kohjb wrote:
Of all the scopes that I have, I love my C9.25 the most. Am always very willing to share the views through it to help you make up your mind ! (If only the d**n sky would clear up !!) Good to be sure before you buy ;) Can always arrange an ob session somewhere, or even go to Mersing ?!
Best regards !
Joo Beng.
At MarsWatch last October, I had some brief views through Joo Beng's C9.25 and C11.
I must say that the Celestron optics are very good. The view of M42 through the C11 was the best I've ever seen, and this was right in town in Singapore. It was the first time, as far as I can recall, that I perceived layers in the clouds of the nebula, in a 3D-like effect.
I was once again convinced that, really, "aperture wins", esp for planets and deep sky objects (including nebulae, galaxies and globular clusters). (Even with smaller apertures, refractors have the edge for double stars, star fields, and loose open clusters due to the sparkle you get).
Celestron SCT optics seem quite good overall. A few years ago, I looked through a Nexstar8 at Saturn. My impression at that time was that the optics were a bit sharper than my LX-90 8" SCT. It was an impression based on my recollection, and not a side-by-side comparison. I think the LX-90s optics are very good too, but the C8 seemed sharper. Having said that, my C-5's optics are not that sharp, and the Intes-Micro MN-56 5" Mak-Newt easily trounces it by a landslide. The MN-56 has truly refractor-like performance.
I've bought a few accessories from Astrobargains and would like to say that I've been very happy to deal with them. The prices are reasonable and Joo Beng has been very obliging and generous. I think Astrobargains sees itself as not merely a commercial enterprise but a participation in the local astronomy community, much like The Physical Space.
I this second C8 from an astro club member after selling off my previous one. He claimed (correctly) that his has killer optics so I couldn't resist getting it as my replacement grab-n-go scope. But now I have the WO FD and a reflector on the way, so it gotta go again 
"The universe is composed mainly of hydrogen and ignorance." 
..... see have 3 months to decide to get acc orion or c8 
