Celestron C8

[BrendanC]

Hi,

I have an opportunity to get my hands on one of these - an older model C8, not the orange one but not a recent model. It's just listed as a C8.

Are they any good, for observing and/or astrophotography (ideally DSO)? Or are older OTAs really not up to the standard of newer models?

Thanks, Brendan

 

[Cosmic Geoff]

The C8 is a classic scope that has been in production for many years.  Apparently some of the older ones were great and some years manufacture not so great (rather like wine vintages).  Depends where they were manufactured and to what standards of QC (earlier ones USA made, later ones China).  The C8 is a great scope for visual observing. There are some articles online if you search.

As for astrophotography, people do use them for imaging (small) galaxies, but this is not easy and not for novices.  The C8 is really better suited for planetary imaging.

As for the mount (if any), if it comes with an antique mount you will probably want to replace that with a modern GoTo mount, and this should be reflected in the price you pay.

[BrendanC]

Thank you, that's very useful to know. 

[johninderby]

The oldish ones came in regular Starbright and Starbright XLT versions. The ones with the XLT coatings are a bit better but the regular ones are still OK. Biggest difference is price. The ones without the XLT coatings aren’t as desireable so sell for less. 

There will be a label on the tube that tell you which coating it has. If it just says Starbright then it it is just the plain Starbright coatings. It will say Starbright XLT if it is.

Edited April 13, 2020 by johninderby

[John]

A very good, and free, guide to used Celestron and other brand SCT's is available from here:

https://skywatch.brainiac.com/used/used_sct.pdf

[BrendanC]

Excellent stuff, thanks both of you.

[Alkaid]

Mine is an older Starbright model (non XLT) with really good optics. It’s great- nice aperture with portability and has shown me a lot of detail on the moon that I could never hope to see with my previous smaller scopes. If you are a solar system observer then either the older one or the xlt will do the job due to the brightness of the target. If you prefer DSO’s then the XLT has a small gain in light gathering due to the coatings. Don’t get too hung up on it though, the difference is not overly huge. About 13%?? 🤔 

If an old one comes up with good optics at a good price - buy it.  

 

Edited April 14, 2020 by Alkaid

[BrendanC]

Thank you. I've confirmed it is the older model as it doesn't have the XLT coating. I currently have a Skywatcher 130PDS so if I do acquire the Celestron, I'll be doing plenty of comparisons between the two.