Telescope Reviews: Celestron 5SE or 6SE?

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bluenote
journeyman

Reged: 11/25/12

Celestron 5SE or 6SE?
#5565001 - 12/10/12 10:16 PM

Hi ...Decided to get either a Celestron 5SE or 6SE. Any advice as to which one might be the better buy? Thanks (this will be my first scope)

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lamplight
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 09/18/12

Loc: west central MA, U.S.

Re: Celestron 5SE or 6SE? new

[Re: bluenote]
#5565006 - 12/10/12 10:20 PM

Personally, an extra inch of aperture is definitely worth less thn $100 in cost. Welcome to CN!

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jerwin
professor emeritus

Reged: 05/17/12

Loc: Romeoville IL

Re: Celestron 5SE or 6SE? new

[Re: lamplight]
#5565017 - 12/10/12 10:24 PM

I had a 5se which was a nice scope. I outgrew it pretty quick, but it was a very nice scope. The mount is a little weak. I could sometimes tell it didn't like the weight I was throwing at it, so I'd probably go with the 6. You could sell the ota and buy an 8" ota later and use it on the same mount.

Jim

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kfiscus
professor emeritus

Reged: 07/09/12

Loc: Albert Lea, MN, USA

Re: Celestron 5SE or 6SE? new

[Re: lamplight]
#5565018 - 12/10/12 10:25 PM

+1.
Do the math- that extra inch is a lot more light for only $100 more and not really paying for any more shipping (if you're ordering it). It's like getting an additional high-quality goto for only one Benjamin.

P.S. Refer to other posts and threads commenting on how easy we find it to spend other people's money and we hardly ever encourage people to go smaller.

Edited by kfiscus (12/10/12 10:26 PM)

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RTLR 12
Post Laureate

Reged: 12/04/08

Loc: Capistrano Beach, Ca

Re: Celestron 5SE or 6SE? new

[Re: kfiscus]
#5565052 - 12/10/12 10:50 PM

You not only get an other inch of aperture, you also get a better mount. I got the 8SE, but I don't use the 8" on it any more. The biggest scope I use on it is a C6 and I also use it for some of my smaller refractors. The 6" is a much better scope for the larger SE mount to handle. The 6SE is a great scope and definitely worth the extra bucks over the 5SE.

Stan

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lamplight
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 09/18/12

Loc: west central MA, U.S.

Re: Celestron 5SE or 6SE? new

[Re: kfiscus]
#5565097 - 12/10/12 11:18 PM

Quote:

P.S. Refer to other posts and threads commenting on how easy we find it to spend other people's money and we hardly ever encourage people to go smaller.

But.. It's nothing we wouldn't and don't do with our own money. So it's still good advise

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kfiscus
professor emeritus

Reged: 07/09/12

Loc: Albert Lea, MN, USA

Re: Celestron 5SE or 6SE? new

[Re: lamplight]
#5565251 - 12/11/12 12:49 AM

Agreed.

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Tony Flanders
Postmaster

Reged: 05/18/06

Loc: Cambridge, MA, USA

Re: Celestron 5SE or 6SE? new

[Re: bluenote]
#5565416 - 12/11/12 05:29 AM

Quote:

Hi ...Decided to get either a Celestron 5SE or 6SE. Any advice as to which one might be the better buy?

The 6SE is priced to make it the obvious choice on the cost/performance curve. The main advantage of the 5SE would be if you want or need something really compact and lightweight -- for instance, for airline travel. For most purposes, the 6SE is plenty portable.

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jerwin
professor emeritus

Reged: 05/17/12

Loc: Romeoville IL

Re: Celestron 5SE or 6SE? new

[Re: Tony Flanders]
#5565590 - 12/11/12 09:28 AM

The 5se does have a built in wedge in the mount, but I think in general the 5se mount\arm is not strong enough to support intermediate AP.

Jim

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BigC
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 09/29/10

Loc: SE Indiana

Re: Celestron 5SE or 6SE? new

[Re: bluenote]
#5565667 - 12/11/12 10:21 AM

Quote:

Hi ...Decided to get either a Celestron 5SE or 6SE. Any advice as to which one might be the better buy? Thanks (this will be my first scope)

The only advantages of the 5SE are built-in tripod wedge and DSLR camera control,good for casual astrophotos.

The 6SE comes with a sturdier mount and that extra inch of aperture will bring in more light and potentially 20% more resolution(detail).

For a visual observer get the 6SE.

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panhard
It's All Good

Reged: 01/20/08

Loc: Markham Ontario Canada

Re: Celestron 5SE or 6SE? new

[Re: BigC]
#5565690 - 12/11/12 10:38 AM

Bluenote welcome to our site. +1 one se6.

Edited by panhard (12/11/12 10:44 AM)

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faltered
sage

Reged: 04/01/05

Re: Celestron 5SE or 6SE? new

[Re: panhard]
#5566394 - 12/11/12 06:14 PM

yeah, I would vote the 6SE for sure. The extra aperture is worth it.

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GeneT
Ely Kid

Reged: 11/07/08

Loc: South Texas

Re: Celestron 5SE or 6SE? new

[Re: bluenote]
#5566412 - 12/11/12 06:29 PM

I recommend the 6.

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Gary Z
member

Reged: 01/26/12

Loc: New Mexico

Re: Celestron 5SE or 6SE? new

[Re: GeneT]
#5566496 - 12/11/12 07:44 PM

I considered the 6SE when I was looking for another telescope and chose the 8 SE. Call it aperture fever...The 6SE and 8SE share the same exact mount and for use with the 6 SE, you will probably get a better stable combination with the 6 SE, especially when wind starts to blow. You won't be disappointed with the 6 SE.

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jturie
member

Reged: 11/19/12

Loc: Valley Forge, PA

Re: Celestron 5SE or 6SE? new

[Re: GeneT]
#5566502 - 12/11/12 07:46 PM

Just went through this process myself. I went for the 6 because of the minor increase in price and the better mount vs. the aperture gain. Notice that the 8SE jumps in price over 300, yet you get the same mount.

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Fimpster
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 09/24/09

Loc: Aprox. 1 AU from Sun

Re: Celestron 5SE or 6SE? new

[Re: jturie]
#5566736 - 12/11/12 11:04 PM

+1 for 6se

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bluenote
journeyman

Reged: 11/25/12

Re: Celestron 5SE or 6SE? new

[Re: Fimpster]
#5571293 - 12/14/12 06:27 PM

Many thanks for the replies and also the 'welcome to the site' posts.
I see I am in good company!

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Schaaf
member

Reged: 11/29/12

Loc: MSP

Re: Celestron 5SE or 6SE? new

[Re: bluenote]
#5571434 - 12/14/12 07:48 PM

I'm looking at the 6se too. I'm trying to decide between a goto that will be easier to use and track objects vs a dob with much larger aperture. I can see the pros and cons of each of them but am unable to decide. I think I'd be happy with the 8se, but its just too far outside the price range. I'm worried I won't be happy with the 6" and that I'll wish it were larger when viewing the deep stuff.

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BigC
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 09/29/10

Loc: SE Indiana

Re: Celestron 5SE or 6SE? new

[Re: Schaaf]
#5571671 - 12/14/12 10:13 PM

Well for the price of the 6SE you could get a 12" Dob which will go a magnitude and some "deeper";but you will have to find everything including a way to move it!The view of the Milky Way in a 12" f5 Dob with a max FOV EP is awesome!

The 6SE is much lighter ,can find 40,000 objects for you(how long does it take to view that many objects?),can be remotely controlled,and you can mostly sit in one spot while using it.

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jerwin
professor emeritus

Reged: 05/17/12

Loc: Romeoville IL

Re: Celestron 5SE or 6SE? new

[Re: BigC]
#5571726 - 12/14/12 10:44 PM

Tracking sure is a nice feature on a goto. I had a 5se and within 6months I had an 11 inch sct. I also now have a 10 inch dob. I use it the most at home because of the setup time of the 11. But under real dark skies I love my 11. And I do cheat and let the goto do its thing on a lot of objects. I'm still new enough that I wat to see as many objects as possible, but also i dont know if i can see it or not, so i keep notes. If i cant see it in the 11, I know i dont want to spend time searching with the 10 inch dob. Figure I'll work my way through finding objects manually with the dob at a later date.

Jim

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