SingAstro

Hi everybody.
I'm from Vietnam. I'll come to Singapore in this month and I want to buy a telescope (or only mount) for astrophotography with price < 1200USD.
I think Celestron advanced series with CG-5 mount are suitable to me. How much are they in Singapore? Price is the same or more expensive than price in USA ?
I know Astro Scientific Centre is a celestron vendor, beside it where can i buy telescope in Singapore?

Hi Fairydream,
Price is definitely more expensive than in the US, even after calculating shipping, unless the various vendors have lowered their prices.
If you're going to spend on a CG-5, may I also suggest used mounts - there are some for sale on this forum although mostly for lighter scopes - depending on the weight of your imaging setup I'm sure the owners will run you through completely before closing the offer.
Unfortunately I'm not sure if mount AND telescope for less than USD1200 is doable if both new.
Astrobargains quotes the CG-5 at SGD$1749 and if I remember correctly, Astro-Scientific quoted me in excess of SGD$2000 a few months back.
In contrast, www.optcorp.com quotes the CG-5GT at USD595; I'm not sure how much it is to ship to Vietnam but it will cost in the hundreds of USD to ship here.
I ended up buying a used Vixen SXW

well Tim is selling his Vixen GP with iOptron GoTo for $1000 SGD. Then can get a 100mm ED refractor for $600 - $700 (or Joyce was selling that Megrez 90 for $600... should have grabbed it).

Total of that is $1700 SGD which is $1300 USD.

Or buy a 127mm Mak (there are some floating around..) which would cost less than $700 SGD so fit in the $1200 USD budget.

Hi fairydream81! Welcome!!

Thanks Orly for the advert..lol!! YEah the set is still available if your keen to get it. All it needs is a scope and some Cams to image and guide!

But as cloudcover mentioned, it is unfortunately little more than compared to US. But with some planning and forethought, much can be achieved with lowered expectations!

If not, cloudynights usually has some good 2nd hand offers although shipping may be an issue and you might hit your under USD 1200 target Personally, except for my mount, I bought everything else off there. There are some very nice grandpas who just want to see their old stuff well used and will give a good price although there are also scammers! Buyer beware.

personally, since our friend is from Vietnam, buying stuff online is a risk.

he's better off meeting some of our local singastro friends who are selling off their used stuff. at least that way can handle the goods to verify.

True, but I didn't want to sound like I'm promoting the local stuff too much
Fairy --> If you're interested, other than tim's Vixen GP with ioptron goto, check out kochu's Meade 5000 80APO for $500. Its not a bad scope to photograph through

Hi Anh Tuan. How long will you be staying in Singapore? There *may* be a sidewalk session at Bedok reservoir this coming weekend. Feel free to join us and chat.

Is this the first time you are coming to Singapore? If you need a tour guide, let me know. I may be free to bring you around to shop for your ideal telescope. Btw, you have a great website/forum. Keep up the good work!