Barlow Lenses offer a simple and affordable way to increase the magnification of your current telescope. Whether by doubling (2x) or trebling (3x) your magnification – a good Barlow Lens can unlock a new dimension to your astronomical observations.
They are one of the easiest and most practical upgrades that you can make.
With a lot of different brands, models, and options, it can be hard to identify what is the best Barlow Lens for you.
Ultimately there are certain things you are going to want to consider, different price points, and ultimately a host of pros and cons to the options available on the market.
This buyer’s guide will help you to make a decision and ultimately find the best one for your current needs and circumstances.
Best Barlow Lenses
Barlow Lens Details
The following recommendations take into account: quality, price, customer, and personal experience into account.
Each Barlow Lens listed below qualifies for the list against one of, or all of, the factors listed above.
Regardless of your budget, experience, or preferences, there will be a Barlow Lens listed below suitable for you.
Celestron X-Cel LX (2x/3x Barlow Lens)
One of the best Barlow Lenses that you can get; the Celestron X-Cel LX combines premium design with ideal magnification at an affordable price. This is an ideal lens to consider particularly for lunar and/or planetary observations.
Celestron offers this in two different magnifications; this one providing 2x magnification and the other providing 3x magnification.
Either way, you’re going to benefit from fully multi-coated optics that provide bright and sharp images as the lens corrects for color disorientation automatically.
Beyond this, chromatic aberrations are reduced as optics are apochromatic which ensures precise and accurate views and observations.
Its sturdy and well-built lens; has black anodized housing and a rubber grip that helps you to retain a grip on the barrel (regardless of the conditions!)
It has also been designed with a brass compression ring which secures it gently but securely and prevents any unnecessary damage to your apparatus – like protecting the barrel from scratches.
If you are looking to observe the planets, the 3x lens is the way to go. On the other hand, if you’re new to astronomy or are not looking for this much magnification the 2x lens would be a better place to start.
Lastly, either the 2 or 3x lens will slot seamlessly into any 1.25″ eyepiece, making it ideal if you have a short focal length telescope.
✔️ 3-element apochromatic, fully multi-coated optics
✔️ Black Anodized Housing, Rubber Grip Design
✔️ Barrel is threaded to accept 1.25” filters
✔️ Brass Compression ring protects/secures eyepiece in place and protects the barrel from scratches
- 3 Element Apochromatic Lens
- Fully Multi-Coated Optics
- Brass Compression Ring
- 3x Barlow
- 1.25'' Format
Celestron Omni 2x Barlow Lens
The second Celestron Barlow Lens to feature in the list. This time, it’s from the Omni range.
This is a more affordable and budget-friendly option but you’ll still be benefiting from the sleek design and manufacturing from this prestigious astronomy manufacturer and brand.
The Celestron Omni Barlow Lens offers 2x magnification and will prevent any chromatic aberrations when in use.
Again, you’ll benefit from the fully multi-coated optics but you’ll also enjoy great light transmission and minimal reflections that come from the blackened edges.
It’s a sturdy Barlow Lens built for durability and was designed with a sleek silver frame.
The 1.25″ barrel will fit perfectly into any standard focuser and diagonal of the same size, and will of course accept 1.25″ eyepieces.
✔️ Fits into any 1.25″ focuser, diagonal and accepts 1.25″ eyepieces
✔️ Fully multi-coated optics with blackened edges for good light transmission and minimal reflections
✔️ Affordable and Budget-Friendly
- Double the magnification of each eyepiece you own with the Omni 2X Barlow Lens
- Keep the eye relief of your eyepieces while getting 2X the power
- Slides into 1.25 inch focuses and diagonals and accepts 1.25 inch eyepieces
- Fully multicoated optics with blackened edges for good light transmission and minimal reflections
Celestron Luminos 2.5x Barlow Lens
The Celestron Luminos Barlow Lens is one of the best visually appealing on the eye; and will match most telescope set-ups and color themes.
It’s also from the Luminos range which is considered to be one of the best and most premium collections of apparatus that you can purchase for your telescope.
As such, if you have a bit of extra room in your budget, then this is likely to be the Barlow Lens for you.
It’s great for more seasoned Astronomers.
As you can instantly see just through pure observation, the major difference between the Luminos and some of the cheaper options available on the market is the material used to construct it.
The Luminos Barlow Lens was built with the hard-anodized aluminum barrel, making it the most sturdy, strong, and robust option.
The major benefit to this Barlow Lens is that it fits both 2” and 1.25” eyepieces, and will provide you with 2.5 magnification which is a really great range (not too much nor too little).
This is because you are provided with a 2” to 1.25” adapter that is easy to install and use.
As you would expect it has the best optics installed; premium 4-element apochromatic optics which are fully multi-coated to ensure maximum light transmission and enable great contrast to your images.
The Luminos will provide you with the highest quality images compared to any other lens featured on this list (and most on the market for that matter).
Again, just like the X-Cel LX line, you’ll be benefiting from a rubber grip and a compression ring making it easier to handle, more secure in your hands and provides protection to your barrel.
✔️ Premium 4-element optics provide flat fields for sharper images without any extraneous color
✔️ Hard-anodized aluminum barrel for durability
✔️ Brass Compression ring protects/secures eyepiece in place and protects the barrel from scratches
✔️ 2” to 1.25” adapter is included. Allows the use of both 2” and 1.25” eyepieces.
- The Celestron 2.5x Luminos Barlow increases the magnification of any 2" or 1.25" eyepiece by two and a half times.
- High-quality 4-element optics produce a flat field for sharp images that are free of extraneous color.
- Hard-anodized aluminum barrel is threaded to accept 2" filters.
- A brass compression ring holds eyepieces firmly in place, and large thumbscrews are easy to turn, even with gloves on.
- A 2" to 1.25" adapter is included. Allows the use of both 2" and 1.25" eyepieces.
Orion High-Power 3x Barlow Lens
Orion is another premium, well-respected manufacturer that provides a wide range of excellent astronomy equipment.
Their High-Power Barlow Lens is no exception, and in many ways rivals some of the others listed above.
Again this is another premium lens, that will require a slightly higher budget than perhaps the Omni or SVBONY (discussed next).
However, just like the Celestron Luminos, you’ll be benefiting from 4-element apochromatic optics that will enable high-power and clear, crisp views of the Moon and the planets including Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn.
Fully multi-coated, with anti-reflection coatings and edge-blackened, this lens will provide maximum light output and optimal image contrast making it an excellent purchase.
I also like that the filters are glare-threaded to prevent internal reflections from affecting your observations.
The housing consists of solid aluminum and you’ll also get a grip-friendly rubber exterior making it easier to hold and work with.
Again, a brass compression ring secures eyepieces and prevents and scratches and damages from occurring on your barrel.
Integrating superbly with any 1.25″ eyepiece, this Barlow Lens offers 3x magnification as standard.
The extra power granted by this lens is ideal when attached to any short focal length telescope that ordinarily would not be able to provide the kind of magnification required.
You can also get this Barlow Lens in both 2x Magnification and 3x Magnification depending on your preference.
✔️ Ideal for high-power telescopic study of the Moon and planets such as Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn
✔️ Sophisticated fully multi-coated, 4-element lens design renders exquisite images without introducing additional chromatic aberration for crisp, color-correct views
✔️ Great for high-magnification lunar and planetary Astrophotography
- 4-Element 3x Barlow will give your 1
- 25" telescope eyepieces a triple-power boost
- Ideal for high-power telescopic study of the Moon and planets such as Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn
- Sophisticated fully multi-coated, 4-element lens design preserves the optical quality of your telescope and eyepieces for crisp views
SVBONY 2x Barlow Lens
If you are on a budget, or funds are limited, the SVBONY 2x Barlow Lens may be one that you want to consider.
SVBONY are recognized for providing some of the most affordable astronomy equipment, their Barlow Lens is a case example.
Available for a fraction of the price, you are not going to benefit from the quality and durability you would get with Celestron/Orion alternatives.
Instead, what you will get is a lens that does the job and enables you to obtain 2x magnification.
It’s perhaps the most sensible choice for beginners or casual observers.
As you would expect, the quality of the Lens is not as superior, but the housing is made from aluminum metal and is black anodized as opposed to plastic.
The optics are only 2-element and are not fully-multi-coated. Nonetheless, you do benefit from blackened housing to maximize image contrast and you will not experience any additional chromatic aberration.
When you consider its price, you’ll struggle to find a better lens at this price point.
✔ One of the most affordable Barlow Lenses available on the market
✔ Aluminum and Black Anodized Metal Housing
- The value must have 2x barlow lens doubles the magnification of any 1.25 inch eyepiece;double the capacity of an existing set eyepieces at the cost of a single eyepiece
- SVBONY barlow lens provide a high power magnification allow you look more closely and more detailed at the moon's surface and other planet
- 2X barlow lens adopts 2 element one group broadband green film multi coated optical glass; the housing is blackened to maximize image contrast; both that make image more crisp and sharp without additional chromatic aberration
- Quality aluminum stock and black anodized body with M42x0.75mm thread;work as a t adapter;connect DSLR or SLR camera to telescope easily via a separate sale t ring adapter
- Connect DSLR SLR camera to telescope easily;the T ring adapter you buy separately depending on the model of camera
What Is A Barlow Lens?
In their simplest sense, a Barlow Lens is a detachable, small component that you can attach to a telescope to increase its magnification.
This prevents the need for buying a new telescope, and can instantly give considerably more magnification to your current telescope with this simple addition.
A Barlow Lens is placed between the eyepiece and the objective lens and can be done so manually by hand and without any specialist equipment or advanced knowledge.
Moreover, they are very easy to use once applied.
They are typically available in 2x, 2.5x, 3x, and 5x multipliers, meaning that you can get one that suits your own individual needs and requirements.
Factors To Consider Before Buying A Barlow Lens
The majority of the big telescope manufacturers and brands have created their own Barlow Lenses.
These can be applied to and used interchangeably on telescopes, (does not matter what brand of Barlow Lens/Telescope you have – any combination will work.)
One thing to consider, however, is that you need to know the barrel size of the Barlow Lens you are interested in. This needs to match your telescope, or otherwise, it will not fit.
For the most part, Barlow Lenses are made to be 1.25 inches – this is the universal and standard size for most telescopes.
However, not every Barlow Lens will be this size so this should be one of the first things you should check.
Unsurprisingly, the magnification provided is going to be your other big factor when making a decision.
The Lenses that provide the smaller magnifications, 2-3x, are not designed to provide you with dramatic increases.
This will of course depend however on your current telescope and its magnification.
A good rule of thumb is that if you are not sure with what magnification to go for, go with 2x magnification (less is often more in this respect).
Final Words
Overall, a Barlow Lens is a great, affordable and practical way to increase the current magnification of your telescope.
You can instantly add 2-3x on top of what you already have, which will really help you if you are into Planetary Observations, Astrophotography, or viewing Deep Sky Objects (DSO’s).
Thankfully, Barlow Lenses are affordable, and there is a range of options on the market which ensures you have a choice and can get one that will best work for you.
Hopefully, this guide has provided you with the best lenses to take a look at.
One final thing to consider is that purchasing a Barlow Lens is usually better than opting for a new telescope eyepiece.
This is because a Barlow Lens is more versatile in the sense that you can use it alongside different eyepieces.
For example, if you had two eyepieces (15mm & 20mm), by adding a 2x Barlow you can get 30-40mm ranges.
Ultimately, if you want to upgrade your telescope and improve its magnification, one of the Barlow Lenses mentioned above is the way to go.
If I were you I would opt for the Celestron Luminos or a Orion High Power Barlow Lens.
With either one of these, you will not go wrong. These are the standout winners and my personal favorites with everything considered.
Hey, my name is Jeremy. I’m a passionate and seasoned astronomer who loves nothing more than observing the night sky. I also love researching, learning, and writing all things Space and the Universe. I created Astronomy Scope to share my knowledge, experience, suggestions, and recommendations of what I have learned along the way while helping anyone to get into and maximize their enjoyment of the hobby.