Additional notes:

The CPC series is highly recommended

The NexStars are good also, but buy them for the optics, not so much for the mounts, which are cheaper than the CPC and AVX series. At this point, I would be wary of older greytubed NexStars. They weren’t as good as the newer ones, and the OTAs are hard to remove from the base. If you must buy a greytubed NexStar, don’t pay too much. In all NexStars, I would stay away from the 4. Step up to the 5 if you can. The NexStars start getting unstable once you get to the 8” size. The 5” and the 6” are the sweet spot for this mount.

I don't love the SLT series.

Skip the AstroMasters and PoweSeekers.

The FirstScope76 isn’t great but it is at least cheap.

Most of the 4”, 5” and 6” achromats are decent scopes and attractively priced. Be sure you have a sturdy mount, especially for the 6”.

Likewise, the various Maks are at least OK, but be sure you have a decent mount.

The old Celestron/Vixen SPC6 was a neat little 6” Newtonian with a “sled” focuser. Very collectible.

The CG4 is a good smallmidsize mount. Just don’t overload it.

The comments about the CGE apply only to that model – the CGEMs are fine.

The new CGX mounts are quite nice, if you need a big mount.

C8 history page: Celestron C8 Overview (scopereviews.com)
www.scopereviews.com/C8History.html

Gary Bennett’s CGE cable mod is here: CGE Cable Replacement Kits Main (bendun.net)
www.bendun.net/CGEUPGRADEKITS.html

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