I cant seem to find any reviews on this. Think there is one on cloudy nights, but thats it. Is this not a very popular scope? How does it compare to small APOs in the 80 to 102 range. If you have a 5" please post your opinion. Im concerned about the optics more than the mount. Pretty large CO so Ive heard like 40% or something. A 5"Mak on a goto mount for a grand seems like a killer deal, but Ive never even seen one. Thanks,
Meade ETX 5".
Started by Tony Grigsby, 10/15/2007 08:16PM
Posted 10/15/2007 08:16PM
Opening Post
Posted 10/15/2007 10:43PM
#2
Tony Grigsby said:
I cant seem to find any reviews on this. Think there is one on cloudy nights, but thats it. Is this not a very popular scope? How does it compare to small APOs in the 80 to 102 range. If you have a 5" please post your opinion. Im concerned about the optics more than the mount. Pretty large CO so Ive heard like 40% or something. A 5"Mak on a goto mount for a grand seems like a killer deal, but Ive never even seen one. Thanks,
I had an ETX-125 for a while. Quite a different scope than an 80-102mm APO. The combination of the 1.25 inch focuser and the 1900mm focal length restricts the field of view to something like 0.8 degrees where as a 80mm F7 APO is capable of more that 4 degrees and a 102mm F/7 is capable of something not much less than 4 degrees.
I think there is a place for the ETX-125 but it is something of a special purpose scope, no wandering the Milky Way looking at wonderous nebulosity... not a Rich Field Telescope...
Jon
Posted 10/16/2007 04:49PM
#3
Well, it does have a fairly large CO due to the secondary obstruction, but that doesn't seem to hurt it too much. The opics on mine are flat out amazing. Very good contrast and sharpness. Definitely superior to the C5...slightly at least...and that's a scope I've always respected.
Whether you'd like this f/15 scope depends on your needs. It's a great grab 'n go...enough aperture to see something, even under less than perfect skies, but still reasonably light and small.
Whether you'd like this f/15 scope depends on your needs. It's a great grab 'n go...enough aperture to see something, even under less than perfect skies, but still reasonably light and small.
Uncle Rod
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Posted 10/16/2007 10:32PM
#4
Here's a short review I wrote in 2001 at the affordable astronomy site:
http://members.tripod.com/irwincur/meade_etx_125.htm
I was a rank beginner then...not much more now. Have looked through a few more scopes, though.
Can now say, with some confidence, that the ETX125 compares favorably with a TV102 on planets and does much better on globular clusters. On open clusters and starfields, the TV102 cleans its clock thanks to the wider FOV. On double stars, the same eyepiece that splits any given double in the TV102 will split that same double when used in the ETX....and vice versa. Not sure what that means, since the ETX f.l. is over twice that of the TeleVue.
Still have mine. Optically it's pretty sharp, it's convenient to use and it's probably not worth much used. I don't bother with GoTo any more. I just set it up in polar mode on the wedge and start the tracking motors. The basic hand controller is then used to slew to whatever target I want. The GoTo was pretty frustrating back then. The newer models are probably better.
The plastic construction was a sore point. Yet, I treated it gently and nothing ever broke.
FWIW
Bob
http://members.tripod.com/irwincur/meade_etx_125.htm
I was a rank beginner then...not much more now. Have looked through a few more scopes, though.
Can now say, with some confidence, that the ETX125 compares favorably with a TV102 on planets and does much better on globular clusters. On open clusters and starfields, the TV102 cleans its clock thanks to the wider FOV. On double stars, the same eyepiece that splits any given double in the TV102 will split that same double when used in the ETX....and vice versa. Not sure what that means, since the ETX f.l. is over twice that of the TeleVue.
Still have mine. Optically it's pretty sharp, it's convenient to use and it's probably not worth much used. I don't bother with GoTo any more. I just set it up in polar mode on the wedge and start the tracking motors. The basic hand controller is then used to slew to whatever target I want. The GoTo was pretty frustrating back then. The newer models are probably better.
The plastic construction was a sore point. Yet, I treated it gently and nothing ever broke.
FWIW
Bob
Funding Member
