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GSO 5x Barlow

Discussion in 'Eyepieces, Barlows, and Filters' started by Mak the Night, Jun 3, 2018.

GSO 5x Barlow

Started by Mak the Night on Jun 3, 2018 at 11:30 AM

24 Replies 4931 Views 3 Likes

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  1. Mak the Night

    Mak the Night Well-Known Member

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    I have a lot of Barlows. I’ve actually lost count I’ve got that many. I didn’t actually own a 5x Barlow until yesterday though. After much thought and consideration (about five minutes lol) I plumped for a Revelation Astro 5x. These are actually made by GSO and I could have purchased one with GSO written on it for a few more pounds (Sterling). I could also have bought the same Barlow with TS Optics written on it for more than twice what I paid for the Revelation Astro badged Barlow. At £38 (around $51) I thought the Revelation version was a ‘no brainer’.

    Revelation GSO 5x (1).jpg

    It stands just under nine centimetres tall and seems quite light, although well made. There is a compression ring but the drawtube has no undercut. GSO are slowly but surely removing these from their products. The aluminium tube itself can be unthreaded and the baffling looks well done. There is no provision to thread filters, although that’s not uncommon with GSO Barlows. The clear aperture is allegedly thirteen millimetres, although I make it less than that. I also believe it has three air spaced elements.

    Revelation GSO 5x (2).jpg

    I got first light on mine on a setting Venus using my modified Sky-Watcher ST80, effectively giving it a focal length of 2000mm and a focal ratio of f/25. This gave a 15mm GSO Plossl a 133x magnification. It can vignette slightly but it isn’t really a problem if you are aiming at high magnifications. As far as I could tell there was little evidence of false colour and the Barlow allowed me to use much larger Plossls on a short tube achromat. The image (especially with polarising filters) was sharp and defined. The Venusian phase was clearly defined and there was even faint cloud detail visible. At 160x with a 12.5mm Kokusai Kohki Fujiyama HD-OR Orthoscopic the image was still sharp and clear.

    Revelation GSO 5x (3).jpg

    I then turned to a rising Jupiter. I needed to down the magnification on Jupiter, primarily as the transparency wasn’t as good in my south east. I did get a very sharp 111x with an 18mm Baader BCO. I experimented with other eyepieces and magnifications but 133x was the best I was going to get. The GRS was easily seen however and there were moments of clarity even at 160x with the 12.5mm Fujiyama.

    Revelation GSO 5x (4).jpg

    So, I’m a pretty happy bunny and this Barlow definitely does the job. Thirty eight quid well spent! Later I’ll test it on my ST102 and 150mm (GSO) Newtonian.

    https://agenaastro.com/gso-5x-apo-barlow-lens.html
     
    Pleiades, Orion25 and Nebula like this.
  2. Nebula

    Nebula Well-Known Member

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    This is exclusive stuff, @Mak the Night, tests with 5x barlow visually. That's a powerful Barlow. You sure know how to push a telescope to the very maximum attainable.

    The ST80 looks like a very impressive little fella.

    Nice tests done with the Fujiyama too, I don't know about the 12.5 but I am sure it must be very good.

    Again exclusive original tests, thanks for sharing.
     
  3. Nebula

    Nebula Well-Known Member

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    Barlow is good looking too, visually looks great.
     
  4. Dave In Vermont

    Dave In Vermont Well-Known Member

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    It rather looks like mine - a GSO from AgenaAstro.

    Actually I know quite well that your new 'Revelation' is a GSO, too. :p How much did it cost? That was a bit unclear. Here, Nebs - your pictoral thrill :)D - sorry for the bit of being poorly focused. Poor lighting.)


    IMG_1311.JPG



    IMG_1312.JPG



    IMG_1315.JPG


    Let us know your thoughts on it once you've had a chance to use it? Thanks!

    D.
     
    Last edited: Jun 4, 2018
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  5. Mak the Night

    Mak the Night Well-Known Member

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    Yes, that's the one. It cost me £38, which is around 51 US dollars. I think 365Astronomy had the GSO badged one for about 47 and a half quid.

    https://www.365astronomy.com/GSO-5x-Achromatic-3-Element-Barlow-Lens-31.7mm-1.25.html

    Everyone else in the UK sells the Revelation for 38 quid.
     
    Last edited: Jun 3, 2018
  6. Mak the Night

    Mak the Night Well-Known Member

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    You read the review, right? I think it rocks. Have you used yours much Dave?
     
  7. Mak the Night

    Mak the Night Well-Known Member

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    The ST80 really is good. I'm glad I revamped the old Sky-Watcher one I have. It never fails to impress me. It's a bit of a luxury putting a 12.5mm ortho into it and getting 160x.

    blur3fx.jpg

    I also used a 15mm GSO Plossl and an 18mm Baader BCO. The Barlow will vignette slightly, but it's no real problem and far better than squinting through a 6mm ortho' or Plossl lol.
     
    Last edited: Jun 3, 2018
  8. Mak the Night

    Mak the Night Well-Known Member

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    Yeah, it's quite ergonomic. Simple, elegant and functional.
     
  9. Dave In Vermont

    Dave In Vermont Well-Known Member

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    Actually I just glanced through it. Mea Culpa. To your question - I haven't had cause to use it - other than giving it a shake-down run to make sure it's working correctly. Which is okay by me. It'll be a rare time I'll be wanting to extend my F.L. out that far. For now that is. Once I fully jump into V-AP, that well way change.

    Last Analysis: It's good to have on hand! I have a TeleVue® 2.5X PowerMate. That I do use rather often. The optics of the 2.5X impressed me enough to throw $$ for the 5X GSO. That and I am in deep 'Like' for GSO products! :eek: :p
     
  10. Mak the Night

    Mak the Night Well-Known Member

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    I have a Powermate as well. The GSO 5x is good for planetary/lunar on short tube refractors. It was nice to get 133x with a 15mm Plossl on the ST80.
     
  11. Dave In Vermont

    Dave In Vermont Well-Known Member

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    Sounds like a good use. I was more on the road to video-astrophotography to play with the focal-length of my F/4 200mm Rich-Field Newt. But you know my mantra - Experiment! Experiment! Experiment! Padme Ho-Hum! :p


    p.s. But your conclusion of "I think it rocks!" didn't hurt either. :D
     
  12. Mak the Night

    Mak the Night Well-Known Member

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    Well, for a long time I just couldn't think of a use for a 5x Barlow. I don't do AP and a 5x Barlow is about as much use as a chocolate teapot on Mak's and SCT's. Plus I knew most 5x Barlows have small apertures. And the best thing of all is I'm paying less for the same Barlow than you pay Stateside. Which is unusual. lol
     
  13. Dave In Vermont

    Dave In Vermont Well-Known Member

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  14. Mak the Night

    Mak the Night Well-Known Member

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  15. Dave In Vermont

    Dave In Vermont Well-Known Member

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    Not now. I hate waking up only to have a good cry...
     
  16. Mak the Night

    Mak the Night Well-Known Member

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    I've done the maths for you.
     
  17. Dave In Vermont

    Dave In Vermont Well-Known Member

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    That's better! Much more than here than €66.38. Since we can get one from Agena at $60. I figured they'd be about $10! :D
     
    Last edited: Jun 4, 2018
  18. Mak the Night

    Mak the Night Well-Known Member

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    Yeah, for me, virtually 70 quid for a TS version, 38 quid for a Revelation version! No brainer.
     
  19. Dave In Vermont

    Dave In Vermont Well-Known Member

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    Oh I see now. The € is lower now. This is confusing me. But 1€ trades at $1.19. The € has slipped...But still better.

    Probably Hern Drumf's new tariffs. Oh boy is that going to blow-up in our face! TS no longer makes for a bargain here. But still not too bad. Oh well, back to crying in my Corn Flakes!

    Pardon me.....
     
  20. Mak the Night

    Mak the Night Well-Known Member

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    Currency exchange rates fluctuate all the time in Europe. It's normal. Germany is expensive, their economy is booming and the overall standard of living is high. Believe me, beer is really expensive in Munich. It's really good though. I think Germany is the only country outside the UK that CAMRA have given awards to.
     

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