Bought a NexStar 6 SE back in December 2012. Used often and it is a brilliant scope. The 23" eyepiece provided is excellent, very clear. Very easy to set up and transport to viewing sites as well. I would highly recommend it.Things to note:You dont need a carry case, just get a $20 plastic box big enough to fit the bottom half of the packing it comes in, get one wide enough that you can fit in the Power Tank you will need as well - DO NOT USE BATTERIES.Consider some kind of heater - i have a 'shade' that wraps around the top of the scope with a heater attached to stop glare in the area, and kill off any dew if that is an issue where you are (rarely for me in the Caribbean)- powered again by the Power Tank.Use the auto two star align - the three star align is not reliable for some reason, always off target when slewing. With the two star align, i put the alignment object in the bottom left corner of the eyepiece, hit the button, then move the object right (to bottom center of eyepiece) then up to middle of my eyepiece to center it properly, then hit align button. Do the same when the scope slews to the second alignment object, and voila, your scope will slew to objects and center them in your eyepiece. It may drift out slightly the first time you slew due to play on the gears (it will head to the top of the eyepiece), but one correction and it then seems to track objects accurately for hours.Overall, the optics are outstanding for a 6 inch, especially with the supplied 23" eye piece. I bought the celestron accessory kit with the eye pieces/2x barlow and filters and those are slightly darker than the supplied 23" (still excellent for the price!!). Other members of my astronomy club are jealous of my scope as it is easy to transport, can take all the transportation (Still perfectly collimated after a year of frequent hauling up and down my condo stairs and transport to the sites) and still works like a charm. Excellent bit of kit indeed, and all for $1,000 with the power tank, accessory kit, vibration pads etc. I would say the supplied finder thingy is a bit cheap, and you have to really force it to its lowest setting, but its still working a year later as well, and if needs be, just buy a Telrad. OK, you can get a better 6 inch scope iom sure, but not any where near this price. So 5 stars from me.