Is The Unistellar eVscope A Hit Or Hype?

[@I_Spaced_Out]

Sound off below: Have you been seeing this advertised online lately? Is it a telescope you've been curious about, and maybe even considered buying later? Let's get a conversation going on here! Maybe the guys from Unistellar will chime in!

[@epsilonthepokemaniac]

It seems to me lime it's a similar prospect to getting a large 16in Dobsonian, not the best (to my knowledge) for astrophotography, but great for viewing deepsky objects. This would make it a excellent substitute if you travel allot. Which if you ask me, justifies the price. What do y'all think? Would this be worth getting?

[@dmitribovski1292]

It's $3000 not $2000 you can pickup some decent kit for that.

[@heavyhittersgaming3759]

it costs $2999 and I have a $289 unit that out performs the overpriced ev

[@hughmongus1233]

sheDscope (shEE-dEE-Scope...ShittyScope!)

[@StormsandSaugeye]

Seen the advertisements. I went with a 10 inch dobsonian instead. After the reviews and photos began coming out I realized I made a good choice.

[@praisesun680]

It's funny how this video was recommended after tunderfoots video.

[@I_Spaced_Out]

I'm just glad it was, and I wasn't alone in my suspicions that there was something up with the telescope...

[@fnersch3367]

@@I_Spaced_Out - Unistellar was sold. Now what?

[@I_Spaced_Out]

@@fnersch3367 source?

[@fnersch3367]

@@I_Spaced_Out - I wish I could remember. I saw it as a 3rd party comment somewhere. Wish I could remember the name. The tech company had a strange name. I've been scouring the internet for anything about the eVscope for 4 years now. It will be nice to have this behind me. I'm tired and too old to fight this war. This is the most hated inanimate object I have ever encountered. Did nearly $5M (2 campaigns) go to waste? Time will tell. I hope not. Others will rejoice.

[@chrisschmidt4046]

Again try the scope with it actually being out. give us an honest review not what your speculations of it are because you are afraid of change

[@rustedfruit9870]

I think you all miss the point of this telescope. It's NOT MADE FOR YOU! The average father isn't going to say to his kid, let's spend some time looking at the stars tonight... then grab his 45lb AVX, 20lb refractor, tote a bunch of eyepieces, a powertank, a dslr, some adapters, drive out of town and spend 30 minutes aligning in the freezing cold... Jesus.. By the time they get out there and setup, the kid is passed out. Take this as an example: I would never purchase a console for myself (xBox, playstation, nintendo, etc). Because I like being able to build my own PC, mod it, overclock it, liquid cool it and get quality that no console could wish to attempt. But that doesn't make consoles garbage. They still play quality games for the masses and they're easy as hell to setup. You just need to know where to stick a single wire in the back of the TV you already own. No instructions required. This telescope is a console for the masses. Sure V1 is more expensive than it should be, but that's fairly normal for launching new technology products - the price will probably come down over time. Perhaps Celestron, Orion, ES etc will hop on board with similar products and these things will be sold in Costco's by 2020 (Heck, they carry the 6SE, why not this?). Then dad will say to his daughter - "It's a clear night, let's go out the back yard and look at the stars for a bit". 5 minutes later they're both looking at and learning about Pleiades, Orion's Nebula and sharing photos of what they're looking at on Facebook. It's great. I think it's freaking fantastic. And while I already have a nice big powerful scope with an EQ, I'm still going to buy this so that I can plop it out in the backyard on a moments notice and spend random evenings with my daughter looking at the whirlpool galaxy without setups and alignments and computers and stacking. With this thing, perhaps even my wife will take an interest and learn a little more about our place in the universe. I can image this being much like the night she saw Saturn for the first time with her own eyes - there was an audible gasp - as though Saturn wasn't a real thing until her eyes saw it live. Anyhow, I'm rambling. I do that.

[@I_Spaced_Out]

+George Ouimet the average father can buy a 4" Meade ETX125 mak-cass (weighs 15lb with mount), and the Revolution Imager for less than $1500, and do the same thing. Any ASCOM planetarium program should be able to auto align the mount in a few minutes as well.

[@rustedfruit9870]

Mitchell Tubbs While you're solution is a few hundred bucks cheaper, its not portable. Carrying around a much heavier mount, ota, duffle bags of eyepieces, portable power, manual alignments. The "average" dad ain't gonna do it. But he may just fold open a lightweight tripod, attach the tube and hit a Button on his phone. Theres a very big difference and people dont mind paying for convenience. For example... Starbucks. Who the hell cant make a cup of coffee at home for a few Penny's. Yet they'll spend $6 just for the convenience.

[@I_Spaced_Out]

I disagree that the "average dad ain't gonna do it" point you make. If that were true, then all of us who looked at the stars with our average fathers never would have had that childhood experience. I will concede that this will absolutely increase the number of average dads out there who will now be able to do it going forward.

[@michaelcannizzo1076]

I have an ETX-125 setup. To go to any site, I carry with me the huge telescope case, the tripod bag, the powertank just for visual observing. I haven't touched eyepieces that don't fit in the case, DSLR equipment, laptop and all the paraphernalia that goes with it. Then let's see, it's great for the moon and planets but sucks at deep sky because at it's core its an f/15. George made the best point here as I also have an ED80 and AVX setup. Sometimes I just want to go out with friends and sooner or later my son (who is only 11 months at this point) drop a picnic blanket in a field, and just look. I think this presents the best option so far as it's the right tool for the right job. Want to do astrophotography, or look at planets one night, just grab a different piece of kit and go. I just don't get why everyone is hating on this so much, it makes 0 sense to me, it's like refractor guys ready to go to fists with cassegrain guys. Nuts. I live in the suburbs of NYC, there are NO high schools or lower that I know of doing astronomy clubs...so if just 1 of these were purchased in that effort, isn't it a win for all?

[@astroplutonium]

Noone said it is not great. As an idea for a Grab'n'Go system it is great. But it is absolutely not great for 2-2500USD.... There is not any console on the market that is worth more than a proper hardcore gaming PC. This is what you are trying to tell us now... I plop out my 6'' dobsonian or my 4'' newtonian on stand and with the cellphone and adapter we take awesome photos of the moon and some planets. 800USD... They are askin 3 times that price for something that sounds like a gimmick.

[@jarichards99utube]

As someone who owns a 12' Meade and who has been an amateur astronomer for the last 60 years, I'd like to play Devils Advocate If I may... THIS scope is ONLY meant for SIMPLE EYEBALL VISUAL use. This is for people who might want to just VISUALLY enjoy some quick sky observations---like people might do with a 4-inch refractor. Color wheels---nebula filters---varying exposures ---etc, are GREAT IF you want to CONTROL 'CONTRAST' (which the scope should do digitally) or if you want control over your own astro photography. The makers claim they can BOOST VISUAL color but not be artificial looking ( a long, LONG, endless argument about 'what the eye would actually see' in space). So for example, would hydrogen clouds look green color like you might see in a lab experiment.I'M keeping an open mind at this point. I think the only FARE WAY TO JUDGE this instrument is STRICTLY as a VISUAL TOOL...using much the same standards you would use when judging BINOCULARS. The REAL TESTS FOR ME might be: Is the Orion Nebula a suitable GREEN & BLACK .. and of course what do JUPITER, SATURN & MARS look like...??? I hope it's not all hype. Time will tell...

[@michaelcannizzo1076]

I think everyone is being a little harsh here. Traditional telescopes do a great job of looking at the sun, moon, and planets. Great! But visually even with even the best make the Orion nebula and Andromeda Galaxy look like whisps of smoke. If i I just want to go out and look visually at deep sky objects this is the ticket. It's not trying to replace your current telescope, it's not trying to replace your DSLR, CCD, or Photoshop mayhem you may want to subject yourself through, but if you want something that you can plop on the ground, take on a plane, and just see stuff that requires a DSLR and ton of photo equipment and post processing, then this is it. I think everyone that spent hundreds and thousands of dollars (I spent the same) are put off because it doesn't replace all that equipment for you. But for someone who wanted a first telescope and didn't want to be disappointed this may be a problem solver.

[@I_Spaced_Out]

+Michael Cannizzo *slow clap* I think you nailed it perfectly!

[@Tommyr]

I'm a backer of this scope. Field rotation is NOT a problem. It's dealt with according to the makers. I also understand that exposure times can be adjusted by the users via their app IIRC. To what extent I'm not sure yet. They are now considering making filter use possible as well at the eypiece. Read the comment section of their kickstarter page, a lot of questions have been answered so far. Yes, you can build a better system that's more versatile but unless you're a seasoned amateur there is also a steep learning curve in USING all that gear. As well as setting it all up, polar aligning, etc. Not to mention learning how to process the images. This scope is more for newcomers, not seasoned amateurs. I'm a season amateur however not with astrophotography. Good video but since this was done in early November I'm sure you know more info by now about this scope.

[@I_Spaced_Out]

I do, and I think I'm going to do two more videos about it. I'm busy this time of year with my 9-5 job (more like a 5-9 job!) but I hope to have them both out, plus one other video from a subscriber request by years end.

[@astroplutonium]

Look, people that are into advanced AP are not apple users. When they see a technical product they want to know what it is. They want to see the tech behind it. We cannot accept a 'tracking is dealt with'. This is how pyramid schemes started in the 90s.... The physics say you cannot resolve EQ with Alt Az. Now they have reinvented the new wheel but its all cryptic... We are not paying 2500USD on faith. Show us the tech. 2 years now its just talk and talk.... i was excited about the project at the start but now i really start to dislike the arrogance and muthology around it...

[@astroplutonium]

I am quite sure they are using a stacking method where the live view is being processed alongside an already acquired high res image. Something like paste new image on top of old an replace only new data kind of thing... It is not difficult software wise but it is not what they are advertising. They are advertising REAL time view but not a single hint of how it is done.

[@fnersch3367]

Their actual inventions are algorithmic and are proprietary in nature. Some things cannot be divulged at this time. All the hardware is low cost and easy to get. Improvements were made this last summer. The scope is due out in May 2019. @@astroplutonium

[@fnersch3367]

The latest as of 12-2019 is that the eVscope should be available to the public in June 2020.

[@johnathanwelsh7274]

Am I right in saying that when you look through the eye piece you're looking at a stacked digital photograph rather than the object itself in real time?

[@I_Spaced_Out]

Yes. My understanding of how the tech works is that several short duration exposures (on the order of a few seconds each) are stacked by the software of the Unistellar eVScope. The eyepiece is actually an OLED display with a crazy contrast ratio (like 1 million to 1). The eVscope stacking software automatically adjusts the exposures, brightness, and the histogram (stretching) to boost the contrast so the image looks much more like what we are used to seeing in books and on the internet and not what visual observers are used to seeing through an eyepiece. I think this is a neat idea to have bundled into a telescope, ready to go - but is by no means a novel approach since I was able to show that the Revolution Imager has been doing this already for some time. However, instead of an eyepiece, it uses your computer monitor. The most convenient benefit of the Revolution Imager in my opinion is that several people can look at the same time, and the image is larger. It also allows the host to actually point to structures on the screen while presenting to give an impromptu lecture about the DSO being observed to several people.

[@fnersch3367]

@@I_Spaced_Out - the eVscope does all this too.

[@fnersch3367]

@@I_Spaced_Out - the eVscope does this too, using phones (up to 10 people a la wifi).

[@KTachyon]

This toy costs as much as getting a RASA 8, an HEQ-5, a camera with the same sensor and an ASIAir Pro. Ignoring the camera, this is basically professional gear... The evScope will be 15 min faster to setup, but the ASIair will get on pair with all the other ease of use features... including what they say it’s “patented” (actually over 10 years old tech). The tradeoff for those 15 min of setting up is a better and faster scope (f/2 203/400, twice the aperture of the evScope), the ability to switch the camera, the ability to change/remove filters, the ability to choose what exposure you want to use for each frame (and stack those - aka, accumulate light - directly on your smartphone). No one cares about the digital zoom if you can pick up your smartphone and pinch to zoom on an image with a good resolution. The IMX224 is not going to produce a good resolution... it’s a 1.27MP sensor, used by astrophotographers as a guiding sensor.

[@magicker8052]

ok apart from the insane price tag which rules it out for any sensible person... if you are going to build a digital telescope why would you build-in the limitations of an analogue telescope. Surely it would have made more sense just to put the viewer on the side of the mount or on a pop up screen rather than hide it behind a fake view finder?

[@stupidhat1779]

Good job spotting this, Thunderfoot sent me.

[@I_Spaced_Out]

He's sent thousands!! Never heard of him before his previous video, but he's suddenly becomming my favorite youtuber! lol

[@alkoenig85]

For the same price, one could obtain a real fine setup. Something that would not easily fail.

[@vladimirrodionov5391]

Thank you for exposing the SCAMscope early.

[@I_Spaced_Out]

When I heard about it two years ago, it just felt off. Like I said, there are a lot of "gimmicks" and lofty claims tied to a huge price tag. It was just too much to pay for a one-trick-pony.

[@Dragonblaster1]

I have a Celestron Nexstar 8SE on a GEM, with GPS, monochrome CCD eyepiece with colour wheel and computer autoguide. The 8" aperture is not for magnification, but for light gathering. I like the 8" SCT for planetary imaging, Now it takes me a while to set up, but for the images I can get with autoguiding and tracking is absolutely bound to knock out of the park any planetary or faint DSO image this convenient but small Newtonian can manage,, especially because it's not set up for either long exposures or autoguiding (because of the Alt-Az mount). Yet I've spent in all about the same as the eVscope costs.

[@fnersch3367]

This thing does more than you think: Unistellar’s App, currently under development, enables you to wirelessly control the eVscope (Bluetooth or Wifi). It runs on Android, iOS, Windows, Mac or Linux. You can choose between beginner and expert mode. In beginner mode, everything is done automatically: after the automatic alignment procedure completes itself, simply choose an object and the telescope will point to it, you can then save pictures, record videos, or add contextual information. In expert mode everything can be set manually: choose the sky region for alignment, point manually anywhere in the sky, set the sensor sensitivity and exposure time, adjust noise reduction and gamma curve.

[@astroplutonium]

Yeah over 2 years now and still everything is under development... Even Elon Musk took less time to convince the world to shift from petrol to electric. Good luck.

[@Alex-qb1nt]

@@astroplutonium 2 years is nothing for an innovative product with such a small team

[@PLVC3BO]

What you all seem to not understand is essentially basic market economics -- Not everyone is like (or could ever be like) the customer he described. Some people do see value in the simplicity of the eVscope, hinting to a potentially large market adoption in the future; though still in infancy, but very much promising. Just remember that not all value is material, either. Would people pay good money for convenience? Yeah ... rhetorical question. As much as I like the idea behind the eVscope, personally, I'd choose this guy's suggested set up because I feel like I would enjoy putting time into it ... but not everyone is like that. And THAT's the point!

[@denodan]

Does the same as the revolution imager, does processing in real time, to see on screen. And far cheaper, that can be used on any telescope.

[@kevanhubbard9673]

I don't think that it's a scam as such I believe that the makers think that they are on to something new but unfortunately they're not!it looks really limited as you can't,as far as I know, change eye pieces.also the mirror isn't very big.also it's too expensive.

[@I_Spaced_Out]

💯 agree

[@u2bst1nks]

^This. A lot of people that have watched Thunderf00t's video are calling it a scam, which I think is too strong. I think this video is a much more fair criticism.

[@celestinemachuca8930]

Thanks you, I was freaking out when I saw this telescope because I was wondering what they did to get so much power from such tiny telescope. Maybe some black magic with optics but that didn't seems to add up that well. Thanks you for clarifying everything.

[@I_Spaced_Out]

You're welcome!

[@palomarjack7090]

No, NO! There is magic, they make your money disappear.

[@paulwilson8367]

It's hardly surprising that someone who describes themselves as an astro-photographer would not be wowed by this telescope. You have already invested in lots of expensive equipment and have gained tech expertise. If I were you, and especially if I lived in a nice dark sky environment, I wouldn't change what's working either. But lots of us don't have CCD cameras or photography experience and for us a stack means pancakes. That said, this eVscope is not cheap. But it is easy, and they are saying it will be able to build color images in the kind of light polluted environs that most of us inhabit. I own a nice Alt/Az C-8 with a data base and even a StarSense. Well, the StarSense won't even work in my yard because, I guess, it just can't see a big enough piece of sky with the trees and houses. Add to that the light pollution, and you have an expensive jupiter scope. That's pretty much it. People would like to see the Orion Nebula and the Whirlpool galaxy without having to drive hundreds (and I mean hundreds) of miles to a truly dark sky. So most of us look at the Hubble photos and that's pretty much all we ever see. I don't know that I can rationalize the purchase of an eVscope. But I love the idea of stacking images as a way to overcome light pollution. Light pollution is THE BIG problem for modern amateur astronomy.

[@paulwilson8367]

And since I am continuing to read about it, not that I know much, people are speculating about the end of GEM mounts, because software can make guiding obsolete. And even though I could get an amazingly fine system for 3k, it still would not be of any use in the light pollution without the addition of stacking software to pile up the photons. It's a long way to SW New Mexico.

[@I_Spaced_Out]

I can show you dust lanes in Andromeda, and the structures in M51 from my back yard in dallas using a 4" telescope. You don't need to go to a truly dark site. You also don't need to buy the eVscope.

[@thePronto]

That was a great review. Very objective and informative. Thanks!

[@ChrisTopheRaz]

I think it’s great for the amature or for family use. I’ve looked though real scopes in astrophysics courses at ASU and I agree with some of this but i think I would even buy it. Surely they will eventually give more control over the photography in the app when people start asking for that and maybe a bigger mirror in the future would be nice

[@palomarjack7090]

Hey, I take exception to that. I not only look through my much, much larger and higher quality telescope, I built it. An "amateur" astronomer would not waste their time looking at the sub quality images it produces, let alone buy one.

[@GarnettLeary]

It automatically aligns itself. SETI cooperatives are very useful. To avid scientists the data collection thru citizen science is essentially donation. It’s a contribution you cannot make readily in the field with immediacy. It serves a higher purpose for that reason alone. This telescope should be in classrooms. It just may bring a new found interest in astronomy that standard visual telescopes don’t. You can also remove the imager and use it in its native form. It’s interesting to hear someones opinion of it that’s not interested in owning it tho. Clear skies.

[@I_Spaced_Out]

+Garnett Leary I absolutely agree that it could totally rejuvenate interest in astronomy. I also agree that being able to do the campaign mode is highly valuable to the scientific community. I'm not disputing its value in that capacity. I do, however, feel that it's not practical. I think that the majority of the telescopes sold will sit indoors most nights, unable to actually contribute. Still, even if only a dozen regularly send data to the SETI Institute, it's better than what we have going on today!

[@dilipsharan8699]

Lol! Any standard/ cheap and cheerful Az/ Alt mount Telescope auto aligns itself these days. See the link below to a video about the "Sky-watcher AZ-GTi WiFi Go-To mount and telescope". You could buy this mount and a cheap and cheerful refractor/ reflector for under £600 (USD $780) and it would do the auto-align trick. kzbin.info/www/bejne/eorVeGZoaL9nlbc

[@jon111mauck]

Dilip Sharan no most have whats called 3 star align not full auto align. the unistellar would be like this kzbin.info/www/bejne/g5mWhpStfddjpbM

[@dilipsharan8699]

Ever heard of plate solving or the SharpCap v3.1 software Jon? I use this all the time to align my scope all the time with pin point accuracy using SharpCap my existing guiding package. Very cost effective. And there are other telescopes with similar abilities built in

[@scienceraven1200]

It's just an off the shelf, network connected, long-exposure, hands free scope with it's own easy operating system, club projects, scientific community science project outsourcing option.

[@random55912]

I dont get why the ocular is fixed to the telescope while the great technical advantage could be for this to be seperated. I should be much more convinient to hold an eyepiece while sitting in the chair rather than looking into it from an awkward position. Maybe i buy one and figure out how to seperate the eyepiece myself...

[@MikeViker]

Dude are you suggesting that common people better get into astrophotography and learn how to get signal, polar align a 10" newtonian, learn how to stack, derotate, take darks, flats, bias, process and reprocess in PS, etc etc to achive their expectations? I'd better buy the Unistellar but continue doing AP old school, but thats me, not a common guy.

[@I_Spaced_Out]

Common people do it every day and see awesome results.

[@LarryJenkins]

Its looks like they did a video of a working prototype a month before this video. It seems to be promising. It will be interesting if they can pack all that technology in that size of a telescope. The prototype was using a 5 inch mirror.

[@skyweek123]

What a bizarre idea to talk for 10+ minutes about a product one has neither seen and tried out nor talked over with the inventors. Nor having read carefully what its specs are and what others have found out ... - There *are* working prototypes of the eVscope since almost a year now, they have been demonstrated at trade shows and - more importantly - public observing events in several countries. I have tested such an instrument myself in September - here is the detailled report: abenteuer-astronomie.de/das-enhanced-vision-telescope-stellt-sich-vor/ - There will be two observing modes, a pretty automated one for beginners and a different one for advanced users which gives you control over everything and thus maximum flexibility. This is a powerful science instrument, and the "campaign mode" is thus a valid add-on, turning scores of eVscopes - active at a given time - into citizen science instruments if you allow it. - The stacking software takes care of the field rotation with math, allowing many minutes of integrated exposure time. It works as advertised, I've seen it perform on the sky. That's all the more impressive as the final product will deduce the telescope's spatial orientation (and find the pole axis) completely on its own by just analyzing brief images of a few star fields. Yes, I have problems with certain aspects of the eVscope, predominantly its fixed image scale (which is 1.7 arcsec/pixel) and FOV (about Moon-sized). But the high integration of optics, electronics and mechanics realized here is unique. The main use initially will probably be in public astronomy, in that we agree - but the possibilities beyond can't even be fathomed.

[@I_Spaced_Out]

I love the integration of the electronics and software in this telescope! That's what makes it so ultra-portable! My current image acquistion system is somewhat portable, too, but is all mounted on a dovetail atop my OTA. It also allows for automatic alignment, focus, and acquisition of images. Sure, I had to assemble all of the components myself, and it took no small part of some basic computer and networking know how, but my telescope also creates its own ad-hoc WiFi network. Because of that, I can control it with my laptop, tablet, or smart phone. The difference is, I'm on a gem mount, so I can take 300 second images without any field rotation inside each sub exposure - something I doubt the eVscope's software can counteract. I can also swap out cameras, filters, and optics for different 'campaigns'. The trade-off is more flexibility for less portability.

[@fnersch3367]

This telescope was designed with sensitivity in mind hence the IMX224 chip.

[@OldJong]

The first time I heard about this thing, I thought it would be cheaper to just look at pictures on the internet!.. Looking into that thing is only that!...Looking at pictures!

[@ManuelSolanoCastro]

Thanks for the information. I was wondering what do you think about the Hiuni telescope. It is a new campaign in Kickstarter. It seems good but I don’t have your knowledge. So I was wondering if it is worth to back it

[@I_Spaced_Out]

In my opinion base on what I have learned about the Huini scope, it's actually worse. The eVscope will at least allow you to use an eyepiece somehow, where the Huini won't. Also, I believe that Huini will cost more than the eVscope. Both of these cost more than an eVscope / Huini DIY telescope that can be pieced together for around $1500, and does everything and more that these two claim to do. I'm hesitant to call these things telescopes now, and instead, I think they can be more accurately described as extreme zoom cameras.

[@WideOpenChange]

Not being able to look at the nearby planets or moon killed it for me.

[@Tommyr]

The scope has never been touted as a planetary scope. It's for deep sky objects.

[@lawrence8299]

How do you know they're going to use parabolic mirror? If it's parabolic it's good, they could use cheaper spherical.

[@I_Spaced_Out]

I'm really hoping that they're using a parabolic mirror. For the price point they better...Right?

[@fnersch3367]

@@I_Spaced_Out - they don't need a parabolic mirror in this application (224 chip & focal length (18 in.)).

[@jefflucas_life]

I will buy it and mount as my finder scope on my OTAs. I wonder if I can take the image view and port to my 4K.

[@jefflucas_life]

ok at 8:13 the train jumped the track @ $300,

[@I_Spaced_Out]

That's what I'm saying. The actual camera and live stacking software can be had for $300 - and used with any scope. I didn't even think about it when pricing out the comparable system, but an Orion 8" @ F4 could be bought, and placed on the Celestron AVX for $499, and that would actually bring the cost of my alternative system down by another $200! The FOV would change considerably, and forget about portability.

[@72daystar]

It's not appealing because you're not really looking at the object. You're looking at a computer processed image. This is a way of bypassing amateur astronomy to automated astrophotography.

[@MikeViker]

Exactly, this makes astrophotography accessible to anyone and I don't mean budgetary only (with time), but cognitively accessible. Is the ETX90 of the 2020's. Eventually there will be the 6", 8", 10", 12" models able to do IR, UV, Ha, OIII, SII or whatever you want in real time.

[@72daystar]

@@MikeViker Fair enough, but what bothers me is marketing it as a telescope when it's an automated astrophotography camera.

[@MikeViker]

@@72daystar indeed, is an astrograph and the images can be saved to process a further more.

[@mousevision661]

Thanks for talking me out of this impulse buy

[@I_Spaced_Out]

I think it's best to wait and see what it really can do after it's released. But if I could have saved you a few thousand dollars on what may end up being a disappointment, then it's been worth all the negative feedback I've received. And if it's really everything it is supposed to be, I'll be the first to post an update video admitting I was wrong.

[@jameshunsucker7373]

Fair overview. Now to see what the actual product will be like...

[@I_Spaced_Out]

I think that the product will be exactly as is promised. An ultra portable, no-hassle setup telescope that will show you faint DSO objects in the digital eyepiece. I do not think it will do anything more than that. I've seen others say you can use a regular eyepiece, but that would require a mirror, and collimation, and I doubt it will actually be available or easy to do. I do not think that this will do deep sky astrophotography as others have said, mainly because it is on an Alt/Az mount, and there is the issue of field rotation during long subs (each frame would blur during acquisition). I am still skeptical that this telescope will be widely used in a networked campaign mode as touted by the makers. Unistellar is not in control of that, however, those of us who buy one will ultimately determine how many telescopes participate in each observation / data gathering campaign.

[@ralph9563]

James Hunsucker Any Telescope can view the planets and moon. EVscope is for deep space objects that are too faint to see.

[@jameshunsucker7373]

Soundwave1 that's why I only photograph (because seeing can't compare). Plus I like showing people what I've seen. But for astro groups and causal viewing, this might be an interesting tool.

[@ralph9563]

James Hunsucker They said the eVscope could be used in a light polluted city because it has built in enhanced vision to compensate for light pollution problems. So this new eVscope makes astronomy more interactive more portable and easier for the user.

[@astroplutonium]

If you are willing to wait another year....

[@fnersch3367]

A few days ago I read that Unistellar sold out to some obscure French tech company. I wonder if this is bye-bye for the eVscope. Only a few people have ever been able to use one. This product has been in development for 5 years and is still mysterious.

[@I_Spaced_Out]

Do you have a source? Provide a credible URL or it didn't happen.

[@fnersch3367]

@@I_Spaced_Out Correct. When I can muster it, I'll post.

[@fnersch3367]

@David - The CSO of Unistellar said no. They are a "for profit" company which is still owned by the original people and were producing product before Covid-19. I have an eVscope and love it. Last night I looked at 11th & 12th magnitude galaxies near downtown LA in Bortle 9.5 skies and wowed a bunch of people.

[@StormsandSaugeye]

@@fnersch3367 You seem to be unable to distinguish what they were. BTW a 76 mm telescope does much better under 8.5 and "9.5" skies. So that's 50 bucks doing better than a 3000 scope. An addition of a 13 dollar holder and a cell phone with a 10 second exposure does better.

[@fnersch3367]

@@StormsandSaugeye - I have been involved in this hobby now for 61 years and have owned dozens of telescopes over the decades. I delighted 300 children (and stunned their parents) the other night at one of our school outreaches with the eVscope. With this scope spiral galaxies, planetary nebulae, and numerous other types of objects were picked out of the murk in Bortle 9 skies and gibbous moon. In several minutes I had some of the kids operating the scope themselves. There is no doubt to me that this is the best scope I have ever owned, bar none. Instruments like this will predominate the hobby in the future. This experience says all. What you say is totally a non issue.

[@fnersch3367]

When I read this I was convinced that this will be a great addition to my collection of telescopes: "I have seen a prototype in action. It works spectacularly well. The colors in planetary nebulas are superior to scopes 150X larger area!" -Gene Cross (he saw a demo in SF). Gene is a high level professional optical engineer that I personally know. I can trust his judgment. I've been collecting and using telescopes for nearly 60 years. This will be a nice addition. BTW, the Sony IMX224LQR (NIR) is well matched to the optics and has good sensitivity. On reproductions I've spotted stars down to 15.6 mag. Not bad for a 4.5" system (and OLED).

[@epsilonthepokemaniac]

fnersch Thanks for the comment. May convince me to add this telescope to my collection.

[@gl3906]

clear and well-founded review (well, based on a few specs....); thank you, thumbs up!

[@I_Spaced_Out]

Two years ago, I couldn't go as indepth as Tunderf00t did. It was just too new and too little was available on it. I'm glad he did his video, I was getting nervous being the only one on YT saying that something felt off.

[@vvmmuu]

FOR 2017 .....WELLLLL DONE!!

[@johngleason6472]

You might want to read the latest FAQ's and comments on the Kickstarter site for this product. You are absolutely correct, you are not the customer for this telescope. Engaging the general public and beginners with an all in one instrument where you can actually see something seems to be their goal. You don't need to buy all those extra eyepieces and accessories. So what if it's $2000? They will sell a shipload of them and you can bet that retailers will be clamoring to get it into their stores.

[@jrwill58]

Yes, its a well known fact that kickstarter campaigns always tell 100% of the truth ! They only want your money upfront before they have even built one of these. They have no motivation to stretch the truth in order to get your money....do they ? If this was as they advertised, it would be a monumental breakthrough on astrophotography/astronomy engineering . Did they discover a new element to build the next lever Fluorite ED lens or maybe its alien (as in UFO not ILLEGAL alien) technology ? I think most people familiar with telescopes will be disappointed and those who aren't familiar with Telescopes might play with it for awhile and then one day it will end up in storage because it doesn't deliver. Convenience ? Whether its coffee or Telescopes, if it doesn't deliver, people wont keep paying for Starbucks if it tastes like $hit...same goes for the miracle scope. Im gonna wait for the real reviews.

[@astroplutonium]

Yeah right... i have pro and amateur equipment for over 10k usd at my childrens disposal and you think i am going to fork out 2-2500 USD for a fancy gimmick. You and them are highly mistaken. Also mistaken if you think that kids have 2500USD to waste for 5 minnute hobby..... (most dont have patience for more). OR that their parents will pay 2500 USD so the kids can see photos of the sky.... They will sell to those that have too much to spend and then rotate in used markets... I guess everything, however unnecessary it is, has a buyer these days.

[@fnersch3367]

Thunderf00t's ignorance is in the purpose of the eVscope and why is was developed in the first place. He couldn't figure it out. The 100x issue utterly flummoxed him. A good test is to study the product on the Unistellar site and figure out what they are driving at. The principles behind this are actually quite simple. BTW this is how it works: The eVscope is equipped with a sensor located at the prime focus of the telescope. The sensor is a CMOS low-light detector IMX224 (1/3-type, 1.27 megapixels, 12-bit, up to 60 fps) produced by Sony and characterized by a gain amplifier of up to 72 dB and a low-read noise of less than 1 e-which allows us to record multiple frames with an exposure time between 1 ms and 4s. An on-board computer stacks and processes those frames (dark and background removal, shift-adding and stacking) to produce an improved image which is projected in real time through the electronic eyepiece. Each individual frame is stored in the telescope and can be accessed in 12-bit TIFF format by the user for posteriori data processing and analysis. The projection system consists of an OLED display of extremely high-contrast plus an optical setup designed to mimic observations of the dark sky, providing the same experience and comfort as a classical eyepiece. Last night I used the eVscope to look at 11th & 12th mag galaxies from downtown LA in Bortle 8.5 skies. People were blown away by its capability. M42 was in glorious color.

[@StormsandSaugeye]

And as we saw it sucked. next

[@I_Spaced_Out]

Suckage is subjective. This may be the next best thing since sliced bread for someone who needs a quick scope for public outreach that can actually show faint fuzzy objects to the uninitiated public.

[@fnersch3367]

This scope (in several prototypes) has been in the field for two and half years on 4 continents. Beta testers have been field testing the final production model for three months. The eVscope has been endorsed by many high level people from various institutions. Almost $6 million was raised in 2 crowd funding campaigns. Not bad for an obscure start-up. The original investors (including me) pressed the engineers to create a better product, hence the 18 month delay. Believe me, this was a wise decision on their part. The scope should be available to the general public by June of 2020. It's too bad that the eVscope has garnered so much controversy. The product consists of proven technology, time tested. The only thing new here are the algorithms created by Unistellar. Just yesterday the SETI Institute just received a shipment of eVscopes. Bill Diamond (CEO, SETI Inst.) was shown opening his "Christmas Present" a day early! They are starting to arrive. Phil

[@Macjohn1419]

I suspect the scope has stock images in its computer and projects them through the eyepiece. I’ve owned telescopes years ago and they couldn’t do what this thing claims.

[@I_Spaced_Out]

To be completely fair, you also didn't have these "revolutionary" live stacking algorithms they built into the scopes software.

[@TheUnknowncaller12]

Dude not everybody has the patience to learn Astro photography. There’s all different types of people bro. You seem like a very intelligent , and probably very patient man. Astro photography is an art form. I added the eVscope equinox To my already pretty large allotment of telescopes. As it stands right now I have 2 8 inch CST’s One of them is A MEADE LX 200 ( GPS model ) a late model Celestron nextar SE 8 , and finally A 12 inch Light-bridge plus. The first two are obviously alt Az Go to mount’s , And Of course after you get the hang of it’s not as hard to star align them , But at the beginning when I first got Them I figured it would be turned it on point it at the sky and The GPS I have on both now add on feature with a Celestron would literally know where it was and I could begin observing relatively quickly. That’s not the case though Star alignments of at least two stars is required for any kind of accurate tracking. No the Unistellar product that I have the equinox which is essentially the original EV scope without the Eyepiece is ridiculous easy to set up and use. I could give my mother who has no experience at all in astronomy A five minute instruction and how The app works and they would have the scope oriented and A target picked out in under five minutes they be stacking images. To think that a kick starter telescope company came up with this easy of a solution for a go to Mount on the first try is such a huge backhand to Celestron in mMEADE Orion and any of the other companies. If I was a high-ranking employee and one of the big three telescope companies I would be buying Unistellar just for their software and Linux computer set up. It makes a mockery of Celestron in mMEADE and Orion etc. and they still haven’t caught up even Swiss trans starsense add on isn’t it is accurate as the equinox it literally puts the Target directly in the middle of the screen every single time I’ve used it in the last week since I’ve had it after you oriented it is perfect slowing to a target you can’t get anywhere near that with any of the other companies telescopes. Now I understand that the Imgur is about $200 and the telescope will probably be in the $150-$200 range if you bought it by itself but the computer and the software and the app makes this thing worth it to me. Like I said if I own one of those other companies I would buy their stock up if they have it or offer the owner of Unistellar big money for their software you should try it it’s amazing. I agree with you the tech specs on the telescope itself our entry level deep sky Astro photography level numbers and even the EV scope two is not much of an update still using the same exact tube just a 7.7 megapixel camera instead of the original 1.2 that they upscale to 4.8 now through software on the original scopes and that things five grand but for two grand the scope is definitely worth the money just for learning the ropes and the ease of use anybody can use this thing you could have one operator and 10 people logged in to your telescope watching as long as you have Wi-Fi range you could sit in your house and eat dinner and just watch your tablet every once in a while and it will continue to stack as long as you want it to. I think it’s a very good product it’s not a gimmick. Yeah you could build a Serious kit for three grand but it wouldn’t be as easy to use that’s for sure and that’s more important to me in the state of my hobby.

[@I_Spaced_Out]

Wow! You really are pressed over a video that's 5 years old, and was put out like 2 and a half years before the EVScope was even actually launched to the public... When I made this video, there were a LOT of promises being made about the EVScope - and nothing really to back it up aside from high production value marketing material. But go on...

[@brunet181]

Lol, I've been doing this for 2 years, and others for 4-5 years, its called EAA. Not worth it, you can build a better EAA scope with 2 grands by yourself.

[@brunet181]

PLUS the 224 chipset wont see coma, its imaging surface is small enough to discard any coma problems.

[@I_Spaced_Out]

Awesome news about the 224 being small enough to avoid the coma. Also I 100000% agree about building a comparable, possibly superior setup for a similar price! Thanks for dropping by and giving your perspective! hope to see more of you around :)

[@brunet181]

Well the truth is a 114mm newtonian on alt az can be bought for 250 US. An ASI224 (6.4mm diagonal if I remember)chip which is based this sony sensor (That I used to own by the way) is about 300 US. Throw in some control wires and a 400$ laptop and a 20$ sharpcap pro liscence you just got a more custom and cheaper setup. 1000 USD for more flexibility and control. Might be considered ''less integrated'' but not less portable. If you would use the actual 2 grand, you could get an 8 inch nextar 8SE on alt az and a ASI 385 ( whcih is as sensitve than the 224 exept its a 1080p chip unlike the 224 which is lacking in resolution IMO). You would still have change left for a laptop and cables. Much more potent setup and you could afford a barlow for planetary and have an even MORE flexibile system. If people want to know what to expect from an EAA short exposure setup visit my FB page. facebook.com/hugo.brunet.10?ref=bookmarks OR even better visit the Night Skies Network Facebook page facebook.com/groups/nightskiesnetwork/ I can tell you, some long time astrophotographers at my club rave on the fact I can produce as good images of the sky as them in less than 5 minutes in live.

[@fnersch3367]

People seem to like this. Thru two fundraising campaigns we have raised $6,000,000 (originally we wanted and needed $150,000). The product was delayed about 8 months for industrial reasons and some tech improvements. This has been demoed on three continents at dozens of cities. What's new here is the AFD & networking algorithms. All hardware is proven and low cost technology.

[@I_Spaced_Out]

These demonstrations in dozens of cities have happened over the past year, but only after this video (and others) was made as a critique on the original specifications of the telescope right after eVscope was kick-started for the first time. As a skeptic of the telescope, I wonder if the delays for improvements were a response to critics such as myself to improve upon the shortcomings we have been pointing out. If that is the case, the I applaud the engineers for listening to the community, and making this a better product at launch.

[@fnersch3367]

@@I_Spaced_Out - you are right. This telescope was delayed about 18 months because the Unistellar team listened to us as to inputs to improve the product. The final product went into beta testing (again worldwide) in September. Those of us who were early investors should be getting our scopes in January. There is a $224 Trump Tax added to the $3000 price tag (made in China). As the product was improved the price went up as I had suspected all along. This scope is a totally optimized instrument hence the IMX224 chip for the sensor and the OLED output for the eyepiece. This is first and foremost a visual telescope designed for sensitivity not resolution. Its resolution is 1.7 arc sec.

[@ScopesNC]

You can observe the moon and the sun . You can not find a set up that is this easy to work. While you can spend less and do more or just as much you will not have an easy time nor as fast a time setting up any type imaging rig. I know I have had it all. Large observatory and small travel set ups. this is ideal for small travel set up and is a very fast set up also. For the size and weight it is a good little set up. You don't spend any of the time wasted on polar alignment or trying to get your guide scope and camera to track right. Nope all you do is plop this little rig down point at the open sky and off you go. There is not much to knock on this little scope. It can do a lot of simple things very well and as long as you know what the limitations are you can have a good time with it. When you do a lot of traveling with a 5th wheel camper space is a important thing. This scope doesn't take up any and that counts for a lot when your out there camping. The built in 12 hour battery time alone is far and above any other small set up . Know the limitation's like I said and have a good time with it. It is so very easy to do.

[@ralph9563]

I captured Pluto and a ton of deep sky objects from my rooftop with the eVscope from Bortle 9 NYC. No longer need to drive hours to a dark site

[@alainmaury5941]

Does not seem to be a newtonian telescope, the eyepiece is at the bottom of the tube. More like a Nasmyth. Still I don't see it on sale anywhere.

[@alainmaury5941]

OK it's not a newtonian, looked at their web page, it's a prime focus telescope. The sensor is on the optical axis behind the spider.

[@I_Spaced_Out]

Ahh, that wasn't clear to me. I assumed the sensor was in the traditional Newtonian spot, but the digital eyepiece (which can be located anywhere, really, even on the tripod) was placed in the rear. Thanks for the update and clarification on this design, Alain!

[@davewilco822]

It's A busted scam

[@I_Spaced_Out]

2 years later, I feel relieved to have another voice in my corner saying that something just wasn't right about this telescope. Scam is a heavy word to throw around though. Until they can be verified to be nothing more than vaporware, I'm still saying it's all hype, not a scam. I also stand behind my message that this will be an underutilized telescope.

[@u2bst1nks]

I agree, calling it a scam is too much. It's an overpriced unitasker.

[@gregandkaruna6674]

@@I_Spaced_Out Do not think Thunderf00t called it a scam. Just it will never live up to the hype.

[@astrodiver8096]

They are using adpative vision technology so it will reduce the atmosphere effects on the image..

[@I_Spaced_Out]

Not exactly true. There is no technology incorporated in this telescope that counteracts atmospheric scintillation. The blurring effects of the atmosphere is still present in each of the sub exposures taken - but the stacking process will average out the seeing over time. The atmosphere will still impact the image and very bad seeing conditions will still show up as a blurry view in the digital eyepiece when compared to very good seeing conditions.

[@maxmyzer9172]

realtime image stacking isn't new, the Google Pixel 1 had it

[@I_Spaced_Out]

This video isn't new, either....

[@archerychampion]

Comments from a visual astronomer, based on approximate locations of the video. 0:22 If you're "not sure what is is that they're claiming it can do", then take another close look at their videos, and examine their scope's specs again in detail. It is not touted as revolutionizing astrophotography or astroimaging. The sensor is way too small to even THINK about competing with current CCD sensors designed for astrophotography, or even DSLR camera astrophotography. It will, I believe, broaden the general public's interest in amateur astronomy (visual astronomy), for sure. 2:10 In addition to taking the unit camping, this will be an ideal scope to use when performing "Sidewalk Astronomy" (à la John Dobson). Set it up in a suburban location at a mall or city center, and invite the public to view M13 or M57! 2:28 There are working models "out there" that they've been using in announced demos in the US and abroad. In 2018, I'm sure there will be many "beta testers" putting the scope through its paces before they ramp up final production. 3:05. Objects don't "just materialize out of nowhere", as you can see stars through the instrument even when the stacking feature is not activated. 3:46 This IS indeed a single task device. I am a visual astronomer, and the eVscope looks like it will be a great addition to the market of other, "unitasker" telescopes already being purchased by amateur astronomers today. I get the sense that you prefer that it should be an astrograph, but it is not. If you want to take photos, do NOT purchase this telescope. The images it DOES save are much too small for anything other than low-res imaging on a computer screen or cell pone. The manufacturers are not claiming this to be anything competitive to today's large-chip CCD or DSLR-compatible telescopes. Our club has a 5" Apochromat for photography and a 20" Newtonian for visual work. The eVscope might compete with the 20", since users can't see the central star in M57, or see anything in color for that matter on the big scope. Or it might just be a solid addition to the 20" scope when we do our scheduled public viewing nights. The line for the big scope stretches far from the building; with the addition of the eVscope, we'll be able to have more people look through telescopes in the same unit of time. 4:18 The manufacturer states that there is field rotation correction built in to the software. Again, this is a visual scope, not an astrograph, and the outputted image size is very small, so I can't see how anyone would buy this to perform "real astrophotography". 4:35. Regarding coma, I'll bet that the size of the image chip is smaller than the virtual image by a large enough factor, so that coma correction becomes a non-issue. 5:00 This is NOT a narrow-band imager. It is not an instrument for astrophotography in the normal sense of the word. It is a visual telescope that can take some low res pics to share with your friends on a mobile device. 6:13. Regarding Campaign mode, it is my understanding that in campaign mode, your phone receives a request to view a specific view of the sky, and is sent coordinates. Once you are by your scope, and only at your discretion, you transmit the coordinates to the telescope and it does its business. There is no need for the scope to be available 24 hrs a day as some kind of remotely attended/operated instrument. It's all about the user deciding to participate at a time and location convenient to them. The "campaign version" is a purchase option, as well. You don't even need to buy it with that capability. 8:30 The eVscope IS a lousy imaging scope. The eVscope is NOT for people who want to do imaging! It will be a great addition for amateur astronomy clubs and those members who particularly enjoy public outreach. Personally, I don't see bringing it to star parties; I'd be worried that the OLED screen brightness would ruin dark-adapted eyes. Color or not, there will likely NEVER be an eVscope that will provide the thrill of looking through a 15" Obsession with Televue Ethos eyepieces. THAT's what I'd bring to the party! 10:15 The case against planetary viewing is not in the magnification, as Saturn at 100x is a beautiful sight, but it is in the bright albedo of planets, in general and the blooming effect such a bright object has on the small sensor. With our club's AstroVid CCD camera, you need to dial back the shutter to 1/1000 of a second to bring the light levels down in order to see any detail. The eVscope doesn't seem to have that ability. I foresee building an aperture mask to bring the f/ ratio down to f/11 or so, and maybe that might permit viewing of Jupiter's cloud bands for example. Of course, I won't know until I try, but maybe such a mask might permit planetary viewing. Maybe a small enough mask would "force" the system to actually accumulate frames, in order to easily see detail on Jupiter or Saturn. Maybe an f/128 mask? I can't wait to try! Keep the videos coming (I've subscribed). This one offers great commentary on a new device.

[@I_Spaced_Out]

Wow! I want to make more videos just so you can opine on them like you did this! Awesome counterpoints across the board! Really, I think my opinions are valid, but you have clearly brought up so many corrections to my ineffective research, and other points of view, that maybe I should do have two videos? One highlighting all the ways it's useful and another highlighting all the pitfalls someone might want to consider (which I tried to do in this video)? Thanks again for such a thorough critique of my critique! *internet high-five*

[@archerychampion]

You're being to harsh on yourself. Well done video, with a natural bias, sure. But your opinions were well made and justified. I'm a huge skeptic by nature as well, but try to look at both sides of the issues. BTW I am in total awe of the astrophotographers in our club. Their patience and persistence results in the most beautiful images I've seen. They make it seem so easy to do. Not my favorite way to spend a night of astronomy, but wow, their results are (dare I say?) stellar! 10 years ago, maybe 5% of our members were imagers, and 95% were visual astronomers. Back then, though, imaging was expensive. And we only had the big 20" visual scope at the observatory. Today, about 20% are imagers, and we've added a beautiful apo refractor outfitted for imaging. As a result, the observatory is used about 5x as much! Send me a video link any time you'd like a review! It would be an honor! When my eVscope arrives, you can bet I'll put it through its paces with a hyper critical eye. If it works as well as expected (as a visual scope!), it might actually be something we should consider for our Library Telescope program. We donate tabletop-sized Dobs to area libraries for them to loan out to the public.

[@brandonporter4227]

I've chosen to back this project as well, and did so for far less than $2000. That's just what they're saying retail price would be, but you can get one from the Kickstarter for less than that. I looked at it from the perspective of a member of an astronomy club that holds numerous public events and as a parent of a young child. I'm often being asked by people what they should be seeing or being told they don't see anything. This scope certainly isn't meant for astrophotography or video astronomy. It does exactly what their Kickstarter campaign says it will do and has been demonstrated around the world with a functional prototype. The problem is people THINK it should do something else that it's just not capable of and never claimed to be. When it doesn't meet those unreal expectations, that's when people say it's hype. If you want this for astrophotography or video astronomy, keep moving and go buy a better set of equipment. If you want this for visual astronomy or to accompany your other visual gear, this is perfect. I think this will pair nicely with my 12" dob and the other visual scopes our club members have and will provide some great views.

[@johngleason6472]

I totally agree with you on your points. The eVscope is not being "hyped" as an astro-imaging package. And even though my set of narrow-band filters cost 4X the $2000 MSRP of the eVscope, I'll get one to share the sky with family and friends, students and anyone else who wants to take a look.

[@I_Spaced_Out]

+Brandon Porter to be clear now, because I wasn't very clear in my video, the hype is around the campaign mode, and the live stacking. I still think that an overwhelming majority of the scores purchased won't be contributors to the SETI Institute. Additionally, the Revolution Imager already does this with and telescope, so their slogan "finally, you will see" is misleading, because you can see now for about 15% the price, and without waiting a year for the telescopes to ship.

[@sciencebeartimberwoods7610]

Quality commentary! Good job!

[@johncipolletti6139]

Scopes like this use a new software called the stacking method. This allows a build up of the image. This scope is NOT for great immediate observing. The software is suppose to allow an azimuth-altitude mount to work over many minutes of imaging. Instead of talking, he should have tried the real scope.

[@I_Spaced_Out]

If you looked at the date this video was uploaded, the scope wouldn't be available to anyone for testing for another year, and wouldn't be released for a further year after that. The telescope works the way it does today because of videos like mine pointing out issues that would come up, and the developers actually delayed the launch of the product to address them frst. Thanks for playing.

[@richardscott28]

Very informative. Thank you very much.

[@dilipsharan8699]

Totally agree with the comments in this piece. I own an Altair Astro GPCAM2 with an IMX224C sensor and can get reasonable images of deep sky objects with 10 second exposures using the SharpCap software live stacking video mode and my cheap and cheerful Star Travel 120 mm refractor.

[@GarnettLeary]

That’s a good point but back to SETI. Back to how this instrument shows you images in real time. It has all the characteristics of that one scope that will reach millions. I love the idea. Original no. Revolutionary in application yes.

[@dilipsharan8699]

The instrument you mention is a standard Newtonian Reflector with frankly rather limited aperture (114 mm) and a fairly ordinary Alt-Az GoTo computerized mount. You could put that together for less than £600. If you marry that with a $25 phone app such as Sky Safari, a GPCAM2 astronomy video camera and a fairly basic laptop it can do everything eVscope does and far cheaper. The only innovation here is replacing a standard eyepiece with an electronic eyepiece built around a sony IMX224C imaging chip and a small LCD screen. And frankly I believe that there are other electronic eyepieces available out there. See the link below to a video about the "Sky-watcher AZ-GTi WiFi Go-To mount and telescope" at kzbin.info/www/bejne/eorVeGZoaL9nlbc and the link to the AltairAstro GPCAM2 camera at www.altairastro.com/Altair-GPCAMV2-IMX224-Colour-Guide-Planetary-Camera.html

[@I_Spaced_Out]

+Garnett Leary - I would love to see Unistellar release an app for PC/Macintosh/Smart Phone that would work with any telescope to allow the same data acquisition and sharing back to SETI and other research bodies like Universities and the MPC. If you think that this telescope alone could reach millions of people, immagine how much wider reach the telescope along with a standalone program could reach! I would use the app - and wouldn't need to buy the eVscope!

[@astroplutonium]

Why pay over 2000USD so i can give the info to SETI? Why shouldnt it be included in the deal that everyone has access to this shared data though an associated app/PC software if they own this scope? Now THAT would be a selling argument...

[@stefanblomskog7226]

Thanks for the info, very helpful!

[@billwied816]

I previously listened to the video you referenced and it reminds me of the same feedback of the RC plane hobbyists who derided the coming generation of integrated and easy to use drone technology. The complaints were very similar, namely: 1) There is nothing new here. 2) These are cheap toys. 3) Users of this don’t really appreciate the hobby because it is too easy and they are not struggling to integrate different technologies together like I did. I’ve participated in amateur astronomy for multiple years with goto scopes and integrated cameras. The main difference with this scope to my others is: 1) Ease of use: It is extremely quick and easy to use. It takes me five minutes to unpack, align, and target an object in the sky. 2) Integrated: I don’t have to put together a scope, camera, laptop, cabling, power, stacking software, and other technologies to view a DSO. It is all in one. 3) Immediate satisfaction: I can view these objects immediately in the field versus having to go back to my computer and stack images or make complicated adjustments through my laptop. 4) It simply works: The align and goto features are much quicker and more consistent than my Celestron. I rarely have to center or slew to the object I’m seeking. It is just works. The tracking is smooth, quiet, and keeps the object centered. Truths - Aperture size: True this is only a 4.5” scope, however this makes the scope light and easy to carry into the field. - Planetary viewing: This scope is not for planetary viewing, but rather DSO viewing. - First release product: This is a first generation product and has some issues with the app, however it was a solid first release and they have already updated the app several times. - Price: $3000 is very expensive for the market they are going after and they will need to reduce the price over time to grow. Other factors: - Community / citizen science campaign capability is intriguing and (in my mind) the future of astronomy. The ability to get many hundreds or thousands of people sharing their views will not only increase interest in astronomy, but also the quality. - Cool factor: The biggest challenge with astronomy today it is expensive, difficult, and dominated by older men like myself and therefore not cool. I am a Boy Scout leader and astronomy merit badge counselor and I have brought my eVscope out to multiple campouts and have gotten consistent “oohs and ahhs” from youths and adults. This is something I’ve struggled with my other scopes purely due to the challenges above. I encourage everyone to open theirs minds and allow some new entrants into the market and I believe it will help grow the hobby we all love and enjoy. Cheers and Clear Skies, Bill

[@cyc996863]

If you don't need to impress anyone nor you are not a scientist, you don't need this?

[@I_Spaced_Out]

You very well might need this telescope! Imagine if you had a child fascinated with space - this telescope might actually be the perfect solution.

[@christie4322]

Well done mr mitchell. You seen through the BS long before Thunderf00t.

[@I_Spaced_Out]

It's not hard to see BS. It just takes a little bit of rational thinking.

[@magicker8052]

apparently they want $2,999.00 USD for this??

[@zeynaamazonlu7978]

Thanx for a great review..i was at first very exited abt the eVscope although i doubt i could afford one,yep very high tech yet gimmicky @ the same time. İm at the process of getting my first telescope thats daunting enough as it is.. think ill stick to what i know "even if a little " and eventually get the ol eye piece used in real time viewing as opposed to viewing stacked images thanx 🐴

[@astroplutonium]

AVX, RevImage and Scope is a better and more flexible system that costs 1400 dollars less than the Unistellar.... easy buy.

[@I_Spaced_Out]

Yeah, and there are even more choices that you can buy for different tasks in addition to the AVX + 6" SCT and still come in way under $3000.

[@xiaoyu88]

Thank you so much.

[@chrisschmidt4046]

This review is such a crock. It wasn't even released when you did this video and you have no idea what you're talking about it. How about now getting a scope and comparing it to your original thoughts. Instead of just leaving this one up bashing what you have no idea about.

[@I_Spaced_Out]

Yeah, how about no. This wasn't a review. I never claimed it was a review. This was a critique of the Kickstarter campaign, and their original promise of what they would deliver, as well as a comparison of what a comparable imaging system would be if you were to piece one together. We now know, thanks to the record of this video, the eVscope delivered MORE than what was promised. If you think I was bashing the eVscope after watching this video, you're mistaken because you're looking for the fight. You must have missed the part about me giving my conclusions about why this would be a good tool for clubs to use at outreach events. That's understandable if you didn't actually watch the video.

[@zaicevnn]

Ребята успехов вам! Это революционная идея! Это переворот в любительских астронаблюдениях!

[@palomarjack7090]

Hit or Hype? Neither, "junk". kzbin.info/www/bejne/nJ6lnKKDd7F-Z6s As far as star parties, almost every visitor that looked through my 8" f/6 and also at the image displayed from a cold camera setup was intrigued by both for different reasons. The image was bright and beautiful with the imaging system, but mine was real time and equally satisfied their curiosity in it's own way.

[@pers12an]

Well Done!

[@masterwoo4359]

its 115 millimeters not 140

[@astroclass9168]

Let’s forget about all the fancy razzle-dazzle image processing electronics and think about the physics of light for a moment. All of astronomy is aperture-driven. The larger the mirror the greater the sharpness and light collecting power. A 4.5-inch mirrors is anemic for any kind of deep sky viewing. Period. OK, so the sensor and imaging software goes gangbusters amplifying the image. But the tiny telescope can never yield the sharpness of a larger aperture. At its whopping cost of $2,000, you can but an 8-inch aperture telescope for half the cost. Also, the Unistellar advertisements show images from massive professional telescopes, implying that that’s why you’ll see. This is dishonest. Finally, the romance of amateur astronomy is seeing and object with your own eye - not on an OLED screen. If I want to see cool colorful digital images of space all if have to do is go to the Hubble Space Telescope website.

[@hacksesh]

Good review, Interesting scope

[@khalilhusrin2557]

I hope they do simulation in a dark room where this telescope will be point towards an object that have faint light similar to deepsky object. This telescope should be able to enhance the object details accurately in matter of seconds by stacking images through processing chip. If it cant do that, most likely the processor use already stored images from the database

[@I_Spaced_Out]

It's had been demonstrated as working correctly in person to a few people I know and trust. The live stacking works as advertised.

[@chrisvig123]

Hype😯

[@astroplutonium]

Ok let me sum this up: No upgradable sensor Magic software that will enhance 100x whatever the whole world is using. (noone has explained what the magic is, just a random 100x better results) 8kg weight with tripod. We all know that a little draft will mean no good pictures. Alt-Az means no propper eq tracking. With all that this means. No filter posibilities. And with a price of over 2000 USD. Had this been 900-1200 USD for what it offers it would be a good alternative to a grab and go but this thing is not an AP equipment. It will most likely have high res photos stored inside that will use to enhance whatever RT view you have because lets face it : The sky never changes (or har minor changes comparing to the data you are capturing as asteroids etc.). But for that price no. Just no. You can get a proper system for the same or less so why spend that amount for a handicaped AP system? For the SETI community feature? We call it astronomy forums and they have existed since the start of the internet... I totally agree with Mitchell. This scope is the iphone of cellphones... overpriced and shiny but lower functions/performance than the competition. I guess it has a purpose in todays society for those people that do not want to fiddle with too many cables and equipment. I think if people wait a little, those isntruments will soon rotate by the hundreds on used markets...

[@organisationoffreenations130]

Hype

[@Weissman111]

$3000 for this piece of junk?

[@michaelbardeleben4519]

Cool! Now amateur astronomers can point to all the supposed Apollo lunar landing sites and confirm once and for all that there is nothing there besides natural moonscape dust! Bring it on!

[@rocket9244]

what a scam

[@hughmongus1233]

sheDscope (shEE-dEE-Scope...ShittyScope!)

[@gregandkaruna6674]

Order now for June delivery only US$3282 lol

[@flip8109]

10 000$...💀 with this Money i can build my own Rocket and do a live video with my smartphone over the Pluto 💁🏻‍♂️

[@Vegasman77704]

You got no vision very sad your always gonna be limited to tech you know 😂

[@I_Spaced_Out]

I'd much rather be limited **to** all the different kinds of tech that I know instead of being limited **by** the one piece of tech I own. I think that this product, if it ever launches will be great for astronomy clubs doing public out reach. In fact, I believe it can revolutionize that aspect of the hobby. I even say this in the conclusion part of the video. However, in the year since I made this video less expensive, and much less 'specialized' alternatives have become available. Two such examples are using SharpCap or TheSkyX to do the exact same live EAA as the eVscope can do. I've done two live streams using EAA live stacking in TheSkyX so far and it works very well. I think that what the eVscope does as a technological platform is viable in our hobby. I just believe that the eVscope as a product is over hyped, and for the price tag it will under deliver. As stated in the video, it's 100% possible to get a similar performing setup for half the price. There is also the benefit of having the alternative setup be extensible for other use cases such as visual observations, different fields of view by using barlows/focal reducers or even an entirely different OTA / camera combination. The revolution imager is the same camera sensor as the eVscope - but different cameras could be used for alternative applications like solar imaging with an ASI174MM. These are limitations I foresee with the eVscope, and I don't like the idea of being limited **by** the one piece of tech I own.

[@fnersch3367]

@@I_Spaced_Out - not a problem for me as I own almost 100 telescopes of all kinds, one dating to 1753. Each type has its virtue. This makes it all the more fascinating.

[@deepspaceexplorer4265]

It's LAME

[@Vegasman77704]

Im just saying that I don't think you know enough about it to form opinion

[@briandenley]

All hype, major scam.

[@superiorbeing95]

It's a turdiscope!

[@luizsilva9991]

You spent 11 minutes talking about it and zero showing anything. Lame.

[@I_Spaced_Out]

The telescope still doesn't exist in the real world yet. Nothing to show!

[@mousevision661]

It doesn't exist yet. He was super clear and upfront about that. He even posted a timeline at the bottom of the video showing exactly what he was going to talk about and when. What more can you ask for?

[@alisadiq7595]

Thank you for this review... I would ask is the earth flat or sphere... I believe its sphere but many scientist prove that its flat.

[@KylesYTU]

Ali Sadiq what?

[@I_Spaced_Out]

+Kyle'sLab obviously a troll

[@Tommyr]

List the "scientists" that believe the Earth is flat. We'll wait.....