Opinions for the Nexstar 8

[michael]

hi, i need information on this telescope "nextstar 8". you can view from this webside
http://www.cloudynights.com/item.php?item_id=1527

i am not sure how its performence. is it really good telescope to buy?

[Airconvent]

I have this scope. This is the classic Nexstar 8. Not a bad performer but its first generation, so a little rough on the edges in terms of goto performance.
Second hand price is around $2000+ depending on the condition. Its value for money as its the lightest 8" goto scope you can get. Because it has one forkarm, stability may be an issue when using heavy eyepieces or in stong wind. otherwise the damping is not much of an issue.

If you can, get the Nexstar 8SE instead. This is the later version with more enhancements. The most obvious is sky align which makes alignment easier.
The scope is selling at US$1399 brand new but after reaching here with shipping cost, would probably set you back around $3300+.

There is a 5" version being sold here :
http://www.singastro.org/viewtopic.php?t=5210

The aperture of the 5" is not a sweet spot for Singapore skies but is probably best compromise of price, performance and portability. Otherwise aim for 8" for singapore skies...

cheers

[michael]

how about deep sky astrophotography using this telescope? what is the difference between classic Nexstar 8 & nexstar 8SE? are they same quality?

[Airconvent]

Optically the OTA is similar. Over the several versions, the enhancements have always been on the mount. My "Classic" version is the bare bones first edition. Subsequently, they added additional functions, fine tune on the mechanical parts and added sky align. Unfortunately, the Classic is also the only version you cannot upgrade. Version 2 (Nexstar 8i) 's controller can be upgraded to benefit from the latest sky align version.

[Meng Lee]

For astrophotography, get an equatorial configuration. That is the most convenient configuration. Both Nexstars are not equatorial.

[rcj]

for deep sky photography which still requires considerably longer exposures, a german equatorial mount will give u an easier time. if budget is a constrain like for most people, get a moderate capacity mount together with a refractor. A refractor would be easy on imaging, and has lesser off balance issues that can affect the mount's performance. But if you are into visual for now and don't forsee yourself going into deep sky imaging so soon, the Nexstar option is fine. You could pretty much do decent planetary imaging on that platform as well. It will depends on what you like to do with the scope. The choice of the system will depend on your needs, however, it is common to come to a compromise because we cannot have everything in a single system that we love to do. That is why at the end of the day, we will have a few telescopes that does well in different aspects, or we change systems from time to time - or we live with the compromises.