Meade LX10 8 in. Schmidt Cassegrain*

I'm considering buying a Schmidt Cassegrain for the size (small
observatory) and for Astrophotography. I do not need GPS but naturally I do
need tracking and I'd like to have setting circles. Not knowing a thing
about these other then they are supposed to be best to Astrophotography I
(just today) started to do a bit of research. I'm not sure when I'll be
grabbing one of these just that it'll be between Early Fall and Early Winter
and I don't want to spend more then $1,500 on the scope and mount. While
browsing the September Astronomy magazine adds I came across the
Focuscamera.com add on page 128. Up to this point I always thought the
EXT90's were 90mm and the LX10's where 10" objective's but the add says each
comes in different objective sizes. What caught my eye was the LX10 8 Inch
at $995 which puts me with in my budget after S&H.

I have two Orion 130mm reflectors and a Meade 5" refractor OTA's, I know
the jump to a 8" will be well worth it and I'm led to believe Meade has
better Optics then Orion. Out side of those facts, what downfalls are there
with this particular scope for Film photographing with the intent of CCD in
a year or so?

--
Michael A. Barlow
Lat: 42:57:13.799N
Lon: 77:13:29.039W

I have two Orion 130mm reflectors and a Meade 5" refractor OTA's, I know
the jump to a 8" will be well worth it and I'm led to believe Meade has
better Optics then Orion. Out side of those facts, what downfalls are there
with this particular scope for Film photographing with the intent of CCD in
a year or so?


Hi:

The LX10 is _only_ available in 8" aperture. And I would advise against buying
a scope from Focus. Try Anacortes or Astronomics instead (along with many other
reputable ASTRONOMY dealers).

I've used 8 LX10s with my university astronomy students for the last 6 years
and have in general been very pleased with them. No, these are NOT the ultimate
astrophotography scopes. No PEC, a fork that's a little light, a minimalist
wedge, and a tripod that could be steadier. But for the price I think they are
great. Don't forget, lots of people took great astrophotos with the original
Meade 2080 and the Orange Tube Celestron 8, and this scope is better than
either for that purpose IMHO. The 10 is certainly good enough to get you
started in imaging, and may be all you need if your main interest is
photographing Solar System subects. Even if you should move up to a more
"advanced" scope later, the LX10 will still be useful, as it's light enough to
qualify as a good "grab and go" scope IMHO--I know even my more lightly built
women students don't have any trouble carrying it around and setting it up
without aid. For a short review of the scope I did some time back, go he

http://members.aol.com/RMOLLISE/index4.html

The review is near the bottom of the page.

If you have any questions, feel free to email me.

Peace,
Rod Mollise
Author of _Choosing and Using a Schmidt Cassegrain Telescope_
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