This is What a $4000 Automatic Telescope Can Do (Vaonis Stellina Review)

[@Richieguy10]

MUO, your initial feature description was fine but you missed the point completely in the second half. Stellina has a couple of specific target markets. First, there are those of us, like me, who love the idea of astrophotography but totally hate the utter faff of setting up the frankensteinian rigs necessary to match or surpass this piece of kit. It is the plug and play that attracts this market segment and is a positive not a negative to us. I remember well recently welcoming a friend as his telescope equipment to my garden for an evenings viewing of the heavens. We spent 45 minutes setting up his kit and faffing about getting ready doing everything that Stellina does automatically in minutes and all the time trying to fight off what felt like oncoming frostbite in my fingers. We spent less than a few minutes each with eyes to eyepiece while he fought with focus and alignment etc and then another period of frostbite fighting while we disassembled the rig for storage back in his car. With Stellina, I set it on the ground, turn it on and then retreat to my warm conservatory/car while I observe anything that takes my fancy or yes, even let it do its thing while I make tea and watch a film. Brilliant! It's horses for courses but to criticise it by saying it is not suitable for a market that it was never designed for is just daft. You also ignore the post processing of tiff subs that stellina makes readily available for those of us who wish to take advantage of the incredible full potential that stacking of raw images afford us, turning what you describe as 'not $4000 images' into incredible high-definition Astro images that easily match conventional kit of equal or more value but without all that conventional equipment's inherent faff and pain. As to cheaper equipment available to do the same thing, when you actually take into account all of the features of Stellina, in order to match its ability with conventional kit the price gap conciderably norrows or even disappears. It has its shortcomings for sure but I really believe that you totally missed the mark on your review.

[@stevepaterson2]

I couldn't agree with you more. I've been a keen visual astronomer all of my long years and for me the idea of the Stellina is a godsend. I started to build a Frankenstein astrophotography rig a couple of years and matched quite a bit of expensive equipment to get the job done. After two months of failed connections, error messages, various other niggles and things that just got in the way of enjoyment - I packed it all up and sold my equipment. I simply didn't have the time or interest to breathe life into Frankenstein! So I became a happy visual astronomer since then but always had the taste for astrophotography. Yes, Stellina is not cheap but it packs a lot of tech. Plonk it down, level tripod and turn it on. That's it. Behind the scenes it will use your phone's/tablet's GPS to work out where it is, then point to the sky looking at some stars and plate-solve (work out what the stars are) so as to know where it's pointing. It auto-focuses on the stars, finds the object you wish to photograph and stacks a series of images to build up the photo and minimise noise. It has a built-in dew heater and light-pollution filter and de-rotates the field of view to account for the object twisting as it goes across the sky. It finishes off sending the result to your phone/tablet. In other words, it does a lot. It's a bit like a cake. If I want a cake I'll go and buy one and it will be nice. Yes, if I made it myself then it might be better after a bit of practice but I don't have the time or interest there. But it doesn't stop me liking cake :) I ordered my Stellina last week and look forward to many adventures with it. Tracking the course of asteroids and comets certainly appeals.

[@kencur9690]

So basically it does all the work for you, and it takes photos for you. What’s the point of that, when scientists already take much better photos with much better equipment? I’m not being facetious, I’m honestly curious as I am into photography and astronomy. My combination of the two is usually using terrestrial objects and shooting stars, star trails, Milky Way, etc. Granted, it’s also been done and overdone with great photos on NG and astronomy mags, but it offers more creative outlets and a bit more originality, to my mind at least. I really can’t see the point of this on the other hand, but perhaps I’m not looking through the right telescope...

[@harrison00xXx]

Nope he is just honest! I saw stellina (and its images from fits files, not jpegs!), and any telescope between 4" and 11" mirrors at gatherings. I think the main point he missed (but also not completely!)... the "idiot proof" usage. But as much its true... you have to know what you do to get good images with basic, entry level gear for 300-1000$. I saw people with experience/skill and enough time invested, outperforming with a 500$ 6" newton telescope people with 3000$ 8"+ professional telescopes! Thats i think where stellina comes in handy: You just DONT need to KNOW ANYTHING.... and you get "good" images, as much the 80mm APO and sensor is capable of which is sadly inferior to even some super cheap childrens scopes! But on the other side we have to accept the fact: Also telescope mounts developed over the past years! many dobson like GoTo mounts are nearly as easy to use and setup as Stellina (just with other, and many different Apps and often on PC/Mac which ever App or OS you prefer!) Then there is just the processing left which should not be a real problem since its one of the key elements to increase image quality further by learning the postprocessing/editing! Just as example: Since i use Kstars, which controls basically EVERYTHING (included 1 click bias/dark frame creation in app) my more or less "manual" mount is now completely automated. Kstars have also a polar align assistant included, which is basically very fast done and damn easy to use And yeah, nobody is staying outside with the telescope in winter... i control everything except the focus (im not THAT lazy), dew heater and fans power from my cars interieur with a single USB cable. Also i dont have a clue how your friend and you took 50 minutes to set up a telescope.. must be the first time or still in learning process. ( i suggest fine tuning the polar scope if polar alignment is horrendous!) Im already, despite even doing it chilled within 20-30 minutes at worst done and ready to shoot with my 750mm newton on EQ3-2 GoTo mount. If i want to be quick im sure im doing it within 15 minutes but no stress needed for such a timeless and anyways time consuming hobby!

[@Stellastar20033]

Lol I did not know this about me.

[@passaroquetemasanaovoa]

Very well said

[@paulnovorolsky4990]

Get ready for all the "You can build a cheaper far superior system" comments Yes this is a true statement however this scope is not meant for the people who want to do that. considering this system has a mount, scope, camera, computer, battery, autofocus motor all included is huge in its own as many either don't want to or don't have the ability to properly find out all the components

[@SPQR-Z]

Great review and presented well. The good and the bad. I recently purchased the Vaonis Stellina and absolutely love it, warts and all. At 4K it sounds expensive but in reality when you add up everything it takes to match what this all in one, plug and play scope can do then it’s not as bad as you think. Anyone that’s ever bought a telescope knows that that is only the beginning point of spending. Triple the final costs not to mention years of perfecting the craft, lots of frustration and finally exiting the hobby for most people. Yes it’s a cheat. That’s the whole point. The hobby has been moving towards automation and tech for years. I have been doing this since the 80’s. I remember when the old timers used to say “these auto GoTo telescopes will ruin the hobby. Learn to read a StarChart and Star hop, get a planisphere...” etc, etc. How many Astronomy peeps these days even know what those things are lol. For better or worst these Robo Scopes are the future which is both exciting and sad

[@marzian424]

No they aren't the future just for less professional astrophotography

[@SPQR-Z]

Ah I was at a large Star party recently and there was a substantial number of people running EAA setups which are essentially a home built Stellina. EAA is definitely catching on. I agree that it will take a good long while before these types of automated robotic scopes get any where near the capability of a purpose built Astrophotography setup run by an experienced operator. I have way over $4000 into my Astrophotography setup and a substantial amount of hours invested in learning the craft. Yes I get much better results but its a substantial investment in time and money. Sometimes I want to simplify the process and enjoy not babysitting a Astrophotography telescope for 8 hours and then spend another 8 hours post processing the data. The Stellina does all the work. As time goes on more and more automation and technology will replace learned skills. The Astronomy hobby has changed drastically since I started in the Hobby in the 1980s.

[@MrSummitville]

Actually, ALL professional imaging is done with a robo-scope. The finding of the object, the tracking of the object, the imaging of the object is all done by a computer. And many portions of the post processing steps are done automatically by the computer.

[@capnrob97]

I have the Vespara coming tomorrow. One nagging thought I have in the back of my mind is this is dependent on the software running on a phone. If the company stops supporting that app, as newer versions of iOS come out it may not be a usable telescope if the software is not supported and incompatible with newer phone versions. Hopefully that scenerio doesn't happen and software support stays strong.

[@411sponge72]

That is a very good point. I didn't think about that. How are you liking it so far?

[@capnrob97]

@@411sponge72 I love it, have had out every clear evening since it arrived. I got the solar filter too and have been posting daily Sun pics on twitter, interesting to see the sunspots move every day as the Sun rotates. Made a nice mosaic of Andromeda too.

[@411sponge72]

@@capnrob97 That's awesome! I think I might be sold!! Clear skies my friend!!

[@TheQureshy]

The best review and very accurate one as well. Thank you.

[@inter-linked]

More importantly, in the NH, you don't have to freeze to death setting up, monitoring or diagnosing issues with a component rig ;-)

[@DronemanJoeRc]

Excellent, the vespera is just the same, very honest and Thanks for sharing my friend!!

[@gnair124]

So do you prefer film cameras over digital cameras? because its too easy to get the image from a digital camera? So can traditional scope make it easier to see through clouds and rainy period? I think the criticisms of this scope is invalid. I definitely do not want to spend two hours setting up the scope carrying a truck load of instruments, accessories, power supply, laptop, red light etc etc - and then to find clouds covering the sky! I will definitely get this one .. as soon as my wife agrees to it :)

[@MrSummitville]

I agree. This can still be called Astrophotography.

[@thanutz]

I have a traditional rig and one of these. Yes the traditional rig takes better pics and costs less for sure. As others mentioned you can still do visual viewing w the rig as well. I consider the stellina more of a smart camera. Its software is what makes it shine. You still have to do some leg work and know where and when your objects are going to be but if they are unobstructed it will find them. It’s a breeze to set up and the automatic stacking photos helps. It has an expert mode if you want to adjust the cameras settings. The plan my night feature is also nice. When certain targets don’t rise until odd hours of the morning you can set it up to shoot multiple targets throughout the night and you need not wake up to adjust anything. When it’s freezing outside I can control this thing from my office connected to a large flat screen tv or my phone inside my warm house without setting a foot outside so these things make it worth it for me.

[@cyberpred]

The difference for me is that I dont have to look through a eyepiece and sit for hours and hopefully get some pics. With Stellina I can and dont have to use an Eyepiece

[@thanutz]

Agree Cary it really is a good product regardless of what anyone says I know I enjoy mine!

[@MrSummitville]

This is yet another way to get raw files for post processing

[@jdaniels1949]

you nailed it - great review

[@ddavideo]

May I ask if the Stellina good for galaxies? Thank you.

[@sevenhart]

Overall a fair review, however there is one mistake that needs a correction. You can take great photos regardless of the moon phase. I've gotten great photos during a full moon. And I have had no problem with loosing night vision with either a smartphone or a tablet, others may have issues with that.

[@MakeUseOf]

Hmm. Ours just marked everything as poor visibility when the moon was up, so admittedly I didn't try on the basis it told me it wouldn't be visible.

[@chartheredcomet]

Great review, I have a question, can you watch the camera live or does it just take photos?

[@MakeUseOf]

You watch the photo as it's developing, which is effectively a live camera feed. You can't literally watch a real-time live video feed though because it would be black. The photos are very long exposure because of so little light, and individually quite blurry. It's only by stacking them that you get an actual output.

[@cyberpred]

You can view planets. Use the manual mode. It will stack pics

[@MakeUseOf]

You can - they're in the catalogue even, no need for manual mode - but they're tiny.

[@cyberpred]

@@MakeUseOf Difference is in catalogue pics are not stacked. In manual mode they are and that makes a big difference.

[@MrSummitville]

​@@cyberpredwhat do you mean "catalogue images are not stacked" ?

[@RandyRTorres]

learned a lot from you. thanks

[@NatarajanGanesan]

Your last few minutes defined it fully, though I wouldn't be so blunt. I am no fan of EAA for a few reasons and cost is certainly one of them. To be fair they do have some decent features, and field rotation surely is one of them. Astrophotography is already a niche market and its clan is already aware of the gear they need. To introduce something as plug-n-play as this needs some understanding of the market segment. One can't just hide under the excuses its apologists come out with and justify that price tag.

[@craiglowery4427]

Great review. I've been an amateur astronomer all my life. I believe this device and its follow on called Vespera are cutting edge and are the future of astrophotography. I bought Vespera and love it.

[@Guap303]

Can you watch the video live? For example seeing nebula live through a tablet or smartphone or does it only work best while stacking images?

[@MakeUseOf]

You watch live as the stacked images develop, but no, there's no live video feed as such, because you wouldn't be able to see anything. It's only when combining all the images that something starts to emerge.

[@Guap303]

@@MakeUseOf Thank you for the info, I'm brand new to all of this and would love to get more into astrophotography. I appreciate your reply

[@MrSummitville]

​@@Guap303it is live. It takes time ( like 30 minutes ) to slowly build / stack the images into something for you to see. Longer = better..

[@cryptojihadi265]

I couldn't agree more. It's one or two steps from googling a picture. I honestly don't see the point of this. It's so far removed from astrophotography, I can't imagine getting any pleasure or sense of accomplishment from this.

[@MrSummitville]

This is the definition of Astrophotography. Tell me how this is "so far removed from Astrophotography" ..

[@cryptojihadi265]

@@MrSummitville you've either never done astrophotography or you're being intentionally obtuse.

[@brucetouzel6484]

nice hoodie, what brand is that ?

[@ronmac1832]

Good honest review for someone just thinking about buying a telescope. I happened upon Vaonis products at B&H and thought "I've got to buy this!" After your and others reviews, I'm inclined to pass on this type of telescope (for now).

[@MrSummitville]

It is not like a normal telescopes. It is an imaging device.

[@adobo1976]

Plus I don't see any optical viewing option.

[@originaltrilogy1]

There is no optical viewing option.

[@domr3978]

What I don't like is you need to buy batteries for this automatic telescope. Can I just use a power cord and plug it into the wall like the good old days? Furthermore can I use this without an app, smart phone or tablet especially since the screens of those devices are small? I would like to just type or say the name of the planet, star or galaxy then the telescope will auto-find it and auto-focus to the sharpest possible view 100% all on its own, then I just need to say or type zoom in closer as i'm able to view the image live as all this happens on my big 40 or 60 or 80 inch widescreen that this telescope is connected to by an HDMI cord. THATS what im looking for, thank you.

[@MakeUseOf]

You just plug it in via a USB-C cable, but because it spins around, there's a risk the cable will be caught. There's no HDMI output, but in theory you could cast from a tablet or phone to a TV (though you still need the phone or tablet of course). Probably not what you're looking for, really.

[@domr3978]

@@MakeUseOf By casting from a tablet or phone to a lets say 60 inch widescreen tv, can you see the actual live footage of the planet being zoomed in for a sharp and clear close up video live view or are you only able to see photograph image stills? I find any manual aiming to find a planet and then manual focusing kind of difficult while other people are really good at it.

[@thanutz]

@@domr3978 I have mine hardwired. As long as you have a power source near it it’s not an issue. Mine is connected to a magnetic usb c cable that is 10 ft long so it can spin around all night and not run out of cable. I also project mine to a 42 inch tv running blue stacks in my office so I can see what it’s observing.

[@Russh1]

I spend 4-6 weeks of the year camping in places 2-300km from the nearest town. Would love to take advantage of the lighting conditions. Do i have weeks to spend perfecting a new hobby? No way. Can definitely see a big market for these. Not the same as just googling an image at all really.

[@MrSummitville]

Yes, you are making your own image.

[@magicalfrijoles6766]

You could build your own PC and it will be screaming fast. Or, you could buy an iMac and everything will just work right out of the box. Nothing wrong with either. Just preference.

[@ericb143]

Where I work had one it’s amazing haters gonna hate.

[@napke8571]

Good review, not convinced by this type of device... The optics are limited and cannot be compared to high quality refractors/cassegrain/newtons. To me this kind of telescope robots... Well why starting astronomy hobby anyway? Astronomy to me is live observing, trying different type of scopes, apertures, oculairs, fine set of binoculairs and when you get experienced you can start with real astro photography. But to me astronomy in the first place is observing with my own eyes and brains. So I think the Stellina is a nice product but to me it seems that it only does work with pre-configured settings and objects.... Not my cup of tea.

[@MrSummitville]

Clearly, YOU are not in to imaging. So why are you watching this video?

[@Drteslacoiler]

9:00 yes! great point there! it is obvious that you obviously cant use a telescope when its cloudy...

[@MakeUseOf]

You say that, but my point is more that you can often see stars in patches of sky when it's cloudy, but you couldn't use this because it won't auto-locate, and won't be able to tell you precisely which constellations are visible. It's just a solid "no" if it fails at the first step. So unless the night is perfectly clear, and dry, and no moon, you can't use this. That's a lot of ifs.

[@MrSummitville]

​@@MakeUseOfa night that is good for imaging must be better than a night for visual. It happens alot.

[@Chemy.]

for this one, I still like it, but not at that price point, so, no giveaway for this one?

[@MakeUseOf]

Ah sadly no. They do have a cheaper $1000 model debuting at CES apparently (not that we're attending this year)

[@GOLVEL]

What he said about downloading pictures from other people and just staring at the screen of some device... yup that's exactly what I find disappointing. But, like many other new ideas, this will probably give birth to awesome innovations.

[@MrSummitville]

Go look through a telescope while it is imaging.

[@GOLVEL]

@@MrSummitville I have three different ones. Bought the Unistellar Evscope that has an LCD "eyepiece"... it's fun and easy to use, but - to me - it doesn't compare to the "normal" mirror - based ones.

[@MrSummitville]

​​@@GOLVELThis an imaging device that can produce raw files for post processing - ie Astrophotography. It not just for visual use.

[@GOLVEL]

@@MrSummitville I am aware. Mine too.

[@eduardot4665]

Its an amazing device, sure. But the quality for me is a deal breaker. Next year Vaonis will release the "Pro" version of their cheap model for 2000 USD with DOUBLE the Megapixels (12 instead of 6). So im going to wait for that one!

[@wk9195]

Whats the narrator name?

[@MakeUseOf]

Me? I'm James Bruce, Reviews Editor. Hi!

[@Jebsnotdead]

I appreciate your cadence on this. It is certainly a great piece of tech, but something is lost when you take away the effort.

[@MrSummitville]

Do you still track by hand or do you use an auto-guider? Automation of the monkey work is beneficial. Go do something else, while it is imaging. Like look through a telescope! Do you stack images by hand? Or do you automate your image stacking process?

[@scuba5k]

I’m waiting for version 2 when it can see through the clouds.

[@MsLeejo]

very good

[@harrison00xXx]

for the manufacturer/seller... Its a very bad telescope. A 100$ telescope (no matter if chinese 250-300mm refractor or 600-750mm newtonian) with anything usable as camera behind and the cheapest possible motorized EQ mount will deliver better images. Ofc it take some experience... but i learned it with old gear... step by step. Beginned with "manual" finding targets and "just" tracking with the mount, very soon i upgraded to ST4 autoguiding (3 minute+ exposures are a GAMECHANGER, impossible with Stellina). As i was pretty much annoyed by searching the targets manually... i just upgraded to complete computer control with the whole program of target queue management, plate solving etc... literally 100% automated (except autofocus... i dont want to be THAT lazy) Probably people with no experience in this hobby see it different, but only the fact that Stellina and co JUST PHOTOGRAPH (!!!) and send the images to your phone is already a NoGo for me. Visual Observation, especially with big 8"+ mirrors is SO AWESOME. I only looked once thru a 8" and bigger telescope at a astro gathering... but WOW... my 6" 750mm newtonian, despite being already a lot better than Stellina could ever get (for 300$ 2nd hand! motorized GoTo mount included).... 6" is really beginner/kids class... 8" is already enough for faint targets... 11" and more... thats a completely different experience, even compared to 8". I guess with an 11" you could also watch faint targets which are anyways too dark AND too small to be photographed by stellina at all.

[@WRX2001]

Geez you can’t use any telescope when it’s raining when it’s cloudy..

[@MakeUseOf]

Of course, that's not a criticism of this in particular, just a warning to anyone wanting to get in on stargazing - which is who this is aimed at. I live in England, so that rules out like 95% of the days I had this for testing.

[@IRgEEK]

Wow. That's really disappointing about the planets. I got in on a Kickstarter years ago (pre COVID) and it just showed up. I haven't used it yet, but I def expected I could view planets. Especially Jupiter which is my all-time fav. I'm honestly quite confused is to why it won't handle planets. I was looking for vids excited about it finally arriving, but yeah, that was really a bummer to hear on the planet thing. Not near as excited as I was a few hours ago :-(

[@harrison00xXx]

Dont support kickstarter projects, especially if you have no clue about the stuff you support! Look... in Stellina there is just a "small" APO refractor used. Additionally... the sensor used is also not really hi resolution... its more about light sensitivity to overcome the "cheap" lens and mount (and to keep exposures below 10 seconds... LOL) Im doing astrophotography with a Canon 50mm and 100mm prime lens, as well with a 800mm F11 (for superb image quality even in corners), with a 750mm newton telescope for faint, small targets (center very sharp) or rarely on a old 2000mm newtonian on a dobson mount because its just impossible to follow anything so the 2000mm 8" dobson is more my visual observation platform while the astrophotography gear is working automated Sometimes im even out in the field with DSLR+ any wider field lens half automated, mirrorless camera on Telescope fully automated on multiple targets AND because its space in the car... the 8" dobson for having fun while my gear is working The 2000mm 8" dobsonian is with a 4mm eyepiece something like 8000mm focal range or so. thats nearly frame filling jupiter (personally seen thru). Any eyepiece below 10mm is very hard to manage on it (im normally on a high quality 2" 10-35mm zoom eyepiece)

[@IRgEEK]

@@harrison00xXx Well it arrived and I'm loving the device. Ya, not the best for planets, but I have been able to view so many incredible astral bodies I've never been able to see before from the backyard. I am more than happy with the purchase and supporting the project.

[@harrison00xXx]

@@IRgEEK "not the best for planets" You mean USELESS! Not even the saturn rings are anywhere able to pop up. A cheap telescope on a dobson like mount with GoTo would have been the same experience for you - BUT: - much cheaper - much better images taken - less time needed for the data to collect - visual observation! Doesnt work with stellina and doesnt make much sense with such a small lens anyways Its true, real astrophotgraphy gear is especially for beginners a little bit hassle, but dobson like GoTo mounts changed everything and are even cheaper than "proper" equatorial mounts! You basically paid 4000$ for a cheap dobson mount which is nicely integrated into a lower end to midclass APO refractor/sensor combination which is also made for the "casuals" with the smartphone control etc. But just said - modern mounts support pretty much the same convenient stuff like Stellina - its just that you need to stack and edit manually (which give anyways much better results)

[@originaltrilogy1]

I know this is an old message, but the reason it doesn't do well with planets is that they are so very small. The 'length' of this telescope is 400mm, to see Jupiter, even a really, really small image of Jupiter, you need a telescope length of 2000mm (2 metres) or more. To get a nice sized photo, you need to put a 3x magnification lens (barlow) on top of that, (effectively a 6m long telescope) But, a long telescope like that only would see a tiny part of many of the nebulae etc so it wouldn't be good for those. Planetary and Deep Sky requires two different sized telescopes for the most part.

[@harrison00xXx]

@@originaltrilogy1 yes 100% agree But the fact that a 750mm 6“ on astrophotography capable EQ mount and any old 1500-2000mm 8-11“ newton on a dobson mount is still cheaper than stellina… Only the fact that i can look DIRECTLY THRU THE TELESCOPE, especially at anything with 8“+ is awesome for bright and super small nebulas like the bubble nebula (literally a few dots/pixels on Stellina)

[@Malew1tz]

I have a Unistellar eVscope, which is lighter, has a fitted backpack, a larger aperture and better capabilities for $1,000 less.

[@powellcappel4692]

Yes EV is a good scope but retrieving the FITS requires requesting them from UniStellar each and every time. While Stellina automatically stores it on a USB stick. Plus Stellina has a mechanical field de-rotator and built in dew heater. Uni is better for EEA on the spot observing while Stellina is better for AP, IMO.

[@scuba5k]

Evscope 2 just went up to $5,100. It’s not worth it at that price. Edit: I currently on a 2 month trial on the Unistellar Equinox. Since it’s a Newtonian telescope you have to do self collimation. I would say I’m almost 95% perfect and I still get 3 blurry stars in the photo. Collimation is a pain. I may return it and go with Stellina. Unistellar messed up by raising the price on the Evscope 2

[@rajeswaryraveendran1622]

Bro thats 16K in Malaysia

[@MrSummitville]

So what?

[@rajeswaryraveendran1622]

@@MrSummitville what I meant is it’s expensive for us in Malaysia

[@GenXMCraft]

Nice review. I wish someone would call out these "smart telescope" companies for hiding the fact that faint deep sky objects are all they're really good for.

[@MrSummitville]

Good for Solar, Lunar and deep sky objects. That's plenty. Not a planetary imager and they never implied it was.

[@Talalpro_1]

A 4000 dollar astrophotography setup is better

[@harrison00xXx]

My 300$ 2nd hand 750mm newton, modified with additional 400$ new stuff for guiding etc produce already MUCH BETTER images. And a old 750mm newton on a entry level GoTo EQ mount is very far from complicated, let alone more modern sets nowadays!

[@originaltrilogy1]

@@harrison00xXx Do you have an image gallery? Would be nice to see some shots from your setup, I always enjoy seeing people's work.

[@harrison00xXx]

@@originaltrilogy1 i can show a few, but i dont really did much astrophotography since i sold my APS-C DSLR and i dont even use a coma corrector for the newtonian (which is a huge no-go for anything wider) But i got recently the EOS R7- 32MP on APS-C is amazing, cant wait to see how well it performs on the newtonian in a clear night

[@MrSummitville]

​@@harrison00xXxan EOS R7 costs $1,700.

[@marzian424]

It worths only 2000 $

[@harrison00xXx]

Why everyone is acting as if a regular telescope on a GoTo mount with PC controls possible is anything complicated? If you learned how to polar align (easy AF!) and got after 2-3 nights a routine in placing and removing the gear... a 750mm newtonian (200-500$ 2nd hand! 700-1100$ new!) spits out MUCH BETTER IMAGES... Beside the better price and better images you can take... you can use it for visual observation too! As i was done with my targets for the season i often just took the telescope without much additional gear (like guiding cam, capturing camera, notebook to control, etc) and watched planets, bright nebulas etc. with small/heavy zooming eyepieces (which deliver more resolution than i can pick up with any sensor) The biggest drawbacks (or positives? idk) at real telescopes... you can build up your gear more towards visual observation (8"+ newtons on dobsonian mounts affordable) or you can go the way of a usable EQ mount and a more astrophotography friendly telescope like APO refractors or photographic newtons like a 600 or 750mm F4 Each with its down and upsides. But with stellina... i could not imagine doing anything. Too limited in imaging, no visual observation possible at all (if you would even want that on that small APO lens...), If i would have bought stellina and hoped for a nice thing... damn i would hate it and sell it before the scam is realized in the "consumerism" astrophotography community!

[@PATTACAT72]

Preach on brother, I 100% agree. Rather have the real deal and add to my rig in the future.

[@originaltrilogy1]

@@PATTACAT72 Because it is complicated. For PC you have to have a PC, get the interface and software sorted out, mount and polar align the telescope (not as easy in the Southern Hemisphere) do a lot of research on choosing the right camera, deal with mount issues, due heaters, often use various suites of programs for stacking images etc. I remember when GOTO telescopes came out, and everyone was grumbling why do people thinks its difficult to use a Star Chart and setup your gear and manually track objects, that its basically cheating to have a computer controlled scope and that they will ruin astronomy. They definitely would have considered yours (and my) computerised mounts not the real deal. This a great review, this telescope isn't for everyone, but will suit some people really nicely. You can still export the images and stack and process them yourself if you want to get into image processing, you can decide how many darks and lights you want to take for later stacking, and it is capable of really good images. You can take mosiacs if you want to extend the images. There is plenty of room to grow and learn within the hobby. Even it's little brother, the Aspera is capable of really good images with a bit of work. Sure you can do more with a setup like mine at home, A C14, A C8 and a 10" Newt, but you can also just throw a Vespera in your backpack when camping, set it up in 10 mins and enjoy discovering the universe for yourself, take some nice images, learn image processing, make some big mosaics and enjoy the hobby in a different way. Horses for courses. Check out some work with the Vespera. telescopius.com/astrophotography?telescope_brand=Vaonis&telescope_model=Vespera&sort=created_timestamp&page=1

[@MrSummitville]

​@@PATTACAT72So, why are you watching this video and posting about this device, if you prefer to build your own?

[@swervature]

So much possibility, but... there are so many other options out there for star/planet gazing in real-time. I have to agree: if astrophotography is your bag, it seems like this would take the fun and experience out of it. Like a baker using a breadmaker, if that makes sense. Yes, it makes bread, but all you did was dump ingredients into it, turn it on, and walk away. Now you can evn do that last part with an app :eyeroll: Great review, as always. Pet your pup(s) for me 🐶

[@originaltrilogy1]

It is still very useful if you like the processing side more than the fiddling with the telescope side of things. You can export the images and get into the stacking an processing on your computer.

[@MrSummitville]

I wonder ... Do you still guide by hand? Do you still stack images by hand? No, you do not it is automated. There is no "fun" in watching an imager take photos for 60 minutes. None.

[@Stellastar20033]

Well this is awkward 😂

[@justinvernal]

No thank you you'll these in thrift stores soon👎🇺🇸besides the Bose home stereos

[@thanutz]

I sure hope so, I’ll buy it then lol

[@MrSummitville]

​@@thanutzeBay !