Celestron C5

I would definitely buy this for that price after you check it out. Use a planet that is up right now (Saturn) and both of those eyepieces to check the optics. The optics should give you a really crisp, beautiful view. Don’t expect the go to on that scope to work very well. This was actually my first scope about 25 years ago when these were new. I wound up selling it and buying a 6 inch Orion dob.

B Bogdan Damian Bogdan Damian · 12.5K subscribers · May 2024

It is said that a small five or 6 in Schmidt categoran telescope is the perfect allrounder instrument for observing planets, the moon and brighter DSOs as well as for taking the first steps in the world of astrophotography and I'm inclined to agree with this idea.

C Cloudynights Article

The other options in the 5" range are the Celestron C5 and one of the 5" Mak-Cass; the former is ideally better for portability being a bit smaller and lighter but is also noticeably more expensive (roughly +200€), and you need also a fairly sturdy phototripod and a fitting head (again, the C5 may allow to skimp a bit on tripod/head).

A AstroScope AstroScope · 12.9K subscribers · Jul 2016

Visual back end also has an external thread but unfortunately this is not a T-thread, and for installing cameras will have to additionally acquire not only the T-ring, but also a t-adapter. For use with visual backing. not bad direct image prism with a break in the optical axis 45 degrees. Prism is perfect for ground observations and will be quite acceptable for astronomical.

T Telescopic Watch Price Less · reviewer · Feb 2026

Using Celestron’s C5 SCT optical tube atop the StarSense Explorer mount, the StarSense Explorer DX 5” doesn’t have views any better than a typical 130 mm reflector model. In fact, it’s quite a bit inferior in performance. But it is slightly steadier and more compact thanks to the C5 optical tube’s Schmidt-Cassegrain design. However, it lacks motorized tracking like most similarly sized scopes in t

D Deep SkyLab Deep SkyLab · 4.4K subscribers · May 2026

The C5 is a lot closer in size and portability. Let me grab it off the wall here. And the MK127 only has about 2% more aperture by diameter. I think this is 125, this is 127. Um but it has 20% more focal length. And in my sample, the MK127 looked sharper both visually and in imaging than my sample of a Celestron C5. That said, SCTs can vary a lot from unit to unit.