Meade ETX-90EC (325 x 90mm) Telescope

This is an excellent scope for those who want a decent scope. It comes with Autostar (has 1400 database), the apeture is decent too and the focal length is about average. The price that this scope is selling for here ($379) is a little much. You can get this scope for ($299) brand new out of the box.

Great Telescope if you are serious star gazer like me. I have used it alot since Christmas and its very easy to use and powerfull.

This item is everything we expected it to be and more.
We're having alot of fun with it and the grandchildren like to look through it also. Shipment was fast and well packaged.

I have used this telescope for a while now, and I am very impressed with the power. Overall this is a great telescope. I have never had any problems with it, great for any star gazer!

Here are the specs:

Optical Design Catadioptrics

Optical Diameter 90 mm

Finderscope Optical

Focal Length 1250 mm

Max Useful Magnification x 325

Mount Type Altazimuth

I LIKE THE PRODUCT , IT'S JUST WHAT I WAS LOOKING FOR HIGHLY RECOMMENDED . I WOULD DO BUSINESS WITH THEM ANY DAY THANKS...

Good little scope, portable and easy to use. Optics are excellent for the $$ and the GoTo system works OK. It's very important to watch the Meade tutorials so you can perform fast, accurate alignments.

You HAVE to have this thing level, pointed as close to North as you can, and on a sturdy tripod. Let it cool down to ambient temperatures for half an hour or so before getting into serious viewing.

I suggest using the "Best of the Evening" tours when you first fire it up (if you have the 497 controller). First night out with it, I had fairly good viewing conditions (full moon limited what I could see). VERY COLD, but worth the views of Saturn and 2 of its moons, nebulosity in Orion's Belt, and a weak view of Andromeda.

This is not a great scope for viewing galaxies and nebulas: it's just too small and slow. Great for moon and planets, daytime watching birds, and timelapse photography (I mounted a camera on the top and used a slow slew to pan while filming). Perfect first telescope.

I plan on using the 90EC to learn astrophotography. The relatively small investment means I can jump right in and make all the beginners mistakes...or even quit if I want and not be in too deep.

Pros: Nice optics, GoTo feature helps you learn the sky, portable.

Cons: Gear lash in the drive system is annoying while tracking manually, weak motor won't support the weight of large cameras, needs a 90 degree viewer so you don't get a stiff neck after a few hours of star hunting.

A wonderful telescope for star gazing. I have seen these meade telescopes at many a star party in Washington sate and Oregon

this seller is bad seller prommise me sell me his telescope after that never email me back and never want to sell me his telescope

I bought the Telescope, for Christmas, to encourage my two Grandsons' interest in star gazing. I like the portability and easy set up. The weather has been below zero, as a result, it will have to wait a few more weeks for extensive use.
The only downside is that it does not focus well when calibrating the spotting scope. It may need a more thorough lens cleaning, which should only be done once every two years or so. Overall the quality and availability of accessories are why I chose Meade.

I like that it is easy to set up and use,with just a few pushes of buttons you are seeing all sorts of objects in space and the moon looks as if it is so close I could reach out and touch it.I cant say enough about the ETX 90.

Meade finally brings a serious telescope into thecasual-consumer price range. The ETX-90EC Astro offers extraordinaryoptics at an affordable price. It combines a high-resolution opticaldesign and diffraction-limited imaging with microprocessor-controlled,precise celestial-object tracking, all in a nicely styled, highlyportable package.

Improvements to this model include a new forkmount with dual-axis drive system. The ETX-90EC also includes hightorque DC motors on both telescope axes, permitting electronicoperation from the hand-held controller. This push-button electroniccontroller has four dual-axis drive speeds: slow, 8x for imagecentering at high power; medium, 32x for image centering at lowerpower or for pushbutton tracking in altazimuth mode; moderate, 0.75degrees per second for image centering in the viewfinder or forterrestrial tracking; and fast, 5 degrees per second for fast scanningacross the sky.

The Meade ETX-90EC is specially designed to beportable and used in the field. It offers cordless operation, allowingyou to use the telescope's dual-axis drive system for more than 40hours on eight AA batteries. At approximately 8 pounds and 15 inchesin length, it packs a lot of power into a compact unit.

TheETX-90EC uses a 90mm Maksutov-Cassegrain optical design, and Meadeactually warranties the optics of the ETX-90EC "to equal or exceed theoptical performance and resolution of any Maksutov optics of similaraperture ever manufactured at any price." The ETX-Series optics offersuperb contrast, image brightness, and resolution; Meade claims thetelescope consistently outperforms many instruments of largerapertures. Meade also uses EMC super multicoatings on all opticalsurfaces to maximize light transmission through the corrector lens andreflectance from the primary and secondary mirrors. The flip-mirrorsystem allows for 90-degree observation of land and sky objects,straight-through observation using the optional #932 45-degreeErecting Prism, or photo-ready imaging using the optional #64T-Adapter and your own 35mm camera.

Overall, the Meade ETX-90EC isa fine piece of craftsmanship at a surprisingly affordable price. Forthose of us who spent our childhood peering through old-style consumertelescopes, using the ETX-90EC is like getting time in the PalomarObservatory. From shifting cloud belts on Saturn to the glowingfilaments of the Orion Nebula, this instrument lets you observe theheavens in extraordinary detail.

This telescope is a Meade ETX 90 EC, that was pristine when received, with optics in their original factory condition. The price was half of what it was when these telescopes first came out, and after communicating with the seller, could not see a reason not to buy. Would recommend this scope to beginning and advance amateurs alike, as one to grow with, or to use as an additon to larger instruments.