2 x barlows with the st80

[Guest JSP555]

st80 ,  the barlow that comes with it  is not that good , when you use the barlow you are losing light and apart from looking at the moon with it , i personally cant see much point in using it  other  than during the day with a 45 degree diagonal, and as the st80 is small lens you need all the light grasp you can get , i prefer mirror 90 degree diagonal and just the 25mm wide angle  eyepiece for wide field viewing  the  clear sky at night ..when there is any clear  sky to be seen ?, and on the matter of 25mm has anyone got any ideas of other eyepieces one can use ? 15mm ...20mm or maybe just maybe 32mm ...and i personally rate this little st80 quick set up and bang for bucks  . i did have doubts on buying it as im used to binos , however this little scope has restored my faith .

Edited January 25, 2013 by JSP555

[Teslar]

They are cracking little scopes for the money. The 2x Barlow will be handy for the brighter planets and a nice wide field 36mm with. Wide FOV will be good for star clusters, Andromeda and such like. As for the stock Ep's and Barlow the scope would benefit from upgrading those

[Guest JSP555]

They are cracking little scopes for the money. The 2x Barlow will be handy for the brighter planets and a nice wide field 36mm with. Wide FOV will be good for star clusters, Andromeda and such like. As for the stock Ep's and Barlow the scope would benefit from upgrading those

Many thanks Tom , 36mm i will get that one , blimey didnt cross my mind that one and then a decent Barlow again many thanks

[Daz Type-R]

If you have the cash a Tele View powemate will blow the socks off any barlow any day of the week.

 

Power mates are sooooo much better than barlows and Tele View are generally regarded as the best.

 

Barlow lenses increase the eye-relief which can be an advantage with cheaper eyepieces that have poor eye-relief on their own. However, with longer focal length eyepieces, especially modern ones designed to have good eye-relief, a Barlow lens can push the exit pupil too far from the eyepiece causing vignetting and making the combination hard to use.TeleVue's Powermates were designed to overcome this problem. They preserve the original eye-relief and are especially good for imaging as well as visual use.

 

Link below for the 2" ones.......

 

http://www.green-witch.com/acatalog/TeleVue_Barlows.html

Edited January 25, 2013 by Daz Type-R

[catman161]

I second daz's views on the televue powermate. I have the 2x powermate and can't rate it highly enough.

[Guest JSP555]

cheers Daz cheers Felix , been checking them out since you mentioned them , for quality thats a good way to go, they would be keepers for sure ...which leads me into another scope for the future and more money  very impressed with that little scope , ive owned the celestron 102 on a go to but sold that , and always relied on binos , but the st80 fits my type of viewing . quick and easy, many thanks for info

[catman161]

No probs if we're at a meet you're more than welcome to look through the eyepiece with/without the powermate and then compare against a regular Barlow. The difference is noticeable in the fact that with the powermate you don't even notice it's there (visually) you get the magnification but nothing else-total clarity