I have been thinking about my next scopes. First choice would be the 18" Obsession just for visual astronomy. My second choice would be the Meade 14" LX200R for planetary and DS photography.
Apart from the Celestron 9.25, I'd choose meade over celestron. If for nothing more than better value for money. I'm yet to look through a meade SCT that didn't meet my expectations, though I've looked through a few celestrons that disappointed.
I think I read somewhere that the C9.25 has a different mirror shape and a smaller central obstruction hence better imaging performance. If I was buying again it would be a C9.25 on an Eq mount.
Read my mind. I awoke this morning thinking what my next (and ultimate) scope should be. I keep wavering (which is just as well cos I can't afford either) between the C14 and the Mewlon 250.
The Mewlon 250 would be my dream scope, but its hard to part with $10K just for an OTA that's only marginally bigger than the C9.25. That said the advantages for an ultimate planetary scope are there. 1/20th wave optics. Built in electric secondary focussing so no mirro shift issues etc. Open tube so cool-down much easier than with an SCT. 10 inches also seems about the ideal size for resolution and portability, usability and performance with respect to seeing etc. Feel free to send me free money so I can indulge myself .
But if it ain't the Mewlon 250 it will be the C14. It's cheaper, it's proven (best images I've seen) and has 14 inches of resolution on fine detail which is a big jump up from 9.25. The downside is the closed tube cool-down (perhaps a Lymax thingy) and biggness might put me off dragging it outside. I suspect it will be mre restrictive wrt the seeing conditions when it's worth using.
First the mount, although the CGE is very modern, sleek looking and can carry alot of weight, surely the Losmandy G-11 with Gemini outperforms it in every way and is slightly cheaper.
Next the OTA - are you planning on long exposure astrophotography? Then a Carbon Fibre tube might be better so that changes in thermal temperature don't change your focus and end up ruining your shots.
Third on astrophotography (budget what maybe $4K for a SBIG camera + autoguiding on top of what you have) - well apparently the focal lengths of the C9.25's primary and secondary lens and mirrors are ideal for astrophotography versus a bigger scope for you light reach alone. If your goal is do astrophotography maybe pair two scope (three if autoguiding) a large SCT for illumination data and a smaller, very high quality APO for RGB (better contrast) and then stack their data?
The C14 OTA enjoys legendary status in both generic astrophotography, and science and of course it makes an awesome visual instrument. There has been a lot of comparison over the years, but for pure optics, even a second hand C14 OTA can be an incredible instrument.
Check out this C14 photo of Jupiter I discovered this morning:
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