Meade Instruments Infinity 50mm Telescope Review

The Infinity 50mm Refractor telescope is one of the budget telescopes from Meade Instruments. It is a simple compact and lightweight telescope designed for beginning astronomers. You can use it to get a clear view of celestial objects, and it also comes handy when used to explore the surroundings, mountains, wildlife, hills and birds.

It has a relatively low focal length to be used by professional astronomers, but it offers great features, awesome geometry and just the right accessories for students of astronomy. Its sports a point-and-look mount that presents and easy learning curve.

Let’s have a look at some of the unique features of this telescope.

What is the Meade Instruments Infinity 50mm Refractor Telescope?

The Infinity 50mm is a refractor telescope designed to allow you watch birds, wildlife and watch different heavenly bodies. It comes with an instructional DVD with astronomical software to get you started. The unit features a 1.25 inches rack and pinion focuser, allowing you to point and look. There are dual slow motion knobs that allow you to fine center and track objects you need to view.

The above features are coupled with three 1.25-inch eyepieces, 4mm, 12mm and 20mm, offering 150x, 50x and 30x respectively. Additionally, the unit sports a diagonal mirror and a 5by24 viewfinder for enhance viewing capability.

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The telescope has a 600mm focal length, f12.

Product Information

Dimensions	Weight	Batteries	Aperture	Focal Length	Software
39 by 39 by 52 inches	87 lbs	3 V lithium ion battery	50mm	600 mm	AutoStar Suite PC

Meade Instruments Infinity 50mm Refractor Telescope Pros & Cons

Pros

• With this purchase, you are offered three eyepieces; SR 4mm, H 12mm and H 20mm, offering 150x, 50x and 30x magnification respectively, enhancing viewing.
• The telescope is offered with a sturdy aluminum tripod stand with an accessory tray where you can place all your eyepieces.
• You will get clear and bright images for far off objects thanks to the 50mm wide lens with a 600 mm focal length.
• The unit is offered with AutoStar Suite PC compatible DVD software, letting you chart your views at night
• It comes ready to use out of the box and takes less than ten minutes to set up, point and start viewing.
• Compact and lightweight for travel.
• Great price for a budget starting astronomer.

Cons

• Shows a blue or purple halo around bright objects, a phenomenon called color fringing. This is however common with most refracting telescopes.
• You might need higher magnification eyepieces if you need better quality images.
• Comparatively more fragile.

Where to Find the Meade Instruments Infinity 50mm Refractor Telescope

You can purchase the Meade Instruments Infinity 50mm Refractor Telescope on Amazon and on other authorized retailers online.

(Click image to see more pictures on Amazon)

Performance

With 600mm focal length, the Meade Instruments Infinity 50mm Refractor Telescope gives you great clarity and brightness. Though it is not as bright as models features a 90mm aperture, at 50mm, it performs great. It displays clear images for students and beginner astronomers. However, to clearly distinguish between close parts, millions of kilometers away, you might need better eyepieces. Again, the unit is affected by color fringing where bright objects are seen with purple or blue light around them.

When camping and watching wildlife, the eyepieces provided are more than enough as they show clear images. The field of view is large enough, letting you see items clear without struggling. With control knobs, it gets easy to track objects. Again, you can upgrade the eyepieces to better the performance of this unit.

Extra Info

The focal length of this unit is far above most units on its class. This allows it to give a great view and most users love it for that. Again, its price, as most users observe is great compared to its performance.

Maintenance Advice

Telescopes, like other optical instruments, are not meant to be cleansed often. In most cases, you will only need to clean the lenses and only when necessary. Granted, the telescope should be used and stored in less dusty places. When cleaning is needed, when dust affects the image quality on your telescope, use camel hair brush or compressed air to remove the dust. A clean soft cloth should be used when wiping is needed. Wiping should be done gently to avoid scratching the lenses.

Again, you should avoid opening up the unit unless with the guidance of an expert.

Accessories

The Meade Instruments Infinity 50mm Refractor Telescope is offered with the following accessories:

• 4mm eyepiece
• 12mm eyepiece
• 20mm eyepiece
• Adjustable aluminum tripod stand with an accessory tray
• Instructional DVD

Besides these, you will need and instrument case to keep your telescope secure. You can use the cover delivered with telescope inside the case you buy. You can upgrade the telescope later by buying higher magnification eyepiece lenses.

(See more product details and prices on Amazon)

Warranty and Guarantee Information

With the purchase of this telescope, you are offered a two-year limited warranty. On some online stores, however, you will have one-year warranty. The warranty is void in case of any attempted repairs.

Our Recommendation

The performance of this unit is great especially considering its price. It is a great unit for camping as it gives you some awesome views. Even better, you can buy this unit and later upgrade it with better eyepieces for clearer and detailed views. The telescope is compact and light and you can fit it in a backpack and get going. Its point and look mount makes it ideal for children. Assembling it will take less than 10 minutes.

This telescope is a bargain for anyone in need of a good telescope. With only a few chromatic aberration issues, some of which are common with refractor telescopes, this telescope will serve you.

We recommend this telescope for beginners and students. Have you used any Infinity telescope models before? Let us know about it or just give us your view on the Meade Instruments Infinity 50mm Refractor Telescope.