Best Barlow Lenses
Barlow lenses are perfect for magnifying night-sky images without compromising your existing eye relief. By inserting a Barlow lens in the light path of your telescope, you can increase the effective focal length of your setup by factors of two or more.
Below, we present the 10 best Barlow lenses for stargazing and astrophotography:
1. Tele Vue 4X PowerMate
The Tele Vue 4X PowerMate is in a class of its own for Barlow lenses, with a four-element design to maximize sharpness and minimize aberration. These elements include a negative doublet corrected by a positive doublet, which magnifies while also restoring the original direction of the field rays. That means this lens maintains long eye relief and provides pure magnification while reducing edge field aberrations, pupil movement, and vignetting.
PROS:
- Four-element design delivers full-field sharpness with optimum aberration control
- Great for planetary imaging
- Retains the eye relief of long focal length eyepieces while delivering high power
CONS:
- Not ideal to use in poor seeing conditions
- Not for deep sky astrophotography
2. Celestron X-Cel LX 2X Barlow - 1.25”
This excellent starter Barlow is a great choice for planetary astrophotography. With 2X magnification when used with a 1.25” eyepiece, this three-element setup features multi-coating for the highest possible contrast. A brass pressure ring keeps the eyepiece in place without causing ring rash along the barrel, and the gripping rubber ring makes it easy to handle.
PROS:
- Good starter Barlow for planetary imaging
- Best bang for your buck
- Quality and good pricing meet
- Full Multi-Coating on optics
CONS:
- Not for deep sky astrophotography
3. TPO 5X APO Barlow Lens - 1.25”
Yet another budget Barlow lens is the TPO 5X APO Barlow Lens — the perfect choice for someone who wants a 5X Barlow without breaking the bank. Featuring three elements with multi-coated glass, you can enjoy higher usefulness of your eyepieces. This lens also makes a great option if you’re looking for the best night-vision monocular for stargazing on a budget.
PROS:
- Best budget high power Barlow for visual observations
- Internally threaded for use with filters
- Quality three-element APO optical glass for high performance
CONS:
- Not ideal for poor seeing conditions
- Can be used for planetary photography, but not ideal in terms of quality astrophotos
4. Tele Vue 2.5x 1.25” PowerMate
The Tele Vue 2.5x 1.25-inch PowerMate delivers excellent aberration control along with sharpness right to the edge of the field. An excellent choice for planetary imaging, the PowerMate puts 2.5X magnification in your hands and minimizes unwanted aberrations and vignetting.
PROS:
- Four-element design delivers full-field sharpness with optimum aberration control
- Great for planetary imaging
- Retains the eye relief of long focal length eyepieces while delivering high power
CONS:
- Not for deep sky astrophotography
5. Celestron 2" Luminos Barlow Lens
Gain 2.5 times more magnification with the Celestron 2” Luminos Barlow Lens, which made our list for its ability to insert in-line with the eyepiece and eyepiece holder seamlessly. Compatible with both 1.25” and 2” eyepieces, this four-element Barlow is multi-coated and creates a flat field.
PROS:
- High-quality four-element optics
- Hard-anodized aluminum barrel is threaded to accept 2-inch filters
- Great quality for the price
CONS:
- Not for deep sky astrophotography
6. Tele Vue 5.0x 1.25” PowerMate
For 5x power and a four-element design, the Tele Vue 5.0x 1.25” PowerMate delivers. PowerMate uses a positive field lens to pick up where other Barlows stop. This powerful Barlow eliminates aberrations and increases magnification in a compact footprint, raising the bar for power amplification.
PROS:
- Flexible for visual and imaging with all types of telescopes and eyepieces
- Four-element parfocal compact amplifying lens system
CONS:
- Not ideal to use in poor seeing conditions
- Not for deep sky astrophotography
7. Celestron X-Cel LX 3x Barlow Lens - 1.25”
The Celestron X-Cel LX 3x Barlow Lens is a recent addition to the X-Cel LX line, and it’s perfectly suited to astronomical observing with shorter focal lengths. Color correction and sharpness come naturally thanks to the fully-coated three-element apochromatic design, which triples magnification for excellent planetary and lunar viewing.
PROS:
- Great quality high-power Barlow for the price
- Can be a good start with planetary photography
CONS:
- Not ideal to use in poor seeing conditions
- Not for deep sky astrophotography
8. Orion 2x Shorty Barlow Lens - 1.25”
True to its name, the Orion 2x Shorty Barlow Lens is a compact power booster that doubles magnification in a 3” footprint. With a 1.25” barrel that is compatible with any 1.25” star diagonal, this achromatic glass doublet guarantees excellent light transmission while eliminating unwanted internal reflections.
PROS:
- Good Barlow on a budget for visual astronomy
CONS:
- Not ideal for photography of quality astrophotos
9. TPO 2x Barlow Lens - 1.25”
When it comes to visual astronomy on a budget, you’d have trouble doing better than a TPO 2x 1.25” Barlow Lens. With a low profile and up to a 2x magnification boost, this Barlow delivers multi-coated optics that integrate cleanly with your existing eyepieces. Consider a Barlow like this to be not only a tool in your toolbox but also a way to get more ROI out of your eyepieces.
PROS:
- Best Barlow on a budget for visual astronomy
- Low profile
CONS:
- Not ideal for photography of quality astrophotos
10. TPO 2X ED Big Barlow - 2”
The TPO 2X ED Big Barlow - 2” is yet another budget-friendly offering from Third Planet Optics. This Barlow gives you twice the magnification of your current setup at well under $100. That price gets you high-grade materials, Extra Low Dispersion (ED) multi-coated glass, and a 1.25” adapter to help you use it with all your eyepieces. Throw brass compression rings and a rubber grip into the mix, and you’ve got truly incredible value in this unit.
PROS:
- Best 2” Barlow on a budget
- Versatile use with multiple eyepieces
CONS:
- Not ideal for photography of high-quality astrophotos
Shop OPT for your next Barlow lens
OPT carries an extensive collection of fantastic Barlow lenses. If you have any questions, reach out to our friendly and knowledgeable Sales Team for support!
