Does anyone have experience with the Orion 8" Newtonian f/5 on the SkyView Pro mount?

rcon

New member
I'd like to know if anyone with experience using this telescope configuration can make a recommendation. I could upgrade to the Orion Sirius mount but they only offer it in the GoTo configuration (for some reason), and I don't necessarily want to spend the extra money on that right now. I'm hoping that the SkyView Pro mount is adequate for the 8" Newtonian. Plus I like that I can upgrade it to GoTo later if need be. I've read that the gears are stiff though.

The 8" dobsonian is also an option, but I like the tracking ability of the equatorial mount.
Yet another option is the Celestron C8-NGT on the CG-5GT mount. Long term (with a computerized mount) it seems to be the cheapest way to go since the payload capacity of this mount is about the same as the Sirius. Even though it's a cousin to the SkyView Pro mount, the CG-5GT has 2" steel legs as compared to the 1.75" legs on the SVP....hmmm
An 8" SCT is probably out of my budget. The Celestron 8" SCT on the CG-5GT mount is $1500+. I don't plan to do astrophotography right now.
 
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