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The Meade Series 5000 80mm APO

centroid

By centroid
in Member Equipment Reviews

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centroid

centroid

Posted
Posted

I'm posting this under a new 'thread', as it really doesn't belong in the WO Megrez 88 Review 'thread'.

In my quest to find a 'faster' replacement for my faithful Skywatcher f/7.5 ED80, another potential contender has 'surfaced', the Meade Series 5000 f/6 80 ED triplet.

An 80mm triplet refractor at under £500 is a bit of a surprise, because this price bracket is not normally considered triplet territory. Understandably, this raises a few eyebrows, and anyone could be forgiven for viewing it with some suspicion.

So, how can Meade offer this?. Well, it seems, from looking at pictures of the scope, that its pretty much the same OTA and focuser as the Skywatcher ED80, so no 'flashy' paint job or high quality dual speed focuser to pay for here. However, its almost double the price of the Skywatcher ED80, so we could assume, rightly or wrongly, that the extra cost relates to the optics.

The published spec for the scope, reads very well, and 'ticks the boxes' of my requirements nicely. However, we are a suspicious lot, and know only too well, that things aren't always, as it 'says on the tin'.

For me, there's nothing like hearing or reading what the 'end user' has to say, and the more individual 'end user' inputs that can be collated, the more balanced the view that can be formed. Well, that's my logic anyway.

Following a 'pointer' from Gaz, I had a look on the Cloudy Nights forum for possible reviews, and I found this one to start with:

http://www.cloudynights.com/item.php?item_id=1619

Here the guy is directly comparing the Meade with his WO 80mm Zenithstar doublet, a very good 'benchmark' IMO

You can read the review for youself if you are interested, but I thought it fairly well balanced, and honest, with the Meade coming out as 'not too bad' at all.

Of course this is only one persons assessment, and I shall endeavour to search out others.

For me, the 'bottom line' is that, if it performed equally as well as my SW ED80, while providing me f/6 and a wider FOV, I'd be happy.

My ED80 has really set the baseline for the optical performance that I want to retain, or better, without spending 'mega bucks'.

To be continued :D .

Dave

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MartinB

MartinB

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I'm all for a cheap paint job if the money saved goes into the optics. The only time I look at my scopes it's dark anyway. As for focusers, there's nowt wrong with the cheap synta jobby, it easily gives a fine enough adjustment for precision focusing when imaging. So the Meade sounds very promising then Dave :D

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centroid

centroid

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I hadn't done so John, as I'd assumed that it was the same as the ED80, that is to say f/7.5.

I know Roger has got one, and has produced some nice images with it, but then Rog isn't a 'colour man' so wouldn't have noticed any CA if it was there.

I know the ED80 certainly provides CA free colour images, but that's at f/7.5. Having now experienced CA problems with a f/5.6 doublet, I'm a bit wary of 'fast' refractors, although at f/6.25, the Equinox may just escape this probem. :? .

Martin

The Meade does look promising, but I think it demands further research.

I think I'm going to bed now, and expect to be counting refractors instead of 'sheep'. :D

Dave

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steve wrathall

steve wrathall

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hi ive just carried out a full test on the meade 5000 80 mm apo..first things first...the focuser on the meade is nothing like the ed80..it dosent rotate rather the whole optical tube rotates on the dove tail bar supplied.this means if you use mounting rings instead of the dove tail you have no rotating focuser...optics are fantastic on the meade which you would exspect from a triplet.on a side by side test with the ed80 the first thing you notice is the constrast on the meade much more stark.i viewed the full moon in both scopes at 120x.with the moon just outside the fov the ed80 showed a grey background.in the meade it was jet black.the light baffles on the meade are well spaced and well blackend.this will also help on contrast.i have yet to do any dso imaging but i will update as and when.in my tests so far i cant praise the scope enought and at £450 i see this as money weel spent..go get one you wont be dissapointed...clear skies...steve

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ngc2403

ngc2403

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Dave

Have you considered a Pentax ???

I hear they have a good reputation.

god no if you want colour free images. pentax to their credit do make telescopes with the flattest flats of any small refractor but they don't even try to correct for colour a fact that shocked me even more when i saw the price!

ally

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centroid

centroid

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Steve

Many thanks for your input on this, it does 'stack' up nicely, with what I'm hearing from other sources.

I have had a busy day, researching the Meade APO, and its has been very informative, most all of it very positive.

I have now been given a contact in Germany, whom I understand is very well informed on the Meade APO, having carried out an in depth assessment of it. I am going to pursue this line of enquiry next

I would seem that early arrivals of this scope that came directly from the US, lacked any real quality control, and like all mass produced items, they were not always consistent in meeting the required standard.

As I understand it, all of these scopes coming into the UK now, do so via Germany, and are quality control checked there, with any sub standard kit being rejected, and I guess returned the manufacturer in China or Taiwan. Assuming that to be the most place of manufacture.

So, at the moment I am leaning very much towards buying the Meade APO.

Dave

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centroid

centroid

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I have to say, that I would be very surprised if Pentax were as you describe Ally.

I believe that Nik Zymanek, one of our top imagers in the UK, uses a Pentax scope, and you won't see any CA evident in any of Nik's images.

Steve (Kai)

I hadn't considered the Penatx, as it simply didn't come to mind. However, I believe that the Pentax is a 75mm aperture, which is going in the wrong direction for me, but thanks for the 'heads up'.

Dave

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Whippy

Whippy

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Steve

Many thanks for your input on this, it does 'stack' up nicely, with what I'm hearing from other sources.

I have had a busy day, researching the Meade APO, and its has been very informative, most all of it very positive.

I have now been given a contact in Germany, whom I understand is very well informed on the Meade APO, having carried out an in depth assessment of it. I am going to pursue this line of enquiry next

I would seem that early arrivals of this scope that came directly from the US, lacked any real quality control, and like all mass produced items, they were not always consistent in meeting the required standard.

As I understand it, all of these scopes coming into the UK now, do so via Germany, and are quality control checked there, with any sub standard kit being rejected, and I guess returned the manufacturer in China or Taiwan. Assuming that to be the most place of manufacture.

So, at the moment I am leaning very much towards buying the Meade APO.

Dave

Dave, I'm guessing it's Markus Ludes you're talking about?

Tony..

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FLO

FLO

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As I understand it, all of these scopes coming into the UK now, do so via Germany, and are quality control checked there...

Have just heard back from someone in the industry. You're contact is right, the Germans are now responsible for final quality control so they are looking very good indeed. I shall add them to FLO's stock but unfortunately they won't be available for another week or two.

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centroid

centroid

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Glad that my 'research' has proved useful, my fingers are red hot from typing, as is my ear, from numerous phone calls. :D

If I do 'bite the bullet' and go for the Meade APO, I will write a review for the forum, 'warts and all' if there are any.

Dave

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FLO

FLO

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The Meade Series 5000 ED 80mm APO is now available at FLO 8)

At least it will be when the first delivery arrives...

<edit> Oops! Change of plan, it is looking as though we will not be able to reliably source them so we have removed them from our website - sorry.

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George

George

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So, how can Meade offer this?. Well, it seems, from looking at pictures of the scope, that its pretty much the same OTA and focuser as the Skywatcher ED80, so no 'flashy' paint job or high quality dual speed focuser to pay for here. However, its almost double the price of the Skywatcher ED80, so we could assume, rightly or wrongly, that the extra cost relates to the optics.

I thought Skywatcher was in bed with celestron NOT Meade?

Anyhow IMHO the Meade jobby is pretty ugly :D

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