Price of NexStar 5SE.?

Well, ..., as far as views go there' no real substantive difference between a 5" MAK and 5" SCT. The SCT can be collimated and the MAK cannot. With care that should never be a problem on the MAK, however, (and I know of at least one case where this happened) if it is ever knocked out of collimation (through a careless error) you'll never be able to recollimate it.

The NexStar 5SE (£619 at first light optics) comes with a built-in polar wedge. With the addition of an autoguider and camera connection hardware it would be ready to take astrophotgraphs out of the box. With a cloth case you can put it under the front seat of an airplane while stowing the tripod overhead.

So there are some advantages. I don't know what kind of go to system you have but most MAKS that I've seen come on GEQ's which are generally bulky, difficult to operate. and often undersized for the scope. Again that's my experience yours may differ.

IMHO, a 5" aperture is undersized (unless you're going to travel doing Astrophotography) for visual astronomy. I have a friend who travels with work and wanted something light for astrophotography. The NexStar 5SE seems to met his needs.

The minimum I suggest for visual astronomy is a 6" aperture. With ~31% more light gathering capability (over the 5") you can easily spot all 110 messier objects and many of the brighter NGC objects. The 5" aperture would be a stretch to observe the fainter Messier objects.

A 10" dob. is an excellent choice for a scope. I own a 10" SCT (the views are no different) and the extra aperture really helps you bring in the faint objects although a 24" scope would be a lot of fun to own, too! ;)

Price difference is made by the Schmidt part. There is a special lens called Schmidt corrector plate. It is special full aperture piece of glass designed to eliminate spherical aberration of primary parabolic mirrors. They are expensive but they do the job. Your Maskutov Cassegrain does not have it so It can be much more cheaper.

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Maskutov corrector plate is much simpler shape therefor much simpler to manufacture therefor less expensive. There is a little visual difference but there are other things to consider. SCT is lighter, it can adapt faster (because plate is not so thick) to different temperature. MCT also usually have narrower views than SCT's because of the longer focal lengths.

Ultimately SCT is better (but also more complex) therefor is more expensive.

OMG your right I also bought one (similar) and it also only cost me 360$

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I'm not sure why there is such a price difference from net to the store...one would think it should be cheaper over the net...hmm

ONE DOLLA!