General Info

Class: Lightbridge Dobsonian Reflector
Best Uses: General, except Astrophotography: Planets, Moon, Stars, Galaxies & Nebulae
Recommended Experience: Casual – Advanced

Overall Rating: 8.42/10
Official Review: If you want to see some really cool stuff without paying $1,000+, and you don’t want to deal with the extra features of computerized scopes, the Lightbridge series is a great choice! Be warned that this is not a great option if you need it to be portable due to its size. However, Meade does a great job using lightweight Aluminum for the trusses, which drops the weight to 80lbs in total.

If the size and lack of computerized features don’t bother you, and you would rather get more bang for your buck with magnification and resolution for less than $1,000, I would highly recommend the Meade Lightbridge 12-Inch!

Pros: Great all-around scope, awesome magnification, clear, stable, easy to use & good price
Cons: Large, not computerized, no Astrophotography

Click here to check out the Meade Lightbridge 12-Inch on Telescopes.com!

Important Details

Usability: 8.7/10 – Very easy to use, but no computer to help out
Comfortability: 7.6/10 – Large, which is uncomfortable for some
Durability: 8.1/10 – Well-built, lightweight Aluminum truss beams
Battery Life: 9.9/10 – Nothing to worry about here but the cooling fan
Backlash: 9.9/10 – One advantage of non-computerized scopes…
Warranty: 9.4/10 – Standard Meade warranty & return/exchange policy
Storage: 5.8/10 – It’s big, but thankfully it’s easy to setup & breakdown
Accuracy: 7.9/10 – Manual, but Advanced Red-dot viewfinder helps
Setup: 7.4/10 – Easy to assemble, nice instruction manual

Click here to check out the 12-Inch Lightbridge!

Tech Specs

Aperture: 12 inches (304.8mm)
Magnification (Highest Useful): 600x
Focal Length: 1,524mm
Focal Ratio: f/5
Resolution: 0.38 Arc Seconds
Limiting Magnitude: 14.9
Tracking: Manual

Click here to learn more about the Meade Lightbridge 12-Inch telescope!

Telescope Construction

Optical Design: Reflector
Viewfinder: Advanced Four-Reticle Red-Dot Viewfinder (Deluxe model)
Eyepiece: 26mm Wide-Angle
Tube: Lightweight Aluminum Truss-Tube (47lbs)
Mount Design: n/a (Solid Laminated Base) (33lbs)
Weight: 80lbs total
Power Supply: n/a
Lens Coating: Multi-Coated
Other Equipment: None
Recommended Accessories: None necessary

Extra Features

GoTo: No
GPS: No
Computerized: No
Alignment: Manual (Steel RA roller bearings make alignment much easier)
Remote: No
Object Database: No
Programming Options: None

Summary: If you don’t want to buy a scope with a bunch of extra features and computerized bells and whistles, the Lightbridge series could be just what you’re looking for. But, these are large telescopes, they’re not very portable (though they are easy to setup), and you can’t take any pictures of what you observe.

Overall, the Meade Lightbridge 12-Inch is a fabulous telescope. The only trouble can be deciding which Lightbridge to get…

Click here to compare the entire Meade Lightbridge series at Telescopes.com!