Meade Series 5000 Ultra Wide Angle Review

When it comes to telescopes, we all know the importance of added extras. In particular, eyepieces. These are a vital part of the telescope for beginners and more advanced astronomers alike, enhancing our view of the wonder that is the night sky. 

But when it comes to selecting the right eyepiece, it can be challenging to know which to purchase. There are so many on the market, and with such a range in price, it can be overwhelming to choose the best eyepiece for you. 

Wide-angle eyepieces are a popular choice, providing excellent views of the night sky that you don’t get with a standard eyepiece. Meade’s series 5000 ultra wide angle eyepiece is a perfect choice for beginners and advanced astronomers alike, offering incredible views of the sky.

Today, we are going to look in detail at this eyepiece to help you make your decision! 


Meade Instruments 07740 Series 5000 1.25-Inch Xtreme Wide Angle 5.5-Millimeter Eyepiece (Black)

Overview: 

In a hurry? Let’s take a quick look at all you need to know about the Meade series 5000 ultra wide angle! 

  • Large 82-degree field of view 
  • 7-element multi-coated lenses 
  • Blackened lenses remove any light distortion
  • Rotating adjustable eyecups
  • Sharp optimal performance 
  • Low chromatic aberration 
  • Threaded to work with Meade’s 1.25-inch astronomy filters 
  • Reasonably priced 
  • Excellent contrast with minimal ghosting 
  • 1-year warranty 
  • Some customers noticed grease when turning up the eyecup, but this was minimal and easily avoided.

Does that sound like the eyepiece for you? You can purchase the Meade series 5000 ultra wide-angle here!

Need some more information, or just curious? Keep reading for an in-depth review of the series 5000 ultra wide-angle! 

Meade Series 5000 Ultra Wide-angle Buying Guide

Features:

The Meade series 5000 ultra wide angle eyepiece has a whole host of fantastic features that set it apart from others on the market!

The sharp optimal performance and the wide 82-degree field of view are among the favorite features with customers. We’ll look at these features in detail to help you learn more about your potential new eyepiece! 

The clarity of the telescope is fantastic. Customers praised how well they can see into deep space with ease. The eyepiece offers an almost 3-D view of the night sky and offers excellent magnification. 

The optics are praised for their outstanding performance also. The eyepiece is color neutral, so it will not impact any natural colors in the night sky.

Compared to others on the market, which leave a yellow cast on objects, you view them without any additional color. There is also minimal ghosting on objects, so planets, stars, and galaxies will seem clear. 

Ghosting is where a mark or trail can be seen on the object you are viewing. It can also be a ghost image on one of the lenses in your telescope. It is often seen with cheaper or poorly made lenses or a misalignment in your telescopes lenses.

Issues of ghosting with the Meade series 5000 were very minimal. Those who experienced it were able to rectify it with realignment and viewing the sky on clearer nights. 

Size matters?

When it comes to your wide-angle views, the size of your eyepiece matters!  The series 5000 is available in a few different sizes, 5.5mm, 8.8mm, 14mm, and 20mm.

It is the 5.5mm wide-angle eyepiece we are looking at today, although you may be interested in collecting other sizes if you are a more advanced astronomer. 

The 5.5mm (1.25-inch) eyepiece provides a large 82-degree  apparent field of view. That is considerably wider than the view with your standard eyepiece! 

Design:

The eyepiece features a 7 lens element that was designed to handle the light better. This is especially evident on lower focal ratio telescopes.

It is worth being familiar with your telescope’s focal ratio to get the best use out of the eyepiece. If your telescope’s focal ratio drops below f/7, it can be difficult for the eyepiece to deliver an even image, and if it goes below f/5, this becomes very challenging. Ensure that your focal ratio is well maintained to avoid this! 

The series 5000 eyepiece’s design is to correct and avoid edge distortion caused by the steep angle of light entering the eyepiece. They generally perform best at F5 and above, where a uniform and the focused image will be presented. The image will be free of aberrations that we normally see around the edges of the field of view. 

The Meade Series 5000 ultra wide angle eyepiece is waterproof and purged with a gas that minimizes the issues caused by dirt or dew between the lenses. This feature makes cleaning the eyepiece easier too! 

Although listed as waterproof, we would not recommend taking your telescope out in the rain. You could damage your scope, and your view will, of course, be impacted by the rain. It is better instead to consider Meade’s eyepiece as humidity proof. 

Lens:

As we mentioned earlier, the eyepiece features a seven lens design. These lenses are fully multi coated too. The coating allows for improved light transmission and reduces internal reflections. The level of multi coating Meade provides is viewed by many as the best out there! 

The lens edges are also blackened. Blackened edges control stray light in the eyepiece and enhance contrast. Cheaper eyepieces often do not have this! The contrast was praised by customers, with many enjoying the contrast it created with minimal ghosting when viewing planets or other celestial objects. 

The Meade Series 5000 is also parfocal, meaning you should not need to refocus as you change from one eyepiece to another. This will save you time and is a great feature if you have a telescope that does not track. 

Manual tracking scopes can drift out of view when changing eyepieces. Meade Eyepieces parfocal design eliminates the need for refocusing, allowing you to spend more time enjoying the night sky!

Eye relief:

The twist-up design of the eyecup is excellent and enjoyed by customers. They found the eye relief to be deep, with glasses wearers enjoying it too! Those wearing thin glasses or sunglasses found they were still able to have the eyecup fully cover their eye, a win! 

Customers found the cup firm and to be of thick rubber. That being said, they felt that it had a comfortable, almost satin feel. The eyecup feels very durable and you won’t need to worry about any rips or tears as you do with cheaper or poorly made eyecups! 

Any issues?

What we all want to know when making a purchase is, is there anything wrong with it? Although the Meade Series 5000 wide-angle eyepiece has fantastic features and is loved by customers, there is an issue a few customers reported. 

They noted that there can be some grease visible when the eyecup twists up. You will notice this when turning the eyepiece up; roughly a quarter of an inch is exposed that is covered in grease.

Customers noted that this did not detract from the quality or happiness with the eyepiece but that it is something to be mindful of. Customers did note that after a few uses, they instinctively avoided the area the grease comes from.

The issue was not widely reported, and we are sure it won’t detract you from enjoying this wonderful eyepiece! 

Support?

The series 5000 ultra-wide-angle eyepiece comes backed with Meade’s one-year limited warranty. You will be able to rest easy knowing that you are covered should anything go wrong. 

Some astronomers look into separate insurance for their telescopes and pieces to ensure they are protected from theft or damage. It is worth considering insurance for those with an extensive collection of lenses or an expensive telescope once the warranty period has ended. 

How much?

The Meade series 5000 eyepiece is decently priced compared to others on the market. For the exceptional quality, the price is very affordable and is sure to leave you a satisfied customer. 

For beginners, it is worth considering the budget you are setting for your telescope and adding extras such as eyepieces to make sure there is plenty of money to go round!  

Meade is also available to support you with any concerns or queries you may have. You can contact them over the phone or via email if you prefer.

Customers have not expressed any issues with reaching them, so you shall have no trouble getting the support you need! If you are new to telescopes, be sure to check out forums and help sites to get to know other stargazers for additional tips and tricks! 

Final word 

As you can see, the Meade Series 5000 ultra wide angle piece has many fantastic features! It is a reasonably priced eyepiece that delivers sharp and clear image quality with minimal ghosting. 

The eyepiece features multiple lenses that are multi-coated to deliver high-quality images and an eyepiece that is durable and strong. Although some customers found grease to be an issue with the eyecup, it did not detract from the fantastic viewing experience!

If you are after a fantastic wide-angled view of the night sky without the premium price tag, then the Meade series 5000 ultra wide angle eyepiece is the one for you! Buy it now!

Gordon Watts