Dear alacant, thank you for your reply, your notes are appreciated. You confirm that in your hands, the GSO CC performed optically better than the baader CC. As for the large backfocus and flexing of the focuser, it seems as though the PDS may be sturdier. However, I would like further confirmation for this from users of the GSO CC, as your point is valid and any optical advantages from the GSO CC would be negated if there is significant flexing.
Dear Neil, thank you for your input and your notes on the infrequency in the appearance of the reflections with the SW CC. Although, when that is the case, it will be a nuisance to deal with to some degree. Good to know that you did not notice any CA or bloating. Having looked at pictures taken through the 130pds + SW CC, some of them do appear to me to indeed suffer from these artifacts, but then others do not, notably the images taken by Uranium. However, he reported to have undertaken significant work in order to get it to work at peak performance. Indeed, it seems that mileage does vary with this configuration. Thank you again for your reply.
Dear alacant, thank you for sharing a picture of your mystery CC, it has certainly added an extra dimension to the list of candidates. I do not mean to pry, but if you could possibly share any details on this item, it would be very informative for the rest of us, as you are in a more experienced position having tested three of these CC's. You ended your prior post with the word - "perfect", which sounds to me as if you've landed on the right CC for the 130PDS. Please advise if possible, many thanks again.