Celestron Nexstar 8 SE a good starter scope?

Hello, after viewing Jupiter's moons during the opposition, I think I need to buy a scope.  I live in an area with a moderate amount of light pollution but will occasionally get to take it to rural skies.  

I prefer something motorized that can help me find objects (especially given the moderate light pollution most of the time when I use this) and prioritize ease of use/less maintenance.

Given the above and a desire to stick to less than $500 for a first scope, I am hoping to find a Celestron Nexstar 8 SE used for at least close to this price (I already noticed one in the classifieds here but the user is selling locally only).

I know there are a million threads across the Internet asking "is this a good first scope for me" but I thought I would solicit any feedback for whether this is a decent choice for a ~$500 budget used with a motorized finder to use in a location with some light pollution.

Thanks for any thoughts!

Originally Posted by Gabe *

Hello, after viewing Jupiter's moons during the opposition, I think I need to buy a scope.  I live in an area with a moderate amount of light pollution but will occasionally get to take it to rural skies.  

I prefer something motorized that can help me find objects (especially given the moderate light pollution most of the time when I use this) and prioritize ease of use/less maintenance.

Given the above and a desire to stick to less than $500 for a first scope, I am hoping to find a Celestron Nexstar 8 SE used for at least close to this price (I already noticed one in the classifieds here but the user is selling locally only).

I know there are a million threads across the Internet asking "is this a good first scope for me" but I thought I would solicit any feedback for whether this is a decent choice for a ~$500 budget used with a motorized finder to use in a location with some light pollution.

Thanks for any thoughts!

An 8" SCT like that is an excellent choice for a 1st scope.....very versatile. While it doesnt do any one thing with excellence it does pretty much everything very well when combined with a focal reducer for wider field viewing as well. Buying used gets you in very reasonably as well.....

Thanks for the reply. I read that the field of view can be too narrow for some objects with the 8 inch aperture for this one but a new eye piece can help somewhat.

Can you comment on how much of an issue the FOV would be if one bought a different eye piece?

Thats why I mentioned WITH a focal reducer which expands the field of view......without using a focal reducer it is best suited for planetary viewing. Wide angle EP's can also help.

Ahhh, focal reducer... 

Thanks for bearing with this newbie!

I'm a newby, only getting my first scope (C8SE) a couple of weeks ago.  My first acquisition was a focal reducer.  I expect to screw it on and try it tonight.