ktwo's Full Review: Celestron Advanced C10-N (600 x 245mm) Telescope
Thought I'd type up a quick review since I couldn't find one anywhere before purchasing this scope! I upgraded from a C8-N (not the GT mount). I actually just wanted the GT mount, but for only a few hundred more I got the mount with the 10" OTA, so I figured what the heck! Turns out that was a GREAT move! I had a lot of problems with my C8, mirrors needed a lot of major re-alignment, the focusser rocked horribly, and there was a lot of play in the mount. Since that was my first scope I thought that was just typical. I considered just buying a Meade, but after a trip to my local telescope shop and thoroughly pawing over a C10-NGT decided to pick it up. While I've only had the scope out three times so far, I'm *very* impressed. Clearly my C8-N was a lemon, I have experience no similar problems with my 10".
After a quick collimation the images were very sharp and much brighter since this scope gathers dramatically more light than my 8" for much better images even in my light polluted skies. The focusser is totally solid. Overall I give the OTA a thumbs up, it's a lot of aperature for the $. The mount is very steady, and tracks nicely. With a rough polar alignment and then an "auto alignment" the scope is able to put pretty much anything into the field of view of my 32mm eyepiece.
One really nice feature is the "precise go-to" feature. The mount slews to a star nearby the object I want to go to(usually a double which is easy to identify), I center it up, and then the mount puts me almost precisely on top of the object. I've had no problems getting objects in the dead center of my 10mm eyepiece (120X) using this feature. . .very cool.
One major drawback is that the mount cannot point at objects directly overhead due to the weight/length of the OTA. A balanced OTA on the mount will strike the legs of the tripod (which completely hoses up the alignment) if you try to slew to something directly overhead. I've had to carefully calculate slew limits to prevent this, but it's annoying to be limited in what I can view. I'm planning to attach a small refractor spotting scope as a piggy back system, and the OTA weight vs. the capacity of the mount leaves me plenty of weight to work with. . .plus I'll mount it towards the back of the scope to resolve the slew limit problem by moving the balance point of the OTA back. Should be a nice set-up once I'm done.
If you purchase the scope, KEEP THE BOX that the OTA came in if you ever anticipate moving the scope in your vehicle, which will probably need to be at least a light truck. My Volvo V40 is able to accomodate nicely though, so many station wagons will probably work as well. I drive it a couple of hours into the desert to escape the light pollution, and the box makes a very stable and safer way to move it. Trim the foam end pieces so you can slide the scope in from the top without removing the foam from the box (cut the sides of the formed pieces and unpeel the top portion like a sandwich from the main piece). I can tear down the scope and set it up in a just a few minutes and move it safely. . .although that box is pretty huge!
I've done some basic eyepiece projection astrophotography with my ultra-rigged Minolta Dimage 300 (not a ALL designed for astrophotography) using scopetronix's universal camera adapter. . .I've had pretty good results considering the set-up I'm using (100% rigged, nothing really designed for astrophotography).
Count on needing a step-stool if you are shorter. I'm 6' and still use a two step stool for more comfortable viewing when the eyepiece is high. You will almost certainly want the mount legs completely collapsed and only raised to level the tripod. This could be challenging for shorter person, but that's really the nature of larger Newtonians I suppose.
Bottom line, this scope performs amazing well for the price tag.
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