Meade LX200 GPS

[rocket]

I am thinking of upgrading from my 8" Starfinder to a 10" Meade LX200 GPS. I am a little concerned about mount stability in general usage and astrophotography applications. Does anyone have any thoughts on this they would like to share with me? How stable is the system, how well does it perform and just general feedback on the scope. Thanks a ton for your input.

[Falcon]

You may call it prejudice, but Every person I know that has bought one of the 10" LX200's has had many, many mechanical problems with them. Now these were not the GPS models which are newer, but I'd be leary of plunking down that much cash for something that may spend the first 18 months back and forth to customer "service".

Try the Celestron 11" GPS unit instead. I know 3 recent new owners, one of which was a 10" LX200 owner, and they are all thrilled with the performance.

For the astrophotography aspect, you'll need to buy the wedge for polar alignment. The standard alt/az mount that comes with it introduces field rotation as you track, ruining the shot, so you definitely need to be polar aligned.