2.5mm EP or x3 Barlow?

[Yamez]

Thanks for all these replies never thought this thread would get 50+ posts. I'm more leant towards getting the 3x barlow  (celesteon x-cel Barlow) and a 32mm (celestron omni plössl) what does everyone think to this?

[Mak the Night]

The Omni 32mm Plossl is the same as any other Celestron/GSO Plossl but with a silver aluminium finish. It's no different to this:

It's a perfectly good 32mm EP though. Save yourself some money and buy the Revelation version from Telescope House unless you really want the Omni. It is exactly the same GSO (Guan Sheng Optical) product manufactured in Yunnan Province probably. Either way, it's no different to either Celestron 32mm Plossl.

The Celestron Barlow is probably fine, but you won't beat the TeleVue IMO. I saw Mars at Opposition with this this morning. I haven't used it for ages, it still rocks. Not exactly cheap, but think of it as an investment. Looked after it will last a lifetime.

[Yamez]

11 minutes ago, Mak the Night said:

The Omni 32mm Plossl is the same as any other Celestron/GSO Plossl but with a silver aluminium finish. It's no different to this:

It's a perfectly good 32mm EP though. Save yourself some money and buy the Revelation version from Telescope House unless you really want the Omni. It is exactly the same GSO (Guan Sheng Optical) product manufactured in Yunnan Province probably. Either way, it's no different to either Celestron 32mm Plossl.

The Celestron Barlow is probably fine, but you won't beat the TeleVue IMO. I saw Mars at Opposition with this this morning. I haven't used it for ages, it still rocks. Not exactly cheap, but think of it as an investment. Looked after it will last a lifetime.

 

Thanks for getting back, i had a look at  the skywatcher 32mm and it's a little cheaper than the revelation but is it the same quality or is the revelation a go to 32mm EP? I had a look at the televue but thats out of my price range which is up to £70.

[Mak the Night]

Not sure about the Sky-Watcher (do you have a link?), it could be the same GSO Plossl, but it might be Synta made (Synta own Sky-Watcher and Celestron). If it isn't GSO it's probably as good though. I have a Celestron Synta made Barlow which is pretty good. The 30mm Vixen NPL is a bit more expensive than the GSO 32mm Plossls, although, to be honest, it's only the same price as the Orion 32mm 'Sirius' GSO Plossl.

It's very good for what it costs, has a very large eye lens and sharp virtually to EOF. Nice shallow safety undercut as well that doesn't cause problems. I recommend the Revelation (GSO) 2.5X Barlow. I have the TS Optics version.

[Yamez]

1 minute ago, Mak the Night said:

Not sure about the Sky-Watcher (do you have a link?), it could be the same GSO Plossl, but it might be Synta made (Synta own Sky-Watcher and Celestron). If it isn't GSO it's probably as good though. I have a Celestron Synta made Barlow which is pretty good. The 30mm Vixen NPL is a bit more expensive than the GSO 32mm Plossls, although, to be honest, it's only the same price as the Orion 32mm 'Sirius' GSO Plossl.

It's very good for what it costs, has a very large eye lens and sharp virtually to EOF. Nice shallow safety undercut as well that doesn't cause problems. I recommend the Revelation (GSO) 2.5X Barlow. I have the TS Optics version.

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/skywatcher-eyepieces/skywatcher-sp-plossl-eyepieces.html this is the skywatcher 32mm looks very similar to the celestron one but not sure what the difference in quality is like. I still like the 3x Barlow (https://www.firstlightoptics.com/celestron-eyepieces/celestron-x-cel-barlow.html) as for christmas i will be getting the ZWO ASI120MC-S Colour Camera but not sure if this camera and a x3 barlow will work with my scope Skywatcher Explorer 130p (GoTo Mount) do you know if it would?

[View2]

5 hours ago, Yamez said:

Thanks for the suggestion I already own a 4mm EP. (Skywatcher UWA Planetary 4mm)

Not a suggestion, rather a question on quality.

[Mak the Night]

1 hour ago, Yamez said:

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/skywatcher-eyepieces/skywatcher-sp-plossl-eyepieces.html this is the skywatcher 32mm looks very similar to the celestron one but not sure what the difference in quality is like. I still like the 3x Barlow (https://www.firstlightoptics.com/celestron-eyepieces/celestron-x-cel-barlow.html) as for christmas i will be getting the ZWO ASI120MC-S Colour Camera but not sure if this camera and a x3 barlow will work with my scope Skywatcher Explorer 130p (GoTo Mount) do you know if it would?

My guess is that it's the same. It certainly looks like GSO. If it's Synta made it's probably as good, if not a bit better in my experience. I don't know about the X-Cel Barlow, but it's probably pretty decent. Not sure about the camera as I don't do any AP, but I don't see why it wouldn't work. You may need a T-Adaptor to reach focus though.