Hello Paul,
I have the Celestron Ultima 2x, 1.25 inch barlow and am
happy with it. When pared with the Celestron Ultima 35mm,
I get really good results for mid-powers in my C-8 SCT or
my C-102 refractor. Some people don't like the extra eye
relief that the barlow adds to the 30mm or the 35mm, but
really like it. If the Meade gave less, then I'd choose
the Celestron (all else being equal). All the ones you
mentioned are "Multicoated", but who knows what that means
when comparing optics from different sources ?
I have a 3x Orion and several 2x Celestron
and "no-name" barlows which aren't quite as
good as the Celestron Ultima 2x, but often are O.K.
(depending on what I'm looking at).
I just recently received a 2.8x Klee ("shorty" format too),
but haven't had the time or clear skys to try it out yet !!!
I am hopeful that the Klee is a step up from the Orion.
I have heard such good things about it that I'd suggest it
to you also, since University Optics has a good reputation.
The 2x to 3x variable barlow is also tempting to me, but
I haven't "taken the plunge" yet in that direction. I don't
have any direct experience with the Meade, but would like
to compare both the Meades and the Televues next year to the
Celestron. Maybe I'll switch if the comparison favors it.
I own two 2x, 2 inch Celestron barlows which I prefer in
some situations like planetary viewing or looking at double stars
or M-57, etc. I have stacked a 1.25 inch after the 2 inch
barlow to get 4x, but the light loss is sometimes too
great depending on the object.
I wear eyeglasses, so I need to use eyepieces that have
generous eye relief which has driven me to conclude that
barlows are a better approach unless one considers the
Vixen LV Lanthanum series or the Radians. I have only
the 8-24 mm LV Zoom and the 9mm fixed Vixen at present,
but can get about 11mm by using a 32mm with the 3x barlow.
I hope the Klee will give me a good
view that I will compare with the 9mm Vixen or if I can,
afford it, I'd like to get a 10mm and a 12mm Vixen. Maybe
down the road, I'll save up for a Radian, but that will be
quite a while. For the near term, I'll be using my barlows.
I hope that helps,
Ed
P.S. I also got one of Rick's 1.4x URANOPORT "resolving barlows"
that can piggy back inside an eyepiece, but it is
really different too. It greatly changes the eye relief, so
it currently lives inside my Pro-Optic 24mm which had too
little eye reilef until the 1.4x URANOPORT came along.
