Celestron G-5

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Celestron G-5
Extremely solid and easy to use, brightness is excellent for a small scope, included motor drive sets up quick and works well

Overall Rating: 10
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
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Link to this vote: http://excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=38905

Celestron G-5
The G5 is not the cheapest scope, nor the most portable, nor does it have the highest image quality or the largest light gathering capability. But it is absolutely one of the best blends of price, portability and performance. Optics of the 5 inch SCT are excellent and the focusing is silky smooth and precise. German equatorial mount and motor drive function well, and the tripod is light but stable. This unit is far more portable than a C8, equally stable, and with only slightly less light gathering ability and resolution. I owned a C8 for about a year before selling it and buying the G5. In about 2 months I have already used the G5 almost as much as I used the C8 in the previous year. This is completely due to the increased portability. If the best scope is the one you use, and a great blend of portability and performance meets your needs, the G5 is an excellent buy.

Overall Rating: 8
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
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Link to this vote: http://excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=38906

Celestron G-5
We like our G5 scope - family's first. Have compared it to Celestar Deluxe 8 while viewing moderately lit objects (planets, nebulas, g-closters) and did not see much difference - although suspect light gathering advantage of 8" unit would shown when targeting very faint stuff. Orion M42's triangulum are sharp points of light at 263x mag. The mount/tripod set included with the G5 is fair (no worse than that on the Celestar 8 when it comes to stability) but Celestron should provide the option to acquire this excellent tube with the G4 mount (e.g, polar alignment scope, fully enclosed gearing, tighter running tolerances).

Overall Rating: 8
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
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Link to this vote: http://excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=38907

Celestron G-5
Outstanding optics and tube hardware. Have compared it to one other Celestar 8" SCT a couple of times and remained impressed by the G5 sharp views and light gathering. Whole thing is also easy to carry.
Mount/tripod are fair (no better or worse than that on 8" for steadiness)and motor drive is simple to use. On the other hand, accurate polar alignment is hard to do, as play allowed by fastening (to scope bracket) holes on mount is excessive and DEC adjust knob hits the mount in at least three (3) scope attitudes - this tube deserves a better mount, such as Celestron's CG4 with built-in polar alignment scope, enclosed gears, and tighter runnign clearances.

2/19/1999

Overall Rating: 8
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
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Link to this vote: http://excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=38908

Celestron G-5
great optics, mount stable enough.

Overall Rating: 10
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=38909

Celestron G-5
I like it. Good overall scope and mount for the price. The mount is a little
loose at times, but is more than tolerable. Easy to setup and transport translates into more frequent use. I leave it setup inside and can be outside viewing the stars in under 5 min. Would recommend.

Overall Rating: 9
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
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Link to this vote: http://excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=38910

Celestron G-5
This is a very good scope. Worked very good right out of the box. But don’t be afraid to cullimate it. You will be surprised at the results and it is easy to do. The optics are superb. No mirror shift noted on mine. A deserved 10 considering the cost, size and performance.
J Denlay

Overall Rating: 10
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
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Link to this vote: http://excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=38911

Celestron G-5
I'm very pleased with this scope after returning an ETX/Autostar. There is really no comparison between the two. The mount is stable and tracks well. It is still very portable. I can be outside observing in minutes, and it can easily be transported to dark skies (about 23 lbs out the door). My only complaint thus far is that the declination adjustment knob can interfere with the motor drive and RA knob when viewing near the zenith. Not insurmountable, though. I definately recommend it.

Overall Rating: 10
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
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Link to this vote: http://excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=38912

Celestron G-5
The G5 is a good little scope. Just portable enough to take outside for a quick look yet large enough to reveal a good amount of detail on Jupiter. Don't have the mount that is standard with the G5, I have the CG-5 mount. It is quite steady with the G5 on it, but I can't imagine the mount that is standard would be very steady. The diagonal that originally came with it was way out of collimation. Had to be replaced. Optics are easy to collimate. Collimation was almost dead on upon arrival.

If it wasn't for the diagonal problem when I first got the scope, I would rate the G5 a 10 (scope only, not including the standard mount)

Overall Rating: 9
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
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Link to this vote: http://excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=38913

Celestron G-5
Rating is based on a 10 for OTA and an 8 for mount. For the money the is an excellent value. The OTA is superb, sharp optics and smooth focus. The mount is light and stable, but a little loose could be made better. I much happier with G-5 than ETX.

Overall Rating: 9
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
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Link to this vote: http://excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=38914

Celestron G-5
I'm highly satisfied with the G5; In searching for the telescope that would suit me best, the G5 provided the best compromise for portability and aperture. The mount is stable and the drive is suitable for visual tracking - which is all I'm interested in at this time. While I'm not very experienced in performing star tests, based on my understanding of them, my G5 has first rate optics. It has provided me with better planetary views than any of my previous telescopes, (including an 11" Newtonian Dob, a 6" f8 Newtonian, and a Mak.)

Overall Rating: No Vote
Weight: <none>
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Link to this vote: http://excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=38915

Celestron G-5
I entered a comment previously -- just wanted to add a rating as well.

Overall Rating: 10
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=38916

Celestron G-5
First scope -- I wanted something that would be a good backyard scope as well as as a spotting scope on a tripod. TRIPOD: I would have prefered a more stable tripod but this likely would have put the G-5 out of my initial price range. The tripod is good when not fully extended, and the accessory tray helps the stability. OPTICS: After using the G-5 for about 9 months, I was beginning to itch for more light gathering, until taking the G-5 to our local deep sky site. Using Pentax XL eyepieces I was just amazed at the quality of the G-5! The same eyepieces on an 8" Celestron or the Meade ETX 90 showed the G-5's optics are superb!

Overall Rating: 9
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
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Link to this vote: http://excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=38917

Celestron G-5
I had tried the ETX, and previously owned a 4" refractor, and I've really enjoyed the G-5 scope. It is worlds apart from the ETX, and optics compared favorably to the refractor.

I had hoped to gradually upgrade drive and mount, plus add a focus motor, and finally add go-to software, but as I've found, it is much cheaper to buy a larger scope, such as a G8, C8, or LX10 which comes with a better drive and mount, and these scopes have plenty of accessories avialable from several sources. A decent mount and a 2 axis drive are as much as the scope inself.

In spite of the portability, which is great, the lack of reasonable upgrades are a serious drawback for me. In fact, I've yet to find a focus motor.But in all fairness, the ease of use is the reason I've become more and more involved with the stars.

Overall Rating: 7
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
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Link to this vote: http://excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=38918

Celestron G-5
Optical quality is very, very nice. The f/10 focal length makes this a very versatile scope for browsing about and for zooming in on planets. Takes a while to cool down on cold nights. The finder is definitely adequate. Biggest minus: slow-mo controls on the mount suck, especially the RA. But you get what you pay for, and the price is VERY reasonable.

A 4.5" short tube newtonian is a serious competitor to this at a much lower price.

Overall Rating: 8
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
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Link to this vote: http://excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=38919

Celestron G-5
I like it but saturn isn't too good with the eyepiece it comes with it

Overall Rating: 8
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=38920

Celestron G-5
The G5 I bought had an undersized corrector plate and
as a result the secondary mirror was off center by more
than 1mm. The views were not crisp or sharp or any of
the other good things that I've heard. This was to be
my first scope, and as a result of all the hassle I've
had, my enthusiasm for amateur astronomy has been greatly
diminished. I don't think that I shall look into buying
another scope at all for a long time. Celestron should
really up thier quality conrol a bit. Even if means a
slight increase in the price. I am not sure if most
people new to astronomy would have known that there was
anything wrong the scope just to look through it. They
might assume that all views of the heavens should look
so uninspiring and abandon the an otherwise very rewarding
and stimulating hobby in disgust.
The same problem seems to occur in the Nexstar 5.
I must add however that Celestron was willing to try to
fix the OTA, but I opted to return it for reasons having more
to do with the dealer that I bought it from.

Overall Rating: No Vote
Weight: <none>
Date:
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Link to this vote: http://excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=38921

Celestron G-5
OTA appearance: very cute and attractive(10)
Optics: Fine optics, very good deep sky performance, light grasp is great. Planets show good details, but not as sharp as pronto/ranger(perhaps is the problem of my collimation skill).(9)
Mount: Very stable, better then celestar8. R.A slow motion control sucks, so is the R.A locking knob(was improved, thanx Ed ting).(7)
Portability: terrific, you can stuff the ota and mount head in a back pack easily, still have the room for other big e/ps and binocular.(10)
Price: Unbeatable(10)

Overall Rating: 9
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=38922

Celestron G-5
OTA appearance: very cute and attractive(10)
Optics: Fine optics, very good deep sky performance, light grasp is great. Planets show good details, but not as sharp as pronto/ranger(perhaps is the problem of my collimation skill).(9)
Mount: Very stable, better then celestar8. R.A slow motion control sucks, so is the R.A locking knob(was improved, thanx Ed ting).(7)
Portability: terrific, you can stuff the ota and mount head in a back pack easily, still have the room for other big e/ps and binocular.(10)
Price: Unbeatable(10)

Overall Rating: 9
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=38923

Celestron G-5
Very nice telescope. The optics are excellent. On planets it shows crisp clean views. Sometimes think I can see the Encke's minima. The contrast is somewhat affected by the large central obstruction. However only realised these qualities after a couple of months since the factory collimation turned out to be crap. Don't be afraid to collimate this telescope. The focuser is smooth and image shift is virtually non-existant. The tripod is ok just don't extend the legs all the way out. The mount is the weakest part. It is somewhat flexible making the telescope vibrate in windy conditions. The tracking is good for visual use. The RA slowmotion control was initially very bad sometimes sticking so much that the RA motor couldn't track. I fixed it by losing the two bolts under the worm gear and adjusting. Now it is silky smooth. An annoying problem is that the slow motion controls tend to collide with each other or the motor at certain attitude. All together a very good and portable telescope for visual use.
Ole

Overall Rating: 9
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=38924

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