Unistellar eVscope

[Olla]

2 hours ago, RobertI said:

If the images are significantly better, I would hazard a guess that it’s down to the “image processing algorithms ..... developed by experts who worked in the largest astronomical observatories...”. But I suspect those images were taken by expert users, using perfectly tuned equipment under perfect skies - they might even have been using just the scope strapped to a better tracking mount, who knows? I have my doubts whether the quality will be significantly different to the Unistellar, hopefully we’ll find out soon. 

I honestly thought Unistellar and Stellina were the same company marketing both products in esense to "compete" with each other since both were from France and came around the same time plus the price point. I really dont think there's a huge difference tbh but the eyepiece. 

[RobertI]

11 minutes ago, Olla said:

I honestly thought Unistellar and Stellina were the same company marketing both products in esense to "compete" with each other since both were from France and came around the same time plus the price point. I really dont think there's a huge difference tbh but the eyepiece. 

Obviously one of the key differences is one has a 130mm F5 mirror and the other a 80mm F5 lens - two very different approaches, but the main effect being the different field of view. But as you say, image quality likely to be very similar. 

Edited January 10, 2020 by RobertI

[HWStar]

I just looked at the Unistellar website and they have 3 images, stating that they are what would be seen through the eyepiece. https://unistellaroptics.com/product/ Scroll halfway down the page.

But when I look at what was posted so far from users, it's not what I'm seeing. Perhaps they were taken under very controlled conditions.  Okay, enough. I will wait and hope for the best. ;o)

Edited January 11, 2020 by HWStar

[tommyr]

42 minutes ago, HWStar said:

I just looked at the Unistellar website and they have 3 images, stating that they are what would be seen through the eyepiece. https://unistellaroptics.com/product/ Scroll halfway down the page.

But when I look at what was posted so far from users, it's not what I'm seeing. Perhaps they were taken under very controlled conditions.  Okay, enough. I will wait and hope for the best. ;o)

Well, Unistellar would want to show the best images they have so far. Users will be anxious to show what they have so far without fussing too much at first. I've seen some decent images on Twitter so far from a few users. People that have been getting them haven't had them for very long so it'll take time for them to get used to operating and using the scope and app. I have yet to have clear night skies since Christmas eve to try mine out. I have looked at the Sun a few days ago with it but there's no spots right now visible and I'm still getting used to adjusting the gain and exposure times. I'll say that Buzzard's review is so far spot on. It's a solid scope and Tripod. And they give you a nice pouch with all the tools needed for making adjustments. They even include a Bathinov mask in the front cover for tweaking the focus.

[PeterW]

I am sure light pollution will affect it like normal observing, how many urban observers have them to see more? I prefer  to wait for actual reviews before buying things.

Peter

[Tphillips777]

Thanks for sharing. I am a kickstarter backer and eagerly await mine to be delivered. For me, the compactness and portability along with the ability to use it in light polluted areas is what sold me on it. However, I have no expectations that it will replace all other telescopes. I still have 2 others and have plans for more. Time, money and space being my limiting factors, the eVscope should be a nice interim solution. 

[Anthonyexmouth]

19 minutes ago, Tphillips777 said:

Thanks for sharing. I am a kickstarter backer and eagerly await mine to be delivered. For me, the compactness and portability along with the ability to use it in light polluted areas is what sold me on it. However, I have no expectations that it will replace all other telescopes. I still have 2 others and have plans for more. Time, money and space being my limiting factors, the eVscope should be a nice interim solution. 

ability to use it in light polluted areas? This is likely to be rubbish in light polluted areas. 

[tommyr]

4 minutes ago, Anthonyexmouth said:

ability to use it in light polluted areas? This is likely to be rubbish in light polluted areas. 

The scope has been used in Las Vegas with decent results. Also San Francisco and NYC just to name a few places with bad LP. 

[Anthonyexmouth]

7 minutes ago, tommyr said:

The scope has been used in Las Vegas with decent results. Also San Francisco and NYC just to name a few places with bad LP. 

only seen it pointed at M42 in light polluted areas and that target is super bright. and even then it wasnt looking great. As for the tripod being solid, well maybe when it's at its lowest postion but those legs at full extension look pretty thin and shaky. 

[tommyr]

6 minutes ago, Anthonyexmouth said:

only seen it pointed at M42 in light polluted areas and that target is super bright. and even then it wasnt looking great. As for the tripod being solid, well maybe when it's at its lowest postion but those legs at full extension look pretty thin and shaky. 

You need to do more research. The tripod is solid. It's not thin and shaky. Unless there's gale force winds the tripod will hold it's own. And again, no one ever said the scope would give views that rival traditional AP set ups.

[Anthonyexmouth]

3 minutes ago, tommyr said:

You need to do more research. The tripod is solid. It's not thin and shaky. Unless there's gale force winds the tripod will hold it's own. And again, no one ever said the scope would give views that rival traditional AP set ups.

I can see the pictures and iv'e used enough tripods to know what i'm looking at, legs are thin. It just screams of a college electronics project. great proof of concept but zero real world use. 

Who is it aimed at?

1. Newbies, well they won't be spending 3k on a scope that has very limited use if they've done any research

2. experienced users, Well they would/should know better

3. outreach, refer back to 2.

EV is great for outreach but not in this form, much better with a scope they can look at but do the viewing on a laptop screen, even a proper tripod doesn't want to be touched when imaging. 

[tommyr]

6 minutes ago, Anthonyexmouth said:

I can see the pictures and iv'e used enough tripods to know what i'm looking at, legs are thin. It just screams of a college electronics project. great proof of concept but zero real world use. 

Who is it aimed at?

1. Newbies, well they won't be spending 3k on a scope that has very limited use if they've done any research

2. experienced users, Well they would/should know better

3. outreach, refer back to 2.

EV is great for outreach but not in this form, much better with a scope they can look at but do the viewing on a laptop screen, even a proper tripod doesn't want to be touched when imaging. 

It's not for you, move on. The hate for this scope is beyond stupid. I've been using scopes for over 50 years, I like this concept. I also still love/use "regular" scopes. You will see more scopes like this in the future and they will get better and cheaper priced. Get used to it. Or don't.

 

[Anthonyexmouth]

2 minutes ago, tommyr said:

It's not for you, move on. The hate for this scope is beyond stupid. I've been using scopes for over 50 years, I like this concept. I also still love/use "regular" scopes. You will see more scopes like this in the future and they will get better and cheaper priced. Get used to it. Or don't.

 

The "hate" as you call it is kinda valid. I agree, the concept is good but the execution is poor and expensive. It needs to be much cheaper considering it's very limited uses, it's a 3 grand dust collecter after someones seen a few bright nebula and nothing else.

Who would you say this is aimed at?

could you in good faith recommend a newbie spend 3K on this? I truly hope not.  

 

 

 

[Alien 13]

This scope reminds me of the days when mobile phones first put a camera in them, it was seen as a gimmick but today the latest models can produce broadcast quality video and very good still images so I see a bright future for this tech.

Alan

[tommyr]

17 minutes ago, Anthonyexmouth said:

The "hate" as you call it is kinda valid. I agree, the concept is good but the execution is poor and expensive. It needs to be much cheaper considering it's very limited uses, it's a 3 grand dust collecter after someones seen a few bright nebula and nothing else.

Who would you say this is aimed at?

could you in good faith recommend a newbie spend 3K on this? I truly hope not.

It's aimed at people who want an easy to set up and use telescope that allows them to see deep sky objects easily. That's the main objective of the scope.

As you know most deep sky objects are not easy targets in small scopes. Especially with all the light pollution now a days. They are nothing more than faint blobs of shades of gray light. Not very impressive to a lot of people. 

I would not recommend it to newbies. It IS expensive and if I had to pay $3,000 I would have not joined the kickstarter for it. I paid $1,299. I typically recommend an 8" dob. to newbies. 

Edited January 11, 2020 by tommyr

[JamesF]

5 minutes ago, Alien 13 said:

I see a bright future for this tech.

I'm inclined to agree.  I think there's a demographic who will see this sort of thing as worth having.  It's not for me, to be fair, and there probably are aspects of this specific product that aren't as good as might be desired, could have been done better, and will get ironed out in time, but if it gets more people interested in science or astronomy or the environment who wouldn't otherwise have been then I think that's a big plus.  And one day, if I haven't already asked the nice man to wheel me off to a quiet corner of the yard with a bottle of whiskey and a loaded revolver, then a successor to this might well be something that I find worth having.

James

[Anthonyexmouth]

13 minutes ago, tommyr said:

It's aimed at people who want an easy to set up and use telescope that allows them to see deep sky objects easily. That's the main objective of the scope.

As you know most deep sky objects are not easy targets in small scopes. Especially with all the light pollution now a days. They are nothing more than faint blobs of shades of gray light. Not very impressive to a lot of people. 

I would not recommend it to newbies. It IS expensive and if I had to pay $3,000 I would have not joined the kickstarter for it. I paid $1,299. I typically recommend an 8" dob. to newbies. 

There you go, at that price for the release model it probably wouldn't have got negative attention . 

[tommyr]

4 minutes ago, Anthonyexmouth said:

There you go, at that price for the release model it probably wouldn't have got negative attention . 

Oh it would still get some negative reaction. Just not as many. There will always be complainers. People will complain about the price of gas then turn around and buy a gas guzzler. Go figure.

[Ruud]

There's already an improvement. On the Unistellar website the claim that the eVscope is " a 100 times better than a classical telescope" has disappeared. That's good. The statement is simply not true.

The citizen science argument is still there. I cannot imagine how eVscope owners around the world will help scientists in any useful manner. I suppose time will tell.

For the rest I think the eVscope would be a wonderful Rent-a-Scope. I'd pay €100 for a week with the thing if I' knew I'd have a week of clear, Moonless nights.

Come to think of it, I'd sell my sister for a week of clear nights.

[tommyr]

5 minutes ago, Ruud said:

The citizen science argument is still there. I cannot imagine how eVscope owners around the world will help scientists in any useful manner. I suppose time will tell.

 

http://cosmicdiary.org/dpeluso/2020/01/11/get-your-unistellar-evscopes-and-help-observe-an-exoplanet-this-weekend/

[tooth_dr]

2 minutes ago, Ruud said:

Come to think of it, I'd sell my sister for a week of clear nights.

Photos definitely needed 🤣

[JamesF]

30 minutes ago, Ruud said:

On the Unistellar website the claim that the eVscope is " a 100 times better than a classical telescope" has disappeared. That's good. The statement is simply not true.

That's just typical marketing hype.  It's not a piece of information that's ever intended to be tested as being true or false unless the conditions by which the comparison is made are clearly defined (which almost certainly they won't be).  It's just a statement that's made to support the assertion that one thing is more desirable than another on the basis of no evidence whatsoever whilst making the gullible believe that it's true.  I wouldn't be surprised if something similar were present in more adverts than not.  They must teach it in Advertising 101.

James

[RobertI]

I wonder if it would be possible for a retailer like @FLO to put a bundled product together to rival the likes of Evoscope or HiUni. It would have to provide the following:

• Fast, lightweight scope,  self aligning mount,  no counterweights, battery powered - suggest a Celestron Evo 6 (£1350) + suitable focal reducer (£100) + Starsense (£300)
• Colour camera with ability to see image at scope (Evoscope) or on a wireless tablet (HiUni/Stellina) without the need for adjusting the image. I think the closest you could get to the Evoscope solution would be something like a Mallincam connected to a small monitor fixed to the OTA. I'm guessing £500 - £800 would get something really good. I'm not sure there is a wireless option like the HiUni's without including a PC somewhere along the line.

So I reckon it would take £2500 ($3200) to get a bundle that does everything the Evoscope does, but that bundle would almost certainly outperform the Evoscope in most repects, but in a much less portable and 'point and click' package.

Interestingly, the Stellina/Hiuni's wireless tablet observing feature is probably the only true innovation amongst all these scopes, as I can't see how it can be recreated using existing products out there. I'm not sure if the HiUni is actually a finished product yet though?

Edited January 12, 2020 by RobertI
Included reference to Stellina

[Spydaman]

Most of the people commenting here are not interested in the EV so I take the comments with a grain of salt. I won't be getting mine for another 6 months (Australia) and I am very much looking forward to it. I have no doubt it will offer a great viewing experience.

Edited January 12, 2020 by Spydaman

[RobertI]

4 hours ago, Spydaman said:

Most of the people commenting here are not interested in the EV so I take the comments with a grain of salt. I won't be getting mine for another 6 months (Australia) and I am very much looking forward to it. I have no doubt it will offer a great viewing experience.

I’m not sure why people have been so negative about it - I can only think that it is the marketing hype more than the product itself, which can really grate for some seasoned astronomers, implying capabilities which might leave some people disappointed. For clarity my comment above wasn’t meant to be negative, I was just mulling over how existing alternatives might compare, I think I showed that it’s not cheap to put something together, and it won’t be as portable or as ‘point and go’. I’m sure it will be a great viewing experience, and at the price you early backers paid, tremendous bang for the buck. Hell, at $1299, I might be interested myself, but I’ve missed my chance!