Celestron Dew Shield with Cover Cap – Fits 8" Schmidt, EdgeHD, RASA

Good fit good quality BUT Too heavy. 8” Nexster starts to slowly drop. If you adjust the center of gravity it makes it unusable for objects approaching the zenith. It causes the scope to hit the bottom of the bracket. I returned it. Looking for a lighter replacement. Update. Five minutes after I shipped it back to Amazon. Celestron support sent me an email saying to tjghten the clutch nut. This tightened up the movement of the up and down axis. Probably be ordering it again.

I bought this for two purposes: First, during a night of viewing in Western Washington's wet air, this keeps the lens from fogging up on my EdgeHD 11" (which it certainly did without any protection). Secondly, for calibration exposures, especially flats: It is very handy to point the OTA straight up (Zenith), put a few layers of white paper or cloth over the top and an A2 format tracing panel on top of that to sequence a number of "flat" exposures for calibrating the extreme concentric gradient or the SCT in the astro-photos captured in a session. It works great for that. (Make sure to put some Gorilla tape over the cooling light on a ZWO cooled camera and lay some dark paper or cloth over the camera to keep from getting a red reflection glow in your flats. The only caveat is that, for "dark" calibration frames, it leaks light and will require some effort seal off all of the places (around the edges at the OTA and around the cap) that may be leaky. So, for dark frames I just parked the OTA in the horizontal position, unscrewed the camera and capped it, and laid the camera inside the OTA to expose the darks and biases--after waiting for the sensor to cool again.

I have both the Astrozap and the Celestron aluminum dew shields for the RASA 8. The Celestron dew shield is 12.2 oz heavier (1 lb, 14.8 oz v 1lb 2.6 oz for the Astrozap). For the Astrozap, unless you have both a top and bottom CGM dovetail bars on the RASA, getting the Astrozap to fit straight is a bit of a challenge. (I might note that adding the optional top CGM dovetail bar on the RASA 8 adds about two pounds!) The Celestron dew shield has inner tabs which fit against the front of the scope to insure a straight alignment. The two locking tabs on the Celestron means you can attach and remove the dew shield much more quickly than the 4 thumbscrews on the Astrozap. The Celestron also has an inner felt lining to help absorb stray light, and a front cover, both of which are missing from the Astrozap. The Celestron does a better job of blocking stray light from the back end of the shield, which is a plus for taking calibration frames on the RASA. The Celestron dew shield is a great match from the Celestron corrector plate dew heater, as the dew heater connectors snap into place on the Celestron dew shield. Finally, the Celestron aluminum dew shield is much less expensive than the Astrozap shield. Clear winner: Celestron!

Bought this so I had a rigid dew shield for taking flats with hyperstar installed. Serves that purpose well. My only gripe is the cover falls off easily and is aluminum so it dents, which requires a fix before using again. This is one time where a high quality plastic with a tight fit may have been better. Regardless this us a great product and whole a bit pricey it is worth it!

Works well enough as a dew shield. I do like the side port for the dew heater ring, and it does allow enough room for camera cables when using a Hyperstar 4. The Hyperstar was my main reason for purchasing this dew shield. Since it has a dust cap, it allows me to leave the hyperstar attached and not have to worry about dust on the corrector plate. Fitment could have been a little better. There are lots of gaps around the edge that let in light. Which ruins dark frames. You will definitely have to cover those. And if you're running a cooled camera for dark frames with the hyperstar, heat can't dissipate with the end cap on. So you'll have to watch that carefully. Other than those couple things, it works great and it looks nice as well.

This fit snugly onto a Celestron C8 easily and helps block out a lot of stray light from neighbors.

Fit and finish is perfect for your SCT. Snaps right into place and is very secure. A must have for your SCT.

I’m very pleased with the fit. Perfect alignment and easy engagement. It seems very secure on my NexStar 6se OTA. Had it out this morning and had no light leak issues. It’s worth the money spent. I’ll get one for my next larger scope.

Fantastic dew shield! Beautiful design. Fits beautifully. Expensive….., yes. But the best you’ll ever own!

Very solidly built, and the front lid closes nicely, neatly hiding the cables for my Dew heater ring. One thing to keep in mind is the weight, so everything is balanced properly.

Great dew cover from celestron also keeps straylight from my telescope

Ottimo prodotto. Protegge il mio telescopio dall'umidità che abbiamo qui in Sicilia.

Livraison super rapide, colis très bien emballé et protéger, et le prix très attractif.