Nexstar or CPC

[robbie65]

Hi members

looking for your opinon on my next telescope?if you's had an option of a NexStar 8 (XLT) SE or CPC 800 GPS (XLT) ???

thanks Robbie

[brantuk]

CPC-800 by a long shot! Let me know if you get serious about buying one as I might be selling to upgrade

[Brinders]

I'd say the CPC too. It uses a dual fork mount and a heftier tripod with 2" steel legs, so better stability and less vibration. The downside being more weight.

[rwg]

I was faced with the same choice and chose the Nexstar - largely decided when I saw just how much *bigger* the CPC was. The Nexstar is much more portable and has higher SAF (spouse approval factor) - both of which were important...

Robin

[Peter Drew]

Both are excellent scopes, the ability to easily use other scopes on the Nexstar mount was the decider for me.

[brantuk]

LOL @ SAF - now that's an astronomy acronymn to remember lol

[rwg]

LOL @ SAF - now that's an astronomy acronymn to remember lol

The discussion about the CPC went like this :

[me] That's one of the 'scopes I'm considering, over there (points to CPC 800).

[her] you're not keeping *that* in the conservatory!

The point about the Nexstar mount being compatible with other scopes is well made - you can also put the 8SE tube onto (say) an HEQ5 if you ever decide to buy an equatorial mount. With the CPC, the scope and mount are pretty much a package that work together or not at all.

Robin

[brantuk]

Lol Robin - mines in the dining room despite poor "SAF" - well she's got a whole gym's worth of kit that gets used half heartedly (or rarely) occupying an entire bedroom - so a quick reminder allways stops arguments b4 they start hehe.

The flexibility of a half decent EQ mount is a good point. You can then mount any OTA that fits the bill, on it - whereas the CPC's are married to the forks. I guess it depends what you want to do with it (and/or personal preference).

All I'll say is that the optics and tracking on the CPC's are spot on excellent. My solution was to get both types

[davew]

C8, EQ6 and 13mm Ethos.

Followed by 6.3 reducer, a 1000D and a finder guide scope.

Sorted for a year or two.

Dave.

Well, I can dream.

[BlueAstra]

I originally went for the 8se because it gave me the option of getting a EQ6 (or other) equatorial mount later if I wanted to get into photography. So now I use the 8se for quick grab and go visual, or put the C8 on an eq6 for photographic. I agonized over the cpc, and I think its a great choice for visual, but if you ever want to do photography you will need to get a wedge with all the associated complications.

[beetlejuice]

I'd go for the Nextstar over the CPC. Perfectly adequate for visual use, lighter, easier to transport and set up and more adaptable - can mount different scope and put the OTA onto a GEM for photography when funds allow. The CPC is nice but is big, heavy and bulky and limited - needs a wedge for photography and OTA can't easily be mounted on another mount with out a bit of dismantling and additional mounting hardware.

[brianb]

I'd go for the Nextstar over the CPC. Perfectly adequate for visual use, lighter, easier to transport

Having used both I'd go for the CPC ... the pointing & tracking is MUCH more accurate and the mount is very much more stable ... unless you can't handle the weight the comparison is almost ridiculous IMVHO.

[robbie65]

Thank you for all your imput..Loved the story of the wife making up your mind classic case of size those mater!!!also i would consider BRANTUK your offer but iam in Dublin would this be a shipping headache for you??

Regards Robbie.

[beetlejuice]

Having used both I'd go for the CPC ... the pointing & tracking is MUCH more accurate and the mount is very much more stable ... unless you can't handle the weight the comparison is almost ridiculous IMVHO.

That's all true but it's horses for courses. The Nextstar is nifty visual scope, offers a simpler upgrade path and is a lot cheaper - the money saved over a CPC can be put towards an HEQ5 or EQ6, thus providing the best of both worlds. Oh well, we'll just have to agree to disagree