Advanced VX 8" Schmidt-Cassegrain Telescope

Have had this for about 6 weeks. Still exploring the capabilities of this scope but I love it. Got it as an upgrade of my Nexstar 4SE. Very well built with a very sturdy EQ mount. Great optics, much more clarity compared to my other scope. Can easily see the bands on Jupiter and 4 of the Galilean moons (see photo- which is an overexposed eyepiece view). Great close up views of moons craters. Also pretty satisfied with the images I've gotten of the Great Red Spot using the Neximage camera. Seems to be of very good quality with great tracking and no wobble from the mount. The expected downsides are that this is much heavier- With some struggling I am able to lift and carry the mount and OTA in one trip to move it from basement out to backyard for viewing but certainly much less mobile compared to the Nexstar; also because of the EQ mount which I needed to begin my venture into DSO imaging, setup takes a lot longer. I did get a polar finderscope to help me since polar aligning is still new to me and I've found this to be very helpful. It takes me about 15 mins to set up, from making sure it's pointed north, leveling then ensuring the angle is right for the latitude, and then finding the alignment stars. Compared to the 3-4 minutes with the Nexstar. So, though I originally bought this to replace the smaller setup I've decided to keep it for nights when I'm lazy and wanting to do a quick viewing session, or if mobility was needed. You will need your own power supply either an AC cord (comes only with the 12V- something I think Celestron should rectify. The adaptor isn't that expensive, and is vital enough I think it should be included) or battery. I did not get the powertank but instead got a small Li-ion battery bank (Talentcell 6000 mAh) which works great with this at a fraction of the size and price of the celestron powertank. No regrets buying this yet and I look forward to many years of exploring with this.

The 8" CST is a great telescope! I've only used it for planetary viewing to date, but I've been impressed. I like the CST as it is more compact and it is easier to use the eyepiece, even at more extreme position angles of the scope on the mount. The mount is the real story here. It is very sturdy, and you can hit it with your leg with it barely affecting your view. Set up and use takes a bit getting used to, but it is not difficult. I would buy this scope again in a heartbeat! BTW, I purchased this via Adorama, and they were top notch!

This is a really solid piece of equipment. The optics are excellent. The SCT tube is a really nice size and very portable for the amount of aperture you get. The focal length of the scope is more suited towards planetary viewing, but for deep sky objects a focal length reducer can be used to bring the scope up to a faster f/6.3 with a wider field of view. This was a 'must have' accessory for me. Other than a focal length reducer, another 'must have' accessory would be a dew shield. If you don't have this, expect to end your nights with a fogged up corrector lense. The tripod and mount are super solid. Great steady views. I haven't tried using it for astrophotography yet, but I think it would be a decent choice for a beginner. The computer is easy to use. You'll need a power tank / battery to use with the cigarette lighter adapter it comes with, or you'll need to purchase an ac adapter. The all star polar alignment is an amazing feature and greatly helps with making an accurate polar alignment (at least for visual use). It probably takes me about 15 minutes to setup. There's no single part heavier than 20lbs, and everything fits in a compact car nicely. The mount has a bit a friction in its movement, so it's impossible to balance perfectly. This is my only major complaint. Also, it's helpful (and this looks to be a common issue) to put a bit of locktite on the threads that supports the power plug on the mount. This comes loose over time, and you don't want to get the wires twisted up / broken inside. Overall, this is a very good scope and I don't think you'll be disappointed with it. Edit 9/1/2016: After using the scope a little more than a year, I found one of the screws holding the SCT corrector plate retaining ring missing. The threads were stripped. It looked like at least one other screw was stripped as well. I'm assuming they were over-torqued during installation. I contacted Celestron and they said they'd need to RMA it, and it would take 10-20 business days to repair. I timed it to miss some events our astronomy club had. It's been 26 *business days* and it is still in for repair, and their support people refuse to give me any sort of timeline for when the repairs will be completed. This weekend is the third event I will not have my scope for.