RC8 vs C8?

[Jbunky86]

Hi everyone just wondering thoughts on the reletivley new gso rc8 compared to a c8? For a little visual but mostly imaging. I have been considering buying an rc8 for a while now and I have previously owned a c8. Does the large central obstruction block out alot of light compared to a sct?

I plan on imaging planets and small galaxies with it.

Btw does anyone know what the weight of it is?

Cheers

[gregbradley]

I have seen great images from both scopes. I think the RC8 unless they have improved quality control, will require some tweaking to make it imageworthy before you can use it. Older higher quality optic C8s seem to have the edge. But a bit fuzzy.

RC8 setup properly will outperform a C8 but C8 is less fiddly.

RC10 with an Atik 4022 chipped camera and a Starlight Express AO unit is a super hot combo for what you want.

Check out Leos images with that setup. As good as anything no matter the price just about. Its hitting way above its weight.

Greg.

[Jbunky86]

Thanks Greg,
Yeah Leo images are superb. I really love the look of the gso rc scopes.
Really making me consider buying one soon .

Thanks again
Jason

[Poita]

SCTs still seemto have the edge for planetary imaging over the RCs, and are less hassle to setup.

For DSO's though the RCs seem to be better, if you can set them up properly.
A 2nd hand older model C8 is so cheap that they are a tempting setup ($400 or less for the OTA)

[casstony]

The 3 recently made Celestrons I've owned in the last couple of years have had very good optics (C6, C8, C9.25 Edge) and tests over at Astro-foren have shown recent C11's with excellent optics (~0.96 strehl, ignoring the obstruction).

The only common QC issue in the last few years is that they seem to have changed over to a less suitable grease for the primary mirror baffle and/or focuser; my C6 had become sufficiently cloudy inside the corrector that I removed and cleaned it recently, though focusing is still smooth. My 5 or 6 year old C11 is still clean inside but has bumpy focus travel - it could do with a regrease. Meade still seems to be using a good quality grease.