Baader Planetarium Hyperion Zoom Barlow 2.25X HYP-BARLOW

For many amateur astronomers, one of the first items they upgrade (or add to) is their set of lenses. And usually, around the same time, they typically add a Barlow lens to their collection, which is simply a unit that doubles (or triples, etc....) the magnification of any lens it is mated to. Until recently, no manufacturer really made a reasonably priced zoom lens that could hold its own against expensive fixed focal length units, like the Televue Ethos, Naglers, or Panoptics. Fortunately, as of 2010, Baader pushed the bar ahead again and has been making their Hyperion Mark III Click Stop Zoom lens 8-24 mm. This is a roughly $280 unit that equals the best fixed focal length units at the center of field. (It does not do as well at the edge of field or is as corrected for coma as some high end fixed focal length units). Until, 2012, the Mark III did not have a matching Barlow until Baader released this little baby. (btw, purchasing the Hyperion Barlow 2.25X does not include the Mark III zoom lenses) The Baader Hyperion Zoom Barlow is just that, ... a 2.25X Barlow lenses that perfectly screws into the body of its twin, the Mark III Click Stop 8-24 mm Zoom lens. It actually can screw in by two different configurations, giving 2.25X or 2.35X. It is a great little unit and does not take up as much room or generate as much moment as a regular Barlow where you have an entire cylinder that the lens typically slides down into. Because it is so small, this Barlow only adds about 80 grams (I am guessing) to the Mark III. It is also extremely easy to screw in or out in complete darkness while observing. How is the visual acuity through the Hyperion 2.25X Barlow? In my humble opinion, it works extremely well. I have now used the Mark III Zoom and this accompanying 2.25X Barlow at two star parties and compared them apples to apples to Televue Ethos and Nagler models that were kindly loaned to me. About 50% of the time, I felt the Televues were providing slightly more detail but about 50% of the time, I felt this Baader combination was. It was that difficult to decide who was better when looking at Jupiter's Great Red Spot, craters on the Moon, Andromeda, Orion, etc... At the center of the field of view, I could not usually tell much of a difference. At the edges of the field is where I noticed the more expensive Televues began to look better. I use an Orion XT10G GoTo Dobsonian and since it tracks targets for me, I am not as concerned about the edge of the field of view. All I can say is that the combination Mark III Zoom and accompanying Barlow 2.25X are really neck and neck with the best fixed focal length units, but with the added bonus of not needing to change lenses often. The only time I change lenses during an observation session is when I want a wide field low magnification view (as for some deep sky objects). With this unit and the 1200mm focal length of my Dob, I have been able to reach up to 337X in magnification and even at that high power, if the seeing is good, I am greeted with crystal clear views of craters on the Moon, the atmosphere of Jupiter and the rings of Saturn. This mated barlow really kicks in during high magnification planetary viewing. For me, this Barlow along with its big brother, the Mark III Click Stop 8-24 mm Zoom lens is a godsend. I do not have to change lenses at all usually during the night and I can simply rotate the Zoom unit from low magnification to high. Which makes this easily a five star unit. The only possible thing I can think of which a veteran might want to add is a higher end wide field unit like a 31 mm Nagler or a 35 mm Panoptic to complete their lens collection.Five stars!

It's Baader, what do you expect?

What can I say, it's Baader Planetarium, five stars.....

Works great, but the cost is too high for a device limited to one specific eye piece.You might just as well buy the lovely and much lower priced zhumell barlow.

Sadly my experience was not that great and returned it...Images were all fuzzy with their zoom and far less clear than with a fixed EP. That was for moon or even terrestrial distant objects during day. Adding their barlow will just make things 10x worse.