Equipment Weight and Lens Coatings

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Some of the telescope manufactures promote their special lens coatings like Meade's UHTC lens coating, Celestron's XLT coating, etc. The manufactures claim the coatings increase total light transmission and image brightness. Is this hype, or are the special coatings worth it?

Also, I am considering purchasing an 8" or 10" schmidt cassegrain. Really how much more awkward is the 10" compared to the 8". The specifications do indicate a difference in weight. Viewing would be done in a park a few blocks away. The models I am considering are the Celestron Nexstar 8 GPS and the Meade LX 200 GPS 8". Do these GPS alignment star finders live up to the manufactures hype?

Thanks in advance for a reply.

opticsplanet.com · Posted: Wed Jan 11, 2006 4:57 pm Post subject:

Hi

You're not likely to notice much difference visually with special coatings on a small mirror, but the difference becomes significant on a larger mirror. Then too, it doesn't make sense to invest in a big scope without going the extra for the higher performance coatings. Performance is the major reason for going with a larger scope in the first place.

It may not seem like much on paper, but going from an 8" to a 10" scope is also significant in terms of weight and portability. Best advice I can give is go look at a sample of each, especially if you will be moving the scope a lot.

GPS is a nice feature for aligning the scope. It beats inputting a zip code and it also allows you to coordinate the timing of celestial events more precisely for your location.
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