Which to buy, Celestron 6SE, or other?

[Gilps]

I'm hoping someone can help here. I'm about to take the plunge and buy a first scope. I'm trying to spend a bit more than I can really afford in the hope that I then won't need to do it again for a while longer. I'm looking at getting an SCT because it needs to be light enough for my wife to be able to move it around, preferably already assembled, and I want a GOTO scope too. I've spent a while looking on here at what people recommend and the Celestron 6SE seems to get favourable reviews. My question is this, are there any other SCT 6" scopes that I should be considering for similar money? I know an 8" will be a better scope but I really can't justify the extra £400 price hike for the 8SE. Also, what are peoples' views on 2nd hand scopes? Should I even consider one? Where can I look for used equipment as I'm a bit wary of ebay? Would I be better getting a used 8SE or a new 6SE? Sorry for all the questions but hope someone can offer some advice.

Thanks

Paul

[Helen]

The Celestron 6SE is a very nice scope, and the mount and goto are easy to set up and use. Your wife will be able to manage it easily (I've got an 8SE and can handle that, and I'm only just over 5 foot tall).

Buying secondhand from a reputable astro site is a good idea too, as you get more for your money! You can try astrobuysell.com/uk. We also have a buy/sell section for established forum members (you'll need 50 posts to get access).

Have a look around, and if you see something you fancy just post a link and we'll advise you on whether it looks OK or not.

You might want to ask some questions on here about what else you might need to go with it.

Helen

[Demonperformer]

I have a 6SE and can highly recommend it ... worth every penny.

[ollypenrice]

I've taken lots of risks on second hand purchases and not yet come unstuck. The only thiing I would say is that I personally wpuld not, ever again, go down the fork SCT route for deep sky imaging. Otherwise, no problem. You get a compact scope of decent aperture.

Olly

[brantuk]

I'm with Helen here - a second hand 8SE from another astronomer would give you great value for your money. Most astronomers keep their kit in excellent working order and in some cases, almost mint condition - often with provenance supplied.

You'll bag a great bargain if you keep your eye's peeled.

For e-bay purchasing - you really need to know what you're doing and go and see the scope first for a test drive. Not allways feasible with scopes - and seeing as it's your first, not adviseable.

Good luck

[Gilps]

I've taken lots of risks on second hand purchases and not yet come unstuck. The only thiing I would say is that I personally wpuld not, ever again, go down the fork SCT route for deep sky imaging. Otherwise, no problem. You get a compact scope of decent aperture.

Olly

Why would you not go for a fork mount? I've been doing lots of reading and checking up on mounts and it seems that the fork mount like the one supplied with the 6SE is the simplest to use and set up. I had a look at the Celestron CG-5 GOTO as an alternative as I figured it would give us a better upgrade path at a later date, but they seem more complicated to get set up.

[Chris H]

If you want to get into astro photography then the fork mount won't be good enough, you would need a german equatorial mount (GEM), if your not interested in astro photography then the fork mount will be just fine for the 6SE.

[ollypenrice]

Why would you not go for a fork mount? I've been doing lots of reading and checking up on mounts and it seems that the fork mount like the one supplied with the 6SE is the simplest to use and set up. I had a look at the Celestron CG-5 GOTO as an alternative as I figured it would give us a better upgrade path at a later date, but they seem more complicated to get set up.

The fork mount, as Kris says, is an attractive choice for visual use. If this is your intended use than go for it. Keep it in alt-az mode and it will be a delight. It will also do for webcam imaging.

The problems begin when you want a more accurate polar alignment for deep sky imaging and you start getting into aligning wedges. These ae not as satisfactory as you might think and most imagers avoid them. Also the tracking of most mass produced SCTs, while great for visual, is often marginal or unsatisfactory for long exposure. Dynamic balance is also quite hard to achieve.

Olly

[Bigwings]

I have the 8SE....bloomin marvelous. Transportable, decent aperture and great GOTO.

I carry mine into the garden with ease.

Good luck

[red dwalf]

i bought a second hand 6se orange tube from a chap on this site, it had never been used and is a great all round scope and i do love it, but i bought it with a celestron cg5 gt mount which are very good mounts for the money and as i wanted to do imaging i bought it, but these mounts are little noisy when slewing in the middle of the night so i upgraded to a skywatcher heq5 synscan which are alot more money but very quiet and are supposed to be alittle better at tracking, but i must say that i prefered the handset software of the celestron mount to the skywatcher, i think it`s aot easier to use.

you could alwways buy the nexstar and sell the mount later if you fancy a eq mount later of course, thet seem to sell very well.

[brantuk]

Some of the biggest scopes in the world are fork mounted and produce superb photography of everything up there. But they are precision engineered and highly tuneable.

As amateurs we are stuck with lightweight portable systems that can't achieve the same alignment accuracy with fork mounts. Some have had success with forks and wedges, but these are usually on permanent fixed pier systems in home built and tailored observatories.

If you ain't imaging dso's however, it's not going to be a problem. The SE series are smashing little scopes for observing and more than enough for snapping the solar system. The Celestron goto electronics are fine and have a well stocked database. A s/h 8SE from another astronomer would be a good purchase - or a brand new 6SE if that fits your budget

[Gadget]

Hi Paul

When I started looking for my first scope I came down to the same options as you and I went for the 8SE and I’m really glad I did the SE scopes are so easy to set up and use after just a little practice setting it up you will be set up and aligned in around 5mins and the goto and tracking are excellent and it will give you some wonderful views

New or second hand? Although it is nice to have new I have bought plenty of second hand and never had a problem you will probably get a nice used 8SE with useful extras for not much more than a new 6SE if you see something second hand that you like the look of just ask on here first

Kevin

[Astro_Baby]

Dont forget in your purchasing process you will need a power supply for the scope - best to get a battery of some kind (Maplins do one or about £25), you'll also need some eyepieces, a moon filter, a red light torch and almost certainly a dew shield of some kind.

You need to factor this sort of stuff in top the scopes purchase price.

2nd hand scopes - I'd be very jumpy about a 2nd hand Nexstar unless I was buying off somneone who I knew wouldn't rip me off. Its not the scope so much as the electronics. If you can't adequately test it and it turns out to have a nasty it can be exepnsive to put right.

By and large they seem reliable enough but I have seen a few newbies buy lemons with busted electronics off ebay. Although like any other scope thay can be repaired the cost might be scary. Older ones can have some 'interesting' software foibles as well.

[Bigwings]

The good thing about eyepieces though is that as the SE8 is f10 you get good results with relatively inexpensive eyepieces.

[Nexus 6]

Hi Paul,

my first scope was a 6se. I was more than happy with its performance, and I only wanted a scope for visual use, it was nicely portable. I sold it here on the forum and knew id regret it. My 925 is not really a grab and go!

Good luck with your choice

Alan