PowerMate 5x Barlow review: Tele Vue 5x Powermate, 1.25 inch
Where does it rank on our leaderboard
| Rank | Accessory | Stars for Your Buck | Recorded UK price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GEMINI EAF | 100 out of 100 | £42 |
| 2 | Generic Dew Heater | 93 out of 100 | £9 |
| 12 | Celestron 8-24mm Eyepiece | 82 out of 100 | £99 |
| 15 | Flat Panel 300mm | 78 out of 100 | £54 |
| 32 | ZWO PE200 | 53 out of 100 | £219 |
| 35 | PowerMate 5x Barlow | 47 out of 100 | £255 |
| 36 | Celestron 2x Barlow | 46 out of 100 | £135 |
| 45 | SKY ROVER 2x54 Binoculars | 28 out of 100 | £139 |
| 46 | 365 Solar Telescope Cover | 5 out of 100 | £73 |
Contents
- 01 Where does it rank on our leaderboard
- 02 Specifications and features
- 03 In my words
- 04 Should you buy it?
- 05 Questions and more about this review
In 30 seconds
Stars for Your Buck 47/100
Written 25 Sep 2026 Updated 25 Sep 2026
- Rank
- #35 of 46 accessories
- Verdict
- With reservations
Written by Damon Scotting 2 min read
Buy it if
- You record bright planets and want the biggest image scale from a 1.25 inch amplifier
- Your focuser or diagonal takes 1.25 inch eyepieces and cameras
- You buy from dealers: Tele Vue sells it through its stockists
Skip it if
- You image deep-sky targets: five times the focal length is five times the focal ratio
- You want a wide field of view for finding targets
- You want the cheapest way to more magnification: a 3x Barlow costs less
Specifications and features
| PowerMate 5x Barlow reviewed #35 of 46 | |
|---|---|
| Recorded UK price | £255 |
| Model | Tele Vue 5x Powermate (PMT-5126) |
| Magnification | 5x |
| Barrel | 1.25 inch |
| Weight | 0.40 lb |
| Coatings | Fully multi-coated |
| Filter threads | Yes, 1.25 inch |
| Height out of the focuser | Under 3 inches |
| Parfocal | In all 1.25 inch diagonals and prisms |
| Lock | Captive lock screw |
| Magnification with a camera | Rises by 1x for every 35 mm of extra image distance |
In my words
“Increasing the magnification leads to a drop in brightness of our image, but that's okay because planets are very bright anyway.”
From one of my videos
Should you buy it?
47/100 Stars for Your Buck
Pros
- Five times the focal length from a 1.25 inch barrel (Tele Vue part PMT-5126).
- It stands less than 3 inches out of the focuser and is parfocal in 1.25 inch diagonals, by Tele Vue's own description.
- Fully multi-coated, threaded for 1.25 inch filters, with a captive lock screw that cannot fall out.
- On bright planets the loss of brightness from high magnification matters least.
Cons
- £255 at First Light Optics, where the Celestron X-Cel LX 3x Barlow is £145.
- Tele Vue's own page shows no price and no cart: you buy it from a dealer.
- Five times the focal length also dims the image: it suits bright targets, not faint deep-sky ones.
Five times the focal length in a 1.25 inch Tele Vue barrel: an amplifier for the planets, where the drop in brightness matters least because they are so bright.
Three alternatives I have reviewed
- Celestron 3x Barlow Celestron X-Cel LX 3x, 1.25 inch 45/100 £145 Read the review
- Celestron 2x Barlow Celestron's 2x Barlow 46/100 £135 Read the review
- Celestron 8-24mm Eyepiece One zoom eyepiece from 8 to 24 mm 82/100 £99 Read the review
Questions and more about this review
Reviewed by
Damon Scotting
The Telescope Man Verified
BSc (Hons) Physics with Astrophysics and Cosmology, Loughborough University PGCE / QTS, University of Nottingham
About Damon About Damon Damon Scotting is The Telescope Man. He holds a BSc (Hons) in Physics with Astrophysics and Cosmology from Loughborough University and a PGCE with QTS from the University of Nottingham, and taught physics in secondary schools before becoming an astronomy creator. He is a contributing writer for BBC Sky at Night Magazine and the author of 42 Wonders of Our Night Sky, and his photograph of the galaxy M100 with the dwarf planet Ceres was Highly Commended in the Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2024 competition run by Royal Observatory Greenwich. He has appeared on the BBC's Blue Peter. More than 750,000 people follow his astronomy channels on YouTube, Instagram and TikTok, and he has reviewed more than 140 telescopes, mounts, cameras, filters and accessories hands-on for this site. More about Damon · How I test · Damon's book
I review all kinds of gear: most of it I buy, some is gifted and some is loaned, and all of it is reviewed the same way. How this site is funded
Five questions, answered
Questions about the PowerMate 5x Barlow
Written 25 September 2026 ·Updated 25 September 2026
I review all kinds of gear. Most of it I buy, some is gifted and some is loaned, and all of it is reviewed the same way: no company sees or approves a review before it is published. Shop links marked Ad are affiliate links: I earn a commission when you buy through them, at no extra cost to you. How this site is funded
- Which Powermate is this? Tele Vue's 5x Powermate with a 1.25 inch barrel, part PMT-5126, listed at 0.40 lb. The specifications ↓
- Is a 5x Powermate for deep-sky imaging? No. Five times the focal length is five times the focal ratio, so the image is far dimmer; it is for bright targets such as the planets. The specifications ↓
- Is it exactly 5x with a camera? Not always. Tele Vue says the 5x model's magnification rises by 1x for every 35 mm of extra image distance behind it, so the spacing to your sensor changes the image scale. The specifications ↓
- Where can I buy the 5x Powermate? The prices I recorded: £255 at First Light Optics (UK), listed; $260 at Agena Astro (US), in stock; $260 at Tele Vue (Global), no price shown. A record, not a live price The verdict, the readers and the sellers ↓
- What have I not tested on the 5x Powermate? I have not measured the magnification the 5x Powermate actually gives with a camera, or compared it side by side with the Celestron Barlows.