f/11.1 Achromatic Refractor, Eyepieces 25mm, 9mm, 6×30 Viewfinder.

Of all the Meade telescopes this is true value for money. It has “Go To” with 4 speeds. But you will need to buy a decent tripod because as usual Meade keeps churning out these flimsy tripods which are ok if you are viewing in your backyard, but are useless for field work.

Tip, if you can’t afford a decent tripod with a computer controlled telescope, put rubber tips on the end of each leg, this will help greatly in cutting down vibrations.

To stabilize a flimsy tripod, hang weights (bag filled with sand) underneath the telescope from the center of the tripod to weigh it down.

These Meade telescopes have very good optics, views of the planets and some deep sky objects which you can see are surprisingly good. Hardly any false color was noticed, and the planets were good with sharp and crisp views.

There was good detail, for example, when viewing Saturn I could see the Cassini division in the rings and the shadow on the planet.

With Jupiter you will see three cloud bands and the great red spot if you have dark sky. Jupiter’s four moons are clearly visible as bright points of light.

If you would like to know what you can see through telescopes with different size aperture read my page Telescopes-Myths and Misconceptions I have put together an assortment of photographs for you.

With the addition of Autostar, this Meade telescope are a lot of fun to use. Had they been around when I started in astronomy, I would have been first in line for one. Alignment is extremely important if you ever want Autostar to find anything.

I recommend you use two stars for the most precise alignment rather the one star alignment. If you have taken care with the important task of alignment, the Autostar will “go to” whatever you choose about 95% of the time.

There is a lot of plastic on this Meade telescope and I hate plastic, but for the price and ease of use, it is still recommendable. Cool down time is also not too bad.

But when you can afford it, you will want to buy a good tripod, the tripods that come with these meade telescopes are useless, it’s like trying to balance a telescope on match sticks!!

 Meade Telescopes Recommendation

These are great Meade telescopes at a great price and I have no hesitation in recommending it. Vanns has a good price on the DS 90EC meade telescope and on other Meade telescopes.