Meade ETX 125 Review


Specifications

  Optical Design Maksutov-Cassegrain
  Aperture 127mm (5.0")
  Limiting Visual Magnitude 12.5
  Focal Ratio f/15
  Focal Length 1900mm
  Optical Tube Dimensions 5.75" x 14.2"
  Secondary Obstruction 1.55" (9.6%)
  Mount Type 1/4-20 Threads
  Total Weight 15.2 lbs.
  Optical Coatings UHTC




What can be said for the Meade ETX 125 OTA?
The OTA is nicely built.It is a mix of Aluminum and strong plastic.
The main Body is Aluminum and the rear of the scope where the eyepieces and flip mirror are located is plastic.
With the weight of the scope being 7.8 pounds it isnt as light as you would think to look at it.
Crafted very nicely it is a rugged scope with very nice optics
Ive used this telescope piggybacked to my Meade LX200 classic with Losmandy rings and rail system.
The images from this scope are sharp and crisp.The scope arrived perfectly columnated and in great working order.
They supplied a 25 mm series 4000 EP which gives very nice views.
With the addition of the Meade Back Cell Adapter ,
you can use a Meade 6.3 focal reducer and a Standard SCT visual back
for visual applications giving you less magnification and a larger field of view.
Also with the Meade back cell adapter you can use a Meade 3.3 focal reducer and the Meade DSI for imaging.
With the Meade 3.3 focal with no extensions this will make your f/15 scope into approx. f/7.5.
This gives you a nice FOV for imaging most Deep Space objects.
In all of my testing of the ETX 125 I was truly amazed at the image quality ive been able to obtain.
The ETX 125 gives me just as good of results as my quality APO refractor did with razor sharp images.
I have not yet tested this without a focal reducer to date but im sure it will also give very nice results.
The nice thing about this scope is it can be used for multiple applications.
It is supplied with an eyepiece, a 45 degree image correcting diagonal for terrestrial applications (use as a spotting scope)
and has a mounting hole for any standard camera tripod (1/4 -20 thread).
It also comes with a right angle finder scope for locating objects in a very wide field view.
This scope can also be used for imaging Planets,The Moon and Deep Space Objects.
And a big bonus is it makes a very nice guide scope when piggybacked on your larger scope while imaging.
The focuser on this scope is very smooth so getting the perfect focus is very easy.
Another nice thing about this scope is there is no mirror shift when you change focusing positions.
Ive also noticed even during long exposures with the ETX i havnt seen or noticed and focus drift,
due to temp. changes.
So if you are looking for a nice scope for multiple applications the Meade ETX 125 is worth your time and money.
If you have any questions please feel free to join the yahoo group at ETX Astro imaging
and i can answer all of your questions .


Mark Sibole
M.T.S.O