skymax 127 vs omni xlt 127 vs ?

[4lefts]

hi,

after some useful advice from the people at the NLO last night, i think i'm going with one of these scopes:

Omni XLT Series - Celestron Omni XLT 127

Maksutov - Skywatcher Skymax 127 (EQ3-2)

Maksutov - Skywatcher Skymax 127 SupaTrak

i got to try some scopes, and was really impressed with the views through an sct. i had a look through a skywatcher dob as well, which was originally what i thought i wanted, but, as a glasses wearer i couldn't get on with the supplied eyepiece at all (though that might well be the case whatever i get), and i found tracking with a single knob on an eq mount so much nicer than shuffling the dob around. also, i'm not sure the 1200mm tube of the dob would go in my ford ka.

at the moment i'm mostly interested in planetary/lunar and double stars, plus "greatest hits" type dsos. strictly observing at this point, we'll cross the imaging bridge when we come to it.

so, i'm trying to choose between the skywatcher and the celestron, and i've come up with the pros and cons as i see them. any help and advice steering me in the right direction would be a big help:

skywatcher mak advantages:

doesn't need collimating,

slightly than cheaper than on an eq3, much cheaper on a supatrak,

two eyepeices,

supatrak auto tracks stuff - though i don't know if i really want anything electrical. i can soon turn the RA knob for myself, and i think it will limit where i can use the scope, and mean i have to have power tanks and stuff.

celestron SCT advantages:

seems like it has nicer optics/coatings? maybe? or am i just blinded by the brand name?

better tripod

nicer eyepiece?

wider FOV? (+ lower mag for a given ep - not a bad thing)

the celestron might/will need collimating though? how hard is this?

pfffff. like i say, any help would be great - i guess my question boils down to: what's to choose between and SCT and a mak? anything? nothing really?

thanks,

stephen.

[Deneb]

Their both made by synta but my money would be more inclined towards the celestron, only that I find celestron stuff is better in quality...

Nadeem.

[4lefts]

that's pretty much what i was thinking. thanks.

[Sky Daddy]

I Own The Omni XLT 127,Don't Know Much About The Mak,But I'll Keep It Short And Sweet,The Omni Handles NYC Light Pollution With No Problem,I Promise,You Will Not Be Disappointed With The Omni.....

[Sky Daddy]

I Apoligize To Everyone,I'm Extremely New To SGL And I Didn't Notice The Dates On Some Of The Threads,Please Excuse My Rookie Mistakes. I've Been Answering Questions That Are About 5 Years Old Lol.....Again Please Excuse Me For Blunder.....

[John]

I Apoligize To Everyone,I'm Extremely New To SGL And I Didn't Notice The Dates On Some Of The Threads,Please Excuse My Rookie Mistakes. I've Been Answering Questions That Are About 5 Years Old Lol.....Again Please Excuse Me For Blunder.....

No problem - welcome to SGL