Celestron Evolution 8

[bigbod]

Just took delivery of my shiny new toy... a Celestron NexStar Evolution 8. I'm hoping it will be the ultimate "grab and go" scope.

All I need now is clear skies for the long weekend!

Cheers
Rod

[Camelopardalis]

Congrats Rod :thumbsup: look forward to hearing your experiences with it, I have a Nexstar SE and on paper it looks like a great upgrade path.

Weekend weather here in Sydney is looking miserable for the coming days :sadeyes:

[casstony]

The photo's are missing from your post Rod :)

Is it the same spindly tripod that's sold with the Nexstar 8SE or is the tripod stronger?

[julianh72]

The tripod on the Celestron NexStar Evolution page http://www.celestron.com/browse-shop/astronomy/telescopes/nexstar-evolution-8 looks to use the same legs as the Nexstar 8SE http://www.celestron.com/browse-shop/astronomy/telescopes/nexstar-8se-computerized-telescope, which uses the same leg components as far as I can tell as the 130 SLT http://www.celestron.com/browse-shop/astronomy/telescopes/nexstar-130slt-computerized-telescope. The SLT tripod is made well enough, but the bottom leg sections in particular are pretty flexible when the mount is raised to a comfortable height.

Some users report that the SLT scope is much more stable if you don't extend the tripod legs (but that kinda defeats the whole point!).

I replaced my Celestron SLT tripod with an aluminium EQ2 tripod, which is MUCH more stable than the Celestron steel tripod. The bolts and pivots at the top of the EQ2 legs fitted into the Celestron SLT mount OK, requiring just that the holes in the lugs on the bottom of the mount had to be reamed out just a smidgen. (That's a technical term!)

I can't guarantee that replacing the legs on the 8SE or Evolution mounts will be as simple, but if my experience is anything to go by, it's definitely worth looking at!

[traveller]

The old Nexstar 8 tripod is very light weight, luckily Celestron SCTs are lighter than Meade for the same size. Still, the 8SE was very "undermounted". I sold my mount in favour of an EQ mount.
I wish I kept it now, as it would make a good mount for widefield DSLR work.
Bo

[Camelopardalis]

The 6/8SE tripod is not the same as that used by the SLT, the SE has thicker legs and the interface with the mount itself is different. The SE tripod has a thick metal plate at the top with three thumbscrews which lock the mount into place (with rubber pads on the bottom of the mount). The SLT uses a ring and large central nut. The SE mount is perfect for the 6" SCT but I agree that it's undercounted for the 8", although it can be somewhat mitigated by the anti vibration pads and/or a motorised focuser and/or a very light touch :D

It'll be interesting to hear if the Evo is a big improvement for the 8"...I suspect it would be, if they're brave enough to sell it with a 9.25", which is a lot bigger and heavier than the 8" and no doubt the 9 is undermounted :lol:

[bigbod]

Yep, no better in Newcastle :(

[bigbod]

I haven't set it up yet. Maybe tonight :)

Not sure, looks similar but not identical. I've only had CPC mounts in the past, so I can't compare to an SE except via photos.

From memory, the Evo 9.25 comes with the CPC tripod.

[Camelopardalis]

Scrub my earlier comment - if SkippySky is to be believed, tomorrow night looks promising :D

[bigbod]

So I've had a chance to put it together now and overall I'm pretty impressed. Build quality is solid... pretty much what you'd expect from Celestron for this level of scope. I wont dwell on features, as the instruction manual is available from download from Celestron's website for anyone interested.

The tripod is solid, whilst not being as rock solid as what I'm used to (Deluxe CPC 800, 1100). I think it will be sufficient for this scope's main purpose - visuals. Note that the OTA appears to be Fastar compatible, something which I had not noticed on Celestron's website for the 8.

Setup was straight-forward, and connection to an iPad Air using Direct Connect mode WiFi using SkyPortal went without any hitches (I haven't tried Access Point mode). The Evo does come with a NexStar+ hand controller.

The drive motors are a little noisy, but it's all relative. Perhaps noisier than the CPC fork drives, but way less noisy than my Meade DSM mount for my Coronado PST.

All in all, I'm very pleased. I cant wait to get it outside, but alas that wont be tonight as it's bucketing down in Newcastle.

I've had a few PMs asking how much it cost. Without being supplier specific, it cost US$1599 + US$305 shipping (UPS) + A$270 (Customs). So around A$2320. Ordered on Monday, arrived today.

Few photos attached.

[Camelopardalis]

Looking good Rod! That's a nice shade of metallic silver :thumbsup:

That looks like a new tripod from Celestron - the spreader plate and bubble level on the tripod are not features I've seen before.

There's supposed to be worm drives so it'll be interesting to hear how smoothly it moves and how much backlash there is.

[julianh72]

I put my EQ mount on the SLT tripod at the same time as I put the SLT mount on the EQ tripod legs. As you say, it makes a perfectly good tracking mount for DSLR imaging.

[julianh72]

How is the "usability" at the height you have got it set up in the photos?

I notice that the lower leg sections are almost fully retracted, but the height of the mount itself looks like the Scope is probably at more or less the right height for convenient use. As I noted in my previous post, it is the slenderness of the lower leg sections of the SLT mount in particular that make it wobbly when they are extended, and it is pretty stable when the lower legs are retracted, but the overall proportions of the SLT mean that you really need the legs to be extended for comfortable use.

[traveller]

Looks great Rod,
Did you order the fastar compatible model or do they come as standard?
Bo

[bigbod]

I believe it comes standard across the whole Evo range.

[bigbod]

It's a little low in the photos. It will need to raised be by 15+ cm at least for me for convenient viewing. There's no discernible wobble at the height in the photos, but as you point out that may change with the legs further extended.

I'll let you know when it stops raining in Newcastle and i can do a field test :)

[bigbod]

Well I can't believe it's been over a month, but I've only had time to give the Evo 8 a few limited field tests. Here are a few notes I thought potential buyers may be interested in :-

1. Red Dot Starfinder - What were Celestron thinking? I hate it. I normally wear glasses, but remove them whilst using a telescope. I have given up trying to even align the Starfinder... parallax IHMO makes it completely useless... and with my glasses on the red dot is large and blurry.. with them off any potential alignment object is the same. Have I missed something? In any case, being used to a 9x50 Finderscope I think I'll be replacing the Starfinder very soon.

2. 3 Star Alignment - Without an aligned Starfinder, I have to align the Evo 8 through the main eyepiece. A bit frustrating at times. I find using the iPad to do this little fun... the slew controls are on opposite sides on the screen, meaning you have to hold the iPad with both hands. In some ways, this seems a step backwards as it's easier to slew with a hand controller (one hand) than it is with the iPad (two hands) whilst aligning a star in the eyepiece.

3. Occasionally during slew, the slew command "sticks" when using the iPad/Evo wirelessly. When this happens pressing the same direction button again generally fixes it. Minor issue, and I'm sure this will be fixed with an update somewhere down the track.

These gripes aside, it appears to be a great visual scope. Optics are superb, and factory collimation was excellent. Looking forward to more clear skies during winter!

Cheers
Rod

[Amaranthus]

Not sure about the RDS, Rod. I have one on my 8SE and it works a dream, even in my currently light polluted skies.

3-star alignment - don't bother. Just do auto 2-star, it is just as accurate, and much faster.

Biggest gripe I have with my 8SE mount is the backlash - how is it on the new mount?

[bigbod]

Like I said, could be that I'm just used to a Finderscope. I've just received a Celestron 9x50 RACI Illuminated Finderscope, so I'm going to compare that as soon as a get a free night.

I don't think SkyPortal actually offers two-star align. I think it only offers 3 star or manual. I'll check on that though.

I haven't taken any notice of the backlash yet - I'll let you know!

[Amaranthus]

If Skyportal is a cut-down version of SkySafari, then it should let you align your mount using the HC, prior to connecting the app. The forced 3-star alignment on the previous SkyQ app was horrible :P

[carlstronomy]

Rod I too hated the RDS on the SCT it seems to be personal usage on these, some people love them some hate them. IMHO it seems a shame that such an nice scope with a nice price tag has a $25 RDS when they could at least have a $90 8x50 finder.

Carl

[Camelopardalis]

I use a Rigel Quikfinder, much improved over the included RDF IMO

[Tecomakeith]

Hi bigbod,

Just bought an Evolution 8" from US and awaiting arrival next week.

Are you still happy with yours? I'm new to this forum and new to Astronomy:help:

[Ssjimmy3]

Just wondering what would be the best eye pieces suited to the scope:

1. for planets
2. for deep sky objects.