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Hi Mark, thanks for that!
Yeah, I completely agree with you, if we are not talking about taking a PC/Netbook into the field, then the question of software and capability of the HC may well be a deciding issue. In terms of set up and auto-aligning, the Meade AutoStar really shines out - they make it so easy, and for what its worth, I really like the PAS and its very handy illumination control in the LXD75. With the HEQ HC, I believe it's pretty manual all the way, you've got to know your alignment stars.
From this perspective, I assume that NextStar has it all over the Synta/Skywatcher handcontroller. I also assume that the 'Tonights Best" tour in Autostar, NextStar and SkyScan are roughly similar. The "Constellation" tour of NextStar however, seems like a great idea, although I am curious as to how "extensive" it actually behaves, does it 'tour' 20 or 30 deep sky objects in say Sagittarius/Scorpio or just 6 or so bright ones...?
My wish-list entry-level mount would be the HEQ5 Pro but with the choice of Autostar II or Nextstar on top of it...! I wish Meade had used the money spent on developing the Meade Max & LightSwitch instead into simply giving us a real no-plastic upgrade to the LXD75, but I guess that ain't going to happen the way Meade is going. Maybe Celestron will give the CG5 a CGEM type upgrade soon... ? Fox
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