Which is better ?

[Cornelius Varley]

15 minutes ago, Paul M said:

I have the Celestron 127 SLT and just from pictures of the SynScan AZ Goto mount they look identical. Can't comment on the SW scope but the Celestron scope is quite nice. I wrote this just today

The mounts are not identical, only similar in appearance. The Skymax and Celestron 127 are the same telescope, just a different name on the tube. 

[johninderby]

They are the same OTA but the mounts are completely different although they look similar and perform about the same.

Skywatcher vs Celestron price differences are down to the way they are imported. More a case of the UK dealers get a much better deal on Skywatcher. The Celestron distributor is now stopping selling the beginners scopes to astronomy dealers and selling them the non-astro shops. Totaly crazy idea. 🙄

[Beardy30]

So do you think I might as well buy the cheaper skywatcher ? Or should I splash out in the Nexstar SLT 6 or even a Nexstar 6se 

Edited April 9, 2020 by Beardy30

[banjaxed]

25 minutes ago, Beardy30 said:

So do you think I might as well buy the cheaper skywatcher ? 

IMO there is not a great deal of difference in the scopes but the mounts do differ. I have tried GoTo systems and have come to the conclusion that manual mounts with slow mode controls are far simpler and easier to use as you spend more time observing and less time figuring out problems. Just my two pence worth.

[Beardy30]

Many thanks 

[Paul M]

28 minutes ago, Cornelius Varley said:

The mounts are not identical, only similar in appearance. 

 

28 minutes ago, johninderby said:

They are the same OTA but the mounts are completely different although they look similar and perform about the same.

Other than the different styling on outside the declination arm case (aux socket and logo) I think the only difference seems to be the firmware and handset?

[Beardy30]

With that in mind would you opt for the skywatcher which is £100 less ? 

[johninderby]

Nope. Totaly different motors and internal components. They are quite different inside.

[Paul M]

4 minutes ago, Beardy30 said:

With that in mind would you opt for the skywatcher which is £100 less ? 

Honestly, if the scopes are identical, save yourself £100. The SynScan version might be easier to get on with!

PS I think SynScan on the EQ mounts is very robust and intuitive. I'm a SynScan fan!

Edited April 9, 2020 by Paul M

[johninderby]

Another option woud be the AZ-GTI version with WiFi so uses a tablet or smartphone to control the scope instead of a handset. Slightly more expensive. Has Freedom Find so can be moved manually without losing alignment. Can also be used with a handset if you wanted to (not included).

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/sky-watcher-az-gti-wifi/sky-watcher-skymax-127-az-gti.html

Edited April 9, 2020 by johninderby

[Cornelius Varley]

15 minutes ago, Paul M said:

 

Other than the different styling on outside the declination arm case (aux socket and logo) I think the only difference seems to be the firmware and handset?

Plus the internal battery box in the SLT plus a different mcb. The mounts only look similar because the SW AZ is probably descended from an older Celestron GT mount.

[happy-kat]

The 6SE is on the same mount that the 8SE comes on so is a sturdier mount then the 5SE is supplied on I gather.

[johninderby]

The 4SE and 5SE share the same mount and as mentioned the 6SE and 8SE share the same mount.

[Paul M]

 

19 minutes ago, johninderby said:

Nope. Totaly different motors and internal components. They are quite different inside.

 

3 minutes ago, Cornelius Varley said:

Plus the internal battery box in the SLT plus a different mcb. The mounts only look similar because the SW AZ is probably descended from an older Celestron GT mount.

 

Ok, ok!

Just the tripod and accessory tray then? 😬

[johninderby]

2 minutes ago, Paul M said:

 

 

 

Ok, ok!

Just the tripod and accessory tray then? 😬

Yes indeed. Surprising they don’t use the same mount for each instead if producing two seperate designs. Would think it would save money for them? 

Edited April 9, 2020 by johninderby