I've got the chance to get an 8" sct OTA, the 2 options i have are the celstron C8 the original orange coloured one or the meade lx5 8" and wanted to know which would be the better scope. The ota will be mounted on my eq6.

Six of one - half a dozen of the other. They're both good scopes.

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T. Anderson

In my experience the old orange C8's were sometimes rather average in optics. Today's models are usually far better though any company turns out a range and you get the luck of the draw. Meade also matched Celestron in average quality so as one improved so did the other. The orange tube Celestron has been around a lot longer than the LX5 which came in in the late 80's I believe. That's about the time both started improving their optics. I'd get the newer of the two and cross my fingers. If you can star test them all the better. The one that shows the least difference between an inside focus view of a star and the outside focus star is the one to get unless there's something wrong with one of them of course.

Rick

SCTs that were manufactured around the time of the apparition of Comet Halley have a reputation for being of less than average quality due to the high demand during that period.

Dave Mitsky

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