Telescope Comparison
Celestron NexStar 130SLT vs Sky-Watcher Quattro 150P
The Celestron NexStar 130SLT is a complete setup. The Sky-Watcher Quattro 150P needs a mount before it's usable.
First light
Celestron · 130mm · £499
The guided beginner's telescope
- 130mm newtonian reflector on a computerised mount with motorised tracking
- Good for: Moon, planets, bright nebulae, star clusters, and deep-sky objects
- GoTo system finds any object in its database after initial star alignment — no star atlas needed
- Tracking motors keep objects centred as Earth rotates — useful above 100×, essential for photography
- 8.5kg total — requires a fixed garden spot or car transport
Sky-Watcher · 150mm · £399
The custom-rig optical tube
- 150mm newtonian reflector — optical tube only, no mount included
- 750mm focal length at f/5
- Requires a compatible mount before you can observe anything
- Best for: observers who already own a suitable mount or are building a specific imaging rig
- Not a complete purchase — budget at least £100–300 extra for a mount before observing
The full picture
The numbers that separate these two scopes — and what they mean at the eyepiece.
Aperture
Sky-Watcher Quattro 150P gathers 1.3× more light. On bright targets — Moon, Saturn, Jupiter — you won't notice. On fainter targets — dim galaxies, faint globular clusters — the gap is real.
Focal length
Sky-Watcher Quattro 150P's longer focal length reaches higher magnification with the same eyepiece — better reach for planetary detail. Celestron NexStar 130SLT's shorter focal length gives a wider true field — better for large open clusters and extended nebulae.
Focal ratio
Same focal ratio — the same eyepiece gives equivalent magnification and true field in both scopes.
Mount type
Sky-Watcher Quattro 150P has no mount — add a compatible mount before you can observe. Celestron NexStar 130SLT is a complete ready-to-use system.
Weight (OTA)
Celestron NexStar 130SLT's optical tube is 1.7kg lighter. Relevant if you plan to use it on multiple mounts or carry the tube to dark-sky sites separately.
Optical design
Both are Newtonian reflectors — the same optical formula. Any performance difference comes from collimation quality, focal ratio, and eyepiece choice, not the design itself.
At the eyepiece
| Target | Celestron NexStar 130SLT | Sky-Watcher Quattro 150P |
|---|---|---|
| Planets | ||
| Moon | Excellent 130mm resolves craters, rilles, and mountain shadows in fine detail; the GoTo tracking keeps the Moon centred as it drifts | Excellent 150mm aperture delivers crisp lunar detail; the f/5 focal ratio is less forgiving at high magnification but still rewards visual observation |
| Saturn | Good Rings clearly separated, Cassini Division visible in good seeing; 650mm focal length limits useful magnification compared to longer-focal-length scopes | Good 150mm resolves rings and Cassini Division; 750mm focal length falls short of the 1000mm+ ideal for high-magnification planetary detail |
| Jupiter | Good Two main equatorial belts and Galilean moons easily visible; hints of additional belt structure on steady nights | Good Cloud belts, GRS, and Galilean moons visible; faster focal ratio demands quality eyepieces for clean high-power views |
| Mars | Moderate Disc and polar cap visible at opposition; surface albedo features require excellent seeing and are subtle at 130mm | Good 150mm aperture shows polar caps and major albedo features near opposition; limited focal length constrains useful magnification |
Deep sky | ||
| Orion Nebula (M42) | Excellent 130mm at f/5 shows extensive nebulosity and the Trapezium; short focal length frames the full nebula with surrounding context | Excellent 150mm aperture and wide f/5 field frame the full nebula with surrounding running man region — superb both visually and for imaging |
| Andromeda Galaxy (M31) | Excellent 650mm focal length captures the bright core and extended halo in a single field; 130mm aperture shows dust lane hints under dark skies | Excellent 750mm focal length captures the full extent of M31 on an APS-C sensor; visually the core and dust lanes are evident |
| Open clusters | Excellent Wide true field at 650mm frames large clusters like the Double Cluster and Pleiades beautifully with fully resolved stars | Excellent Wide field at 750mm frames large clusters like the Double Cluster and Pleiades beautifully |
| Globular clusters | Moderate M13 and M3 appear as bright granular balls with hints of resolution at the edges; cores remain unresolved at 130mm | Good 150mm begins to resolve outer stars in M13 and M22; core remains granular rather than fully resolved |
| Faint galaxies | Moderate Galaxy pairs like M81/M82 visible as soft glows with distinguishable shapes; fainter targets require dark skies and averted vision | Good 150mm gathers enough light for many NGC galaxies; imaging with stacked exposures reveals detail well beyond what's visible at the eyepiece |
| Milky Way / wide field | Good 650mm focal length is slightly long for sweeping Milky Way panoramas but still shows rich star fields with a wide-angle eyepiece | Good 750mm focal length gives rich star fields but is narrower than the sub-400mm ideal for true Milky Way sweeps |
Other | ||
| Double stars | Good 130mm resolves doubles down to about 1 arcsecond; the fast f/5 focal ratio makes tight splits harder than in a longer-focal-ratio scope | Good 150mm resolves sub-arcsecond pairs in theory, but the f/5 focal ratio is less forgiving than long focal ratio refractors for clean splitting |
| Astrophotography (planetary) | Moderate 130mm with GoTo tracking supports webcam planetary imaging; the alt-az mount and mount vibration limit results compared to equatorial setups | Good 150mm provides decent planetary image scale; a 2× Barlow brings effective focal length to 1500mm which helps, but no mount is included |
| Astrophotography (deep sky) | Not applicable | Not recommended No mount or tracking included — the OTA is designed for deep-sky imaging but requires a separately purchased equatorial mount to function as an astrograph |
| Emission nebulae (wide-field imaging) | Not applicable | Excellent The f/5 speed and 750mm focal length are ideal for large emission targets like the Rosette, Veil, and North America Nebulae when paired with a suitable mount and narrowband filters |
The real tradeoff
Both scopes are capable. The question is which one fits the way you actually observe.
Celestron NexStar 130SLT
- You'll unbox this, set it on a table or tripod, align on a couple of bright stars, and be hopping between the Orion Nebula, Andromeda, and Saturn's rings within 20 minutes — no prior sky knowledge required beyond following the handset prompts.
- You'll spend your sessions browsing through thousands of GoTo targets, stumbling onto objects you didn't know existed, and that sense of discovery is what keeps casual observers coming back — but you'll also learn to dread touching the focuser at 150x, because the single-arm mount wobbles for several seconds every time.
- You'll replace the cheap Kellner eyepieces within weeks, buy a power tank after your first set of dead AAs, and eventually accept that astrophotography beyond quick lunar snapshots simply isn't what this mount was built for — but for pure visual touring on a whim, nothing at this price gets you pointed at targets faster.
Sky-Watcher Quattro 150P
- You'll open the box and find a tube with no mount, no eyepiece, no finder, and no coma corrector — your real spending starts after purchase, and you need to already know what an EQ mount, guide scope, and imaging train are before this OTA makes any sense.
- You'll spend your first sessions wrestling with collimation, backfocus spacing, and tilt — but once you nail the imaging train, the f/5 speed lets you pull faint nebulosity out of suburban skies in a fraction of the exposure time a slower scope would need, and framing targets like the full Veil Nebula complex on an APS-C sensor feels genuinely rewarding.
- You'll rarely, if ever, put an eyepiece in this scope — it's designed around a camera payload, and your observing sessions are measured in hours of guided exposures and post-processing, not quick peeks at Saturn's rings.
The dark side
Every scope has a personality. Here’s where each one gets difficult.
Celestron
Celestron NexStar 130SLT
The single-arm SLT mount flexes noticeably in any breeze and at magnifications above 150x — every focuser touch triggers several seconds of vibration, making high-power planetary viewing an exercise in patience.
The GoTo alignment asks you to identify 2–3 named bright stars, which sounds simple until you're a complete beginner standing under the sky unable to tell Arcturus from Vega — the very audience this scope targets can get stuck at step one.
Eight AA batteries drain within a few hours of active GoTo slewing, so you'll effectively need a dedicated power tank or mains adapter from day one — an ongoing cost the sticker price doesn't advertise.
Sky-Watcher
Sky-Watcher Quattro 150P
The OTA ships with no mount, no coma corrector, no finder, and no eyepiece — budget realistically for an EQ GoTo mount, guide setup, and coma corrector that together can cost three to five times the tube price before you capture a single frame.
At f/5, coma at the field edges is severe without a dedicated coma corrector — this isn't a nice-to-have accessory, it's mandatory for usable images across the sensor.
The 750mm focal length limits planetary image scale significantly, so if you're hoping to image Jupiter or Saturn at any serious resolution, you'll need a Barlow or a separate dedicated planetary scope — this astrograph is built for wide-field deep-sky work and only that.
Which is right for you?
Two different buyers. Two different right answers.
The guided beginner's telescope
Celestron · Celestron NexStar 130SLT
You'll love the 130SLT if you're new to astronomy, want something that works out of the box tonight, and care more about touring dozens of objects in a session than squeezing out every last detail from any single one. You're the kind of observer who gets excited pointing at M13 and then immediately asking 'what's next?' — and you want the scope to answer that question for you. This isn't for you if you're chasing long-exposure deep-sky images, need a mount that stays rock-steady at high power, or already know the sky well enough that GoTo feels like a crutch rather than a gateway.
The custom-rig optical tube
Sky-Watcher · Sky-Watcher Quattro 150P
You'll thrive with the Quattro 150P if you've already learned polar alignment, own or are budgeting for a capable EQ GoTo mount, and specifically want an affordable fast Newtonian astrograph to capture wide-field nebulae and galaxy groups. You're comfortable spending more on the imaging train than the tube itself, and you find satisfaction in stacking hours of data rather than peeking through an eyepiece. This isn't for you if you want a complete ready-to-observe package, if you've never guided an exposure, or if your main interest is visual observing — a Dobsonian would give you far more aperture for the same total spend.
Our verdict
This comparison has a catch: the Sky-Watcher Quattro 150P is a bare optical tube. You cannot use it without a separate mount — which adds meaningful cost and complexity. The Celestron NexStar 130SLT is a complete, ready-to-observe package.
For most buyers, the Celestron NexStar 130SLT is the right choice — you can observe the same night it arrives. The Sky-Watcher Quattro 150P makes sense if you already own a compatible mount, or are deliberately building a specific imaging setup piece by piece. If I had to choose for a first telescope: the Celestron NexStar 130SLT, without hesitation.
Celestron NexStar 130SLT
View Celestron NexStar 130SLT →Sky-Watcher Quattro 150P
View Sky-Watcher Quattro 150P →Deep field: Full specifications
Every data point, for those who want to go further.
Full specifications
Fields highlighted in blue or amber indicate the better value for that spec. Data is manufacturer-stated and may vary.
How much can it see?
| Spec | Celestron NexStar 130SLT | Sky-Watcher Quattro 150P |
|---|---|---|
Apertureⓘ The most important spec — bigger = more light = better views | 130mm | 150mm |
Focal Length Longer = more magnification potential | 650mm | 750mm |
Focal Ratio Lower f-number = wider field of view; higher = more magnification per eyepiece | f/5 | f/5 |
Optical Design The type of optics — each design has different strengths | Newtonian Reflector | Newtonian Reflector |
Coatings Better coatings = more light transmission through the optics | Fully multi-coated parabolic mirror | Parabolic primary mirror, fully multi-coated |
How do you point it?
| Spec | Celestron NexStar 130SLT | Sky-Watcher Quattro 150P |
|---|---|---|
Mount Type The mechanical system that holds and moves the telescope | GoTo (Computerised) | None (OTA only) |
GoToⓘ Computer-controlled pointing — finds any of thousands of objects automatically | ||
Trackingⓘ Motor keeps objects centred as the Earth rotates — essential for astrophotography |
The focuser
| Spec | Celestron NexStar 130SLT | Sky-Watcher Quattro 150P |
|---|---|---|
Focuser Size 2" accepts wider eyepieces and gives better low-power views | 1.25" | 2" |
Focuser Type Rack-and-pinion is standard; Crayford and dual-speed are smoother | Rack and pinion | Dual-speed Crayford (10:1 reduction) |
Size & weight
| Spec | Celestron NexStar 130SLT | Sky-Watcher Quattro 150P |
|---|---|---|
OTA Weightⓘ Optical tube only — useful for comparing mount load capacity | 2.9kg | 4.6kg |
Total Weight Full setup including mount — this is what you lug to the car | 8.5kg | — |
Tube Length | 620mm | — |
Tube Material | Steel | Steel |
What's in the box?
| Spec | Celestron NexStar 130SLT | Sky-Watcher Quattro 150P |
|---|---|---|
Eyepieces Included eyepieces — more is better, but quality matters more than quantity | 25mm and 9mm eyepieces | — |
Finder Scope Helps you locate areas of the sky before switching to the main eyepiece | StarPointer red dot finder | — |
Diagonal Tilts the eyepiece 90° for comfortable viewing — useful on refractors |
Blue highlight: Celestron NexStar 130SLT advantage · Amber highlight: Sky-Watcher Quattro 150P advantage · Greyed cells: equal or subjective.