Maximum Power for 8"SCT

I have noticed that I have been able to get about 42X per inch in my NS8GPS without loss of detail or clarity on a reasonably good night in the valley at 360' alt. I know that they state 50X per inch is the max for any scope. Do any of you out there get any more out of your SCT than I am on a given night of reasonable seeing? I am just curious if I am in the normal range with this scope or better than normal. It seems to be an exceptional 8" SCT as far as optics are concerned. I usually have people comment about my scope having a better view than their larger aperture SCTs. We have a few 10" and 12" SCTs in the club.

That's about normal for a decent SCT which is cooled and collimated; it should go higher in ideal conditions. It also depends on your target, with many feeling that much higher power for splitting doubles counts too. I can go 60x per inch for a zenith object on some nights with a C9.25. Apo refractors can easily go 80x per inch.

Here in NE Ohio we nearly always run out of sky before we exceed the capabilities of medium-sized telescopes. 50X per inch on an 8" scope would be 400X; very rarely usable here. Most nights I'm limited to a little over 300X no matter what scope I'm using - unless it is so small that 300X is a stretch for it. 50X per inch would be 700X in my 14"; I don't expect to find out whether it can do that any time soon.

John