Is the Astro-Fi 5 OTA actually a C5 or something inferior?

[badhex]

Hello all, having debated with myself for days about a Skymax 127 vs C5, I took the plunge with the C5 but after ordering found that its no longer available and seemingly discontinued altogether. 

I've since seen the Celestron Astro-Fi 5 which looks exactly like a C5 on a goto mount with some very basic accessories but is suspiciously cheap - i.e. the same price as the C5 OTA. 

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/astro-fi-series-telescopes/celestron-astro-fi-125mm-5-inch-schmidt-cassegrain-sct.html#in_the_box

Is it actually a C5 with a garish blue sticker, or something inferior? It boasts XLT coatings and looks pretty much identical. 

I've asked FLO if they can clarify, but does anyone have first hand experience of the scope? 

 

Thanks all! 

[John]

I don't have experience of the Astro Fi 125 but I have owned a couple of other Celestron C5 SCT's and they looked, paintwork apart, exactly the same as the optical tube of the Astro Fi 125 and the specification of the Astro Fi 125 seemed just the same as the other Celestron C5 SCT variants.

 

Edited November 17, 2020 by John

[AstroTim]

I don’t have experience of the Astro Fi 125, but have a C5. The OTA does look to be the same. The mount and tripod are obviously different to the SE, and possibly where some cost has been saved (no handset, and the tripod looks lighter). Also, the accessories are different compared to the 5se, mirror diagonal instead of prism, and Kellner eyepieces, rather than 25mm Plossl. I think the C5 OTA on its own was actually supplied as a spotting scope bundle, so came with some accessories (eyepiece, right image finderscope, and right image diagonal) and possibly a bag, which might account for the higher than expected price (or at least some of the additional cost), although could be wrong there.

Tim

[badhex]

Thanks both. Yes, I had thought the same about both the tube and the accessories. The tube even (in photos where the back can be seen) appears to have the same orange anodised cover plate for the focuser, and presumably those standard synta RDFs must be cheaper to produce than the finderscope supplied with the spotting scope version. 

The Kellners and diagonal look very basic and I wouldn't be suprised if the diagonal is the same one provided with the Travelscope 70 which is truly awful and not at all flat. 

Still, even with all of those cost savings, it still feels suspiciously cheap, which makes me nervou about purchasing one. I wonder, if they decided to drop the C5 from the range of OTAs for whatever reason (production costs or low sales?) that maybe they have just slapped the horrid blue sticker on and coupled it with a WiFi mount to get rid of remaining stock? 

 

[badhex]

7 hours ago, AstroTim said:

I don’t have experience of the Astro Fi 125, but have a C5 (5SE, currently for sale).

Oh BTW @AstroTim I did see your 5SE when trawling - were I in Notts and not Berlin I might have taken you up on the ad! 

[AstroTim]

I don’t think they will have cut costs on the OTA itself and would expect that to be the same as any other C5. The Kellner eyepieces would probably perform as well as a Plossl in that scope (I have a 15mm Kellner and I wouldn’t be able to tell the difference). I used just the RDF on mine and it was fine for targeting visible objects (bright stars, planets). A finderscope would help for star hopping to fainter objects, but if you are accurate with the initial star alignment, the goto will hopefully get the objects within the field of view.

i can’t comment on how the mount and tripod would perform. The scope is quite light so doesn’t need a heavyweight mount. I have a WiFi option on my mount and thought at the time I’d only use it in that mode. As it happens, I have only ever used it via the handset! There were connectivity issues with the early WiFi implementation and the app only supported star alignment. I tend to observe the planets so it’s easier to point the scope at a planet and do a quick solar system alignment for tracking. You lose alignment accuracy for gotos, but it’s good enough to jump between planets. If I was observing DSO’s more, I would do a 3 star alignment and the app would be an easier way to choose suitable targets.

The C5 is a nice portable scope and I’ve had some very good views through mine. The only reason I’m selling it is that I have no need for the mount and tripod, and thought it would sell better as a full setup. 

[badhex]

I got a message from FLO earlier today who advised me that they are not aware of any differences between the OTA vs the one supplied with the Astro-Fi 5 / 125 which is great news, as I'm now rather set on the C5. 

I've read (admittedly only in the last couple of days since I discovered it) distinctly average things about the mount, mostly around the WiFi being flaky, but I actually have no use for it either way as my intention was to use the C5 on a SW AZ-GTi which I'm very happy with. I've had experience of the RDF on a Skymax102 so I would assume it's the same type, it being synta, but I'm likely to be using the goto at least for the fainter DSOs etc., being that most of my observing is from a Bortle 8 location, and I remember star-hopping to faint objects when I was in London could sometimes be quite soul destroying. I'm also all set for EPs but always good to have a couple of spares for one reason or another.

[PlankWithANailIn]

The C5 weighs 6kg according to celestron's website. Once you add other items to it its going to be really overweight for the az-gti. As an AZ-GTi owner I would like to know how it works for you.

[Gfamily]

18 minutes ago, PlankWithANailIn said:

The C5 weighs 6kg according to celestron's website. Once you add other items to it its going to be really overweight for the az-gti. As an AZ-GTi owner I would like to know how it works for you.

I think that's 6lb rather than 6kg, so should be easily within the capacity for the AZ GTi  (According to here) . 

 

Edited November 17, 2020 by Gfamily

[badhex]

Hi @PlankWithANailIn

Not sure where you saw that on the site, could it be lbs and not kg or a 'misprint'? I've seen it variously listed between about 2.7kg and 3.5kg but no more than that for just the OTA. 

I actually was debating between a Skymax 127 and C5 but part of the reason I went for the C5 is that it's about 0.5kg lighter than the Skymax by most accounts. 

Here's a screen grab from the US Celestron site that says six lbs and further down the page lists as 2.7kg:

https://www.celestron.com/products/c5-spotting-scope

[badhex]

2 minutes ago, Gfamily said:

I think that's 6lb rather than 6kg,

Our posts crossed in the aether! 

[AstroTim]

1 hour ago, badhex said:

I actually was debating between a Skymax 127 and C5 but part of the reason I went for the C5 is that it's about 0.5kg lighter than the Skymax by most accounts. 

If you are still considering the Skymax 127 then it might be worth looking at the Bresser MC-127. As I understand it from other posts on here, the Bresser provides a true 127mm aperture whereas the Skymax is undersized. If you do a search you should find several threads discussing it.

Tim.

[badhex]

Thanks Tim. I did see quite a few mentions regarding true aperture comparisons (including 150s and 180s in some cases) where the Bresser was mentioned. 

I once had a bit of a bad experience with a huge  second hand Bresser 'frac which required lots extensive rebuild work... very specific situation and really no fault with the brand but I think it has irrationally put me off Bresser!

Maybe I will give it another look 🤔

[badhex]

After deciding to get the Astro-Fi which was supposedly in stock I ordered it, I then found they could not confirm the delivery date... and while waiting  that the C5 OTA came back in stock, so I cancelled the Astro-Fi order and ordered the OTA! 

I third time lucky! Although i'm still waiting for the refunds on my first two attempts so I've technically paid for it three times and am temporarily broke! 

[AstroTim]

Quite an ordeal. Here’s hoping you get some clear skies and great views once it arrives.

[badhex]

Thanks Tim, fingers crossed!

[Ags]

Just spotted this thread. I have a Fi 6 OTA and it seems the same as any other SCT. Annoyingly the finder shoe won’t let me align the RDF with the scope. Optically it is excellent, and mechanically flawless - zero focus shift. It sits nicely on an AZ-GTi so I am sure the C5 would be fine.

[badhex]

2 hours ago, Ags said:

Optically it is excellent, and mechanically flawless - zero focus shift. It sits nicely on an AZ-GTi so I am sure the C5 would be fine.

Good to know! Seems very odd to me that the OTAs are so much more expensive when they are functionally identical to the Astro-Fi models but Celestron must have their reasons. 

Out of interest, does the RDF not quite adjust far enough? I had the same issue with a Skymax 102 and found a couple of shims in the finder shoe did the trick. I think there are threads about that issue IIRC which might help. 

[Ags]

That's right - my RDF is at best 0.5 degrees out of alignment with the scope. I am used to the issue now which i treat as a feature. I simply mentally correct for the offset 🙂

Edited November 20, 2020 by Ags

[badhex]

Seems to be a common issue due to those RDFs being fairly standard on the synta etc. scopes (one size fits nobody?). I can confirm the shim trick worked well for me, although if you're now used to mentally adjusting, maybe fixing it would actually make things worse!

[Ags]

By the way, the Fi C6 weights 3.3 kgs without diagonal and eyepiece.

[badhex]

54 minutes ago, Ags said:

By the way, the Fi C6 weights 3.3 kgs without diagonal and eyepiece.

I did spend a bit of time considering the C6 but decided to go with the C5 for a touch more portability (and lighter on the wallet) plus I was a bit unsure because most sites list the C6 at over 4kg. Doesn't sound like there's a lot in it though as the C5 is 2.7kg sans diagonal/EP.

Good to know it works well on the AZ-GTi - I should have no problems with the C5 then! BTW which way do you mount your C6? Scope to the left or right of the mount?

[Ags]

[badhex]

Gotcha. The C5 has the finder shoe on the opposite side so I've had to mount it on the right.
Not sure if that will confuse the tracking but as you can see the scope arrived earlier and is now set up waiting for the dark so I guess we'll find out!

 

[Ags]

I think I simply remounted the shoe on the other side - are there no screws on your tube to move the finder over?

The way you have it mounted will confuse the tracking I think - but you can download firmware for EQ mode and right arm mode.