HELP!!! New Barlow & Eyepeices

[Rossishere]

Hi Guys

I want to upgrade the standard eyepeices that came with my Skywatcher 130P (f5) 650mm

I am planning on buying a new Barlow and one or two eyepeices.... Decisions... Decisions...

current train of thought... buy the Celestron Luminos 2.5 Barlow from FLO, quite expensive but at least i will not need to upgrade in a while http://www.firstligh...-eyepieces.html

Will it be worth buying for a 130 and is it worth the money?

And then buy a 9mm and/or 18mm Celestron X-Cel LX, again these seem quite expensive but im trying to look at the long game?

http://www.firstligh...x-eyepiece.html

The question still remains... Are they worth buying for a 130 and is it worth the money?

Any help is much appreciated!!!

Ross

[damnut]

Apols if I am wrong but I think the 130 has a 1.25" focusser and the luminos barlow is 2".. The celestron xcels are a great upgrade from the standard eyepieces..  You may wish to consider the BST starguiders which are around £50 ea and have an excellent reputation.

The are they worth buying for the 130p question, only you can answer. However if you find eyepieces you like, you can always keep these when the time comes that you want to upgrade your scope.

[SpaceWalker]

If you are serious about astronomy than it worth upgrading. But only you know your budget best so it's up to you.

Damian is right about the Luminos Barlow, it's 2" but your stock focuser is 1.25". And why do you want 2.5x? But you of course right , buy quality stuff, buy once. If you are ready to spend that money, I'd suggest instead of the Celestron Luminos this 1.25" 2x Omegon premium Barlow. It's a rebrand of the 2x Meade TeleXtender I have, excellent telecentric Barlow. As an additional benefit it has a removable nosepiece at the bottom which being screwed into an eyepiece like a filter works as ~1.7x regular telenegative Barlow. According to multiple reviews the 1.25" 2x Meade TeleXtender/ES Focal Extender is optically as good as the TV Powermate, so you can't be wrong with it.

If you are a budget observer and think that the Celestron X-Cel LX eyepieces are quite expensive than look into BST Explorers like Damian suggested. They are pretty similar optically to X-Cel LXs, but cheaper. Start from the 15mm BST Explorer and than add the 25mm BST and the 9mm Celestron X-Cel LX. Combined with the 2x Omegon Barlow they will give you 25mm, 15mm, 12.5mm, 9mm, 7.5mm, 4.5mm. This collection will cover most of your needs. Should you buy a different scope these eyepieces will work good with any one as well.

[Starcluster]

Hi you might find it a good idea to look on the uk amazon website. They have lots of astro stuff . I have just bought a very good barlow by TS which is 2x and has a nose piece that screws off to attach to the eyepice , making it 1.5 x. Very good quality and works great . If I can remember it was only about £30 . The best thing is though , you can read all the reviews before you buy .

[Rossishere]

Apols if I am wrong but I think the 130 has a 1.25" focusser and the luminos barlow is 2".. The celestron xcels are a great upgrade from the standard eyepieces..  You may wish to consider the BST starguiders which are around £50 ea and have an excellent reputation.

The are they worth buying for the 130p question, only you can answer. However if you find eyepieces you like, you can always keep these when the time comes that you want to upgrade your scope.

Yes your right, its a shame because the luminous looks seriously good. I dont mind spending £200 on a barlow and eyepeice if i can get years of use out of them!

[Rossishere]

If you are serious about astronomy than it worth upgrading. But only you know your budget best so it's up to you.

Damian is right about the Luminos Barlow, it's 2" but your stock focuser is 1.25". And why do you want 2.5x? But you of course right , buy quality stuff, buy once. If you are ready to spend that money, I'd suggest instead of the Celestron Luminos this 1.25" 2x Omegon premium Barlow. It's a rebrand of the 2x Meade TeleXtender I have, excellent telecentric Barlow. As an additional benefit it has a removable nosepiece at the bottom which being screwed into an eyepiece like a filter works as ~1.7x regular telenegative Barlow. According to multiple reviews the 1.25" 2x Meade TeleXtender/ES Focal Extender is optically as good as the TV Powermate, so you can't be wrong with it.

If you are a budget observer and think that the Celestron X-Cel LX eyepieces are quite expensive than look into BST Explorers like Damian suggested. They are pretty similar optically to X-Cel LXs, but cheaper. Start from the 15mm BST Explorer and than add the 25mm BST and the 9mm Celestron X-Cel LX. Combined with the 2x Omegon Barlow they will give you 25mm, 15mm, 12.5mm, 9mm, 7.5mm, 4.5mm. This collection will cover most of your needs. Should you buy a different scope these eyepieces will work good with any one as well.

Thank you for the advice and the link to the Omegon, that looks great!

How does it compare with the Baader Hyperion Zoom Barlow http://www.firstlightoptics.com/baader-planetarium/baader-hyperion-zoom-barlow.html

and would it be worth geting it with the Baader zoom eyepeice http://www.firstlightoptics.com/baader-planetarium/baader-hyperion-zoom-eyepiece.html

It seems as though i may loose some quality because it is a zoom eyepeice although i only need one eyepeice and i could connect my camera to them!

Would this be a better option or should i stick for a Omegon barlow with celestron X-cel LX eyepeices?

 

[Rossishere]

Hi you might find it a good idea to look on the uk amazon website. They have lots of astro stuff . I have just bought a very good barlow by TS which is 2x and has a nose piece that screws off to attach to the eyepice , making it 1.5 x. Very good quality and works great . If I can remember it was only about £30 . The best thing is though , you can read all the reviews before you buy .

Great tip Starcluster, I will have a good look on amazon!