I played with barlows and fast achros mainly to see if they would improve performance on planets. Nope, you get better results if you stop down ST80 or any other fastYlem wrote: ↑Mon Nov 18, 2019 1:38 amYeah, that's what I have kinda thought. Hence I have never had a BarlownotFritzArgelander wrote: ↑Mon Nov 18, 2019 12:08 amIt depends on what you want, what are your requirements"
If you are worried mostly about cost and eye relief then great! Go for it!
If you want the best quality image and to improve your observing skills? Nope. The images will deteriorate slightly. If getting the most out of your Mark I eyeball, no again. It's like playing a musical instrument, you need to practice on a good enough axe that allows you to improve your skills. You can stop your observing skills from developing by using less than stellar gear.
Would you give a cardboard violin shaped object or guitar shaped object as encouragement? I wouldn't.
Good quality barlows can clean up views from lesser EPs, but as nFA indicated even the best barlows slightly degrade views through good quality EPs, mainly through light scatter. It is most noticeable with Orthos.
I prefer dedicated fixed length EPs to zooms and barlows. But they do provide utility, in fact my air travel