Good Barlow Bad Barlow?

[Astroman (Andrew Wall)]

Not sure if this has been asked before.

Which Barlow is the better barlow. I guess having an 8" F7 scope a 3x barlow is probably a little overkill, so whats the best type to get in around the 2x mark? 1 1/4" Tube.

[slice of heaven]

The orion shorty plus was recomended to me by the multitude here. I must say thankyou to them . It is a great unit for $149.

Slice

[[1ponders] (Paul)]

I use a Celestron Omni that I like very much, on both my refractor and SCT

[RAJAH235]

Hi Andrew, Meade #140 for me. L.

[gbeal]

What is the "purpose".
For imaging I use and suggest the Powermates (2.5x and/or 5x).
For viewing with the refractors I use a Zeiss 2x (and the Zeiss orthos).
Having said that there is not a great deal to the eye in most of them. Try a few. I don't think any more than 2x/2.5x for visual use though.
I use the 5x for imaging only (and only with shorter scopes).
Gary

[Astroman (Andrew Wall)]

This is for viewing and also photography (when I get the toucam) Visually so I don't have to use my 4mm eyepiece while planetary viewing the eye relief is next to nothing on that eyepiece and would prefer to use my 12.5mm with a longer eyerelief and better quality too.

[atalas]

Andrew, the celestron ultima will do you fine!

Louie

[wavelandscott (Scott)]

I've not had a lot of different "barlow experiences"...I saved up and got a 2.5x Powermate.

Reasoning...while the difference/improvement in quality for visual use can be debated...there is no doubt that it does get ranked with the best of them

It does appear to me that the Powermate holds it's resale value pretty well so if I ever needed to liquidate my gear I don't think I would be out of pocket much...

That said, based on what I've heard/read (not tried) many of the other barlows listed can and do perform very well

[ausastronomer (John Bambury)]

I own the a 2.5X TV Powermate, 2X Orion Shorty Plus (Celestron Ultima) and a 2" 1.6X Antares barlows. I am not an imager and these are all used for visual astronomy only. With shorter eye-relief simple eyepieces like my UO HD orthos the difference in quality between the Powermate and the Shorty Plus are not great and you can be completely satisfied with the performance of the Shorty Plus. When used with complex eyepieces with long eye-relief like Pentax XW's or TV Radians the TV powermate is in a class all by itself. Importantly it preserves the 20mm of eye-relief and doesn't extend it into the next paddock, maintaining the comfort and ease of holding the exit pupil of the native eyepiece. The powermate gets out of the way and you don't even know its there. Even though the shorty plus still delivers good image quality on axis you always know "something" is there other than the native eyepiece. I have to say the $AUS300 I spent on the Powermate has been 1 of my more astute astronomical purchases over the years.

CS-John B