First Barlow purchase recomendations

[fremanwarrior]

I have had my Bintel 10" Dob for a week week now...

I originally ordered it with a Bintel Barlow 2x ED (2")(https://www.bintelshop.com.au/Product.aspx?ID=7206 (https://www.bintelshop.com.au/Product.aspx?ID=7206)) unfortunately they were out of stock and could not supply it.

Is the Orion Barlow Shorty-Plus 2x (1.25") (https://www.bintelshop.com.au/Product.aspx?ID=6192 (https://www.bintelshop.com.au/Product.aspx?ID=6192)) a viable alternative? What do I loose out on by going to 1.25"?.... (appart for .75" :P )

Any other recomendations?

Cheers

[janoskiss]

Try AOE (www.aoe.com.au) or Andrews (www.andrewscom.com.au) or MyAstroShop (www.myastroshop.com.au) for the GS 2" ED. My brief encounter with a GS 2" barlow (non-ED) was a pleasant one. Not too keen on the the Shorty-Plus (and wary of short barlows since) but a lot of people like them so they can't be that bad.

[davidpretorius]

nothing wrong with 1.25" barlows, my 5x powermate is superb, janokiss and ausastronomer are great names to search for in the section and they have great advice

[janoskiss]

Most humbled by the honour of even being mentioned in the same sentence as John B, but John has to be one of the most experienced members IIS has and I am one of the least.

I like these two: UO 2" barlow (the best!), Antares 2" 1.6x barlow (very good). I only tried the Powermate once and I really did not want to like it, and whew! thank god I found something I could pick on. Then I quickly stopped looking. ;) Another $300+ temptation is something I do not need. :eyepop:

[matt]

:lol: with Steve.

I,sadly, looked a fraction too long into a 2.5x Powermate....

Now, being an owner of one ... I'm happy!

[Starkler]

IMO the Shorty-plus eats the GSO barlow for breakfast performance wise.
I also own a UO 2" barlow and I cant pick a difference between the SP and the UO, with both clearly ahead of the GSO.

[circumpolar]

I have nothing but praise for my TeleVue Big x2 Barlow(2"). It has corrected the edge curviture of my GSO32mm(2")[crappy] EP to the point where I use it all time!, although it works like a 16mm here.

Not cheap though.....$335.00 from Bintel :whistle: , but one has to start forking out the big bucks sooner or later. Your setup is only as good as the weakest link, and I was determined that it would not be the barlow!

[janoskiss]

... the 2" GSO as well??

[Starkler]

Steve yes, sorry for not being clear, I was talking about the 2" GSO barlow.
I havent looked through a 1.25" gso.

[astrogeek]

I have the 2" ED GSO and I am quite impressed with it. Works well with all my ep's and I haven't noticed any adverse effects from it. I should mention that I don't own high end ep's and the like so I am not influence by naglers and others so I don't know what I am missing and therefore don't see it :). If your like me, a budget conscious observer who has never used high end ep's then I think you will be very impressed with this barlow. If you do use high end ep's then you'll probably still be impressed as some of my friends were. BTW I have compaired the GSO to the Orion Shorty Plus (A friends) and I must admit I prefered the GSO. Take from this what you like, but I hope it has helped you :)

Leon

[Dan31415]

Myastroshop also has a vixen APO barlow for about $155, don't know what it is like and no seems to have used it. just a thought

[ving]

2" GSO, orion shorty plus, celestron ultima, TV... any of these will probably make you happy. :)

[Striker]

I have both the 2x Orion shorty Plus and the meade 3 x telextender if you want one PM me.....I never use them.

[jjjnettie]

Go the 2" barlow. It takes both size EP's so you have 2 barlows for the price of one.
I have the GSO to match my EP collection. It serves my purposes well at the moment. I'll upgrade my barlow when I upgrade my EP's.

[vespine]

Same, I have 2 GSO EPs and the 26mm Meade that came with the deluxe lightbridge. I also bought the 2" GSO ED Barlow and have no complaints. I am another one who has not been fortunate enough to experience the finest in eyepieces yet, so for now it satisfies my purposes quite nicely.

[fremanwarrior]

Thx everyone for your comments, greatly appreciated.

One question.... Is the Bintel 2" ED a re-badged GSO ED 2"? (excuse my ignorance)

[vespine]

i believe so yes, I got mine from bintel.