Jump to content

Banner.jpg.b89429c566825f6ab32bcafbada449c9.jpg

Meade 4000 8-24 Zoom... any opinions

Fozzie

By Fozzie
in Discussions - Eyepieces

Recommended Posts

  • Replies 44
  • Created
  • Last Reply
LDW1

LDW1

Posted
Posted

Times a' wastin, the stars are waiting ! Get the Meade before the price goes up ( if you wait too long ), you will never regret it at that price range ! Mine ranges between 40° and about 54° FOV, even 60° is not going to show any difference in the view on those great seeing nights ! Your only alternative, in my mind, is to bite the bullet and jump into the much higher priced zooms and for what as in the end everything is controlled by the sky conditions on any given night !

Link to comment
Share on other sites
John

John

Posted
Posted

I reckon there are 2 types of Meade 8-24 zoom. The one that gets good reviews and is similar to the Vixen LV / Tele Vue 8-24 zooms and a less expensive one which looks very much like a clone of the Skywatcher / Seben / Celestron / A N Other 8-24's. If the £60 you quote gets you the former then it seems like a good deal. If you get the latter, not so good because you can get them for <£50 new if you look around.

All I'm saying is try and be sure which version you are getting for your £60.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
LDW1

LDW1

Posted
Posted
10 hours ago, John said:

I reckon there are 2 types of Meade 8-24 zoom. The one that gets good reviews and is similar to the Vixen LV / Tele Vue 8-24 zooms and a less expensive one which looks very much like a clone of the Skywatcher / Seben / Celestron / A N Other 8-24's. If the £60 you quote gets you the former then it seems like a good deal. If you get the latter, not so good because you can get them for <£50 new if you look around.

All I'm saying is try and be sure which version you are getting for your £60.

 

I have only ever seen one model of Meade zoom listed at least in the last five years or so and thats the 4000 series and I doubt there are more than one model in the series with different specs in that price range !? If you start splitting hairs you may never get one as there is the danger of  the OP talking themselves out of it ?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
John

John

Posted
Posted
10 hours ago, LDW1 said:

I have only ever seen one model of Meade zoom listed at least in the last five years or so and thats the 4000 series and I doubt there are more than one model in the series with different specs in that price range !? If you start splitting hairs you may never get one as there is the danger of  the OP talking themselves out of it ?

I've seen this one:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/202992-REG/Meade_07199_2_Series_4000_8_24mm_Zoom.html

And this one:

http://agenaastro.com/meade-8-24mm-zoom-eyepiece.html

The latter one looks identical to the Skywatcher / Seben / Celestron ones to me.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
LDW1

LDW1

Posted
Posted
30 minutes ago, John said:

I've seen this one:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/202992-REG/Meade_07199_2_Series_4000_8_24mm_Zoom.html

And this one:

http://agenaastro.com/meade-8-24mm-zoom-eyepiece.html

The latter one looks identical to the Skywatcher / Seben / Celestron ones to me.

I think you will find they are one and the same, I bought mine a couple of years ago from Agena for less than $100 C incl ship when the  exchange rate was more equal. As far as the discrepency in the FOV don't be fooled as some manufacturers / dealers like to round the numbers up a bit to make an item look even better, happens all the time. No manufacturer in the world is going to market two products with the same specs in the same price range. It doesn't make sense, it's either a low end model and a high end model with considerably different specs / quality / price. In this case we are only playing with some slightly different numbers and sometimes a dealer might be a little greedy on their profit margine or for other reasons, so they charge considerably more for the same item ! Before I bought mine I did a considerable amount of research based on my criteria / online ratings etc. and I never came across two Meade 4000 zooms on the present market at the same time.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
John

John

Posted
Posted
Just now, LDW1 said:

I think you will find they are one and the same, I bought mine a couple of years ago from Agena for less than $100 C incl ship when the  exchange rate was more equal. As far as the discrepency in the FOV don't be fooled as some manufacturers / dealers like to round the numbers up a bit to make an item look even better, happens all the time. No manufacturer in the world is going to market two products with the same specs in the same price range. It doesn't make sense, it's either a low end model and a high end model with considerably different specs / quality / price. In this case we are only playing with some slightly different numbers and sometimes a dealer might be a little greedy on their profit margine or for other reasons, so they charge considerably more for the same item ! Before I bought mine I did a considerable amount of research based on my criteria / online ratings etc. and I never came across two Meade 4000 zooms on the present market at the same time.

I was only going by their appearance.

I'm not bothered if the OP buys it or not, I just thought that it might be worth checking that what is supplied for his / her £60 is what he / she was expecting.

I'm not a great fan of zooms myself having owned a few over the years. They are quite useful for outreach sessions though.

 

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
LDW1

LDW1

Posted
Posted
55 minutes ago, John said:

I've seen this one:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/202992-REG/Meade_07199_2_Series_4000_8_24mm_Zoom.html

And this one:

http://agenaastro.com/meade-8-24mm-zoom-eyepiece.html

The latter one looks identical to the Skywatcher / Seben / Celestron ones to me.

So what did you find was the big difference between the two ? If you are talking the difference in the FOV and / or the number of elements ( 6 vs 7 ) then I would go with the Agena add as I buy a lot from them and they are probably rated as the top dealer by most when it comes to astronomical knowledge / service. Phone them and I know they will clear up these slight discrepencies pretty fast !

Link to comment
Share on other sites
John

John

Posted
Posted

This "Cloudynights" forum thread is recent and worth a read:

http://www.cloudynights.com/topic/524744-meade-8-24-zoom-from-amazon/

The 7th post in that thread is from the vendor Agena and explains that the source and specs of the Meade 8-24 zoom have recently changed and it's now the same or very similar to units available under a number of different brand names. Which is what I suspected.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Fozzie

Fozzie

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Now, now.. Firstly firstly I'm a man (well last I checked, and even on weekends too) and I live in Yorkshire.. not that orange cheese loving place over the pennines lol..

I can see I've caused some confusion here.. John's actually spot on, I'd not seen the second meade 8-24 which looks suspiciouslylike the offerings from synta.. The one I'd been looking at was from his first link.. which is why I asked the question as the reports suggested it was a piece containing lanthanum glass.. hence the interest..

As opposed to use, it's not going to trump my SLV's or my ES82'S  (which maybe going in favour of a couple of pans and a delos).. It was Purley for the GnG kit and airplane travel white light work etc...

Appreciate the digging around John.. I'm waiting to find an answer from the vender as to LV or no LV.. I'll make a decision then...

 

Thanks

Fozzie 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Fozzie

Fozzie

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Regrettably, probably of the back of this thread, the EP has gone from the vendor so unless someone has bought it to do a review here we may never know just what sort of EP it is... darn my hesitation... 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
LDW1

LDW1

Posted
Posted

So there you have it right from the horses mouth (  Agena's ) !  If you have any reservations about the newer models performance regarding number of elements, glass types etc. shop around and buy a used older model, you won't be sorry. As well what is a stiff movement to some means nothing to others, it's the views that count !  I would never recommend a zoom as an only EP but for me it is a great compliment to my four 2" EP's ( 70° - 100° ) and my various mid price 1.25" EP's ( 70° - 82° ) that I use in my 7 refrac. / dob scopes, some nites you just want to have some quick fun with great performance and the Meade fits the bill ' for me ' . Inevitably the choice is yours, I am just lending my actual experiences ! The stars are wait'in so good luck ! Clear Skies to you !

Link to comment
Share on other sites
John

John

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, moriniboy said:

I was going to offer Fozzie first refusal if I ever sold mine but seeing as he has insulted our cheese no way now - that's fighting talk where I come from....lol

I think the Yorks / Lancs mix up was my fault as well as calling into question Fozzie's gender - oh dear ! :embarassed:

I'd better "zoom" off of this thread before I cause any more trouble ....... !

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue. By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.