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 This is a must have Telescope for people new to astromonyDec 25, 2002
I've had my telescope for over six months and wouldn't trade it for anything. This is a great telescope and it is very crispt in the viewing of stars and planets. I love it and for the money it can't be beat. If you are new to astronomy you need this scope. I saw Saturn a few nights ago and saw the rings very clearly. I brought a dew shield and two more eyepieces for it and they helped make the scope even more fantastic. I got a 18 mm wide and 13.3 mm super wide Meade eyepieces. You will also need autostar for a tour of all that is in the sky at night. You can see 14,ooo objects and hundreds more if you download them from the internet with an adapter which cost a few extra dollars more. I bought a deluxe field Meade tripod. You need this one because it keeps the image that you are looking at stable. This is the best telescope you can buy for the money and the best type too. I love my ETX-90 EC and plan on keeping it for the rest of my days of viewing the universe.
13 of 13 found the following review helpful:
Great Amateur Scope!Dec 12, 2002
I read all the reviews before buying ... and was a little worried that it might not meet expectations. But it has worked out great.It was a thrill to see Saturns rings and view Jupiter. The moon comes through bright and clear. You can see other heavenly objects (even galaxies!) with it. You won't see galaxies and nebula in the same detail as you do in books - but you'll see the dim shading of them in parts of the sky. It's compact and portable - so you can bring it to the beach, etc. Our neighborhood is way to bright to use it for much night-sky viewing - so portability was a must. A scope that gave a better view, at the same price, would have been too big. And a better portable would have cost too much. This one was just right for us. If price is not a problem, get a better portable scope. If size is not a constraint, then spend less on a larger scope. Otherwise, this one will do fine. MUST HAVE ADD ONS: A tripod (see my review there). The computer controller (you'll NEVER find a lot of the night sky objects without one). One or two good night sky books (to help you find cool objects like binary stars and galaxies). COMPLAINTS: It would be nice for this (and all scopes) to see some pictures of how night-sky objects will really look with it before buying.
24 of 28 found the following review helpful:
 Take a Dim View Of The UniverseSep 14, 2002
The ETX90 will likely not disappoint those who have never looked through a telescope before. It provides serviceable views of the moon and five of the planets. These objects are of great interest to the uninitiated and the experienced alike, but there are only six of them. The ETX90 also shows deep space objects; it just doesn't show them well. My God, even the Orion Nebula looks dull! It looks better through binoculars, for crying out loud! If you view the Lagoon Nebula through this instrument, you don't know it's a nebula at all. It too looks better in binoculars. This isn't a deep sky scope. Not with any eyepiece. Period. Other problems: The field of view is noteworthily narrow - to the point of tunnel vision. (This is a 90mm f13.8 instrument.) The mount allows the scope to jiggle unacceptably - particularly at high power. (Teflon tape in the ALT bearings is helpful but not miraculous.) The finder scope is useless for anything not near the horizon. The focus knob is also useless for anything high in the sky, because one cannot reach it when the scope is in such positions. The Autostar GoTo attachment available for it isn't accurate enough to reliably put objects into the narrow field of view. For similar reasons, it is hard to find objects manually with the Etx90. Most of all, the views of deep space objects are deficient in brightness and contrast. On the plus side, this scope is portable, and many people like it for some reason. I wish I liked the ETX90. I did when I was new to astronomy. I just don't anymore. Buy it and you'll take a dim view of the universe.
99 of 101 found the following review helpful:
 A good **portable** scope: Read ThisAug 27, 2002
I am the president of a large (300 members) astronomy club in Columbus, Ohio and have looked through thousands of telescopes in my life- including, perhaps, 20 Meade ETX-90s. I find the views of the planets and the moon through the ETX-90 to be consistently good- though not overwhelming. Due to the limited light grasp of this scope, high power views of deep-sky objects (galaxies, star clusters, nebulae) are relatively anemic and uninspiring. However, the scope gives very nice "rich field" (low power) views of the Milky Way and brighter comets. To explain: More than any other factor, it is the aperture of a telescope that matters. In general, aperture dictates portability, cost, resolution (sharpness) and, most importantly, light gathering ability. A telescope is like a bucket for gathering light; the larger the bucket, the more light it gathers. With its 3 and a half inches (90 millimeters) of aperture, the ETX-90 is not a very large bucket. Why is this important? Other than the planets, the moon, and the brightest stars, astronomical objects tend to be very faint. Views through a scope of any size will look nothing like astro-photos. Nebulas, star clusters, and galaxies will, instead, appear to the eye as delicate, cottony, wisps of light. To make these delicate wisps of light more perceptible, most experienced amateur astronomer use scopes with 8 inches of aperture or more. Such a scope will gather 5 times more light than the Meade-ETX 90. What difference does this make? A view of the spectacular M13 globular cluster through an 8 inch scope will reveal dozens of its brightest stars swarming about its "nebulous" center like a swarm of bees. Through the 90 mm of the ETX, one might, under the darkest skies and with a bit of practice, just barely be able to make out that the object is made has stars in it, and is not, in fact, just a fuzzy "nebula". For this reason, I generally steer first time scope buyers to an inexpensive, but larger aperture, "Dobsonian". Those looking for something more portable I steer toward a nice pair of binoculars. On the other hand, this scope is exceptionally portable and convenient to use. It does fit a niche. It is the perfect scope for travel or those quick "gotta' look" moments. It's small size means that it cools off quickly, and can be used almost immediately. With its fixed "Maksutov" design, it never needs collimation (mirror adjustment). I've found the computerized GOTO system relatively easy to use, fairly precise, and programmed with more and fainter objects than one can reasonably expect to see with its small aperture. (Recommendation: learn the names of the brightest 20 or so stars in the sky. You will need them as guide stars to align the scope with.) After a few minutes of setup by an experienced user, sought out objects fall within the low power field of view 90 percent of the time. Finally, some skilled star watchers find delight in "bagging" faint, difficult objects with minimal aperture. It's a source of pride for them to be able to say: "I saw Pluto (as an amost imperceptibly faint dot) in my ETX-90!" NOTE: I have stood next to many first time users of the Meade-ETX and watched them fumble in the dark for hours with the system of computerized menus in the GOTO system that comes with this scope. Learn to use it in the daylight or during the full moon and not while you're cutting into your observing time. In addition, I have one experienced friend whose Meade-ETX 90 simply refused to function properly, but I believe this to be an exception. The 24 millimeter finder is useless for finding anything but guide stars and the planets. It is difficult to align, and is so small that very little can be seen through it. I would recommend getting a dew shield in addition to this scope. The Bottom Line: If your only experience with a telescope is looking through a rickety "department store" refractor, you're liable to be very impressed with this view through a "real scope". If you like to look at the moon, planets, and to surf the star fields of the Milky-way, you will find this scope convenient and enjoyable. However, if you expect glorious views of galaxies, nebulae, and star clusters, either buy a larger aperture scope, or join an astronomy club that owns one.
1 of 2 found the following review helpful:
BAMF: if you can afford it to introduce you to astronomyJul 25, 2002
This ...is awesome if you can afford it! It was definitely a better quality and quantity telescope over the Meade 2114 model that I just returned. Seeing the outline of Saturn and her rings was a moving experience. Then again, Jupiter's body and her 4 moons were pretty impresive too!
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based on 30 reviews
