SVBONY Telescope Barlow Lenses, 1.25 Inch Telescope Accessory, Fully Metal Multi Coated Broadband Green Film Barlow Lens 5X for Telescope Astronomy Eyepiece

It arrived today, and I used my 120mm f5 refractor to test it out tonight. I bought it because it was on sale for $17 and I'd never had a 5x barlow before. It's also a three-element apochromatic, according to the packaging. There are three more of them. 25" barlows, an excellent 3x Celestron 3 element, an equally excellent Astromania 2x 3 element, and a very good Astromania 3x 3 element that I couldn't pass up because it was so cheap (I'm cheap). So I ran a comparison and contrast test with the new toy right away. If it's a 5x, it's a 5x that creates an image that's the same size as the original. a 15mm eyepiece was used My two 3x barlows are the same size. It's just that the contrast isn't quite as strong. "How many legs does a dog have if its tail is a leg?" Lincoln joked. Because referring to a tail as a leg isn't the same as referring to it as such. " Although this barlow has a 5x etched on the side, it only produces 3x images. It claims to be a three-element lens, but I have my doubts. 3 stars because $17 is a good price for a decent 3x achromatic, but the marketing could be improved.

. It was three days later. br>br>This is turning into a saga, and while I'm not convinced it's justified by a $17 purchase, it speaks well of SVBONY and their desire to be and be seen as a responsible and reputable company. I received the following response within hours of publishing the above review: Please accept my apologies for interrupting you, Joseph S Lambie. br>br>You purchased SVBONY Barlow Lens 5x from us and left us a Neutral product review: If it's a 5x, it's a 5x that creates an image that's the same size as the original. a 15mm eyepiece was used My two 3x barlows are the same size. It's just that the contrast isn't quite as strong. br>br>I apologize for any inconvenience this has caused you. It could be a problem with the whole magnification of the connection of Barlow lens and telescope eyepiece. If the Barlow lens' magnification is high, when installed on the telescope, it may exceed the valid magnification and the observed scene will become blurred, making it difficult to see. As a result, the Barlow lens is not as big as it should be. Barlow lens and telescope eyepiece are connected together for use, they must control the effective rate range in order to clear the effect of obs. br>br>There are three things to know about Barlow lenses:
1. The purpose of the Barlow lens is to improve image quality as well as comfort. br>2. Even a well-made Barlow will have minimal impact on image qualitybr>3. To reduce the impact of imaging, carefully select a Barlow at various magnifications. In general, 2x is a good choice. So, since the 5x Barlow lens' effect isn't as good as the 2x Barlow lens', dear friend, would you like to try our SVBONY Barlow lens 2x? I'd like to send you a free new 2x Barlow lens in exchange for the original, which you don't have to return. You may send me your complete shipping address so that I may send you a new replacement as soon as possible. Obviously, Angela's English is a second language, but it's a lot better than my French. br>br>Sincerely,br>Angelabr>br>Obviously, Angela's English is a second language, but it's a hell of a lot better than my French. I understood what she was trying to say. If you try to magnify beyond your scope's capabilities, the image will degrade regardless of the quality of your scope, eyepieces, or barlow. (Which is something I didn't know when I first got my scope over 30 years ago, and which most newcomers don't know today. ) ) To reassure her that this was taken into account in my "tests. " I tried to make an apple pie, but it didn't turn out well. A comparison of apples and oranges I replied to her with the following message: Thank you for your concern, Angela. br>br> This was the scope I was working with. I have a number of them. is a 120mm refractor with a 600mm focal length, as I previously stated. It has a maximum magnification of 240-fold under ideal conditions. 250x. I was looking at your product and comparing it to my other barlows to see how they compared in terms of contrast and sharpness. Because the visibility was good tonight, I compared them all at 200x. That is, your 2x barlow has a 6mm plossl, your two 3x barlows have a 9mm plossl, and your 5x has a 15mm plossl. As a result, all of the barlows would be 3mm eyepieces, giving my scope a magnification of 200x. I noticed right away that your barlow was giving you a smaller image than the other three. The image size was the same when I switched the 15mm lens from your barlow to my 3x barlows. With a 15mm eyepiece and a 3x barlow, I can get 120x magnification, which is half of my scope's maximum useful power. And the comparisons were made at that level of amplification. I've come to the conclusion that your 5x barlow is actually a 3x barlow. It was also clear that the image you produced was less sharp and had a softer contrast; The background wasn't as dark as it could have been. Because your barlow is noticeably lighter than mine, despite having roughly the same dimensions, I concluded that it was most likely a two-element achromat rather than a three-element apochromat. Which would explain why the image isn't as good as it is with my other barlows. And at the price, it's not bad for a 3x, 2 element barlow, but it's clearly not what it claims to be. br>br>Thank you for the offer of a 2 power replacement, but I already have a great apochromatic one, so a mediocre achromat would be useless. I have Meade and GSO 2x achromats that are collecting dust; yours would add to my collection of three. Assuming you know your business and that your suppliers for the 2 and 5 power barlows are the same, I believe you may have received some mislabeled merchandise, and you should conduct your own tests. br>br>Best regards,br>Joe Lambiebr>br>She replied with a note saying she'll send me their T-shirt. br>br> Anyway, it's a 5x barlow with an adapter, and I'm hoping I enjoy it. br>br>Dear Joseph S Lambie, I appreciate your thoughtful message. br>br>It is especially important for us to improve our products, so we will re-examine and upgrade them, though this process may take a long time. br>br>How about the other Barlow lens 5x, the Ads Asin is: B01M15HA0G, I've sent you a new replacement, which you can test to see if it works. I'd like to include a screenshot of the new replacement there to provide more information. br>br>Sorry for the inconvenience once more, and please understand our sincere desire to follow up and resolve the issue, so if there is anything else, please do not hesitate to contact me, and I will be available to assist you at all times. br>br>Angelabr>br>Conclusion: br>br>Sincerely,br>Angelabr>br> I would not hesitate to use this company again because it clearly cares about its customers and provides good equipment. I'm amending this review because I read a bunch of other reviews of this barlow on this site that I hadn't read before I bought it. I rarely read reviews of anything that involves the reviewer's subjective judgment because they almost always boil down to "I liked it" or "I didn't like it," an opinion, with no explanation of how the opinion was formed. And, when it comes to viewpoints, I prefer to have my own. This is a holdover from my 45 years as an actor, when I read the most egregious nonsense about work and people I was involved with. Finally, for my own amusement, I'm currently conducting an ongoing experiment to see what can be accomplished using a light-weight material. with minimal investment on a polluted site; low- equipment at the finish line And I'm having a good time, which I try to do as much as possible every day at the age of 73. There are obvious reasons for this.

Kaia Wolf

| Oct 27, 2021

I was hesitant to buy this barlow at first, but I reasoned that it was only $17 and that I could always return it. br>Let me just say that the quality is far superior to what I had anticipated for this price. br>Saturn with a ZWO ASIMC120 and a 150/750 Newt.

Matthias Goldberg

| Nov 24, 2021

The magnification provided by the SVBONY 5x Barlow lens is slightly less than that of the Meade 3x Barlow lens. I believe the SVBONY 5x Barlow's true magnification is only about 2. 5x. The image quality is satisfactory. br>br> The lens, on the other hand, has noticeable chromatic aberration (color distortion), and when looking at Jupiter, for example, you'll notice a small rainbow-like effect. globe with different colors This isn't supposed to happen, and I'm not convinced it's a true 3-point play. An apochromatic lens is a lens that has one element that is apochromatic. br>br>Look elsewhere if you're new to astronomical observation and want to extend the magnification of your scope with an affordable Barlow lens. Although this Barlow lens is inexpensive, it is of poor quality. A good place to start would be with Orion's Shorty 2x Barlow or Meade's 3x Barlow, though I cannot recommend the SVBONY 5x Barlow. Its cost is low, but the quality is also low. 2 stars.

Matteo McCann

| Nov 26, 2021

I read a few reviews of this product that were skeptical of the actual magnification power of this Barlow lens, but I figured it wasn't much money, and I didn't have much to lose if it turned out to be a good 5x lens for $$. I can, however, back up some of the claims made in other reviews: 1. br>br> This isn't a 5x magnification by any stretch of the imagination. This lens does not come close to doubling the magnification of the 2x lens I already owned before purchasing this one, and it does not even come close to doubling the magnification of the 2x lens I already owned before purchasing this one. It's more powerful than my 2x, but as others have pointed out, I believe this is a mislabeled 3x lens. 2. br>br>1. br>br>br>br>br>br This lens is not suitable for viewing planets due to its poor quality. Saturn's rings are visible with a 2x Barlow and a 10mm eyepiece on my 400mm scope. Swapping the 2x for this 5x results in a blurry ellipse where Saturn should be, and only maybe 50% bigger than in the 2x view (hence my suspision that this br>br>The reason I gave it one-fifth of a star in terms of quality is because This lens is advertised as a 5x lens, which adds to its value. As a 5x lens, it lacks the majority of its quality, and the value it retains as a lens is lowered by the fact that it under-exposes. In comparison to less powerful lenses in the same price range, this lens performs admirably. Image clarity is always sacrificed when using barlow lenses, but not to the degree that this lens does.

Eric Costello

| May 18, 2021