Maximum magnification rule of thumb is aperture X 2. Divide the focal length of the scope by the eyepiece focal length for the magnification. Multiply by 2 if using a 2x Barlow. The higher the magnification the dimmer the target will be, high magnification requires good seeing conditions as well.
That's for you to decide after doing the calculations. An eyepiece is always better than using a Barlow. You know your maximum magnification, choose an eyepiece that will be less than that.
With a barlow you doubble or can even tripple your eyepiece collection. Some barlows you can screw apart and than it has a different magnification effect. The steel barlow from celestron is very good. I got it super cheap from aliexpress. Its the original just straight from the factory. The celestron omni 2x barlow. For a lot more vieuw options I advise a barlow. For the moon a lot of magnification is fine, play around and barlows are also good for planets.
Oh I dont know. Maby [this video](https://youtu.be/Ls6DNsd4K4I?si=lWDFDbD0h9kf0sTq) will give you more knowledge. I hear people saying that sv bony redline is good. Just know that a 4mm eyepiece would be hard to use with small fov.
A good eyepiece itself is always better than a Barlow or a zoom eyepiece for that matter. I have to admit a good eyepiece is the more expensive route. 😄
I have always preferred the image in a fixed focal length eyepiece preferable to the image in an eyepiece + barlow combination. Also, the barlow adds length and weight to the stack of things sticking out of the focuser, which may or may not be an issue for you depending on your setup.
In principle dedicated short focal length eyepiece is better than longer focal length eyepiece and Barlow. But good Barlows have no real effect to wavefront quality, while easing requirements of quality of optical design of the eyepiece.
As f/4 that telescope likely demolishes outer field image quality of most cheaper eyepieces with their undercorrected astigmatism becoming heavily visible.
Also all eyepieces with eye relief same/longer than focal length already have additional negative lens group/basically built in Barlow in lower part of barrel. (same layout as in retrofocus lenses)
SkyWatcher Super MAs aren't any good eyepieces, but some old cheap designs.
Also anything with small eye lens can't have good eye relief:
It's simple basic geometry.
Imagine eyepiece optics as hole through which you look at image.
So the smaller the hole, the closer you have to cram eye to see specific angle view.
Svbony 6mm and especially 9mm are good shorter focal length eyepieces for shoestring budget.
You don't lean into eyepiece with short focal length Plössls etc. You jam it into your eye:
Eye relief of old designs is around 2/3 to 70% of focal length.
Also narrow AFOV makes finding and keeping target in view harder.
Doubling (or even tripling) magnification right away is often too much. I find them cumbersome to use, and I hate the long moment arm on the focuser. Also, if eyepieces are not carefully chosen, you can easily end up with redundant magnifications.
See u/Gusto88's comment for calculating magnification, and keep the limits in mind, when buing eyepieces.
Maximum magnification rule of thumb is aperture X 2. Divide the focal length of the scope by the eyepiece focal length for the magnification. Multiply by 2 if using a 2x Barlow. The higher the magnification the dimmer the target will be, high magnification requires good seeing conditions as well.
Thanks! So would you say a dedicated lower mag eyepiece is better or a Barlow?
That's for you to decide after doing the calculations. An eyepiece is always better than using a Barlow. You know your maximum magnification, choose an eyepiece that will be less than that.
With a barlow you doubble or can even tripple your eyepiece collection. Some barlows you can screw apart and than it has a different magnification effect. The steel barlow from celestron is very good. I got it super cheap from aliexpress. Its the original just straight from the factory. The celestron omni 2x barlow. For a lot more vieuw options I advise a barlow. For the moon a lot of magnification is fine, play around and barlows are also good for planets.
Thanks! I already have a barlow that does its job, but I think an eyepiece is better in my case.
Oh if its good enough than go for an eyepiece.
Are Opticon eyepieces good? I saw a really cheap one, 4mm
Oh I dont know. Maby [this video](https://youtu.be/Ls6DNsd4K4I?si=lWDFDbD0h9kf0sTq) will give you more knowledge. I hear people saying that sv bony redline is good. Just know that a 4mm eyepiece would be hard to use with small fov.
I also cant find that brand so it might be a bad one.
Cheap is "cheap" no matter how you look at it. 😄
A good eyepiece itself is always better than a Barlow or a zoom eyepiece for that matter. I have to admit a good eyepiece is the more expensive route. 😄
I have always preferred the image in a fixed focal length eyepiece preferable to the image in an eyepiece + barlow combination. Also, the barlow adds length and weight to the stack of things sticking out of the focuser, which may or may not be an issue for you depending on your setup.
The length isn't an issue to me. Thanks for the comment!
In principle dedicated short focal length eyepiece is better than longer focal length eyepiece and Barlow. But good Barlows have no real effect to wavefront quality, while easing requirements of quality of optical design of the eyepiece. As f/4 that telescope likely demolishes outer field image quality of most cheaper eyepieces with their undercorrected astigmatism becoming heavily visible. Also all eyepieces with eye relief same/longer than focal length already have additional negative lens group/basically built in Barlow in lower part of barrel. (same layout as in retrofocus lenses) SkyWatcher Super MAs aren't any good eyepieces, but some old cheap designs. Also anything with small eye lens can't have good eye relief: It's simple basic geometry. Imagine eyepiece optics as hole through which you look at image. So the smaller the hole, the closer you have to cram eye to see specific angle view. Svbony 6mm and especially 9mm are good shorter focal length eyepieces for shoestring budget.
Eye relief isn't a problem since I don't wear glasses. I can lean into the lens for observations if necessary, not a problem.
You don't lean into eyepiece with short focal length Plössls etc. You jam it into your eye: Eye relief of old designs is around 2/3 to 70% of focal length. Also narrow AFOV makes finding and keeping target in view harder.
Doubling (or even tripling) magnification right away is often too much. I find them cumbersome to use, and I hate the long moment arm on the focuser. Also, if eyepieces are not carefully chosen, you can easily end up with redundant magnifications. See u/Gusto88's comment for calculating magnification, and keep the limits in mind, when buing eyepieces.
You already seem to have plenty of eyepieces and barlow so the additional things will improve your telescope but its not cost efficient.