Reviews & Ratings for Meade Polaris 130mm German Equatorial Reflector Telescope — 1 review — Page 1

I purchased mine used, as an OTA. 5" is still on the handy side, as telescopes go, but allows good light gathering.
I have seen a few 10th magnitude galaxies at 25X on a very clear , moonless night, and can regularly spot low surface brightness objects, such as M1 or m33, from my somewhat light-polluted observing site.
The reflex type finder works well and is quite handy when accurately aligned. No other finder is necessary.
Use of higher power is extremely dependent on accurate collimation, so one should consider a laser collimation tool as a necessary adjunct. When properly collimated, the equatorial belts of Jupiter were clear at 90X, also have observed good detail on lunar craters. A long focus refractor is actually a better choice for lunar/planetary work, so it's no surprise that the Meade Polaris 130 functions best as an RFT (Rich Field Telescope) at powers up to 60X - especially suitable with a wide-field eyepiece.
No one telescope can do everything perfectly, but the 130 Polaris comes close, as it is very good optically (not excellent, but very good) is light and handy to use, (particularly with an alt-az type mount), can be used for Deep Space Objects or Solar System with equal facility depending on the proper choice of eyepiece, and it is low priced. Such a combination will appeal to many, and I will admit to it being the one I usually reach for on a clear night.