2" Barlow

[Stu1smartcookie]

Hi ... After many years of neglect i am finally seeing the benefit of better EP's, especially 2" ones  . I now wish to purchase a 2" barlow lens . Whist its an important purchase i am certainly not going to break the bank over this . My purchase will need to have fully multi coated optics , ED glass and of course be able to accept 1 1/4" EP's too . So with that in mind , maybe people can suggest a barlow . i really do not want to spend more than £100 . I have looked at a TS optics and the StellaLyra .. there is £30 difference between these two , they both do the same thing . So , whats the difference ?

Stu 

[johninderby]

My suggestion would be a second hand Explore Scientific focal extender. Will give better views than one of the barlows you mention. Second hand you should be able to pick one up for about 100 quid.

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/barlows/explore-scientific-2x-barlow-focal-extender-2.html

Or the same thing under the Opticstar brand.

http://www.opticstar.com/Run/Astronomy/Astro-Accessories-Telescopes-Opticstar.asp?p=0_10_5_1_8_56

Edited April 12, 2021 by johninderby

[Louis D]

A 2" Barlow will severely vignette/cutoff longer (22mm+) widest field eyepieces.  You're better off going with a telecentric magnifier as @johninderby suggests above.

If you want to go cheap but good and are willing to deal with loss of field, the GSO/Revelation/etc. 2" 2x ED Barlow is hard to beat, especially used.  They typically go for about $60 used here in the states.

[Stu1smartcookie]

Thank you to you both . As usual , no stock for these ... but advice duly accepted 

[johninderby]

The Opticstar one is in stock.

 

[Stu1smartcookie]

18 hours ago, johninderby said:

The Opticstar one is in stock

Just seen that , John ... thank you . 

[amaury]

On 12/04/2021 at 13:52, johninderby said:

My suggestion would be a second hand Explore Scientific focal extender. Will give better views than one of the barlows you mention. Second hand you should be able to pick one up for about 100 quid.

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/barlows/explore-scientific-2x-barlow-focal-extender-2.html

Or the same thing under the Opticstar brand.

http://www.opticstar.com/Run/Astronomy/Astro-Accessories-Telescopes-Opticstar.asp?p=0_10_5_1_8_56

I reckoned I better digress here instead of creating a new whole discussion. 

Is it just literally an Explore Scientific re-brand? or is there a catch?

Browsing around I noticed that Opticstar also has a re-branded ES82 lineup that is 40quid cheaper than the actual Explore Scientific one, and they actually have stock.

http://www.opticstar.com/Run/Astronomy/Astro-Accessories-Telescopes-Opticstar.asp?p=0_10_5_1_8_322

Is it just literally a name change? I reckon if the eyepiece is made in the same factory in China, there will be zero optical perfomance difference and the is no "catch" other than a "name".  

Is it something like the ES/Maxvision case?

[johninderby]

Made in the same factory and can have any brand name the buyer chooses. Many eyepieces and other items are the same but sold under several brands. Sometime the buyer may have different rubber moldings made to make them look a bit different.

Edited April 16, 2021 by johninderby

[johninderby]

Do these look a bit similar to Explore Scientific. 🤔

[Shimrod]

10 minutes ago, amaury said:

I reckoned I better digress here instead of creating a new whole discussion. 

Is it just literally an Explore Scientific re-brand? or is there a catch?

Browsing around I noticed that Opticstar also has a re-branded ES82 lineup that is 40quid cheaper than the actual Explore Scientific one, and they actually have stock.

http://www.opticstar.com/Run/Astronomy/Astro-Accessories-Telescopes-Opticstar.asp?p=0_10_5_1_8_322

Is it just literally a name change? I reckon if the eyepiece is made in the same factory in China, there will be zero optical perfomance difference and the is no "catch" other than a "name".  

Is it something like the ES/Maxvision case?

The prices seem to roughly match what the corresponding ES eyepieces were selling for before the recent prices rises - and I have found a couple of older threads suggesting Opticstar and ES pricing has been more or less the same in the past. It might be worth picking some up while they are in stock, as newer stock may also come with a price rise!

[amaury]

15 minutes ago, johninderby said:

Made in the same factory and can have any brand name the buyer chooses. Many eyepieces and other items are the same but sold under several brands. Sometime the buyer may have different rubber moldings made to make them look a bit different.

Thanks John, just wanted to make sure, it just seemed too good to be true. ES are already good value EP in terms of performance per dollar, and on top of that you can get a cheaper re-branded version with the same performance.

10 minutes ago, Shimrod said:

The prices seem to roughly match what the corresponding ES eyepieces were selling for before the recent prices rises - and I have found a couple of older threads suggesting Opticstar and ES pricing has been more or less the same in the past. It might be worth picking some up while they are in stock, as newer stock may also come with a price rise!

Plus this, price is pre-rise. Made it a no-brainer for me considering the current circumstances with price and availability.

[johninderby]

And Opticstar are a first class dealer as well. Really look after their customers..👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻. 

[KP82]

1 hour ago, amaury said:

I reckoned I better digress here instead of creating a new whole discussion. 

Is it just literally an Explore Scientific re-brand? or is there a catch?

Browsing around I noticed that Opticstar also has a re-branded ES82 lineup that is 40quid cheaper than the actual Explore Scientific one, and they actually have stock.

http://www.opticstar.com/Run/Astronomy/Astro-Accessories-Telescopes-Opticstar.asp?p=0_10_5_1_8_322

Is it just literally a name change? I reckon if the eyepiece is made in the same factory in China, there will be zero optical perfomance difference and the is no "catch" other than a "name".  

Is it something like the ES/Maxvision case?

ES stuff are all made by JOC (Jinghua Optics & Electronics Company) exclusively. Bresser and Meade are two other brands that sell many JOC manufactured products. I reckon this Opticstar is just another new partner of JOC, hence the XL82 lineup looks exactly the same as ES82.

The price difference may be due to different minimum specs requested by each company (or simply market presence and brand recognition). This is quite similar to products sold by TS Optics, Altair, AT, Tecnosky and WO. These brands all source their stuff from the same few factories in China and Taiwan, but offer them at different prices.

Edited April 16, 2021 by KP82

[amaury]

1 hour ago, johninderby said:

And Opticstar are a first class dealer as well. Really look after their customers..👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻. 

I can tell you this regarding your comment. 

I contacted several companies, some in Europe too (they seem to have better stock), and the guys from Opticstar were the most responsive ones by a long shot. 

Just ordered the XL 82 24mm with them. 

[amaury]

On 12/04/2021 at 13:52, johninderby said:

My suggestion would be a second hand Explore Scientific focal extender. Will give better views than one of the barlows you mention. Second hand you should be able to pick one up for about 100 quid.

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/barlows/explore-scientific-2x-barlow-focal-extender-2.html

Or the same thing under the Opticstar brand.

http://www.opticstar.com/Run/Astronomy/Astro-Accessories-Telescopes-Opticstar.asp?p=0_10_5_1_8_56

potentially another re-branded ES 2X 2" focal extender? @johninderby @KP82 @Stu1smartcookie even cheaper. 

https://www.altairastro.com/altair-lightwave-2x-2-inch-flat-field-apo-tele-extender-barlow-2833-p.asp

[Mr Spock]

Here's my 'inexpensive' 2" Barlow on the right. It came from RVO.

Works really well. Image quality is good. I used it with a 22mm T4 Nagler to good effect. It also works well with my 42mm LVW - though I never used it much, the 22mm Nagler covered that focal length.

[Stu1smartcookie]

2 hours ago, Mr Spock said:

Here's my 'inexpensive' 2" Barlow on the right. It came from RVO.

Works really well. Image quality is good. I used it with a 22mm T4 Nagler to good effect. It also works well with my 42mm LVW - though I never used it much, the 22mm Nagler covered that focal length.

I bought one of these this week .. I agree that it does the job just fine