Note: This is just a quick review of the OTA and its objectives performance only and is not a review of the tripod or eyepieces that come with the complete Meade Inifinty 90 mm scope. I used my own eyepiece and my own tripod when I tested the OTA.
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Hi Folks. Had a chance to check out the Meade 90 mm Infinity Refractor the other night. I hate to say it but I bought it a year ago (bought only the OTA from a Seller on eBay) as a grab and go and it sat on my mount in my room and never looked through it 
. I put this scope on a older non goto CG5 mount that I tore down completely and re-greased. Anyways the Meade Infinity is a 90 mm (3.5") doublet 600 mm focal length f/6.7 refractor. Last week I took the time to collimate the focuser to the optical axis of the objective and collimated the diagonal as well. I did this because I was just killing some time (bored) on a rainy day and because I like to get the best out of a refractor. So finally got motivated to see what this scope can do. I also did add the Orion Accufocus which works fantastic giving me a sharp wiggle free focus, even though the 1.25" focuser is a rack and pinion type. By the way the focuser is all metal which surprised me.
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My concern was to see how crisp, clean, clear and bright the stars would appear in the semi-fast scope. By the way, unfortunately there was no Moon or Planets to view, but just knowing what the stars would look like would give me a good idea what to expect of the Moon and Planets. I grabbed an older University Optics Volcano Top Japan made 20 mm Kellner eyepiece. This gave me a magnification of 30x.
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I could see some clouds moving in toward the South so I put my attention toward the North, NE. First up was the Double Cluster in Perseus. Wow! I could see both clusters in the field of view and the stars were pinpoints right to the edge of the eyepiece. Crisp, clear and bright with a nice dark background. You could see allot of star separation, even at 30x. Right then and there I knew the scope was a keeper for grab and go. I can see more clouds moving in from the West so I hurried to see Lyra which was about 10 degrees past the Meridian toward the West. First I went to Vega. I was surprised how bright and crisp Vega was in the eyepiece. My concern was if I could see any CA. I was surprised how little there was. It was very controlled but I will wait until I can get a view of the Moon to update further on this. All the rest of the stars in Lyra were pinpoint to the edge. While I was there I decided to see if I could find the Ring Nebula. Found it! Of course no detail at 30x but I could easily see its elongated/circular shape. Not bad for 30x. Clouds moving in quick so I decided to just scan the Milky Way which was right over head. Again Wow. Stars were pinpoints, bright and crisp, with a dark background.
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All in all I will further update as I get the scope out very soon to see the Moon and plan a few double star tests with higher magnification. For those Folks looking for a grab and go scope or a scope to introduce the universe with, be it a novice or advanced observer, you can't go wrong with the Meade Infinity 90 mm. Especially with a price that won't break the bank as a first scope. I give it 2 thumbs up. Below is a few picks of my Meade Infinity 90 mm scope on the older CG5.
Cheers
Don
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P.S. I did forget to mention that I did get a chance to see the Pleiades which was about 35 to 40 degrees above the Eastern horizon. Man was that spectacular! The stars were just so bright and crisp. Now if I can get my ES AR152mm refractor out which has been sitting on another mount and not looked through yet 
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Cheers
Don
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Edited by emflocater, 03 November 2016 - 11:48 AM.
