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Celestron Advanced VX Equipment Beginner First Telescope Buying Advice
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Mauricio Santos avatar
Mauricio Santos avatar
Hello everyone! I have recently gained an interest on astronomy and would like to purchase a decent setup. I hope I can obtain the help I need here. 

My goals for a first setup are for visual mainly; nonetheless, I would like to dip my toes on AP. Also, I have a canon eosr50 that I would like to take advantage of with any setup I decide to buy. 

I have done extensive research on this page, watched many youtube videos, and received advice from more seasoned astronomers at my local club. Up until now (considering my budget of 3000), I am considering the following set up: 

Scope: Celestron C8 OTA (the black one) 
Mount: Celestron AVX
Camera: canon eos r50 

I am looking for something that is somewhat portable, for this reason, I discarded larger mounts such as Celestron's CGX mount. My reasoning behind this setup is that I would like to focus on visual for now, but I am planning on purchasing a dedicated AP scope later in the future that i can attach to an already purchased EQ mount. 

I hope yall can help me get some assurance on this setup. Feel free to make suggestions outside of this framework, I am especially open to mount suggestions.
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David Foust avatar
David Foust avatar
That C8 with the AVX would probably be just fine for visual, planetary AP, and DSO AP here and there. 

If you ever plan to get more into DSO AP or think you may want a heavier scope, I might recommend upgrading the mount a little bit to the Skywatcher Eq6r. It's a bit sturdier and could handle a wider range of scopes than the AVX. It is a little bit bulkier, though. For maximum portability, you could consider the AM5n, as it is much more lightweight, though this may take your budget closer to $3500 with the C8.

On the scope side, the C8 is great; it can be versatile in terms of focal lengths, and is pretty simple to collimate and use. However, the longer native focal length and longer cool-down time (compared to other scope types) could be challenging for folks new to the hobby. That said, if you're patient enough to get to know the scope and how to use it with your mount, nothing would stop you from an enjoyable visual experience with the C8.

Many people often recommend a short/mid focal length refractor when you're new to the AP hobby. Something in the 400-500mm range could be quite nice when you're starting out. Generally speaking, they're the most portable and simplest to set up and use. If you're after an ultra portable setup, it would probably be your best bet to dive right in to this type of setup. A refractor of this size with the AM3 or AM5n would be super portable.

Finally, if visual is your primary goal and you don't envision constantly transporting it to dark sites, look for a nice 6-8" go-to dobsonian to get started. You can save some money now and when you're ready, you can reevaluate what you'll want/need to meet your goals in the future when it's time to really dive in.
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Mauricio Santos avatar
Mauricio Santos avatar
For maximum portability, you could consider the AM5n, as it is much more lightweight, though this may take your budget closer to $3500 with the C8.

Hey David, thanks for the advice, I really do appreciate it. Up until now I had not considered the AM5 because I thought it was a piece of equipment more fitted towards seasoned astrophotographers. However, your comment prompted me to look into it more. After a superficial search, wow does that sound like a great mount! 44lbs weight capacity with the capability of using it as both Alt/Az and EQ, all while weighing a mere 13 pounds? 

Unfortunately, its steep $2848 price is just not feasible right now. Just that mount and the C8 OTA I want would put me over 4000.
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David Foust avatar
David Foust avatar
Mauricio Santos:
Unfortunately, its steep $2848 price is just not feasible right now. Just that mount and the C8 OTA I want would put me over 4000.

Bummer. Those mounts were initially in the $2200 range. JK then 

Have to imagine some of the economic policies these days may be having an impact on that price.
Robert Sahari avatar
Robert Sahari avatar
The C8 and the AVX mount will be very decent as a first rig.

I have a iOptron GEM28 as my first mount and it works very well for astrophotography with a 8kg / 17.6lbs setup attached to it. The long focal length of the C8 will be a bigger problem than it's weight, as tracking and guiding needs to be more precise the longer your focal length gets. For the first two or three years of learning the ins and outs this shouldn't be too big an obstacle though, especially if you mainly use your setup for visual observing.
Later on you can still get a bigger mount, if you want to do more astrophotography with the C8, and maybe a smaller refractor for widefield imaging to use with the AVX.

The Canon EOS R50 is also a nice little camera for initial use. I used a Canon EOS M100 before buying a dedicated astrocamera.
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