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stevew
professor emeritus
Reged: 03/03/06
Posts: 625
Loc: British Columbia Canada
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I had my little C5 out on Sunday night watching the shadow transit on Jupiter. I just can't get over how good this little cat is. I know it has an almost 40% central obstruction, but the images are still quite sharp and detailed.
It is as easy to set up[carry out] as my little TV Pronto, but shows more details on the planets and a lot more details on DSO.
She is a great little scope, that I think is often overlooked in favor of small 70 and 80 mm apochromats.
I think it makes a great little travel scope as well.
Steve
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16 inch Dobsonian
Celestron C9.25
Coulter 8 F4.5
Antares 152 F-6.5
Celestron C5
Televue Genesis SDF
Televue Pronto
Losmandy G11
TV Gibraltar
W.O. EZ Touch
Vixen Polaris
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"Mos Eisley space port, You'll never find a more wretched hive of scum and villany"
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TONGKW
sage
Reged: 01/16/07
Posts: 374
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I agree with you.
One of my very light weight grab-and-go set up is a C5 OTA (weight 6 lb), Mizar K mount (3.25 lb) and a Velbon carbon fiber tripod (3.75 lb). This set up is also very good for bird watching.
K W TONG
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C8 + CG-5GT, TSA102 + HEQ5 PRO, MK67 + Voyager Mount, WO ZS 80FD + Mizar K mount, NexStar 6SE, WO Megrez 72 + Kenko Mount, Mini Borg 50, C5, PST
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Rick
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 04/12/05
Posts: 2575
Loc: Tokyo, Japan
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ditto
clear skies,
Rick
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www.japanastro.com
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CHASLX200
professor emeritus
Reged: 09/29/07
Posts: 742
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I loved my 70's fork mounted C5'S.
Chas
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Ford Prefect
super member
Reged: 09/25/05
Posts: 187
Loc: Italy
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I agree, it's a great little instrument!
I'm looking for a very lightweight setup for my C5, with slow-motion controls: I see Tong has a new mount (I saw a new Tong's mount every few months  ). How does it works?
Pro&con's?
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Claudio from Rome
Celestron C5 on Giro-Mini Mount
StellarVue F50,10x50 and 15x80 binoculars
Coronado PST
"Los que van con prisa, nunca ven el cielo"
"Considerate la vostra semenza:
fatti non foste a viver come bruti,
ma per seguir virtute e canoscenza"
Dante, Inf. XXVI, 118-120
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TONGKW
sage
Reged: 01/16/07
Posts: 374
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The K mount is very cheap and quite good for small telescopes. It has smooth slow motion controls and can take up to 200x with very little vibration. I have had this K mount for over 10 years.
In where I am in Hong Kong. K mounts are readily available from:.
Mizar K mount, Japan (List price HK$1050 = US$135 approximately)
http://www.grandeye.com.hk/7yearsale.htm
Maxivision K-2, China (List price RMB650= US$95 approximately)
http://www.hkastroequipment.com/fj03-02.html
K W TONG
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C8 + CG-5GT, TSA102 + HEQ5 PRO, MK67 + Voyager Mount, WO ZS 80FD + Mizar K mount, NexStar 6SE, WO Megrez 72 + Kenko Mount, Mini Borg 50, C5, PST
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Randy Roy
sage
Reged: 10/07/05
Posts: 383
Loc: Tennessee
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I have my black C5 on an Orion Astroview mount. My main scope is a C14, so it gets the most use, but the C5 goes with me to dark sites. It keeps my star hopping skills current. I also like to find things with the manual setting circles. The C5 gives great views while satisfying my love for the simpler type of gear I had my first 40 years of enjoying the hobby.
Randy
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Oldfield
Postmaster
Reged: 03/20/02
Posts: 5218
Loc: Hong Kong
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yes, it's a great scope! when the sky cooperates, it can deliver suprisingly high quality image really:
http://osastrolog.blogspot.com/search/label/planet
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The Home Astronomer from a city where most people are proud of the light pollution
Toys: C5, Ranger, Borg 45ED II, SM40/BF10, Unistar Light, TG-SP II, LXD55, ToUCam Pro, DMK 31AF03, Canon 10x30 IS, Pentax PCF III 10x50...
My observation log and ideas My General Blog
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stevew
professor emeritus
Reged: 03/03/06
Posts: 625
Loc: British Columbia Canada
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Oldfield, The Jupiter pictures on your web site are amazing.
Hard to belive what a C5 can do in capable hands.
Congratulations.
Steve
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16 inch Dobsonian
Celestron C9.25
Coulter 8 F4.5
Antares 152 F-6.5
Celestron C5
Televue Genesis SDF
Televue Pronto
Losmandy G11
TV Gibraltar
W.O. EZ Touch
Vixen Polaris
--------------------------------------------
"Mos Eisley space port, You'll never find a more wretched hive of scum and villany"
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Kobayashi
sage
Reged: 07/10/08
Posts: 291
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I've owned many different fancy telescopes, but now I'm "semi-retired" as an amateur astronomer. The last telescope I have remaining* is a C5+. Not the best optical quality I've seen, but it's really very good for its size. It's very robust mechanically.
And since mine is a C5+, it has a self-contained equatorial mount. All it has is a tracking motor and manual slow-motion knobs, which is usually enough. I just take it out of the garage, set it down so the axis points north (roughly), and turn on the power switch, and it starts tracking - not perfectly, but well enough to keep a planet in the FOV for many minutes. I don't even need to connect a power supply because it runs on a 9V battery.
I may upgrade some day if a new telescope offers all this simplicity and better quality, but so far I haven't found it. Well, I suppose a Questar with Powerguide-II would exceed its simplicity and portability, but at 8 times higher price than what I paid for the C5+, and at 30% less aperture.
*Actually this isn't strictly true, I also have a Nexstar-8SE but I haven't even used it once. Shortly after I got it I had to "borrow" its tripod for an unrelated project and it broke - haven't gotten around to replacing it.
Edited by Kobayashi (09/16/08 12:12 AM)
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Ford Prefect
super member
Reged: 09/25/05
Posts: 187
Loc: Italy
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Quote:
And since mine is a C5+, it has a self-contained equatorial mount. All it has is a tracking motor and manual slow-motion knobs, which is usually enough.
I know, a friend of mine had a C5+ with that kind of mount.
I wish I can find something similar nowadays!
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Claudio from Rome
Celestron C5 on Giro-Mini Mount
StellarVue F50,10x50 and 15x80 binoculars
Coronado PST
"Los que van con prisa, nunca ven el cielo"
"Considerate la vostra semenza:
fatti non foste a viver come bruti,
ma per seguir virtute e canoscenza"
Dante, Inf. XXVI, 118-120
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stevew
professor emeritus
Reged: 03/03/06
Posts: 625
Loc: British Columbia Canada
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Again on Tuesday night I have been watching the shadow of Ganymede transit the face of Jupiter in the C5.
Last night I had my C9.25 out. I put the Lymax cooler in the scope for half an hour, and it still did not cool down enough, and the seeing was not good enough for the C9.25, because I can see almost as much detail in the C5.
Don't get me wrong, my C9.25 is a great scope, when I have time to set it up for several hours, and it finally reaches thermal equilibium.
But the C5 is just way too easy to set up an use.
But don't tell everyone, or our little secret will be out, and no one will buy small imported ED scopes anymore. 
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16 inch Dobsonian
Celestron C9.25
Coulter 8 F4.5
Antares 152 F-6.5
Celestron C5
Televue Genesis SDF
Televue Pronto
Losmandy G11
TV Gibraltar
W.O. EZ Touch
Vixen Polaris
--------------------------------------------
"Mos Eisley space port, You'll never find a more wretched hive of scum and villany"
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doug76
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 12/05/07
Posts: 2651
Loc: SE Louisiana
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Pictured is my version of the C5, the Omni XLT127. Really nice, but I will admit it was an impulse buy. I already own a C6, and it is noticeably better in every way, and only weighs a couple of pounds more. Still, if I didn't have the C6, I could be very happy with this C5 as a grab'n'go, and I am happy with it. Just not sure I really need it, considering.
Doug
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Doug
The Truckstop Astronomer
Meade 12" Lightbridge/Dob Driver II
Celestron C6 SCT
Celestron C6R/Moonlight focuser
Celestron XLT150
Astro-Tech AT80EDT
TOWA 60/700 (under construction)
Celestron CG5-ASGT, CG-4
Celestron Nexstar SE (large)
Meade SWA 34mm
Televue Panoptic 24mm
Pentax XW 10mm, 7mm
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Astro-Tech AT66ED
Celestron Nexstar SE (small)
Televue Plossl 32mm
Smart Astronomy Solar System 14.5mm
BO/TMB Planetary 9mm, 7mm, 5mm, 4mm, 3.2mm, 2.5mm
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Jeff Lee
sage
Reged: 09/17/06
Posts: 389
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Mine's a celestron pacfic, and just the other night at a semi-dark site, a C8 was sitting beside it, and the young man (a member of our club) said "thanks for showing me what a high quality scope in comparision to this C8 can do"...I know C5 aren't magic (My C8 is far supirior at home) but man I know mine is just an incredible scope and I keep having large reflector guys tell me that:)
Don't know how old, but since it has a celestron pacific name plate I figure at least 30 or so.
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Jeff Lee
C90,C5,C8, 10 x 50's
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CHASLX200
professor emeritus
Reged: 09/29/07
Posts: 742
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Quote:
Mine's a celestron pacfic, and just the other night at a semi-dark site, a C8 was sitting beside it, and the young man (a member of our club) said "thanks for showing me what a high quality scope in comparision to this C8 can do"...I know C5 aren't magic (My C8 is far supirior at home) but man I know mine is just an incredible scope and I keep having large reflector guys tell me that:)
Don't know how old, but since it has a celestron pacific name plate I figure at least 30 or so.
The Pacific name went away around 1976. The very old C5's had the smaller base with the holes in the forks, and some had the tan fork arms, from around 73 to 74.
I still have a soft spot for the fork mounted C5's from the early 70's. I would rather have the older C5 over my C6 with the CG5 mount.
Chas
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Eddgie
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 02/01/06
Posts: 1744
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I share your admiration for the C5.
While I know that people will likely scoff, the difference between the performance between it and my Televue 101 is closer than a lot of refractor people would believe. I judged it to be a much better planetary scope than my 80mm ED refractor which has SUPERB optics as best as I could tell.
I have mine on a old Polaris mount and I keep it on the Patio. I can use it in Alt-az mode during the day for bird watching, and with the flick of a lever, put it in Polar mode at night WITH a motor drive. It is still light enough to easily carry out from under the covered patio COMPLETE with motor drive, controller (9V battery in controller) AND a complete complement of eyepieces.
I have owned three. One had a very slight turned edge. The other two were just about perfect optically.
Even the Assistant Astronomer loves the C5. I sold the last one and she gave me a hard time about it... Under bright light, the buyer informed me of a very tiny blemish on the mirror. I agreed to buy it back and after getting it back, I realized I was crazy to have sold it...
Enjoy yours....
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Celestron C14, CGE (Big Al)
Astro-Physics 6" f/8 (Buffy)
Televue 101 (No name, but I call it my Widescreen HD Space TV)
The night sky is my mistress. She seduces me away from all other lovers.
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stevew
professor emeritus
Reged: 03/03/06
Posts: 625
Loc: British Columbia Canada
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Yes, they are absolutely wonderful little scopes.
And since the introduction of the C6, You can buy a C5 for a couple of hundred bucks.
Mine is the White Tube version. I also have it on a Vixen Polaris, but can easily put it on just about any mount.
Steve
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16 inch Dobsonian
Celestron C9.25
Coulter 8 F4.5
Antares 152 F-6.5
Celestron C5
Televue Genesis SDF
Televue Pronto
Losmandy G11
TV Gibraltar
W.O. EZ Touch
Vixen Polaris
--------------------------------------------
"Mos Eisley space port, You'll never find a more wretched hive of scum and villany"
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TONGKW
sage
Reged: 01/16/07
Posts: 374
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I have found as it is now the C6 OTA can be obtained at US$399.95 + free shipping in some shops whereas the C5 OTA is now listed in the Celestron website as a spotting scope and listed at US$799.95. How can the C6 be so much cheaper than the C5? Please see the website hereunder:-
http://www.celestron.com/c2/product.php?CatID=30&ProdID=207
https://www.highpointscientific.com/store/dynamicIndex.asp
K W TONG
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C8 + CG-5GT, TSA102 + HEQ5 PRO, MK67 + Voyager Mount, WO ZS 80FD + Mizar K mount, NexStar 6SE, WO Megrez 72 + Kenko Mount, Mini Borg 50, C5, PST
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Eddgie
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 02/01/06
Posts: 1744
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The price you pay has nothing to do with how much it costs to make something.
This is just marketing placement.
The C5 is in fact a wonderful little spotter. It is much ligher than the C6 and can be used on a Photo tripod. It used to be very popular with birders. Birders (like astronomers) will pay very high prices for their equipment, and the C5 is used in that hobby fairly widely.
It is also used by shooters to spot targets. Shooters like the longer focal length because it lets them use longer relief eyepieces and still get decent magnification.
So, the price is marketing placement issue. Nothing to do with cost most of the time...
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Celestron C14, CGE (Big Al)
Astro-Physics 6" f/8 (Buffy)
Televue 101 (No name, but I call it my Widescreen HD Space TV)
The night sky is my mistress. She seduces me away from all other lovers.
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