Celestron NexStar 6 (XLT) SE - Tempting ?

[John]

I'm quite tempted by this new GOTO SCT which is due to be available in this country from January 07. Here's a link to the page on the David Hinds site:

http://www.celestron.uk.com/catalogues/view_item.asp?ItemID=30901&CatalogueID=272&CategoryID=3835

If that price holds (plus an SGL discount ??) it looks a good deal - I had a Nexstar 5 for a while and it was a very nice scope - this one seems to promise better performance from both the optics and the mount - all for around £700. Plus at 30lbs all in it's certainly portable. There are a couple of favourable reports on the net on the OTA as well.

Any views on the potential of this scope ?.

I guess I'd have to say cheerio to my ED100 to get it but it might be a worthwhile step up. Looks like I could put my ED80 on the mount in place of the SCT easily as an added bonus !.

John.

[OXO]

Looks a nice setup that i wonder if you can do DSO imaging with it?

James

[John]

I guess that depends on the accuracy of the drives - so far the Nexstar drives have been OK for planetary but not good enough for deep sky (other than the brighter objects). I wonder if the EQ-GOTO mounted version of this scope would be better for that.

John.

[GordonCopestake]

I wouldn't swap your 4" APO for a 6" sct......

[John]

I wouldn't swap your 4" APO for a 6" sct......

I'm tending to think the same at the moment. There's an 8 inch version available in the USA - perhaps I'll wait and see if that makes it across the pond.

John.

[GordonCopestake]

The C8 is a different beast altogether. The C8 and the ED80 make a great marriage, although I doubt you can piggyback the ED80 on top of the C8 with the SE mount

[FLO]

I wouldn't swap your 4" APO for a 6" sct......

I think it best to view the SE as a portable/convenient scope rather than a replacement scope.

Celestron's new 6" Schmidt has been winking at me for a while now, though I would want it on a regular GEQ.

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/proddetail.php?prod=c6sxlt