Meade Variable Projection Tele-Extender for LX Telescopes

This accessory couples a DSLR or mirrorless camera (equipped with camera-specific T-ring, sold separately) to any Meade LX ACF telescope to allow eyepiece projection or prime focus photography.

For eyepiece projection photography, the two-piece, sliding housing lets you vary the effective focal length of the telescope-eyepiece combination, which changes the magnification of the image projected onto the camera’s sensor. This is a particularly good setup for lunar and planetary photography. Basically you insert a 1.25" eyepiece into the visual back that comes standard with Meade LX ACF telescopes, and secure the eyepiece with the visual back's thumbscrew. Then you thread the Tele-Extender onto the male 1.375"-24 threads of the visual back. You connect your camera to the other end of the Tele-Extender, which has male M42 T-mount threads, via a T-ring specific to your particular camera brand (T-ring sold separately). Note that only 1.25" eyepieces with a housing diameter of up to 1.45" (36.8mm) will fit inside the Tele-Extender.

Made of anodized aluminum and weighing 5.8 oz, the Tele-Extender makes a solid, flex-free connection between the camera and the telescope. The Tele-Extender's sliding housing is locked firmly at the length you set with two large thumbscrews.

For prime focus photography you simply use the Tele-Extender without an eyepiece. Shooting at prime focus is desirable when targeting deep-sky objects such as nebulas and galaxies.

The Tele-Extender measures 5.2" in length when fully extended and 3.6" when retracted, with a 2" diameter.