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Originally Posted by janoskiss
The Orion Shorty-Plus barlow sounds like the one for me (thanks John; I just can't justify the cost of the TV Powermate. Are you firm on "no discussion needed"?? or can you tell me what more I get from a Powermate that's worth an extra $175?
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I own a 2x Orion Shorty plus and a 2.5x TV powermate. I am not scared to use the shorty plus when the 2.5X of the powermate gives me a little too much power for the conditions. Realistically your paying a lot of extra money for a very small gain but price out of the equation the TV powermate is the best barlow available.
The main overall difference is that the TV powermate seems to "get out of the way" and you don't even realise its there, that sensation doesn't happen with any other barlow IMO, with all other barlows you can sense "something is there" even though it may not be intrusive in any way or degrade the image quality.
The gain with the TV powermate depends somewhat on the eyepieces you own and use in conjunction with the barlow. With simple eyepiece designs like TV Plossls or UO HD orthoscopics the Shorty Plus will perform "almost" as well as the powermate and it would take an experienced observer to detect any difference in visible detail. Aside from image quality, a normal barlow extends the eye-relief of the native eyepiece whereas the powermate preserves it, hence with long eye-relief eyepieces like Pentax XW's or TV Radians a normal barlow can tend to push the eye relief out too far making it more difficult to hold the exit pupil. Consequently I find the powermate makes viewing with my Pentax XW's a lot more comfortable than with the shorty plus.
Unless your looking for the ultimate, the Orion Shorty Plus is an excellent product at a very competitive price.
CS-John B