The Meade Series 6000 70mm Astrograph is designed specifically for photographic use. Its a Petzval design using 4 lenses and producing an extremely fat field of view and excellent color correction.
This apochromatic refractor employs FPL53 ED (extremely low dispersion) glass for remarkable contrast and sharpness along with almost no noticeable chromatic aberration or “color fringing.” Its 350 mm focal length results in a focal ratio of f/5.
Trevor Jones from Astrobackyard.com did a thorough review of the 70mm Quad APO in November 2017. Note in Trevor’s video that he briefly mentions the scope as having a very short back focus. I have found this to be true with the scope as well. Placing anything between the scope and DSLR will result in pushing the camera sensor back too far in order to reach focus. This does not mean filters can’t be used. Thankfully, 2″ filters can be placed inside the rear of the scope or clip-in filters can be used inside your DSLR.
Meade 70mm Astrograph Specifications
- Optical Design: Astrograph
- Clear Aperture: 70mm (2.76″)
- Focal Length: 350mm
- Focal Ratio: f/5
- Optical Coatings: Multi-Coated
- Focuser: 2.5″ Rack and Pinion
- Dovetail: Vixen-Style
- OTA Weight: 4.5 pounds
- OTA Dimensions: 12.25″ x 4.5″
I chose this scope for imaging because it is ideal for wide-field astrophotography, compact and portable, and does not require a field flattener. Wide-field astrophotography is a good place to get your feet wet as it’s more forgiving than narrow field shots with longer focal length telescopes where the tracking and guiding are extremely crucial to getting pin point stars and good images.
-
M3 in Canes Venatici
First light for the 70mm Quad APO. The image above consists of 9 x 30 second guided exposures at ISO 1600 using a Nikon D5100 through the 70mm Quad APO and processed in Adobe Photoshop. This is not a very long exposure as astrophotos go to be sure. This first shot is a humble beginning to what promises to be a fun adventure into the art/hobby of astrophotography for me. You can view other images I’ve taken with the 70mm Quad on my Deep Sky Images page.
Meade Series 6000 70mm Astrograph Quadruplet APO refractor Manual