Meade ETX-90EC Telescope
- Optical Diameter: 90 mm
- Max Useful Magnification: x 325
- Finderscope: Optical
- Mount Type: Altazimuth
- Focal Length: 1250 mm
- Optical Design: Catadioptrics
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If portability is what you desire.
Pros
Light weight, portable, easy to use.
Cons
Expensive, requires add ons.
Recommended it?
No
The Bottom Line:
If you want a scope for a lifetime, and are interested in observing more than the moon and bright planets, get a bigger scope.
The Meade ETX 90 is a revolutionary telescope. The small size and light weight mean that it can easily be thrown into the back of my Ford Laser and taken to darker sites. This scope is in fact small enough to fit into a backpack which is great for those of us whom like hiking and birding(if you don't take the tripod.)However if you want to start exploring nebulae, galaxies and deep space objects this might not be the scope for you. The ETX 90, is still only a baby and only collects enough light for the beginning or backyard observer. If planets are your game then the ETX 90 will reveal some lovely details on the moon, Jupiter and the rings of Saturn. Mars this year (2003) should be pretty cool with a 90mm scope revealing ice caps and surface details. BUT do not expect the ETX 90 to pry into the dark stuff.
What you can expect to see depends on your eyes, patience and ability to record and analyze what your seeing. The rings of Saturn will not show any detail, they will be milky white and lifeless. You will see 3 bands on Jupiter and four of its moons, NO RED SPOT (unless you have really good eyes). To resolve the detail you see in photos or to seriously analyze the planets you need an 8inch or larger scope. So if you thinking of buying a scope for life-time use forget the ETX it is too small for your needs and you WILL grow out of it. Instead I would recommend a Dobsonian because they are cheap and easy to use. Also if you need to be "wowed" by big bright images of galaxies or other deep space wonders this scope is not for you.
This is an expensive scope for its size, plus you will need to buy a tripod (not cheap), and then extra oculas (not cheap), then you need to buy the Autostar (not cheap). All in all before you can begin to enjoy the night sky you will need to fork out at least twice the price of the ETX scope. For that reason I would probably recommend getting a much larger dobsonian scope for about the same price, because at the end of the day size really does matter.
I now use my etx as a CCD guiding scope, that is mounted on top of an 8inch LX200. For this activity the ETX is perfect producing outstanding results. I am not saying the optics are bad. Indeed Meade have produced almost perfect optics here, they are just too small for the price.
What you can expect to see depends on your eyes, patience and ability to record and analyze what your seeing. The rings of Saturn will not show any detail, they will be milky white and lifeless. You will see 3 bands on Jupiter and four of its moons, NO RED SPOT (unless you have really good eyes). To resolve the detail you see in photos or to seriously analyze the planets you need an 8inch or larger scope. So if you thinking of buying a scope for life-time use forget the ETX it is too small for your needs and you WILL grow out of it. Instead I would recommend a Dobsonian because they are cheap and easy to use. Also if you need to be "wowed" by big bright images of galaxies or other deep space wonders this scope is not for you.
This is an expensive scope for its size, plus you will need to buy a tripod (not cheap), and then extra oculas (not cheap), then you need to buy the Autostar (not cheap). All in all before you can begin to enjoy the night sky you will need to fork out at least twice the price of the ETX scope. For that reason I would probably recommend getting a much larger dobsonian scope for about the same price, because at the end of the day size really does matter.
I now use my etx as a CCD guiding scope, that is mounted on top of an 8inch LX200. For this activity the ETX is perfect producing outstanding results. I am not saying the optics are bad. Indeed Meade have produced almost perfect optics here, they are just too small for the price.
