Personal Ranking on Various Scopes I owned

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weixing
Super Moderator
Posts: 4708
Joined: Wed Oct 01, 2003 12:22 am
Favourite scope: Vixen R200SS & Celestron 6" F5 Achro Refractor
Location: (Tampines) Earth of Solar System in Orion Arm of Milky Way Galaxy in Local Group Galaxies Cluster

Personal Ranking on Various Scopes I owned

Post by weixing »

Hi,
I had owned a few scope in the past few years because "hand itch" and searching for the best low cost scope that can fulfill my visual and astrophotography need.

Below are the ranking I give on the different scope I had owned. Please note that the below ranking are base on my opinion (and memory :mrgreen: ) on the copy of scope that I owned... Other copy of scope may perform better or worst even it is the same model. Hope the information below can help or confuse others who are interested to get a scope.... ha ha ha :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

Scopes
1) Sky-Watcher 6" F5 Newtonian
2) Sky-Watcher 127 F12 MCT
3) Celestron C5 F10 SCT
4) Sky-Watcher 120 F8.3 Achromatic Refractor
5) Vixen A80SSWT 80mm F5 Achromatic Refractor
6) Celestron 80mm F5 Achromatic Refractor


Planetary & Lunar Observation Ranking (1 is best)
1) Sky-Watcher 6" F5 Newtonian
2) Sky-Watcher 127 F12 MCT
3) Sky-Watcher 120 F8.3 Achromatic Refractor with Minus Violet Filter
4) Celestron C5 F10 SCT
5) Sky-Watcher 120 F8.3 Achromatic Refractor without Minus Violet Filter
6) Vixen 80mm F5 Achromatic Refractor
7) Celestron 80mm F5 Achromatic Refractor

DSO Observation Ranking (1 is best)
1) Sky-Watcher 6" F5 Newtonian
2) Sky-Watcher 120 F8.3 Achromatic Refractor
3) Celestron C5 F10 SCT with F6.3 Focal Reducer or 2" eyepieces
4) Celestron C5 F10 SCT / Sky-Watcher 127 F12 MCT
5) Vixen 80mm F5 Achromatic Refractor
6) Celestron 80mm F5 Achromatic Refractor

Wide Field Observation Ranking under Singapore Sky (1 is best)
1) Sky-Watcher 120 F8.3 Achromatic Refractor with 2" eyepieces
2) Sky-Watcher 6" F5 Newtonian
3) Sky-Watcher 120 F8.3 Achromatic Refractor
4) Celestron C5 F10 SCT with F6.3 Focal Reducer or 2" eyepieces
5) Vixen 80mm F5 Achromatic Refractor
6) Celestron 80mm F5 Achromatic Refractor
7) Celestron C5 F10 SCT / Sky-Watcher 127 F12 MCT

Wide Field Observation Ranking under Mersing Sky (1 is best)
1) Vixen 80mm F5 Achromatic Refractor
2) Celestron 80mm F5 Achromatic Refractor
3) Sky-Watcher 120 F8.3 Achromatic Refractor with 2" eyepieces
4) Sky-Watcher 6" F5 Newtonian
5) Sky-Watcher 120 F8.3 Achromatic Refractor
6) Celestron C5 F10 SCT with F6.3 Focal Reducer or 2" eyepieces
7) Celestron C5 F10 SCT / Sky-Watcher 127 F12 MCT

Planetary Astrophotography Ranking (1 is best)
1) Sky-Watcher 6" F5 Newtonian
2) Sky-Watcher 127 F12 MCT
3) Celestron C5 F10 SCT
4) Sky-Watcher 120 F8.3 Achromatic Refractor
5) Vixen 80mm F5 Achromatic Refractor
6) Celestron 80mm F5 Achromatic Refractor

DSO Astrophotography Ranking (1 is best)
1) Sky-Watcher 6" F5 Newtonian
2) Sky-Watcher 120 F8.3 Achromatic Refractor
3) Celestron C5 F10 SCT with F6.3 Focal Reducer
4) Vixen 80mm F5 Achromatic Refractor
5) Celestron 80mm F5 Achromatic Refractor
6) Celestron C5 F10 SCT / Sky-Watcher 127 F12 MCT

Wide Field Astrophotography Ranking (1 is best)
1) Vixen 80mm F5 Achromatic Refractor
2) Celestron 80mm F5 Achromatic Refractor
3) Sky-Watcher 6" F5 Newtonian
4) Celestron C5 F10 SCT with F6.3 Focal Reducer
5) Sky-Watcher 120 F8.3 Achromatic Refractor
6) Celestron C5 F10 SCT / Sky-Watcher 127 F12 MCT

Portability Ranking (1 is most portable)
1) Vixen 80mm F5 Achromatic Refractor
2) Celestron 80mm F5 Achromatic Refractor
3) Celestron C5 F10 SCT
4) Sky-Watcher 127 F12 MCT
5) Sky-Watcher 120 F8.3 Achromatic Refractor
6) Sky-Watcher 6" F5 Newtonian

Easy Of Maintenance (1 is easiest)
1) All except the Sky-Watcher 6" F5 Newtonian unless you "bocha"
2) Sky-Watcher 6" F5 Newtonian unless you "bocha"

Easy of Use (1 is easiest)
1) Vixen 80mm F5 Achromatic Refractor / Celestron 80mm F5 Achromatic Refractor / Sky-Watcher 127 F12 MCT
2) Sky-Watcher 120 F8.3 Achromatic Refractor
3) Sky-Watcher 6" F5 Newtonian
4) Celestron C5 F10 SCT

Difficulty of Dewing (1 is most difficult to dew)
1) Sky-Watcher 6" F5 Newtonian
2) Sky-Watcher 120 F8.3 Achromatic Refractor
3) Celestron C5 F10 SCT / Sky-Watcher 127 F12 MCT
4) Vixen 80mm F5 Achromatic Refractor / Celestron 80mm F5 Achromatic Refractor

Cost (just a guide)
1) Celestron 6" F5 Newtonian with EQ3-2 Mount: S$1045 New (Astro Scientific Centre)
2) Sky-Watcher 127 F12 MCT OTA: S$900 New (McGill)
3) Sky-Watcher 127 F12 MCT with EQ3-2 Mount: S$1400 New (McGill)
4) Celestron C5 F10 SCT OTA: S$750 Used
5) Sky-Watcher 120 F8.3 Achromatic Refractor OTA: S$750 New (McGill)
6) Vixen 80mm F5 Achromatic Refractor OTA: S$599 New (McGill)
7) Celestron 80mm F5 Achromatic Refractor OTA: S$200 Used

Have a nice day.
Yang Weixing
:mrgreen: "The universe is composed mainly of hydrogen and ignorance." :mrgreen:
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ariefm71
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Joined: Wed Jan 28, 2004 4:15 pm
Location: bedok

Post by ariefm71 »

Can I say that, overall, the 6" f/5 newtonian will be your best scope?

I have also own quite a few (ranging from 2.5" to 10" scopes), but overall, the scope I used the most is a C8! it may not be as nice optically as the 10", but it's so fast to set up and tear down.
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weixing
Super Moderator
Posts: 4708
Joined: Wed Oct 01, 2003 12:22 am
Favourite scope: Vixen R200SS & Celestron 6" F5 Achro Refractor
Location: (Tampines) Earth of Solar System in Orion Arm of Milky Way Galaxy in Local Group Galaxies Cluster

Post by weixing »

Hi,
Can I say that, overall, the 6" f/5 newtonian will be your best scope?
Ya lor... the scope I miss most... :( :( It's very portable when use with the MicroStar.... Too bad I already brought so may accessories for the C5 already :( :( :( Or I'll go and nags (plus sweet talk) at Albert Lim until he sell me the Celestron 6" F5 Newtonian OTA at cheap cheap price... ha ha ha :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

Have a nice day.
Yang Weixing
:mrgreen: "The universe is composed mainly of hydrogen and ignorance." :mrgreen:
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river
Posts: 471
Joined: Wed Jul 13, 2005 9:00 am
Location: Ang Mo Kio
Contact:
Contact river

Post by river »

or you can convert your S$ to RM and buy from Perseid, cheaper.
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rlow
Posts: 2402
Joined: Fri Oct 31, 2003 7:36 pm
Location: Jurong

Post by rlow »

Interesting ranking, Weixing! Looks like you are not too happy with your current 120 achromat and C5 setup... are you selling soon and upgrading again? :)
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Canopus Lim
Posts: 1144
Joined: Fri Jun 03, 2005 12:46 pm
Location: Macpherson

Post by Canopus Lim »

Weixing.. no average scores for your scopes? :P
Nice ranking. I don't need to rank my scopes because I owned only 3 in the past and currently 2.
AstroDuck
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weixing
Super Moderator
Posts: 4708
Joined: Wed Oct 01, 2003 12:22 am
Favourite scope: Vixen R200SS & Celestron 6" F5 Achro Refractor
Location: (Tampines) Earth of Solar System in Orion Arm of Milky Way Galaxy in Local Group Galaxies Cluster

Post by weixing »

Hi,
Interesting ranking, Weixing! Looks like you are not too happy with your current 120 achromat and C5 setup...
I'm quite happy actually... I just miss my 6" F5 Newtonian only.
Weixing.. no average scores for your scopes?
No, they are all good scopes for different purpose... :P

Anyway, it's the most portable setup I had... I'll post some picture on it later... Will evaluate the setup again once I got my first "kill"... ha ha ha :P :P :P

Have a nice day.
Yang Weixing
:mrgreen: "The universe is composed mainly of hydrogen and ignorance." :mrgreen:
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Traveler
Posts: 295
Joined: Sun Oct 12, 2003 2:20 pm

Post by Traveler »

So sad the C5 doesn't make it to the top of any of the categories :cry:
haha!
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weixing
Super Moderator
Posts: 4708
Joined: Wed Oct 01, 2003 12:22 am
Favourite scope: Vixen R200SS & Celestron 6" F5 Achro Refractor
Location: (Tampines) Earth of Solar System in Orion Arm of Milky Way Galaxy in Local Group Galaxies Cluster

Post by weixing »

Hi,
So sad the C5 doesn't make it to the top of any of the categories Crying or Very sad
haha!
If you compare scope of 4" and above, C5 will be top in Portability category.

Usually, SCT will not outperform in term of optical quality when compare with other scope type of same aperture, but usually the portability of SCT will make it the most use scope type.

Have a nice day.
Yang Weixing
:mrgreen: "The universe is composed mainly of hydrogen and ignorance." :mrgreen:
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astrobabe
Posts: 114
Joined: Mon Aug 14, 2006 11:16 am
Location: Singapore & Johor

Post by astrobabe »

:shock:

:salute:

May I know how much your astro assets cost in total?
...clouds, please go away, let me see the stars today...
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