Space saving scope?

[Tugboat]

Hello all

After a few years with my Skywatcher Skymax 90, originally with a tabletop mount but now also a full eq1, I think it is time to upgrade to something a little more powerful / better quality

My main use will be for planetary observation, and the main restricting factor I have is space (or lack of), so it needs to be something relatively small but at the same time better than what I already have. Budget is around £300, and I'm looking at 2nd hand to get more for the money. Some kind of auto tracking would also be good.

I've seen a nice Nexstar 5SE on ebay for £280, which includes the OTA, skyalign controller and mount, but it is missing the tripod. Is it useable without?

Otherwise are there any other options that are worth considering?

Thanks in advance!

Tugboat

[nicnac]

you could go for a bigger skymax, have you had a look at the prices offered from first light optics?

this looks good

http://firstlightoptics.com/proddetail.php?prod=SW127SupaTrakAUTO

[Tugboat]

Thanks for the reply

Due to the large price difference between the celestron and skymax I had assumed that the optics were of better quality than the skymax.

However a bit of research later shows that the optics are similar, and the significant difference in cost seems to be attributed to a more sturdy tripod and "goto" capability.

Since I have no real need for full goto (although it would be a bonus) this brings the skymax 127 back into play, and seems to also be much better value for money. So thanks for the suggestion!

There aren't too many 2nd hand ones around at the moment though, so I'll have to keep my eyes peeled.

Thanks again

Tugboat

[rwg]

Having owned both an autotracking mount like the Skymax one linked to above and a goto (SLT) mount, I can say that in my opinion it's worth the price difference to get the goto mount. I found the auto-tracking hand controller frustrating, the goto much more usable. In addition to that, the tripod that comes with the goto version (which has round steel legs) is much better than the AutoTrack tripod.

The Skymax 127 is a great little scope - very sharp views. Don't forget that it's also available now as the Celestron Nexstar 127 SLT - identical to the Skymax 127 Goto apart from the handset software as far as I know.

Robin