LX90 or CPC 800 XLT ?

[iborg (Philip)]

Hi Folks

I am going to buy one of these two (I think!).

Would anyone care to comment about why they would or would not buy one over the other?

Thank you for any responses.

[traveller (Bo)]

Hi Philip and welcome to IIS.
Before answering your question (Meade v Celestron), maybe tell us what your intentions are.
If you are purely into visual, then both are just as good as each other, just have to choose between blue or orange.
What's your budget? Remember you will need to get some eyepieces as well and costs can add up.
SCT's have long focal ratios, f10. So they will be good for planets and clusters, but won't show much detail with nebula and galaxies. Dobsonians are good choices on the "bang for your bucks" scale and will leave some room in the wallet for some decent eyepieces.
If you want to do astrophotography, then you will need to get an equatorial mount as the fork mount will be insufficent for tracking (but fine for visual). You can then get a simple refractor like an ED80 or a fast ratio newtonian like a 8" f5.
The other thing I highly recommend is go to a star party or astronomy camp, the one at Snake Valley organised by Malcolm (Barx) is a great place. You get a chance to see the pros and cons of various scope and pick the brains of experienced amateurs.
Bo

[tonybarry (Tony)]

Hi Philip,

I own and use a Meade LX90-10" (ACF), and one of the comrades in the astro club uses a Celestron CPC-800.

The Meade has very good tracking. It has good accurate Gotos. And there are a lot of Meade LX90-8" around. Possibly the most of any Goto scope (although I am not certain of that).

The Celestron can do three star aligns. The Meade does only two star aligns. As you would be aware, the extra star makes for a better model.
The Celestron will slew to and align on on the Sun (WARNING - for this you need full-aperture solar filters). The Meade LX90 has no option to track the Sun.

The Meade OTA + fork + tripod (22.5kg) weighs more than the Celestron OTA + fork + tripod (19kg).

As Bo said, it depends on what you want to do with the scope.

Hope this helps.

Regards,
TB

[casstony]

Both are good scopes but both devalue rapidly after purchasing new. I'd strongly recommend buying second hand, then if you decide you want a larger scope or different type of scope you can sell without losing 1/3 to 1/2 of the new purchase price.

[issdaol (Phil)]

Having in the past actually owned a LX90 and a CPC

I would go with the LX90 based on my direct comparisons as follows:

- Optically the 2 OTA's are very close. I personally don't thing there is enough difference to choose.

- I found the Fork mechanicals and electronics on the LX90 to be more reliable

- I found both alignment and tracking on the LX90 to be much quicker and accurate. Sure my CPC said it could do 3 star alignments but it means absolutely nothing if it does not do so accurately and reliably every time. In comparison the LX90 just did the job very single time. Target in the eyepiece after every alignment.

The new owner of my LX90 carts it around everywhere with him and his family in his SUV and it never fails on him.

If you really want a Celestron OTA I would stay away from the CPC and go with one of the EQ mounts

[iborg (Philip)]

Hi Folks

Thank you for your fast responses, much appreciated. Although I am not sure if I am any better off having read them

I am aware that there are other items that I will need and these will add up. I do have two Kellner eyepieces and an acceptable 2x Barlow.

At this stage, I am still leaning towards to the LX90, I can get it for just a touch cheaper, from Bintel, who I think would be able to provide better service than OzScopes who have the Celestron.

I do know that an equatorial mount is required for any serious photography, but, for now a wedge will do IF I am foolish enough to go that way. I know my wallet won't like it.

Philip

[madwayne (Wayne)]

Hi Phillip

Have you considered a go-to dob? I have a 12" solid tube from Orion via Bintel in Sydney. The go to is spot on, I do a two star alignment using my 16mm Nagler and from there objects are always in the field of that eyepiece of less than a degree. The 12" solid tube is a big beast, 1500mm long (picture a hot water tank). But at 6'5" I've got the wing span for it.

I mention the go to dob as an alternate to an SCT. I've owned an 8" LX90 and it was a beautiful scope then the photography bug bit and I didn't want to go down the wedge path for long exposures and opted for an FSQ and an EQ6 but that's a whole different story.

If you're not physically capable of lifting the solid tube they are available in a collapsible strut version as well, which may be more suitable. Being a Newtonian you will need to learn collimation, the alignment of the mirrors. It sounds scary but it's not, I can do it anyone can.

I hope I've given you a useful alternative point of view.

Wayne

[issdaol (Phil)]

I would go with the Meade 4000 eyepiece set which I thought were quite nice eyepieces at that price point complete set is on special for $299 at the moment tin a case with filters as well :-)

Get the whole kit Telescope and Eyepiece set from Bintel as they provide excellent support.

[iborg (Philip)]

Hi Wayne

I am only a shorty, so while weight doesn't concern me too much, height and length can be issue. I did think about the Dob's, but, decided that they are probably not a great choice for me. And I only have a small car.

I have done a reasonable job of collimation on a Newtonian without a laser. When it was checked with a laser, it was found to be close. I think I surprised my friend who checked it.

Hi Phil

I have looked at the set, and it does seem to be good value. The biggest issue for me is eye relief. I am extremely short sighted!


Thanks for the additional comments.

Have fun

[Camelopardalis (Dunk)]

Originally Posted by iborg

The biggest issue for me is eye relief. I am extremely short sighted!

Isn't that what the focussing knob is for? I'm extremely short sighted compared to my scope

I don't know much about the EP set in question, but IMO a couple of half decent choices are usually better than a range of barely average ones, and they don't have to cost more.

[iborg (Philip)]

Hi All

For those that are interested, I went for the Meade LX90 8".

Why? For me it was very very close. In short I went with Bintel and therefore Meade.

I had a close look at the CPC and do think that the handle arrangement is better suited to putting the scope onto the tripod and I suspect that the nice cone in the middle helps to position the scope on the tripod.


Once I get it setup, I will be very interested in seeing if I can focus on anything without my glasses.

[The_bluester (Paul)]

You should be able to focus OK. Generally for astigmatism (Which I used to suffer then had laser surgery) you are likely to need your glasses on but for short or long sightedness you just adjust the scope focus to suit.

I have a CPC925 and it is pretty easy to put on the tripod, though the weight is getting up near the comfortable limit if the legs are extended a fair way. There is a centering pin in the middle of the base which does help get the scope on but I don't know how Meade does it to compare the two.

[iborg (Philip)]

Hi Paul

The Meade also has a centering pin and a small cone around it, so it should not be a problem. It is also fairly light in comparison to the CPC925.

[issdaol (Phil)]

Originally Posted by iborg

Hi All

For those that are interested, I went for the Meade LX90 8".

Why? For me it was very very close. In short I went with Bintel and therefore Meade.

I had a close look at the CPC and do think that the handle arrangement is better suited to putting the scope onto the tripod and I suspect that the nice cone in the middle helps to position the scope on the tripod.


Once I get it setup, I will be very interested in seeing if I can focus on anything without my glasses.

Great choice my old Meade LX 90 went all over Australia and performed flawlessly for years :-)

[iborg (Philip)]

Finally got to use my new toy !

Had a good look at Jupiter and Gamma Crux

With the standard 26mm Plossel and an Orion Stratus 17mm

Very nice, considering the poor seeing from the back yard.