TV Powermates are NOT Barlows!!!!

[Merlin66]

Mea Culpa, Mea Culpa!!
I responded, earlier, on a topic which compared different types of Barlow lenses, and I said " what's the big deal with the TV Powermates... they're just expensive Barlows"
How WRONG can I be,:(
I apologise to anyone who believed I knew what I was talking about..... I got it completely wrong......sorry!!!:ashamed:

What made me correct my opinion???
I've just "invested" in a x4 and a x2.5 Powermate ( with the T thread adaptors) and they are ABSOLUTELY fantastic. Crisp, great contrast, flat field, clear, just oooozing quality of finish and do the job 200% percent!! What more could you ask for??
I really anticipate these new toys will help me to dramatically improve my imaging. The backfocus v's amplification is very interesting and nothing like the traditional Barlow. Well worth the money!!!!!

[jjjnettie]

;)
Looking forward to seeing some images now.

[Merlin66]

If I can ever get more than a couple of minutes of sunshine ( Ohh that looks clear...I can see shadows on the ground...quick let's get out the scope, batteries, laptop, came....too late here comes the rain!!!)
I see what I can do! There's a couple of interesting AR's visible ( imaged) in CaK looks like there's certainly something different happening this rotation.....

[wavelandscott]

Welcome to the "dark" side...

[andrew2008]

I did some reading last night on cloudy nights that compared the TV Barlow and TV Powermate. General agreement was that the barlow is just as good if not better to some peoples eyes than the powermate. Not to say your experience is wrong as this is just visual. Just like to get a few more opinions comparing both from a purely observers standpoint and not an imagers.

[NewAstronomer]

Hi there, since Cloudy Nights is down I figured I'd comment here. I've used a few TV barlows, I think I sold one to a fellow in Australia actually. Currently I'm using a Meade 2x TeleXtender (PowerMate knock off made in China). One difference between barlows and image amplifiers, IIRC, is that barlows increase eye relief, image amplifiers do not change the properties of a given eyepiece. So, if you buy eyepieces with a lot of eye relief (as I tend to) , an amplifier might be a better choice. Also, they can then be put to double duty for imaging.