Worth buying the Meade AR5?

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acc
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Worth buying the Meade AR5?

Post by acc »

Meade factory outlet is selling the AR5 OTA for US$329 shipped. Does anyone have any experience with an 5" achro? Wondering if its a good buy. I have been having a bit of refractor fever lately after being very pleased with the very refined images thrown up by my humble pronto.
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VinSnr
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Re: Worth buying the Meade AR5?

Post by VinSnr »

acc wrote:Meade factory outlet is selling the AR5 OTA for US$329 shipped. Does anyone have any experience with an 5" achro? Wondering if its a good buy. I have been having a bit of refractor fever lately after being very pleased with the very refined images thrown up by my humble pronto.
scary....I am also thinking of getting a 5-6" refractor and has been following those threads on the new Antares 152 f/6.5. They said that the CA is better than the Synta 150 f/8. Dunno true or not.....

I wonder which Chinese make these Antares scopes. Guan Sheng?
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acc
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Post by acc »

No idea though I guess its either GS or Synta. The Meade is priced so attractively... Someone pls stop me! :)
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Takahashi Mewlon 210
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VinSnr
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Post by VinSnr »

acc wrote:No idea though I guess its either GS or Synta. The Meade is priced so attractively... Someone pls stop me! :)
dude, get the 6 inch!
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acc
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Post by acc »

Dun see the 6" leh, do you? Think it was selling for 400 but its not avail now.
We do it in the dark...
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Takahashi Mewlon 210
William Optics 110ED
...and all night long!
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perseid
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Post by perseid »

In think Antares got their product from their own source. There are so many other manufacturer in China. Guan Sheng only manufacture 80mm and 90mm refractor.
For deepsky, a 5" achro is OK. For planetary wise, especially for those with fast f-ratio, details seems to drown in the CA.
On the other hand, I think AR5 focal length is too long. Although the CA is less with long focal length, it is very inconvenient to use a refractor with focal length longer than 1000mm.
SkyWatchers has a 5" F5 refractor. The bare OTA should costs around USD400. I have not use the scope, but I have a shipment coming in a month time together with other stuff. Without seeing the scope, I think the f is a tad too fast. But with the improvement in optic design and material, it may be better than expected. We will see.
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kayheem
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Post by kayheem »

I think the 5" achro is a wee bit too long for my taste. What do you intend to mount it on?

I suggest you wait for the Antares semi-ED reviews to come out if you are not in a hurry. They also have the Petzval versions coming out.

Kay Heem
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ariefm71
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Post by ariefm71 »

Yes, Khan Scopes (Canada) says the 6" f/5 Petzval will be available in December. Maybe a good alternative until I can afford a TOA-150 =P
Last edited by ariefm71 on Wed Oct 12, 2005 12:55 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by acc »

Yup agreed its long and ungainly but the price is so irresistible. Don't think I will want to fork out much more for yet another telescope :) How much are the Antares semi-ED retailing for? I intend to mount the scope on my Gilbratar or Liu Ming's GIRO mount.
We do it in the dark...
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Takahashi Mewlon 210
William Optics 110ED
...and all night long!
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ariefm71
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Post by ariefm71 »

btw, the term sem-ED is misleading, there is no ED component in it. It's 100% achro, albeit a better color corrected one (due to the petzval design, i guess)
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