Meade 12" f/8 LX850 ACF Optical Tube Assembly

MSRP: $4,599.99 Please see your local authorized reseller for pricing and availability.

View All Specifications

  • 12" f/8 Advanced Coma Free Optics- 2438mm focal length
  • Ultra-High Transmission Coatings (UHTC)
  • Internal Crayford style focuser with 7:1 reduction and zero image shift
  • Oversized low-expansion borosilicate primary mirror
  • Losmandy wide style mounting rail
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Item #: 1208-80-01

Where To Buy?

  • Woodland Hills Camera & Telescopes
  • Orion Telescopes & Binoculars
  • High Point Scientific
  • Mile High Astronomy
  • Astroshop.eu
  • The Binocular & Telescope Shop
  • Khan Scope
  • First Light Optics

The Meade 12" f/8 LX850 ACF optical tube assembly offers a large aperture in a very compact form. Designed to be portable and lightweight, and includes a Losmandy-style dovetail bar mounted to the bottom of the tube which allow attachment to any Losmandy compatible mount.

The Advanced Coma-Free (ACF) optical system features Ultra-High Transmission Coatings (UHTC), an oversized low-expansion Borosilicate primary mirror, a glass corrector plate, and beautiful diffraction limited optics. The ACF optical system has brought the highest level of optical performance well within the reach of amateur astronomers at an affordable price. Using this Meade exclusive design, ACF optics achieve aplanatic performance — with a flatter field, reduced astigmatism and of course no diffractions spikes impeding the view as with a reflector design.

Designed and Manufactured in North America, and the ACF primary, secondary and corrector plate glass blanks are manufactured in the USA exclusively for Meade.

The optical path and components of the ACF telescope design

The optical path and components of the ACF telescope design

Interested in astrophotography? Meade ACF telescopes, with their long native focal lengths, are great instruments for photographing planets and the Moon in high-resolution detail with a DSLR or astro camera. And the addition of the optional Meade ACF 0.68x Focal Reducer optimizes any ACF for deep space imaging. This thread-on accessory converts an f/10 ACF into a faster f/6.8 system and transforms an f/8 ACF into a speedy f/5.5 imaging beast! The reducer shortens the long exposure times needed to record faint deep-sky objects by half and expands the field of view by nearly 50%, allowing capture of larger objects in a single frame. Your Meade ACF will become a powerful astrograph capable of capturing jaw-dropping astrophotographs with your DSLR or astronomical CCD or CMOS camera!

The LX850's focusing system boasts a couple of distinguishing features compared to Meade's LX90 and LX200 series telescopes. The first is a two-speed focus knob for ultra precise focusing of your targets. Get close to focus quickly with the course focus knob, then use the 7:1 reduction fine focus knob to dial in maximum sharpness. The second is an internal Crayford style zero shift focus mechanism built into all the f/8 ACF optical tubes. This mechanism utilizes bearings between the primary mirror and the baffle tubes, rather than the mirror sliding forwards and backwards directly on the baffle tube itself when focusing. The Crayford-style bearings eliminate focus shift and mirror flop, ensuring zero backlash and smooth motion throughout the focus range. Focusing at high magnifications on a planet by hand is thus extremely easy thanks to this internal Crayford focuser design and the ultra-precise fine focus feature.

Optical features include an 12" aperture, 2438mm focal length, and f/8 focal ratio. The internal dual speed focuser provides fine control of focus and the UHTC coatings provide impressive views of brighter star clusters, more fine detail in nebulae, and greater surface features on planets. The optical tube weighs 41 lb (18.6kg).

Warranty:
Limited Warranty against defects in materials or workmanship for two years from date of purchase. This warranty is provided by Meade for the benefit of the original retail purchaser only. For complete warranty details contact Meade at 800-626-3233.
Best for viewing
Fainter deep sky
Best for imaging
Solar, lunar, planetary & Messier objects
Astro-imaging capability
Lunar, planetary & long exposure
User level
Advanced
Optical design
Advanced Coma-Free (ACF)
Optical diameter
305mm
Focal length
2438mm
Focal ratio
f/8.0
Resolving power
0.38arc*sec
Lowest useful magnification
44x
Highest useful magnification
300x
Highest theoretical magnification
610x
Limiting stellar magnitude
15.2
Optical quality
Diffraction limited
Finder scope
None
Focuser
Internal
Mount type
Optical Tube without Mount
Tube material
Aluminum
Weight, optical tube
41.0 lbs.
Additional included accessories
Losmandy style dovetail bar
Other features
Ultra High Transmission Coatings (UHTC), Internal zero-shift Crayford style focuser
Warranty
Two year