Thats basically the question. Astronomics.com has the G8 for $899 and the Celstar 8 for $949, just $50 more. The tube, as you know, is the same, the difference is the G8 is on a GEM, and the Celstar is on an altaz fork mount with a wedge for equatorial viewing. Tripod also looks to be about 30x more stable, being made of thick, fixed-height tubing. There is a R.A. motor pre-installed.

Now, this would seem like a no brainer, here, but I have to know: How good is the DC drive? I'd like to think that it's not sticky or jerky. Also, it is possible to disengage the motor and use a standard hand slo-mo control?

It is true that the fork mount is a better choice for photography?

Anyway, I'm looking for opinions here...Which would you choose, and why?

Thanks a LOT,
~Chris

• CELESTAR 8 - ritok - September 7, 2002 - 03:39 UTC