electrode1998
journeyman
Reged: 10/11/08
Posts: 6
Loc: Baton Rouge, Louisiana
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I am planning on getting an etx scope soon for the family. We go camping often in our travel trailer and we want to do some star gazing. I have narrowed our choice to the etx series and have planned for along time to get the etx 90. However I am looking now at the 125 due to the reported better light gathering ability. My question is simple. The 125 costs around 300 dollars more, so would it be better for us to get the 125 or stay with the 90 and spend the extra $$$ on accessories for the 90? We are casual observers and have two kids. We want to view planets, stars, and moon, etc.
Thanks,
electrode1998
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john D
All you have to do is ask!!
Reged: 08/05/07
Posts: 4972
Loc: Midlothian, VA
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ijust got a 125 and had a 90mm mak-cass orion. and i really like the etx125. the views are great. have you looked at getting a used scope? i have seen a few etx90 and etx-125 in the classifeds.
i liked my 90mm mak not sure how much different they are from each other. the 125 is a great telescope. 
but you should look at getting one used.
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Meade ETX-125
Meade LXD55 mount
Philips SPC900NC webcam
Seymour Solar filter
Backyard Observatory
 -Midlothian VA
--Land Of The Free Because Of The Brave--
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Gargoyle
member
Reged: 03/13/08
Posts: 56
Loc: Long Island, New York
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I was in a similar situation (requiring a portable scope) and compared the 90 to the 125 in use and cost. The 90 is a fine telescope but I found the 125 to be well worth the extra cost relative to my expectations. The extra $300 related to the 125 is a direct value decision, whereas the extra accesssories can include many things, and those have to be weighed in your decision. Again, for me the cost comparison from a scope to scope comparison was easy.
Note however, that I did have problems with my first 125 purchase. Returned it to the store and obtained a swap. Other than that, its a beautiful thing.......
Jerry
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Meade 8" f/10 LX90 GPS
Meade 10" LX200-R
ETX-125 PE
DSI ProII
DSI III
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Mak2007
sage
Reged: 06/24/07
Posts: 248
Loc: MD
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I had the same question as you. The ETX-90 is 3.5 inches aperture versus the 5 inches of the ETX-125, which allows more magnification. Both are portable, but the ETX-90 is smaller and lighter. If you will be an occasional observer and want a portable scope for your family you can consider the ETX90 and buy some accessories like a dew shield, an external power supply (people says that a jump starter battery do well the job) and a 2x barlow (consider a shorty one, like the Celestron Ultima or Orion Shorty) in order to just get started. You will need to read and practice the instruction manual and learn about train the drives and how to operate the autostar. A good beginner book like Turn Left At Orion will be also important.
I decided to buy the 125. This is my second scope (my first one was a trash store refractor that my parents gave me and did well its job as a starter scope). I am so happy with the 125, but IMO the ETX-90 is more easy to transport, and this is a fundamental factor when you are getting started. And then, if you want, in the future you can always upgrade to a 8" STC or Dobson.
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10x50 Nikon Action Ex
ETX-125PE
"Don't worry about what telescope you own, or its quality. Just get out under the night sky, and enjoy God's wondrous universe." Thomas M. Back
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violini
member
Reged: 10/03/08
Posts: 24
Loc: Winnipeg, Canada
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I own 2 ETX90 RA (the poor man's Questar), the earlier productions which I bought recently for very little money. One is virtually brand new, the other is slightly used. I could see that people bought the scopes, used a few time and quickly lost interest and the scope was put into long term storage and forgot about it. A week ago, I had the chance to compare side by side in observing the moon of my ETX90 and friend's 125EC (both scopes without UHTC). I couldn't see any difference in resolution of the craters. I had the feeling that my 90 had better contrast. I believe that there is a reason why Questar continues to produce 3.5" and not going into 5". Since moon is such a bright object, the difference in aperture does not come into play. I bought the scope mainly for bird watching and general terrestrial viewing and ETX90 is better for this purpose (ETX125 has too much magnification). I keep one scope in the study room as a piece of furniture and use the other OTA and photo tripod for birding. If I become interested in viewing celestial objects in the future, I would join the local club which operates an observatory and loans out telescopes to members. Owning an expensive amateur telescope is definitely not for me here, just think about that I have to drive out of town in the mid-night and risk being bitten by mosquitoes and ticks (both pests carry disases, west Nile and Lyme)not mentioning bear, wolf and real ghost.
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Own two poor man's Questar:ETX90 RA
Edited by violini (10/14/08 09:51 AM)
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StarWars
Postmaster
Reged: 11/26/03
Posts: 11636
Loc: At The Movies
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Meade ETX-90PE $459 with free shipping..
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Sony Digital Media player..
MX 460 earbuds
15x70 ETX125AT
FireBall XL5
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jgraham
Postmaster
Reged: 12/02/04
Posts: 5376
Loc: Dayton, Ohio
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The ETX-90 is a great litle package, very portable, and is a nice grab'n go scope. As much as I loved my 90, I often found my self wanting a little more light grasp. The ETX-125 solved that problem. If you're space-limited the ETX-90 is a nice scope, but if you enopugh room in your trailer and your budget for the ETX-125 I'd go that way, and yes, the ETX-125 is worth the extra cost.
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-John
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Homebuilt scopes from 4.25-16.5"
Meade LXD75-N6/SN6/SC8, DSX-90, ETX-60BB, ETX-125PE, DS-2130
Orion StarBlast, BinoViewers, Coronado PST
Rebel XT/XTi, DSI Pro (I & II), DSI, LPI, Electronic Eyepiece, Phillips SPC900NC
Tasco 60mm Refractors
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electrode1998
journeyman
Reged: 10/11/08
Posts: 6
Loc: Baton Rouge, Louisiana
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Thanks for all of the input. I guess I will keep thinking about it. Space is not too much of a problem so I may end up with a 125 or something along that line.
electrode1998
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sang33ta
professor emeritus
Reged: 07/08/08
Posts: 539
Loc: UK
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The ETX-125 it very good it will get you closer to everything and provide more rewarding views.
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Hioptic 152mm f12.5 Maksutov
Celestron Advanced CG5-GT Mount (Mr Noisy!)
Meade 4000 Super Plossl Set
Casio QV-2900UX
Got fed up of waiting for Meade ETX-150 so put this together for £500/$1000 
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Mark K
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 12/16/04
Posts: 860
Loc: Bury, Lancashire, UK
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The ETX-125 will partially resolve many globular clusters which might just be out of range of the ETX 90.
I have obtained good resolution of M13, M5, M3, M92, M15, M22 (despite low altitude) and M2 with it.
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Mark K.
Meade ETX-125
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KWB
Postmaster
Reged: 09/30/06
Posts: 7635
Loc: Westminster,Co Elev.1646Meters
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They are out of the range of resolution from my suburban skies with an ETX-90,Mark.
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Kenny
"When dealing with a mystery,choose the most unlikely of the likely possibilities"-Sherlock Holmes
Edited by KWB (10/19/08 02:44 AM)
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DanishSky
journeyman
Reged: 05/21/08
Posts: 9
Loc: Jutland, Denmark
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Be happy.
In Denmark the ETX 90PE will cost you 1043$ and for the ETX 125PE you will have to pay 1618$
- so I bought the ETX 90PE and considering I´m no expert I believe it will do for me.
Kind regards
Niels
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SKYWLKR
super member
Reged: 07/31/04
Posts: 114
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I had almost convinced myself to get the 125 to upgrade my several year old 90EC.
but I have an 8" dob if I need more aperture and a GLP on the ETX to goto with the dob...
I think I might just stick with my 90...
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ETX-90 AT
Brand New XT8
Inexpensive 10X50 Bino's
http://www.SKYWLKR.COM
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Doug L
super member
Reged: 08/17/08
Posts: 122
Loc: Ottawa, Canada
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Quote:
I own 2 ETX90 RA (the poor man's Questar)...
The ultimate poor man's Questar, in my opinion is the Meade DSX-90, no longer available (except used). The optical tube is a carbon copy of the ETX-90 except maybe less transmissive coatings? Optically, my DSX-90 is easily diffraction limited, and I feel the optics holds its own against any ETX-90 or Questar-90 (I've looked through both). When the seeing alows, I push the magnification well beyond x60 times per inch and the image still holds up. Usually, though, you'll find me birdwatching with the DSX (& binoviewer) at x75 -120 power. This is where these maksutov-cassegrain scopes really shine! I've taken some excellent bird photos (afocally with my 4mega pixel point&shoot digital camera - can't wait till I get a DSLR). It would have cost a fortune to get an equivalent (1250mm APO) camera lens. The go-to mount that came with the DSX-90 has some issues, however. I've never really bothered with it. My scope usually sits on a manfrotto tripod with a video-style camera head, but I'm thinking of mounting it on my motorized barn-door mount (poor man's equatorial  ) for lunar, planetary, and double star gazing.
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Bino reality... 1 + 1 > 2
Edited by Doug L (10/21/08 11:20 PM)
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j3ffr0
sage
Reged: 07/06/08
Posts: 238
Loc: Virginia
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The 125 will give you more room to grow in your observing. In addition to brighter views of clusters you should also be able to get satisfying views of planetary nebula and other brighter DSOs. The 90 will satisfy as well on the brightest DSOs, but the 125 is worth the extra money in my opinion. I started with an Orion 90mm and I upgraded to the 127 when I got the chance.
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10" Dob
127mm Mak
PST
35, 24 Panoptic; 16, 13, 9 Nagler
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