Advice - Celestron Nexstar 6SE vs Orion Starseeker IV 150 GoTo Reflector vs Orion Starseeker IV 150 GoTo Mak-Cass

[pav428]

Hi!  I am new here!  I am looking to gift my husband a telescope.  He is a beginner and expressed interest in a computerized telescope.  He doesn't have much time so that makes sense.  But I think it might be nice if he can also use the scope in a manual mode but I'm not sure how important that is to him.  I have narrowed down my search to the Celestron Nexstar 6SE, the Orion Starseeker IV 150 GoTo Reflector, or the Orion Starseeker IV Go To Mak-Cass.  The Celestron 6SE is a Schmidt-Cassegrain.  (The Celestron 4SE is a Mak-Cass but I ruled that out in favor of the larger aperture.  Not sure if that's the best decision?   I was told Mak-Cass will do better on contrast but the reflector has a wider field of view?  Is this correct?  Not sure about the Schmidt-Cassegrain.    We live in Northern NJ, about 30 min from NYC. Should I stick with 6 inch aperture? Is the contrast offered by the Mak-Cass more important than having 6in aperture? The Orion Starseeker Mak-Cass is the most expensive at $1000, the Orion reflector is $579, and the Celestron 6se is $799.  I need help figuring out the pros and cons of these scopes and what to give more importance to.  I know my husband will enjoy the moon and planets,  but I think being able to view deep space objects will be nice too.  Strangely there are tons of user reviews for the celestron but so few for the orion scopes.  Not sure why that is.  I also wonder which is easiest to use and which gives the best customer support.

Should I pick one of these?  Or something else?  Thanks for any help you can give me!

Here are the 3 scopes I mentioned:  https://www.celestron.com/products/nexstar-6se-computerized-telescope and https://www.telescope.com/catalog/search.cmd?form_state=searchForm&siteCode=US&keyword=orion+starseeker+iv+150

 

[pav428]

I've been reading more about field of view.  I see that the maximum true field of view that can be obtained with the Celestron 6SE is just under 1 degree.  I think it's less for the Orion Starseeker IV 150 Mak Cass?  I am having trouble figuring out the maximum field of view for the Starseeker Reflector.  Can anyone help?

 

[John]

The Starseeker reflector will potentially show a maximum true field of view twice as large as the Celestron 6SE.

Of the three types of scopes you mention, Schmidt-Cassegrain (6SE), Maksutov-Cassegrain (Starseeker 150 mak-cass), and Newtonian (Starseeker 150 Relector), I think the most versatile is the Celestron 6SE though.

For both the 6SE and the mak-cass some dew prevention additions, such as a dew shield extension, will be needed.

 

 

 

Edited November 18, 2020 by John

[pav428]

2 hours ago, John said:

The Starseeker reflector will potentially show a maximum true field of view twice as large as the Celestron 6SE.

Of the three types of scopes you mention, Schmidt-Cassegrain (6SE), Maksutov-Cassegrain (Starseeker 150 mak-cass), and Newtonian (Starseeker 150 Relector), I think the most versatile is the Celestron 6SE though.

For both the 6SE and the mak-cass some dew prevention additions, such as a dew shield extension, will be needed.

 

 

 

Thank you!  Why do you say the celestron 6SE is the most versatile?  I'm kind of tempted to have more field of view with the reflector.

[Starwatcher2001]

Giving a telescope, what a great gift!  I can't comment on the merits of each type of scope, but just to be aware there's quite a shortage of telescopes at the moment and long waiting lists, so if this is for Christmas your choices may be limited by what you can get hold of.

Edit: Oh sorry... welcome aboard SGL !

 

Edited November 18, 2020 by Starwatcher2001

[John]

11 hours ago, pav428 said:

Thank you!  Why do you say the celestron 6SE is the most versatile?  I'm kind of tempted to have more field of view with the reflector.

If a wider field of view is important then by all means go for the reflector.

 

[Earl]

The 6SE will be an easier scope to get used to, its primary strengths are Luna and Planetary 

The Orion Starseeker IV 150 GoTo will be a steeper learning curve as you need to understand collimation to get the best out it. but is more versatile as a scope overall.

A Dobsonian (with the collimation learning) might be the better route. and you will get much more aperture for your money (goto is overrated imo)

Edited November 18, 2020 by Earl

[Peter_D]

On 17/11/2020 at 21:27, pav428 said:

Hi!  I am new here!  I am looking to gift my husband a telescope.  He is a beginner and expressed interest in a computerized telescope.  He doesn't have much time so that makes sense.  But I think it might be nice if he can also use the scope in a manual mode but I'm not sure how important that is to him. 

I have a Celestron 6SE - be aware that when you are in 'manual mode' (ie pressing the buttons so you control where the telescope points but not tracking or using GoTo), you still need a power source.  There is no way to move the mount/telescope without power. This is the one thing that I don't like about the system. Other than that, the GoTo is invaluable for my light polluted skies and the 6SE hits the sweet spot for me between ease of setup and performance.

If you go with the 6SE, don't use batteries as the scope will not operate correctly if they are not at full power - go with a mains adapter or large external battery / power tank.

Edited November 20, 2020 by Peter_D

[Eric Richard]

Note that there is a focal-length reducer/corrector available for the SE6 from Celestron. This will lower the focal ratio to F/6.3 or about 945mm, which will give you a wider field of view and lower power with each eyepiece. You'll probably want a couple of additional eyepieces also, but you can buy some later (Plossl eyepieces are good with this).

Edited January 10, 2021 by Eric Richard
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