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Wasn't sure if you could adapt 2" barlows to 1.25".Thats a good option......(Never seen a barlow either).
Powermates.....How much different / better are they to the barlow? .....and price for a 2x?
Hi Geoff,
In the right telescope and in conjunction with the right eyepieces the powermates can show an improvement over a standard high quality barlow like the Orion Shorty Plus, Celestron Ultima and also the Televue barlows. The powermates are in a different class to the lower quality cheaper chinese/taiwanese barlows, which really I don't recommend if you have a decent scope and eyepieces. Another advantage of the powermate is that it preserves the eye-relief of the eyepiece used in it, whereas a standard barlow will extend the eye-relief by about 20%. If you are using short eye-relief eyepieces like orthos or plossls the extension of eye-relief by a standard barlow can be an advantage. The extension of eye relief on eyepieces with standard long eye-relief like Pentaxes or TV Radians can be a disadvantage and the powermate works best with those. Its really a case of matching the best barlow to your existing or proposed eye piece purchases. Remember however that with astronomical equipment that last 5% performance gain costs a disproportianate amount of money so $300 plus for the 1.25" 2.5X powermate is a lot of extra money for a performance gain of roughly 5% to 10% over the Orion Shorty Plus costing $150 or about $Aus 110 if you bring it in from Canada.
If you care to tell me what scopes and eyepieces you have and will be using the barlow in conjunction with I can advise you further.
Clear Skies
John Bambury
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