Celestron NexStar Evolution 6 Schmidt-Cassegrain Telescope w/WiFi,Black 12090

So far I’m happy with my purchase. I really like the evolution mount. The 6 inch Schmidt- Cassegrain is a good size for me. I have an older C8 on an AVX equatorial mount.So I wanted something close to that size but more portable with the built-in Wi-Fi and the battery. I used this set up a handful of times and it’s been good. I’m in an astronomy club and do public outreach so this is something that I can use for that. It’s quick and easy to set up. It limits my amount of gear I have to haul around. It’s perfect for my needs.. I really like the way the scope stays attached to the mount for storage. It stores in the original foam that came with the box. I put the whole thing into a heavy duty tote. The views through the scope are really good. It does come with an inch and a quarter diagonal and inch quarter eye pieces . these are pretty basic and OK but,I like to use 2 inch pieces so I upgraded to a 2 inch diagonal so I can use my Televue 2 inch eye pieces.i’m able to use the built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth and use my iPad mini to locate objects and move the scope. It does come with an included hand controller, which works fine, but being able to use a handheld device was one of the main reasons I wanted the evolution mount.The shipping was fast. Everything was all packed up in the one box and arrived in good condition.

This is a review for the 9.25"Quite impressed with this telescope. I upgraded from a 8" and there is a significant difference.The telescope arrive in several pieces (tripod, mount, OTA), putting it together is very easy and takes just a few minutes.The tripod is very sturdy and stable. Also it can be closed without removing the spreader. It has a strap on one of the leg that can be used to keep the tripod closed during transportation. The spreader is metal, not plastic, so solid and convenient to store eyepieces.The mount is solid and rather heavy and is secured to the tripod with spring loaded knob. An improvement versus the 8".Once everything is assembled, I can still move it around in a single piece, even if just for a few meters (ie from inside the house to the backyard were I do the observation) w/o having to take everything apart. If I drive somewhere, I need to separate and collapse the tripod from the rest.WiFi connection to mobile device simplify the alignment. The scope takes position and time from the mobile device GPS, so you are left with only pointing to three stars. Much faster vs my previous Nerxstar 8SE, where you need to punch in location, city, time zone etc.However the mobile app is not as stable as I would have liked. Sometimes crashes, sometime lose connection to the scope... very often is not responsive or you just make a tap on a movement arrow...and the scope keeps moving, because the app is stuck and thinks you are still pressing the moving button. The delayed response often causes you to overcorrect when fine aligning objects. Infact now I use the app for alignment setup, for GoTo, but all the scope movement, fine tuning, corrections are done via the handheld device... to avoid the overcorrections, and the annoying unresponsiveness of the app. The app need some definitive improvement.The finderscope is the same of the 8SE, and not up to the improved telescope. Does the job, but the red light is a bit too big, the collimation of the finderscope is difficult and not very stable. In a word, the finderscope is cheap...good for a lower tiered scope. Celestron should be providing something better.Also the Evo 9.25 doesn't come with the RS232 cable for firmware upgrade. Seriously? a 2K$ scope without a necessary 5$ cable. Not sure which misguided marketing decision is that. The cable was included in my previous 8SE which cost half the money. initially I assumed it was because you can upgrade firmware via the WiFi, but it isn't the case.Another thing I noticed for this scope vs the 8SE, is that I need to collimate the optic very often, almost every use. It arrived way off collimation, and maybe because of the larger optics, doesn't seem to keep collimation after having moved.Chromatic aberration is also more significant than the 8SE.Motor is significant better than the 8SE, much more precise, accurate and effective, keeps alignment much better... it is also quite more noisyAnother useful improvement, is the red light projected on the mount were there is space for some eyepiece, which is very helpfulNOTE: buy as well the Vibration Suppression Pads ASIN B0000665V7... they make a VERY significant difference, truly reducing wind induced vibration, or vibration created by you focusing on object VERY significantly. Vibrations stop immediately as soon as you aren't touching anything, vs w/o pads were it takes a couple of seconds moreThe scope was bought via Adorama (ASIN B0172UR7QU) which is the same and comes bundled with an eyepieces kit for free . Fantastic customer service, very happy with packaging, shipment and the interactions I had with their customer support.In conclusion, it has an aperture large enough to do some very decent observation and photography even in a city polluted light, and still compact enough that it can be easily transported and moved around. It has significant improvement and features vs the Nexstar 8SE: much sturdier tripod, better motor, wifi that enable you to use GPS of a mobile device, overall more solid and professional.Anyhow, see the attached pictures taken with the Evo 9.25 and a Neximage 5, processed with PIPP and Registax 6

This was my first ever telescope purchase. I researched for months before deciding to go with the Evolution 8 as it was pricey but figured it would grow with me.My experience has been nothing but disappointing. I took the item out and set it up. On day 1 the tripod wouldn’t work, the screws to bold the extended legs were loose. The bolts themselves weren’t stripped, but the screws to hold them in seemed too big or there were the wrong guage.I then contacted the seller (Adorama) for resolution. They only offered returns but asked me to work with the manufacturer Celestron first. I did just that and weeks later they sent me new screws that were exactly the same as what I had, so that didn’t solve the problem.I was left with no other resolution but to return, which I just did. While I am still interested in astronomy, this really turned me off of the product. The seller originally asked me to pay for shipping back, but since it was a defective product I requested they pay for it to which they agreed thankfully as it is quite a large package weighing about 60lbs. Now I am awaiting my refund, which hopefully will not include any restocking or fees as I received and returned a defective product. Overall I am disappointed with my experience all around.