nexstar 6 or nexstar 8 / new or used

[tobot]

during my final choices of scope a spanner has been thrown into the works and a nexstar 8 has shown up at an affordable price, and also a nexstar 6 has shown up at a much cheaper price.

so the question for me at the moment is whether to go for the nexstar 6 or 8 and also wether to buy new or used. i cant afford a brand new nexstar 8 but i can a 6

also if i buy a used scope and something goes wrong with it, obviously repairs wont be under warranty but is it still possible to get repairs done? or is it prohibitively expensive?

[Peter Drew]

I bought a second hand Nexstar 8 rather than a new 6" and am very pleased with it. Initially I was only interested in the GOTO mount as it can be used for many other scopes but the 8 has been so good that it is a keeper. The unit was only a few months old and I purchased it for just over half the new price and less than a new 6. Everything seems well made and so far it has been 100% reliable, there is plenty of good user advice on this forum and any repairs and replacements if necessary should'nt be expensive. The overall weight is very manageable and the 8 should certainly be a better option than the 6 IMO.

[red dwalf]

the 6" is a good scope but the 8" is better, aperture is king !

if the 8" sct is not that old it should be fine, i buy all my equipment second hand as most people look after there stuff you usually can`t go wrong.

i`d love a 8" sct but as you say, new they can be expensive

[tobot]

still in two minds as the 6 is a LOT cheaper and i could get some decent extras

[red dwalf]

true

[tobot]

i'm most definately leaning towards the 8" as i can always add bits and bobs over the years but i'm less likely to upgrade the actual scope for a long while.

[Peter Drew]

Good thinking!

[Sparrow]

The 8" would give you better results - make sure you view it and can see it working.

The few problems I had with my 6Se were easily put right - the battery compartment connectors were poor but I wouldn;t recommend using AA batteries anyway - it eats them. The connector for the DC power supply was damaged so I had to solder a new one on - not a major job. Other than that it was fine.

Don't expect too much from it load capacity wise. Particularly if it's already carrying the 8" OTA.

I found the 6SE a brilliant first scope and was sad to see it go - easily portable and pretty good views through it. Only got rid of it to finance gear for DSO imaging.

[Demonperformer]

The 8" will give you almost twice the light grasp of a 6"

You can always add accessories later, you can't add an extra two inches of aperture to a 6" scope

Second hand is always a risk. If it is someone on SGL, check how long they have been a member, how active they are (how many posts), read through previous sale threads and then look for posts from people who bought from them ... any complaints. Basically do your homework about the seller.

If all this pans out ok, and if it was me, I would go for the 8" now, but a 6" will give you some nice results too.

Also, remember ... whatever you buy now, you will want something bigger in three/six/twelve months time ...

[ollypenrice]

As soon as you buy a new scope it becomes second hand... The SCT format, in my view, becomes marginal at 6 inches because there are optically better alternatives that are still not too bulky. However, an 8 inch SCT is a mid sized scope optically and a small scope physically - which is a very powerful combination.

Olly

[tobot]

i dont think they are a member on here, but it is listed on astro buy sell. he has offered to set it up and show it working. exchanged a few mails with the guy and seems ok.

ill find out if he's on any other forums and do some detective work i think. (dons deerstalker and reaches for pipe)