What makes Celestron better than Meade?

Hypnotist (Bartholomew) · #1 19-09-2010, 07:28 PM

Hi,

I've looked up which of the two telescope makers is better and have generally found that Celestron is the people's choice (that's also why I'm getting a CGE 1400 Pro EdgeHD). But I never found out exactly why Celestron is better. Maybe you guys have an answer for me.

Thanks!

Bart

DavidTrap (David) · #2 19-09-2010, 07:41 PM

Open can of worms now!

DT

Alchemy (Clive) · #3 19-09-2010, 07:44 PM

Both make some good scopes, and some at the budget end. There are imagers producing good results with both.... So that I wouldn't say one was better than the other.

Lester · #4 19-09-2010, 08:06 PM

It's a bit like trying to convince a Holden fanatic that Ford is the best, or vice versa. When I was looking for a 14" SCT it was the fact that the Meade LX200 was about half the price of the Celestron equivalent.

Kevnool (Kev) · #5 19-09-2010, 08:17 PM

Meade =

said in one word.

Cheers Kev

multiweb (Marc) · #6 19-09-2010, 08:34 PM

I don't think there's one better than the other but it is my understanding that Meade and Celestron do things a little differently when putting together their SCTs. Meade seems to have slightly better tolerances in manufacturing their optics which allows them to mix and match mirrors and correctors until they find the best match. On the other end Celestron will refigure their optics during matching if need be on a scope per scope basis. In the end you still get a top product. Different approach. This is one of the reason you might have heard people breaking a corrector on a Meade scope getting another one as opposed to a Celestron SCT which has Primary/Secondary and Corrector tied up together because of figuring. Damage any of the three and it's a show stopper. Especially the corrector.

BlackWidow (Mardy) · #7 19-09-2010, 08:42 PM

I agree with all that has been said with one addition. I think that the company that makes the best product is the one that supports you at after sales. It shows they have pride in the product they sell and place a value on the customer that chose them.. I have own both
Celestron and Meade products and have had problems with them both.. However the effort required to get assistance with Meade products is like winning the x lotto. Celestron has a really great support network and one that is based here in Australia. Meade however is Very Very poor indeed. No local distributor here in Australia only dealers. Some should not be in the Telescope game at all. Phone two interstate last week for the purchase of an item, and never got a call back.. I have been trying for 5 months to get an RA number for a warranty repair from Meade USA that came 4 days ago.. When I had a problem with my Skyscout from Celestron, I was able to contact the Distributor in NSW who was most helpfull. Took less than a week to sort out...

I own a 10 LX200 and am happy with it. I would not Not purchase a Meade untill they improve their International support.. Both great product Brands, but one is purly better Value for money and value your money..

Time to take a breath. Venting

Cheers
Mardy

supernova1965 (Warren) · #8 19-09-2010, 08:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lester

It's a bit like trying to convince a Holden fanatic that Ford is the best, or vice versa. When I was looking for a 14" SCT it was the fact that the Meade LX200 was about half the price of the Celestron equivalent.

Very off topic but I actually had a hand in converting a FORD Maniac to a HOLDEN Maniac my finest acheivement to date

BlackWidow (Mardy) · #9 19-09-2010, 08:52 PM

Acheivement???

Once I purchased this holden and I had troubles..... Naaaa Only kidding! Well Done!

Hope he buys a Celestron if he gets into astronomy.. If anything goes wrong that is... Thats it! Meade must have never thought they needed to provided support co's thier telescopes would never fail

Cheers
Mardy

OICURMT · #10 19-09-2010, 08:57 PM

No point in debating.

Personal choice. Research and decide for yourself. Suggest you get time on both at a star party, it'll help in your decision.

OIC!

Hypnotist (Bartholomew) · #11 19-09-2010, 09:21 PM

Hey guys,

This is what convinced me that Celestron is better than Meade!
http://www.universetoday.com/34925/a...estron-edgehd/
What do you think about it?

Clear skies
Bart

multiweb (Marc) · #12 19-09-2010, 09:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hypnotist

Hey guys,

This is what convinced me that Celestron is better than Meade!
http://www.universetoday.com/34925/a...estron-edgehd/
What do you think about it?

Clear skies
Bart

Bit of unfair/unjustified Meade bashing in the review. Regardless of what you get SCTs need to be collimated extremely well to perform.

AstralTraveller (David) · #13 19-09-2010, 09:43 PM

In some product lines both company's offerings are rebadged Syntas.

Hypnotist (Bartholomew) · #14 19-09-2010, 09:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by multiweb

Bit of unfair/unjustified Meade bashing in the review. Regardless of what you get SCTs need to be collimated extremely well to perform.

Marc,

I sort of disagree with you on that point. The quality of my Meade ETX-70 is miserable. Just recently the mirror became unglued

. Bad quality control; should never had happened. Also, a friend of mine had a MySky from Meade that only lasted four uses before never working again (the batteries were replaced). However, I can't speak for Celestron, the CGE 1400 EdgeHD will be my first scope from that brand.

Thanks for your input,

Bart

Ric · #15 20-09-2010, 12:14 PM

I have a scope from both Celestron and Meade and reckon they are both great scopes.

casstony · #16 20-09-2010, 12:45 PM

Celestron has one clear advantage over Meade at the moment - cooling vents in the SCT ota. Users have been asking for those for decades, but scientists only recently developed the technology necessary to add holes to the tube

.

mozzie (Peter) · #17 20-09-2010, 04:00 PM

im in the process of ordering a lx20014" acf ive had a lx90 12"for 4 years and the service from the dealer i bought it from has been second to none nothings ever a problem

i rang again to verify some little issues this morning and once again they explained the differences and why!!!
you cant complain with that....they are both good companies for there price of there scopes as they say you pay for what you get..and thank goodness celestrons prices are coming down.competition is always good

asimov (John) · #18 20-09-2010, 04:14 PM

I've seen bad optics in both Meade & Celestron, & also good optics in both so as far as I'm concerned, it comes down to how many drinks the dudes at the factories assembling them have had the night before..

Both have QC 'issues' right now.

Matt Wastell (Matt) · #19 20-09-2010, 07:35 PM

I have never used a Celestron scope so my views are based on the Meade LX90 I have had for 7 years - it has been fantastic and the only issue I had (my fault) was the power cable broke.
Buy what you are happy with and never look back!

marki · #20 20-09-2010, 07:56 PM

They are not better than each other, both have good and bad points. Meade tend to over engineer their tubes which is why they are much heavier. I have read reports bagging both celestron and meade for different reasons and it really is a pointless pursuit. As for aftersales service whenever I have had a fault with my meade scopes Bintel have always responded immeadiately to my queries and I have had no problem getting things fixed. All three of the meade scopes I own (etx 125pe, Lx200R and series 5000 ED 80 apo) have excellent optics and I have no concerns at all. It may seem that celstron scopes are more popular but if you look at the sales figures you will find meade out sold celestron by about 10:1 in the last ten years. Both manufacturers make average scopes for a reasonable price, neither are in the big league as they both built to a budget.

Mark