Great scope for a Great price

Anyone out there looking for a nice scope that won't
break the bank.
Try the Celestron XLT120 achro. Usually sold with the white
CG4 eq mount, most Celestron dealers will sell you the ota
without the mount in the $350 price range.
1000mm FL, F8.3, rack & pinion focuser, finder, rings and
a dovetail.
I have compared the optics on mine to other scopes I have owned:
Sky-Watcher gold series 120ed
Celestron C6R
Orion/Vixen 120 Neo-achro

The XLT120 has better color correction when viewing the moon
and Jupiter then all but the Sky-Watcher 120ed and to tell
you the truth, it's not far behind, and 1/4 the price.
Stars are pinpoint and the scope has excellent contrast.
The tube is also super light and is rock solid on a
CG5.

This scope is in the price range of a C6 SCT or a ED80.
At 1000mm FL the scope is a very good lunar and planetary scope or throw in a 35 Panoptic and your getting almost a
2.5 degree FOV for deep sky.

I am more impressed on how good this scope is for the money
then my C11CF.

Well.

Sorry to be the party pooper...

I have owned two of the Synta 120mm F/8.3's. Used they go for about $200. They are reasonable scopes but like any 120mm F/8.3 achromat they show significant chromatic aberration on Jupiter and Saturn, lots of Venus. They have essentially the same "chromatic ratio" as an ST-80. I sold the first one because with the mount, they are as much effort to deal with as an 8 inch Newtonian but do not offer the same performance. The second one would pinch the objective on a cool night...

There have few times I have sold a scope and several years later thought, "As I recall, that really was a pretty good scope, I really shouldn't have sold it," bought another one and immediately been reminded of why I sold the first one. That was the 120mm F/8.3.

I do think they are reasonable scopes for many situations. As a planetary scope, a good 6 inch F/8 Newtonian is better performer but probably does not cool down as quickly and many like refractors because you don't need to mess with them as much. And a 6 inch F/8 Newtonian will not provide the same widefield views.

YMMV

Jon