Celestron Advanced VX
Celestron Advanced VX
Why is the Celestron Advanced VX so popular?
The Celestron Advanced VX has been the hottest selling telescope mount in our store ever since its introduction in 2013. As German Equatorial mounts go, the Advanced VX mount is both lightweight and user friendly. Both the tripod and equatorial head, which are the two heaviest components, weigh roughly 17 pounds. The included 12 pound counterweight, which is the next heaviest component, is adequate for most configurations. A polar alignment scope is optional but not really necessary due to the included All Star Polar alignment utility built into the on-board NexStar computer system.
Users report good results when imaging with this mount together with small third party refractors or a Schmidt-Cassegrain of up to eight inches in aperture. If an entry level imaging system is your primary goal, we recommend the 6-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain (SCT) model. The lighter weight and shorter focal length of this instrument are both beneficial for starting your journey into astrophotography. The eight inch SCT and EdgeHD optical tubes are the heaviest options one should consider for imaging applications with this mount as the addition of a camera, autoguider and off axis guider will quickly approach the instrument capacity of the mount. The addition of a guide scope would certainly push the instrment load above the capacity of the Advanced VX mount. The larger aperture 9.25 inch SCT and the six-inch f/8 refractor options are strictly visual instruments. In some respects we feel that placing the eleven-inch SCT on this mount may be something of a bridge too far in terms of its capacity.