Celestron GT4

[Jimmy]

Just one more quick question guys.... What is the Celestron Nexstar GT4 like?

It is a 102mm Mak-Cas, as compared to either the 70mm refractor and the 90mm Mak-Cas Meades.

Is Meade a better make then Celestron?

Thanks for this

[[1ponders]]

Only the GT4 would know :P

[Jimmy]

Just edited the post!

[MintSauce]

What is the Celestron Nexstar GT4 like? - probably more expensive than a 8" GSO dob :P

[Jimmy]

Is Meade better than celestron (quality wise?)

[Mick]

Jimmy it's like Holden and Ford.

[[1ponders]]

And we all know about Fords :D

Its a very legitimate question Jimmy. Unfortunately its one of those questiions that can lead to a race war. There are very strong supporters in both camps. One friend of mine has the ETX 90 and another has a Nextar GT4. The out come is they agree to disagree on which is better.

I don't think you can go wrong whichever way you go. However IMHO my feelings are (and its only a feeling, no real evidence) go with the Meade simply because I can't see how a single fork arm (GT4) can be as strong as dual fork arms (ETX). And being a LX200 owner has nothing to do with it :D

[Striker]

Jimmy...I just went through all this in the last 3 weeks...celstron or meade....what I found was their very similar....both have their advantages over each other.....but what I did find was the Celestron was more expensive then Meade to comparable products.....in my case I was comparing the LX200 GPS 10" to the Celeston 9 1/4 GPS with celestron coming in over $1000 more expensive with less features...the meade come with extra's such as LPI and many other addons that the Celestron didn't......but saying that I would have been happy with Either....

[mch62]

Are these Mak Cass all from the same origin , China just in different disguises and electronics?
The optical tubes all look the same as Syntas Orions ect ect with flip mirror thingy.
I have had a looky through a 130mm version of these , and they do a pretty good job on the planets .
Have you had a look at the non Go-To units from Synta Orion ect , they would be cheaper with out the Go-TO.
As far as the single arm mount in a small scope I can't see it being a problem as long as the bearing design used is up to the job.
As far as to which brand is better , I personally have had several scopes and accessories in both brands and I have found Meade's QC something less desirable and had a nasty experience with a SC scope , but in saying that it was quite a while back and the QC hopefully has got better.
I am sure some one will have a similar story against Celestron , but then this is what to expect with mass produced scopes. Pay your money a take a chance of getting a good one.
Just a word of advise , if you decide on a Go-To scope of any sort and as you are new to telescopes make sure you get some one experience to help you set it up and to make sure all the functions are working properly while it is under warranty.

Mark

[mch62]

Jimmy what is your budget ?
The scopes you have been looking at so far vary a lot in pricing.
Do you have an Astronomy club or society that you could go along to and have a look at some of the scopes to confirm your expectations of what your going to be able to see in your price range.

From my previous post .
Andrews has the following , which is a non Go-To for $750.
Optex "Skywatcher" MAKSUTOV-CASSEGRAINS
MAK102EQ2 102mm x 1300mm with Bonus Motor Drive
Optically the same.


Mark $749.00

[ballaratdragons]

I read a comparison review in 'Astronomy' between Celestron and Meade 'GOTO's' and they where neck and neck but they said the Meade motor was noisy.

[ballaratdragons]

That should bring a few comments from all the Meade owners in here!

[mch62]

Yep , most probably will , but it was about 10 years back for the 12" scope and 2 years for the eyepiece. So how the QC is now I can't say , but personnaly I am not willing to try them again .
Both had several trips back and forth to dealers and the States.
The SC was such a lemon that it was eventually returned and not long after that the dealer stopped selling Meade and swapped to Celestron . Me wonders why.
O Boy I can hear it now.
All I am saying is that Celestron is not perfect either and I don't favour them as I dought I would ever buy a Go-To from either company as that is not my style of scope any more .
I prefur to build my own equipment now and if it plays up or is poor quality I have only myself to get frustrated with .

The optics of the SC were good except for the scratch on the mirror and a thumb print on that scratch where some one obviously saw the defect and had a poke at it and decided to use it any way.
The real gripe was with the electronics. When they no go the scope isn't good for anything. I think I spent more time looking at it than through it , but hay it was just that lemon that pops up every now and than , right? right?
Mark

[ballaratdragons]

Jimmy,

If you are able to lash out the dollars 'Andrews' has Celestron GOTO's for $1000 cheaper than everyone else.

It might be a big step but I don't know your budget.

[[1ponders]]

That's funny Ken I heard the same about the Celestrons :D:P