Ok, ok, I know the LX90 UHTC is a lighter weight scope, has less clearance at the base, no PEC etc. It is also considerably cheaper. With the current discounts on both, the delivered price difference comes to $284, depending on how much the dealer charges for shipping the NS8. That figure is based on one published shipping charge for it and Meade's rather excessive "one price to overcharge everyone" for their shipping and handling. Then, there's the eyepiece deal.
At this stage I don't plan to start imaging, at least not for a while, but having been into photography quite heavily for years and still having an equipped darkroom, so it may well loom - or CCD for that matter. Either will be a while, though.
If it weren't for the eyepiece deal I'd probably go for the NS8 GPS due mainly to the heavier fork, gears, motors, and increased base clearance. (I feel pretty sure I will go to 2" eyepieces before too long.) But the fact I have no eyepieces now having sold all my old ones along with my last scope means that eyepiece deal is, well as I put it somewhere else, "a mess of eyepieces for a hundred bucks." I consider the 40 of limited usefulness due to the field stop of the 1.25" barrel, and the eye relief awfully short on the shortest ones, but there's still some decent mid range eyepieces there and the ones I don't want can be sold. Eventually they'd probably be replaced with better ones, but this gets a case of usable eyepieces to start at a good price.
Add the hundred bucks and the LX90 WITH eyepieces is still $174 less than the NX8. But then there's that heavier mount - I'm sure I'll want to piggy back a wide field of some sort later, I've been told the LX90 handles an ST80 ok but maybe not anything bigger - and the base clearance, and the NS 8 has the Fastar option. No downloads now whereas Meade does. Of course the NS8 GPS has the GPS, which I considered a complete frill but some knowledgeable people have told me it does speed set up.
Any thoughts? I believe there was someone here who had an LX90 and was selling it for the NS8 for more base clearance?
Apologies to those who endured the similar thread on s.a.a.!
Roger
At this stage I don't plan to start imaging, at least not for a while, but having been into photography quite heavily for years and still having an equipped darkroom, so it may well loom - or CCD for that matter. Either will be a while, though.
If it weren't for the eyepiece deal I'd probably go for the NS8 GPS due mainly to the heavier fork, gears, motors, and increased base clearance. (I feel pretty sure I will go to 2" eyepieces before too long.) But the fact I have no eyepieces now having sold all my old ones along with my last scope means that eyepiece deal is, well as I put it somewhere else, "a mess of eyepieces for a hundred bucks." I consider the 40 of limited usefulness due to the field stop of the 1.25" barrel, and the eye relief awfully short on the shortest ones, but there's still some decent mid range eyepieces there and the ones I don't want can be sold. Eventually they'd probably be replaced with better ones, but this gets a case of usable eyepieces to start at a good price.
Add the hundred bucks and the LX90 WITH eyepieces is still $174 less than the NX8. But then there's that heavier mount - I'm sure I'll want to piggy back a wide field of some sort later, I've been told the LX90 handles an ST80 ok but maybe not anything bigger - and the base clearance, and the NS 8 has the Fastar option. No downloads now whereas Meade does. Of course the NS8 GPS has the GPS, which I considered a complete frill but some knowledgeable people have told me it does speed set up.
Any thoughts? I believe there was someone here who had an LX90 and was selling it for the NS8 for more base clearance?
Apologies to those who endured the similar thread on s.a.a.!
Roger
