In search of Schmidt-Camera-like performance
Meade Schmidt Camera Ad In the 1980's, Meade Corporation advertisements in the astronomy magazines were mesmerizing. Their products were beautiful, but they were mostly unaffordable to people like me. I could only dream of owning one of their telescopes. Until one day, when I just had to get my hands on one, I worked out a deal to sell my pickup truck to my uncle for just enough money to buy a Meade 8-inch SCT (Schmidt-Cassegrain Telescope). And, boy, was it worth every penny! For him, that is. Just kidding. Honestly, I loved my Meade 2080 LX3 for 20 years, despite its poor optical quality. Since I mainly used it for low-power astrophotography at f/6.3, I wasn't really bothered by the defects. It was only when I tried to resolve tight double stars or planetary detail at high power that I was met with disappointment. Meade was really in a bind over Halley's Comet in 1986. Everybody wanted a telescope to view the comet, so Meade and other telescope manufacturers cranked up ...