluted skys. So I decided to take it back an upgrade !

It's a good scope, and for visual use it was excellent, and the fact it allows you to try photography as well is a big bonus.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue. By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.