Hello all.
I have a Super C8+ from 1986 that has a broken tripod (my father has incredible hand strength and always feels the need to tighten everything as far as it could go, and those plastic knobs on the tripod gave way before him, at least 2 of the 3). I asked Celestron about upgrading it as I've always hated trying to align to the north star, and my finderscope "polaris ring" is vastly out of date now. They said they couldn't do much for it, mainly I could remove the tube and plop it on a German Equitorial Mount with the GoTo stuff. But since I saw skyalign, I gotta have that
... And besides, the mounts cost a ton by themselves!
I currently live in very light polluted northern Dallas/FW area, and have 5 nephews who I'd like to show the night sky stuff too, and while I can find stuff in my C8, I nearly broke my back last time looking for M27 (I'm tall, and the tripod is in permanent "short" mode, so I have to hunch over or kneel).
Anyways, I'd like to get a new scope, and since a 11" CPC only costs 800 bucks more than an 8", I'd probably go with the "more is better philosophy" and splurge that extra cash.
With Skyalign, I could ask the computer to do the finding istead of me, letting me show my family more than just the planets and M57/M13 every time.
Astrophotography is a nice dream of mine, but having looked at the cost of THOSE accessories, it will have to wait, at least anything more complicated than piggybacking.
So, the questions:
1) Are starbright coatings worth the extra 200 bucks?
2) Is one of those filters "Skylight Filter" you leave permanently on the back of the scope worth having to keep the interior clean? I've never cleaned my C8, because I am afraid to
.
3) Is it worth getting a 2" Visial back/star diagonal/eyepieces right away? I love wide field views that my good ol' 27mm Plossl that came with my SC8+ gives me, I've never been fond of high magnification, as mostly the things merely became bigger blobs.
4) Solar filter for 11". I know celestron has 8" solar filters, but I don't see any for the 11". Anyone know of a good one?
5) Why do the NexStar older models cost soooo much more than the CPC ones?
6) Is Celestron even delivering the 9.25" and 11" CPC's yet? I've not seen any reviews or seen mention of anyone having one. Several of the online sites either say they are expecting delivery "soon", or "ships in 1 or 2 months"...
7) Dew filters/lens shades... are they worth it? Dew never seems to be a real problem here in Dallas... water is rare enough as it is, though it can get fairly humid during the day. I do have quite a few neighbors who feel the need to light the entire neighborhood with their klieg style lights that I can read books with in my backyard. Oh for a pellet gun...
Thanks in advance.
I have a Super C8+ from 1986 that has a broken tripod (my father has incredible hand strength and always feels the need to tighten everything as far as it could go, and those plastic knobs on the tripod gave way before him, at least 2 of the 3). I asked Celestron about upgrading it as I've always hated trying to align to the north star, and my finderscope "polaris ring" is vastly out of date now. They said they couldn't do much for it, mainly I could remove the tube and plop it on a German Equitorial Mount with the GoTo stuff. But since I saw skyalign, I gotta have that
... And besides, the mounts cost a ton by themselves!I currently live in very light polluted northern Dallas/FW area, and have 5 nephews who I'd like to show the night sky stuff too, and while I can find stuff in my C8, I nearly broke my back last time looking for M27 (I'm tall, and the tripod is in permanent "short" mode, so I have to hunch over or kneel).
Anyways, I'd like to get a new scope, and since a 11" CPC only costs 800 bucks more than an 8", I'd probably go with the "more is better philosophy" and splurge that extra cash.
With Skyalign, I could ask the computer to do the finding istead of me, letting me show my family more than just the planets and M57/M13 every time.
Astrophotography is a nice dream of mine, but having looked at the cost of THOSE accessories, it will have to wait, at least anything more complicated than piggybacking.
So, the questions:
1) Are starbright coatings worth the extra 200 bucks?
2) Is one of those filters "Skylight Filter" you leave permanently on the back of the scope worth having to keep the interior clean? I've never cleaned my C8, because I am afraid to
.3) Is it worth getting a 2" Visial back/star diagonal/eyepieces right away? I love wide field views that my good ol' 27mm Plossl that came with my SC8+ gives me, I've never been fond of high magnification, as mostly the things merely became bigger blobs
.4) Solar filter for 11". I know celestron has 8" solar filters, but I don't see any for the 11". Anyone know of a good one?
5) Why do the NexStar older models cost soooo much more than the CPC ones?
6) Is Celestron even delivering the 9.25" and 11" CPC's yet? I've not seen any reviews or seen mention of anyone having one. Several of the online sites either say they are expecting delivery "soon", or "ships in 1 or 2 months"...
7) Dew filters/lens shades... are they worth it? Dew never seems to be a real problem here in Dallas... water is rare enough as it is, though it can get fairly humid during the day. I do have quite a few neighbors who feel the need to light the entire neighborhood with their klieg style lights that I can read books with in my backyard. Oh for a pellet gun...
Thanks in advance.
