CelestronCPC Deluxe 800 HD 8-inch CPC SCT Telescope

Outstanding and serious telescope! In my opinion, it's the "best bang for your buck" Aplanatic Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope on the market. Before I purchased this model and brand, I painstakingly researched reviews and opinions from buyers and amateur astronomers for months. Since this was my first Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope (SCT), I wanted to get it right the first time because of the cost. In the past, I was into refractor telescopes. I began as a Meade fan, but I soon changed into a Celestron stargazer. In sum, I came up with a plethora of notes that swayed me to Celestron and the 8 inch EdgeHD model. I've included ten of those notes below from my research.1. The telescope warranty is two years for Celestron's Schmidt-Cassegrain models as opposed to Meade's one year guarantee.2. Celestron's customer service appears to be superior to Meade's support. Celestron is also based in California. Easy access if worse comes to worse for support.3. Celestron has fantastic quality. Upon examining this scope, it was better than many other brands that I have had the opportunity to view.4. EdgeHD optics beats Meade's Advanced Coma Free system. You can refer to side-by-side comparison data on the web. EdgeHD optics are crystal clear to the edge of the field of view (FOV) where Meade's LX200 series are ever-so-slightly fuzzy. There's plenty of info on the web to back this up as well as personal observations. Whether you like astrophotography or not, the optics were worth the extra money. I'm not into astrophotography, but if I change my mind in the future, I have the SCT to do it. Besides, the EdgeHD model is designed for affordable performance. A "dark sky" rules, but so does optics for deep space viewing. Thus, the EdgeHD in the 8 inch SCT model gives me a high performance FOV of planets and deep space objects. Of course, a good eyepiece matters too.5. The CPC HD 800 has a better tripod (tray) than the regular Celestron CPC series model. It's easy to set up and take down, extremely stable, adjustable, and very well made.6. Weight is everything. I chose an 8 inch SCT because of its manageability. More scope means more weight.7. Celestron's battery system for powering the CPC HD 800 is superior to Meade's small 8 battery system. The CPC can access your car's battery supply via a cigarette lighter (12v) outlet, but I found that unrealistic. Thus, an exterior Celestron battery pack is necessary, which adds to an extra expense. Moreover, the battery pack needs periodic charging cycles when not in use. Still, the extra power was a better choice, and the battery pack can be used in emergencies because of the onboard fixed flashlights.8. The worm drive is precise and strong in the Alt-Azimuth mount. There's no slop in the system. In addition, backlash is adjustable.9. Scope controls are smooth and precise. There appears to be a slight problem in some brands, but not Celestron.10. NexStar+ (upgrade) hand control with GPS is super easy to use on the Celestron. The CPC is very easy to align with multiple methods available, and the control and the tracking is "dead-on" every time. Uranus, Neptune, Andromeda Galaxy (M31), and faint objects were all at or near dead center. Meade's control, although improving, is more cumbersome to use via more scrolling and periodically insufficient displayed info/data. The NexStar+ layout is better from a technical point of view.The CPC HD 800 is affordable for a big, serious instrument when compared to other brands with similar features. It packs so many professional elements. Though, you should understand that this is your initial investment as other equipment may follow. After two months, I purchased a 2 inch star diagonal (standard 1 1/4 inch was included) and higher quality eyepieces that added significantly to the overall cost. Still, the "outcome was worth the income." All-in-all, when it comes to brands, we can debate Celestron and Meade telescopes like Chevrolet and Ford cars/trucks, but the bottom line is "what works for you." Meade as well as other companies build great telescopes. Nevertheless, it is my opinion, as an amateur astronomer, that Celestron builds a better scope. I've come to the conclusion that many colleges carry Meade telescopes because they are a little less pricey. However, their mechanical reliability and quality aren't up to Celestron's level. Of course, that's my opinion too!

Hated go-to scopes until now; user friendly built in gps gets this scope on target fast. Set up is quick, optics are SUPERB!! Celestron customer support is intelligent and streamlined - had a missing part to me with minimum hassle. I bought a li-ion power supply and velcro'd it unobtrusively to the base assembly. Can also be used manually, just unlock the clutches. Maxbrght binoviewer and 23mm Svbony eyepieces make a killer pairing with high point scientific 2" diagonal for astoundingly satisfying images of moon, globular clusters, doubles, whatever there is to see. The apochromatic qualities of this system are praiseworthy. I could have saved money had I bought a C8 years ago, but this Edge 800 HD was worth the wait.

Great telescope! Just getting familiar with all the features. The only difficult problem is setting it up each day because of the weight. It would be great to have a place where it is always setup. Once you get started using the scope you find that you need additional lenses, filters, and wifi connection to your iPad. It is a wonderful hobby and fantastic seeing the planets and stars.

It's an amazing piece of equipment a bit heavy to set up especially if you're putting it on a wedge the tracking on a wedge with an autoguider is pretty accurate overall extremely happy with telescope very well-constructed and gathers a ton of light for astrophotography

Can’t get the scope to focus. Even the moon is blurry. Tried different eyepieces ( Luminos and Televue) but no success. Feel like I just wasted $4,000 dollars. The tripod legs will not shorten and you have to stand on a ladder to see through eye pieces. The Allen wrenches supplied do not fit the Allen screws. The directions in all the manuals ( one box with several parts but no directions on what they are for) are either non-existent or impossible to follow. Requires at least two people to move scope.