Celestron versus Meade - who offers the best post-marketing service in Australia?

vesko · #1 03-09-2013, 06:28 PM

I'm still trying to make up my mind whether to buy the Celestron 6 SE or the Meade LS 6 ACF. From what I've read so far, they both appear to be very similar regarding image quality and ease of use. So I'm guessing, the only thing that would set them apart is who offers better post-marketing support in Australia.

BlackWidow (Mardy) · #2 03-09-2013, 07:13 PM

Mead backup and support in Australia is very poor to say the least. I have had fantastic backup from Celestron in the past.

And I own a mead telescope that I am happy with. I am unsure if I would ever purchase a Meade in the future due to the poor parts and service support.

My opinion from my dealings

Mardy

UniPol · #3 03-09-2013, 08:55 PM

Oh dear, not the Meade versus Celestron debate again, one could spend eons discussing the pros and cons of each manufacturer whether it be through forums or sifting through the enormous amount of information available to us by various forms or other. Nothing beats buying and trying, looking and seeing. Same old story, little percent looking, little percent hearing buts lots of percent by doing. Nothing like informed choice, be it good or bad, one learns by experience most of the time.

I'm sure a number of members of this forum would have a lot to say regarding support of both products but as for myself I have had no real issues with either manufacturer over the past 20 years or so.

"Meade" not "Mead' by the way Mardy.

Cheers, Steve

BlackWidow (Mardy) · #4 03-09-2013, 09:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by UniPol

Oh dear, not the Meade versus Celestron debate again, one could spend eons discussing the pros and cons of each manufacturer whether it be through forums or sifting through the enormous amount of information available to us by various forms or other. Nothing beats buying and trying, looking and seeing. Same old story, little percent looking, little percent hearing buts lots of percent by doing. Nothing like informed choice, be it good or bad, one learns by experience most of the time.

I'm sure a number of members of this forum would have a lot to say regarding support of both products but as for myself I have had no real issues with either manufacturer over the past 20 years or so.

"Meade" not "Mead' by the way Mardy.

Cheers, Steve

Short hand Stev

Ipad keeps trying to auto correct. I think the question asked is fair as Meade will not supply parts in Australia. It took me a year to get a De-rotator repaired. As to who makes the best scopes... Well this question agreed is just a bag of worms.. I have been happy with both brands in terms of performance.

UniPol · #5 03-09-2013, 09:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlackWidow

Short hand Stev

Ipad keeps trying to auto correct. I think the question asked is fair as Meade will not supply parts in Australia. It took me a year to get a De-rotator repaired. As to who makes the best scopes... Well this question agreed is just a bag of worms.. I have been happy with both brands in terms of performance.

Fair enough, I'm sure dealers in Australia are proactive in helping their customers with regard to warranty claims or repairs, however some are more proactive than others. Some are authorised dealers and others are not, so it is up to them to provide a service albeit good or bad, one can only judge by the said service.

vesko · #6 04-09-2013, 07:24 AM

Honestly, I didn't wont to start up a fight between C and M followers. I'm still to buy my 1st telescope and just wanna make an informed decision which way to go. From what I can find online, Bintel seems to have trained personnel to provide technical support for Meade but I couldn't find anything specific for Celestron.

scagman (John) · #7 04-09-2013, 09:30 AM

Hi Vesko,

I would hold off buying any Meade products for a month or 6. They are almost bankrupt. There are offers in to buy Meade at the moment but if the sale fails, so will Meade.

Regards your question. I had to return a DSI camera to Meade as it stopped working shortly after getting it. As it was dead they refunded my money as the cam was no longer made. Took about 2 weeks all up. I haven't had any dealings with Celestron.

Cheers

vesko · #8 04-09-2013, 12:57 PM

Thanks John. That's a useful piece of information to know.

Jon (Jonathan) · #9 04-09-2013, 01:05 PM

I bought an SCT late last year, and did the whole "Meade v Celestron" thing in my head. I went with Meade, and am happy with my scope, but as John said I wouldn't do anything with Meade right now until we know their future.

If I had the choice over again, I wouldn't go with either. IMHO I'd have got more starlight per $ and more peace of mind going with a a GSO RCA supported directly by the guys at Bintel or Andrews. That's just me, and that's assuming you are after a SCT or similar (although I don't know why you'd be even thinking Meade v Celestron for a reflector or refractor).

UniPol · #10 05-09-2013, 05:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vesko

Honestly, I didn't wont to start up a fight between C and M followers. I'm still to buy my 1st telescope and just wanna make an informed decision which way to go. From what I can find online, Bintel seems to have trained personnel to provide technical support for Meade but I couldn't find anything specific for Celestron.

I didn't want to mention names but I think your research has led you to the right conclusion.

jmcgowan (Jeremy) · #11 06-09-2013, 12:00 AM

Hi Vesko = Quick questions for you. (Put aside the Celestron /Meade issues)

Are you asking about just the OTA, or an integrated mount /scope? Both companies offer a massive range nowadays.

I have a Celestron 6 SCT that I am very happy with for my purposes (read:beginner). But the computerized mount it came with is sitting in my closet. Practically unused.

My Celestron 6 currently rides a Skywatcher HEQ5 mount with GSO guide scope and Synguider, and soon to come Atik ccd. (Thanks Santa)

The original mount (alt az) on the c6 just couldn't cut the long exposure time for astrophotos I was after, even after I triple checked with the aus supplier. They swore black and blue an alt az mount could be used out of the box for long exp. a/photos. Bull! (Note this is before I found this terrible money wasting forum and hobby!)

I guess my point is, get a tube you want (based on the optical side of things you seek ( observing vs. astrophoto etc) but make sure you end up with a mount that does what you want to, in the long run also (figuring in weight from cameras, guide scopes ....)

No good spending 2000-5000 on a scope and mount, only to put half of it away and then have to buy something else.

Can't help with backup from suppliers. Have had no need so far.

Pm if you want a pic of my scope setup re a 6se on a heq5.

Hope this helps

Cheers jez

Pps last minute advice. Save for two years or so and buy a c11.

vesko · #12 06-09-2013, 02:31 PM

Thanks for the advice Jez.
Frankly speaking, I'm quite undecided at the moment. The more I look, the more confused I get. The Meade probability of bankruptcy is 80% in the next 2 years, so Meade is out of the question at this stage. On the other hand, Celestron are not really good value for money, as they are ridiculously overpriced in Australia. I'd love to jump straight to an EQ mont set up to keep my options for AP open but the mounts I can afford at this stage are unusable without modifications at my latitude (Cairns). So at this stage, I'll get either the Celestron 6SE (dMAVO sell it for $1490.50 including postage) or get the Sky-Watcher BD ED100 APO on a suitable EQ mount (just over $1000 more expensive) whenever I can afford it.

Camelopardalis (Dunk) · #13 06-09-2013, 05:46 PM

It really depends on what your intentions and expectations are for your purchase. There really is no perfect scope that will do everything well, so it's good to set out some priorities to help figure out the best compromise. Many of us end up with more than one scope

A 100mm apo and a 6SE will give you a different observing experience. The apo will probably have the upper hand when it comes to contrast and sharpness off-axis, but the 6" SCT will have around 2x the light grasp of the apo so will show you more of the faint stuff. The apo will be able to show a much wider field of view than the little SCT.

You'd be able to get away with some planetary photography on the SE mount, but for the faint fuzzies an SCT isn't necessarily the best choice unless you're keen to invest in hyperstar. Either way deep sky photography is not an inexpensive pursuit!

Your location also raises another interesting weather-related point...dew. A refractor might be a better choice in that respect, but no scope stays dew free if the humidity is sufficiently high. I've found the 6SE to be pretty resilient, bigger SCTs not so much