[Sparkle5375]

Hi

I have had my Skywatcher 127 for almost a year. I immediatly bought myself a couple of new lenses to replace the ones that came with it. I now have a 9mm Celestron x-cell lx, a 15mm npl vixon, and a 40mm npl vixon. These three seem to cover the range of what I like to look at within the confines of my equipment and light polluted sky.

I was wondering what (if any) my next purchase should be? Would it be worth upgrading the Barlow and Star Diagonal that was supplied with my scope? I would at some point in the future like to attach a webcam to my scope and have a go at capturing Jupiter, Saturn and the moon.

Any advice you seasoned astronomers can offer would be greatly appreciated.

Jo

[emadmoussa]

Is it the stock 1.25" diagonal you've got? What kind of mount?

[Sparkle5375]

Yes, I have:

X2 Deluxe Barlow lense 1.25” (with Camera Adaptor)

And

90° Star Diagonal (1.25”)

Both came with the scope and with the supplied lenses being a bit ropey I'm wondering if I could do better replacing these too..

My mount is a syn scan AZ Goto although I also have an AZ 4 manual mount for those grab and go nights.

[emadmoussa]

I think for visual observation you're good. The barlow seems OK as well. I'd personally think a wide field eyepiece will be a good a addition.

[ronin]

Probably find that the diagonal is reasonable but updating the barlow could be a positive move - the supplied item is generally not good.

The "catch" with a diagonal is they have to do a fairly simple job, reflect light and nothing else. Even if yours were 85% reflectivity and you got a 95% you would not see that great a difference. The main improvement would be the flatness of the diagonal mirror, which would translate more as contrast/sharpness.

If one were to be purchased then I would have said the barlow, just no idea what is better - I don't go great on barlows and prefer individual eyepieces. I believe Sky the Limit have a barlow on their site and that may be worth looking at, the BST Starguider one at £54. Alan tends to offer good items and if the barlow matches the eyepieces then it should be good.

Replacing the diagonal may be less useful however you would at least at the end know you had a good one in there, it removes any doubt. A good few people like the William Optics Dialectric one, carbon fibre 1.25" model at £65 from FLO.

For peace of mind upgrading both is worth considering, but if just one then I would say the barlow.

[Pig]

The above posts have covered most of it. However, be mindful of the extra length a Barlow adds, you may end up on your tippy toes   Remember to set the tripod up with it attached before you start observing.

[nightfisher]

Another good barlow is the Revelation 1.25 fit x2.5, i have one and they are getting good reviews and only £32 ish

[Sparkle5375]

Thank you for your replies. I have to admit I have been thinking of getting myself a box to stand on, or some platform shoes. Was Freddy Mercury an astronomer? With his name and his boots... :-)