Your opinion about which of these is best and why

[DanaS]

ZWO Seestar S50...It's all built in, simple to use, controlled by a phone or tablet, takes great photos, and you can take video as well.

Dwarf II Smart Telescope....The Dwarf II has 2 lenses but the sensor is older, but also the megapixels are more than the Seestar. 

Vaonis Vespera Smart Telescope - weirdly so much more expensive. not really seeing why....

I think I'm leaning towards the Dwarf II because it has a wide angle lense built in, which may allow me to take time-lapse video of the Milky Way, but according to their support it's going to be in a future software update. Anyone have experience with this one and the company's updates?

Any thoughts?
Thanks!
Dana

Edited November 29, 2023 by Cornelius Varley
Background colour to text removed.

[RobertI]

The Vaonis and Unistellar (not on your list) scopes led the ‘robot’ telescope revolution, and are relatively small startup companies. ZWO, who are a large company that have a long track record producing astro-imaging products, have obviously seen the potential and now come in with a product with similar capabilities, at a much lower price. So personally I would discount the Vaonis on price alone. I think if you are going to really get into the imaging of deep sky objects, then the larger aperture and longer focal length of the SeeStar will take you further along that journey than the Dwarf. I’ve been seriously tempted by a SeeStar myself. Here is a thread showing what can be achieved with the SeeStar:

 

My opinion of course, others may see it differently. 

 

Edited November 29, 2023 by RobertI

[Cosmic Geoff]

I have to declare an interest in that I own a Seestar S50.  I think this is a fantastic device and, among other things, it performs excellently at imaging gaseous nebulae from an urban location, without all the extra expense and setup time and processing skill required to do likewise with a traditional setup.  The hardware and software are very well developed and easy to use.

Dwarf II - apparently has a smaller aperture ☹️ and wider field of view 🙂.  And the software is less well developed.  ☹️

As for the others, you will have to read reviews. I suspect they are getting crushed in terms of sales by the ZWO juggernaut.

[M40]

I have the seestar which I think is an excellent device for what it can achieve and for ease of use. Ignoring cost the next thing is what can you see with it? The seestar is my only widefield telescope and is perfectly suited for just that and again, I would guess the others are similar but with different fields of view. I believe the dwarf has a wider field of view than the seestar so is likely more suited to the milky way than the seestar. 

Difficult to see how the seestar would capture the milky way with its current software, I suppose you would pick a target in a good position for that night and just let it go, it would be an interesting challenge. Hopefully someone with a dwarf or vaonis will offer their thoughts.

So I suppose it's like all telescopes, which one best suits what you would like to see. Maybe for the milky way, a dslr on a tracking mount would be the way to go? But I  will be trying for a milky way shot sooner or later. All the best.

[Cosmic Geoff]

If you just want wide angle shots of the Milky Way, a DSLR on a suitable mount would be the way to go.  A member of my local club did just that and got some fantastic shots. 

If you aimed a Seestar at the Milky Way area (it is designed to only aim at named objects), it would capture a lot of stars in a 0.7 x 1.3 degree field of view.

[M40]

Just noticed a youtube channel astrolavista has all three telescopes reviewed, I've not watched them yet but I've seen a few of his and they are easy to watch. All the best.

[Elp]

What targets you wish to image will factor into what you will lean towards. For milky way you really need a 24mm or less equivalent focal length lens, 12-14mm is ideal for this. The size of the sensor is also a major factor as it will determine the angle of view of the lens. Otherwise multi pano with a 50mm can also work but more post processing work, this for me would be the limit for FL for this imaging purpose.

Edited November 29, 2023 by Elp