OK, my beginner scope came with a plastic piece of crap 3x barlow... Hard to focus thing it is...
So I jump on eBay and get a 2x barlow of much better quality, albeit still very cheap... Much better views through the better quality 2x than the horrible 3x...
But I notice quite a bit of light loss through the barlow... People talk about having a much larger eyepiece selection with the introduction of barlows, but if loss of light is a by-product of using a barlow, I'd rather have a 4mm eyepiece than a 2x barlow under an 8mm...
Do really expensive barlows and eyepieces lose less light or is it a reason to get a bigger aperture scope?
The view last night of Jupiter through my 4" 640mm dob with 6.5mm and 10mm plossls looked good... I'm imagining I'll need a 4mm for a decent view of saturn without needing a barlow...
How much $$$ does one need to spend on a 2x barlow and a couple of decent eyepieces to not be wanting for better optics?
