Celestron Advanced Series C6-NGT Reflector Telescope

Comments about Celestron Advanced Series C6-NGT Reflector Telescope:

Rather than drop $1400+ on an Orion Atlas EQ-G, I decided to take a baby step into astrophotography and try the fabled CG-5. The fact that it came with a 6" reflector for a few more bucks was a bonus. I'm not expecting to want to step up to the larger Atlas anytime soon as this mount handles the 6" reflector with no problem, and there's still good allowance to add an autoguider!

This mount, for the telescopes I have, is rock solid. My original plan was to mount my Meade ETX 125 mak OTA onto the CG-5 (which I have done), but the 6" reflector is soooo much faster than the longer focal length ETX and my exposures come out way brighter.

My first couple of photos with this kit didn't turn out to well as I was learning the ropes in aligning the mount (as opposed to the telescope). The moment I decided to spend 15 more minutes applying Celestron's All Star Polar Alignment was the moment my photos instantly got better. I haven't tried taking subs over 30 seconds, but my 30 second subs generally have pinpoint stars. So far, I have no need to get the polar scope accessory.

I wish I could give this a rating of 4.5 stars since my only real complaint is the focuser. It's a rack and pinion, and while functional, it feels cheap and not as easily focusable as a crayford. The good news is that it is tight enough to not slip out of focus, even with my first generation Canon Digital Rebel hanging off of it.

Comments about Celestron Advanced Series C6-NGT Reflector Telescope:

I was really looking to buy a goto equatorial mount and saw that I could purchase this package deal with the 6" reflector for only a little more money.

Hayneedle estimated delivery within about a week. Unfortunately, shortly after I ordered, I received a message saying that the telescope was sold out and estimated delivery was about three weeks off. Hayneedle's order tracking system was not working for a few days but after a week or so I received a note saying delivery would only be a week late and I received the telescope at the new delivery time.

The telescope and mount are of excellent quality. The focuser could be better but seems to function well enough. I set it up in my backyard with lot of trees for the first try. I didn't have a view of the NCP so I did a rough polar alignment with a compass and knowing my latitude. It took a while to find two stars for alignment that were in the database since you can't use ones near the pole, zenith or horizons and I have all the trees in the way. The alignment was poor initially but after adding two calibration stars, it put everything I looked for in the field of view of the supplied eyepiece.

The image quality was good and about as expected for a 6" telescope. I could easily see the dumbbell and ring nubulae from my suburban backyard. I had no trouble attaching my DSLR using the T-ring adapter I already had. Using the goto capabilites I could quickly jump to objects all around the sky, take a picture and find the object in the field of view. I needed to make minor adjustments but did not have to replace the camera with an eyepiece to move from object to object. This allowed me to photograph a lot of things in a hurry and made it very enjoyable.

The hand controller is a little confusing but works well enough once you figure it out. It could be a little easier to place in the holder in the dark.

The fully assembled telescope and mount is heavy. I plan to keep it assembled and carry it back and forth to my shed but it is not easy to move around this way. Luckily the mirror cell is enclosed and it has a tight fitting dust cap so that should keep the dust and spiders out.

Overall, I'm very pleased with this purchase. Eventually I will buy a large Mak to use on the mount for viewing planets. I can't wait to buy an autoguider and take it to a dark sky site.

Comments about Celestron Advanced Series C6-NGT Reflector Telescope:

This is my first "real" scope. I had a small refractor many years ago, but this is far superior in quality. The goto mount is very accurate once properly aligned. I've started to use it for astro photos with a DSLR. The sample photo is a composite of several 60 second exposures, which turned out pretty good for a scope without an auto-guider. There is noticable "coma" (elongation of stars at the outer edge) but this can be expected with the Newtonian designs. So it's not a perfect match for photography, but I'm having a lot of fun with it. I've ordered a polar alignment scope, and thinking of getting an auto-guider for longer exposures. Best part: my son is actually excited to get it out to view planets and interesting objects.

Comments about Celestron Advanced Series C6-NGT Reflector Telescope:

I purchased the NGT 6 and added the powerseeker tube and rings piggybacked as a guide scope. I also purchased the Celestron Polar Scope for the EQ mount. This is simply a fantastic scope. I recommend for astrophotography getting the 6" version, this will allow weight allowance for guidescopes and camera equipment. The powerseeker will bolt right to the top of thie telescope, the rings piggyback no problem.
I have never been happier with a telescope. The mount on this is excellent, and the quality overall superb.

Comments about Celestron Advanced Series C6-NGT Reflector Telescope:

Being our first telescope, we are novices. Being so, we appreciate the construction, quality, ease of use, available accessories, and huge database. We aren't expecting any complications over time.