In your opinion, which would be better of these two:
A) Celestron 9.25" Schmidt-Cassegrain & Vixen GPD2 Equatorial Mount w/ Starbook S $1300 + $2000.

B) Celestron 9.25" Schmidt-Cassegrain & CG5 SGT (Advanced Series) $2100.

If I go with Option A it costs more, but is it better? Is the Vixen mount really worth the extra cash? The mount is really important to me. Is the Vixen mount made in China? Is it truly high-quality precision mounts?

Option B will get me viewing stars for much less.

If your purpose is to view stars and have a top notch steady mount get a 10" Dobsonian. It's far cheaper and will certainly show you everything just as well as the far more expensive set ups you list.

If you want the C9.25 for visual use then the cheaper set up works and the 9.25" is a great scope. If DSO photography is your goal then you'll want the best mount you can afford. You'll want a highly accurate goto system to put the object on your chip. The CG-5 is a Chinese clone of Vixen and I consider it inferior though I'd look at other mounts like the Losmandy G11 and others. The CG-5 is fine for visual use however. Tripod shaky though. On a good base it is fine for visual use. Can be made to work for DSO work but you'll likely fight it all the way. Do a web search on both mounts for user reports. A local club can be a big help and save you lots of money.

Rick

Thanks for the advice. At first, I'm thinking only for viewing, but I would like to eventually grow into astrophotography. I looked into the Losmandy mounts, and they are quite expensive.

I agree that these knock-offs are inferior. I have a CG4 now, and while it gets some of the job done, they're not accomplished in comfort.

Your getting a new scope already? Wow, that was quick...

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Hahaha, no, I'm not getting a new telescope. I'm just trying to figure out what direction to go on the next purchase? I'm trying to guage whether the CG5 mount is a good mount and so it's okay to buy bundled with the OTA. But if not, maybe the only real way is to get the mount somewhere else and the OTA elsewhere.

For astro photo work, in the same price range as the CG-5 is the Atlas EQ-G. It is a better astro photo mount in my opinion than the CG-5. It's also sold as the Skywatcher EQ-6 outside the US. See:
http://www.cloudynights.com/item.php...=827&pr=2x8x34
for a review. I don't particularly like it for visual work but its not bad for DSO photography. Certainly better than the CG-5 from my experience. Of course all this is very personal. What bothers one person can be an asset to another! This is why its so important to get the experience of actually trying these in the field at star parties, even if you have to travel quite a ways to find one that has someone with what you are looking at. He may love it and you find you hate it.

Rick

I wouldn't say that. The Atlas starts at $1200, and that is without GoTo. The Sirius (smaller version of the Atlas) starts at $850, also without GoTo. The CG-5 is a GoTo mount that starts in the $500-600 range with GoTo. During the Celestron overstock clearance sale, they were $200 w/o GoTo!

I do agree that they are all nice mounts. I'd also suggest the Meade LXD75, almost identical to the CG-5, but with a different (IMO better) fit and finish.

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