Meade #777 Off-Axis Guider for LX-Series Telescopes: During long-exposure astrophotography, it is essential that the photographer:
1. Be able to observe when the telescope starts to wander slightly off-target and
2. Be able to make small corrections to the telescope's position to bring the instrument back precisely on-target.
The Meade #777 Off-Axis Guider solves the first of these requirements; namely, it permits the observer to
monitor an exposure simultaneously as the photograph is being taken (drive correctors solve the second requirement). The Off-Axis Guider is similar in function to the #62 T-Adapter in that it couples the camera body to the telescope for prime focus photography, but with an important difference: a small part of the light at the edge of the telescopic field is diverted at a 90 degree angle to the unit, where it is observed on the crosslines of an illuminated reticle eyepiece to detect any change of position. The #777 Off-Axis Guider has been used in this way countless times to obtain very high quality long-exposure photographs of deep-space objects.
The guider unit threads to the rear cell of all Meade LX-Series mirror-lens telescopes and to other brands of Schmidt-Cassegrain telescopes. Use with the appropriate T-Mount, ordered separately, for your camera brand. Will also require a 1.25 Inch format illuminated reticle eyepiece.
Meade offers T-Mounts for most models of 35mm cameras. To attach to your camera to your Meade #777 Off-Axis Guider, you will need the appropriate T-Mount for your camera.
