Which one and why?

[gadget man]

Guys can you help with my choice of eyepiece please.

I have now narrowed my choice down for my Nexstar 4Se to a 15mm so I can get the benefits from a 2 x barlow:

William Optic swan 15mm 70 fov £59

TS Planetary HR 15mm 60 fov £49

Or Celestron X-Cel 18mm 55 fov £59

And finally, would I see a benefit in spending £89 on a Celestron Ultima 2X Barlow as opposed to £35 on something like a TAL 2X Barlow, would there be much noticable difference?

[johninderby]

The TS is the best of the bunch, and the X-Cell is OK, but forget the SWAN, it's nowhere near as good as the first two. You can buy the same eyepiece as the 15mm SAWN under other brand-names for £25.00 to £35.00.

John

[dweller25]

I directly compared the Tal x2 Barlow to the Celestron Ultima Barlow. The Tal is optically good but does not have the same contrast as the Celestron. To me the Celestron was worth the extra money.

[gadget man]

Thanks guys,

I was leaning towards the TS 15mm and I also felt long term it would makes sense going for the Ultima barlow, but as a newbie I wasn't sure.

Thanks for you help

[TheThing]

Buy the Tal Barlow. All Tal equipment is excellent and bomb proof. The optical difference isn't enough to support the extra bucks and you could spend the money saved on something else.

[johninderby]

Skies the Limit does the 15mm TMB eyepiece for £36.00, but they're closed until after the bank holiday.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=380239858341&ssPageName=ADME:L:COSI:GB:1123

The Orion Shorty Plus barlow is the same as the Ultima but cheaper at £51.99 and Telescope House has a 10% off sale next weekend as well. Search "Orion Shorty Plus" here on SGL for more info.

http://www.telescopehouse.com/acatalog/Orion_Shorty_Plus_Barlow_2x_1_25__.html

John

[russ]

John, beat me to it. Best barlow deal on the market at the moment is the Orion Shorty Plus 2x from Telescope House. The Tal is good but not when the Orion can be that close in price.

[gadget man]

I had read that the Orion Shorty Plus barlow was considered to be the same whilst I was searching for info but I couldn't decide if it was true or not, so is it really?...has anyone tested them side by side?

Will the TMB 15 mm Eyepoiece compare well to the TS?

[johninderby]

Will the TMB 15 mm Eyepiece compare well to the TS?

They're the exactly the same eyepiece except for the style of the twist up barrel.

John