With a magnification of 150X, the Cassini division in Saturn's rings was obvious all the way around Saturn, as were cloud bands and the dark polar region on the planet itself. When I boosted the power to 200X, the stars in the heart of M42, Orion's trapezium, were a beautiful sight. I saw little diffraction rings around the four brighter stars, and the fifth star "E" was glimmering on the edge of visibility. The model 884 tripod is a big improvement over the model 883 that was designed for the original ETX90. I especially like the spring loaded captive mounting screws that pop into place when you get the base lined up with the mounting holes. The tripod comfortably handled the ETX105 in the straight up Alt/Az position. It's probably a little light though if you want to use an equatorial alignment for photography. The Autostar controller delivered excellent pointing accuracy. My usual set up routine starts with centering Polaris in the scope, then leveling the optical tube. This automatically sets the telescope's 'home position' within one degree of true North and level. After a careful setup the other night, the 'easy align' routine put the first alignment star, Rigel, inside the field of view. And the second star, Procyon, was just outside the edge of the field. Easy as pie. (Nightwatch by Terence Dickinson will introduce you to these brighter stars by name. ) Even without precise alignment to North, the alignment stars were close enough that I had no trouble with the setup. The guided tour still placed every object but Saturn in the low power field of view, and Saturn was just outside the field. Now about those ergonomics. The finder scope is a problem because it is so close to the eyepiece that my nose gets in the way when I use eyepieces smaller then the included 26mm Super Plossl. If you're inclined to peer through the eyepiece with your left eye, it may not be an issue. I'm right eye dominant, so I can't use smaller eyepieces for higher magnification. I got around this problem by using my Celestron Ultima 2X barlow to raise the eyepiece for high power viewing. The Ultima barlow introduces a little extra reflection on bright objects, but the views are still fabulous. If I were to spring for just one more good eyepiece to go with this telescope I'd try an Orion 10. 5mm Lanthanum. About 150X seems to be a sweet spot with this scope, a magnification that offers great views of the planets without the diffraction rings around stars becoming very noticeable. The other well known ergonomic issue is the small and hard to reach focus knob. Meade would be happy to sell you a #1244 Electric Focuser. I found a third party Flex Focus adapter worked just fine. -Jeff Phillips Pros: Superb optics Autostar computer Small and portable Cons: The finder is too close to the eyepiece The Meade ETX-105EC is among the most advanced electronically controlled telescopes. Manufactured with an aluminum fork mount dedicated specifically to its size and aperture, the ETX-105EC Astro telescope moves effortlessly across the skies on ball-bearing axes, in either manual or electronic modes. The Autostar controller turns the ETX-105EC into an automatic celestial-object locating system. Just plug the Autostar into the telescope's HBX port in place of the standard-equipment electronic controller, do a quick telescope alignment, and you're ready to observe any object in the Autostar's 30,000-object database. The ETX-105EC yields 36 percent more light-collecting power than the ETX-90EC. The entire range of celestial objects-the eight major planets, the Moon, galaxies, nebulae, star clusters-as well as terrestrial objects, may be observed with a significant, and immediately apparent, increase in resolution and image brightness. At the same time, the ETX-105EC maintains most of the compactness and ultraportability of the smaller-aperture ETX-90EC. Use the standard pushbutton electronic controller at any of four dual-axis speeds: 8x sidereal for image centering in the main telescope at high power; 32x for image centering at lower powers or for pushbutton object tracking in the altazimuth mode; slow mode for image centering in the viewfinder or for terrestrial tracking of nature and sightseeing; or medium speed for fast slewing across the sky. The observer can instantly select any of these speeds simply by depressing the speed button on the controller. The telescope’s ultraportable design allows the viewer to view from any flat surface, be it a window sill, car hood, or picnic table. The optional tripod will raise the telescope to any comfortable height.

5x image erector; Mars-eye electronic finder; Heavy-duty secondary and primary mirror cells; Adjustable tube clamp; Measures approx. 20 x 9 x 42 1/2", weighs 31 lbs. ; Includes accessory tray, Galileo planetarium CD-ROM with instructional video and limited 1-year manufacturer's warranty. For a big view on big savings. order yours today! Galileo FS-120DX Reflector Telescope.