Telescope Reviews: LX850 14"

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Hilmi
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 03/07/10

Loc: Muscat, Sultanate of Oman

Re: LX850 14" new

[Re: hectar]
#5646277 - 01/27/13 03:34 PM

Hector,

You do realize that the only reason Jason is listed as a vendor is because he sells prints of his photos don't you?

He doesn't sell Meade mounts. So how does selling prints of his photos make him biased?

Post Extras:

cn register 5
sage

Reged: 12/26/12

Re: LX850 14" new

[Re: hectar]
#5646376 - 01/27/13 04:28 PM

As a beta tester for the AVX mount I see the problem. Companies need experienced people to do beta testing, people who are able to test and provide them with good, reliable information about problems. The last thing they want is pollyannas who tell them that everything is OK if it isn't.

I believe that if we post here we also have a responsibility to the denizens of CN. We must be honest with you. We must present our opinions truthfully.

In my case if I thought that the AVX was a POS I would have told Celestron in no uncertain terms - and kept very quiet publicly. I would absolutely not have made any statement here that I did not honestly believe was not true. I can't speak for Jason but I expect he would have done the same.

Chris

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kepler22
member

Reged: 12/31/12

Re: LX850 14" new

[Re: cn register 5]
#5646424 - 01/27/13 04:46 PM

celestron is now light years ahead of meade celestron
is now becoming med-high grade astronomy company
their mounts are just so far ahead in quality never
mind their telescopes the edge hd is better and lighter
and im a apo refractor guy even before the lx-80 and
lx-800 almighty cluster they were known for very bad
electronics in the last five years celestron has laid
waste to meade.

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WadeH237
scholastic sledgehammer

Reged: 02/24/07

Loc: Snohomish, WA

Re: LX850 14" new

[Re: cn register 5]
#5646436 - 01/27/13 04:53 PM

Jason Ware has been a high profile Meade user for many years. He's provided many of the images that Meade uses in their marketing going back at least as far as the RCX400s (from my personal recollection). His own web site says that he's used exclusively Meade telescopes since 1989.

Even though his vendor status is for his image sales, he's been closely associated with Meade for a very long time.

None of this invalidates the impressive images that he's posted from the LX850. But it's helpful to understand that he's a very accomplished astrophotographer and has produced lots of very high quality images with earlier Meade equipment.

I will be curious to see the results people get by slapping a DSLR on their LX850, pointing at the Trifid, or Whirlpool, or Dumbell and taking a 5 minute shot. This is how I interpret the promise of the LX850.

-Wade

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Pak
member

Reged: 09/15/12

Loc: The Great Arc

Re: LX850 14" new

[Re: WadeH237]
#5646508 - 01/27/13 05:35 PM

Quote:

snip...

I will be curious to see the results people get by slapping a DSLR on their LX850, pointing at the Trifid, or Whirlpool, or Dumbell and taking a 5 minute shot. This is how I interpret the promise of the LX850.

-Wade

Only 5 minutes?

Edited by David Pavlich (01/27/13 06:22 PM)

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jrcrilly
Refractor wienie no more

Reged: 04/30/03

Loc: NE Ohio

Re: LX850 14" new

[Re: Pak]
#5646791 - 01/27/13 07:48 PM

Quote:

Edit: I wanted to add that Jason is using the F/8 OTA's that Meade sends him. What about the person who just wants the mount only and plans to stick a longer FL telescope on there? Will they have the same results?

He's shooting at 2800mm, which is challenging enough. My Tak NJP can't do that without additional, external hardware. That's the point of the LXD850.

For the first time, I'm giving serious thought to making the switch myself. I could use the increased payload capacity.

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orlyandico
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 08/10/09

Loc: Singapore

Re: LX850 14" new

[Re: jrcrilly]
#5646849 - 01/27/13 08:11 PM

Hi John, like I said its Tak NJP class performance.

With presumably better pointing and GoTo...

If the 850 typical performance is what Jason is getting, then yes its worth considering. But if the sigma is too high.... Then maybe not.

I'd also wait and see if Meade survives the next two quarters.....

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TxStars
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 10/01/05

Loc: Lost In Space

Re: LX850 14" new

[Re: jrcrilly]
#5647229 - 01/28/13 12:18 AM

Quote:

He's shooting at 2800mm, which is challenging enough. My Tak NJP can't do that without additional, external hardware. That's the point of the LXD850.

For the first time, I'm giving serious thought to making the switch myself. I could use the increased payload capacity.

I'm not sure you could get increased payload capacity with the Meade LX850 over the Tak NJP.

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orlyandico
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 08/10/09

Loc: Singapore

Re: LX850 14" new

[Re: TxStars]
#5647251 - 01/28/13 12:32 AM

true. 70 "real" pounds vs. 90 "claimed" pounds.

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johnnyha
Postmaster

Reged: 11/12/06

Loc: Sherman Oaks, CA

Re: LX850 14" new

[Re: orlyandico]
#5647273 - 01/28/13 12:51 AM

Trading a Tak for a Meade is sheer madness.

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orlyandico
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 08/10/09

Loc: Singapore

Re: LX850 14" new

[Re: johnnyha]
#5647279 - 01/28/13 12:56 AM

might be cheaper to just buy an SG-4 for the Tak..

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jrcrilly
Refractor wienie no more

Reged: 04/30/03

Loc: NE Ohio

Re: LX850 14" new

[Re: orlyandico]
#5647285 - 01/28/13 01:01 AM

Quote:

might be cheaper to just buy an SG-4 for the Tak..

I have shot with that kind of load weight and up to 3900mm with the Tak - but I had to add hardware (OAG, guide camera) to make it work.

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jrcrilly
Refractor wienie no more

Reged: 04/30/03

Loc: NE Ohio

Re: LX850 14" new

[Re: TxStars]
#5647295 - 01/28/13 01:09 AM

Quote:

I'm not sure you could get increased payload capacity with the Meade LX850 over the Tak NJP.

That's one possible concern. I've looked at one but wasn't serious at the time; I'd want to take a closer look. I may be already over the weight rating on the NJP; there are more than 70 pounds of counterweight on there now.

I'd also be concerned about Meade being there in the next few years. Still, we've been hearing about their imminent demise for many years, during which Celestron was the one to be sold off by a bankruptcy trustee.

I haven't decided to do it; I'm just considering it. I usually don't keep stuff forever; I sold the four Tak refractors and the Tak Cassegrain already so the mount could easily be next. I note that I haven't been in the observatory since April; I need to stir things up a little in there to make it fun again.

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Whichwayisnorth
professor emeritus

Reged: 07/04/11

Loc: Southern California

Re: LX850 14" new

[Re: jrcrilly]
#5647311 - 01/28/13 01:31 AM

Quote:

Quote:

I'm not sure you could get increased payload capacity with the Meade LX850 over the Tak NJP.

That's one possible concern. I've looked at one but wasn't serious at the time; I'd want to take a closer look. I may be already over the weight rating on the NJP; there are more than 70 pounds of counterweight on there now.

I'd also be concerned about Meade being there in the next few years. Still, we've been hearing about their imminent demise for many years, during which Celestron was the one to be sold off by a bankruptcy trustee.

I haven't decided to do it; I'm just considering it. I usually don't keep stuff forever; I sold the four Tak refractors and the Tak Cassegrain already so the mount could easily be next. I note that I haven't been in the observatory since April; I need to stir things up a little in there to make it fun again.

I know what you mean about making it fun again. Are you involved in any sort of live broadcasting on a site such as NSN or Google Hangouts? I've been considering that since I can do it all from in the house where it is warm and there are no bugs.

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mmalik
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 01/13/12

Loc: USA

Re: LX850 14" new

[Re: jrcrilly]
#5647801 - 01/28/13 10:56 AM

Quote:

I'd also be concerned about Meade being there in the next few years.

Between this... and now, there is a well-documented record of what transpired in between; that kind of track record alone is reason enough it went away. LX800/850 is a mediocre technological effort when one looks at the equivalently priced high-performing mounts in the market. While automatic guiding is a fancy concept, its development has been nothing but trial and error at the expense of unsuspecting/prospective customers. Thx

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WadeH237
scholastic sledgehammer

Reged: 02/24/07

Loc: Snohomish, WA

Re: LX850 14" new

[Re: Pak]
#5648430 - 01/28/13 03:02 PM

Quote:

Only 5 minutes?

Sure. In a light polluted area, you probably would not want to go longer than this. 5 minutes is long enough to be a credible subexposure. On a sufficiently bright object, you would also get a decent (albiet noisy) image. Certainly, there would be enough data in the stars to see how the mount is doing.

Now if you live in a sufficiently dark area, it'd be really interesting to see a single 30 minute DSLR exposure.

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RodgerHouTex
scholastic sledgehammer

Reged: 06/02/09

Loc: Houston, Texas, USA

Re: LX850 14" [Re: Hilmi]
#5648505 - 01/28/13 03:32 PM

The discussion "dwindled" because every time someone created a post it was deleted by the admins.

I still wonder what happened to all of the folks that returned their mounts and ...

Edited by RodgerHouTex (01/28/13 03:33 PM)

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Whichwayisnorth
professor emeritus

Reged: 07/04/11

Loc: Southern California

Re: LX850 14" [Re: RodgerHouTex]
#5648623 - 01/28/13 04:23 PM

Quote:

The discussion "dwindled" because every time someone created a post it was deleted by the admins.

I still wonder what happened to all of the folks that returned their mounts and ...

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blueman
Vendor Blue Sky Accessories

Reged: 07/20/07

Loc: California

Re: LX850 14" [Re: RodgerHouTex]
#5649274 - 01/28/13 09:13 PM

I too am curious about what happened to those who bought the LX800 and sent them in and waited. Now after all these months, what has happened?
Blueman

Quote:

The discussion "dwindled" because every time someone created a post it was deleted by the admins.

I still wonder what happened to all of the folks that returned their mounts and ...

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rigel123
Postmaster

Reged: 06/29/09

Loc: SW Ohio

Re: LX850 14" [Re: galaxy_jason]
#5649359 - 01/28/13 10:10 PM

Looking good Jason!

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