Putting Smart Telescopes To The Test: Reviewing The Vaonis Vespera II

[@abellio8559]

Nice video and thank you for featuring the Vespera II. I am really considering one of these and I think you have helped me make up my mind.

[@Astrobloke]

Glad I could help! I think you will be happy with it

[@nightscapejournals]

Nice to see what you managed to get out of this little chap, Glenn. Impressive bit of kit. As you suggested, it probably divides opinion, but what’s undeniable is the sophistication of the tech that goes into something like this. Remarkable.

[@Astrobloke]

Thanks Paul. It certainly simplifies the the Astrophotography process. I can see its place but for me would never replace what I do.

[@jeremyhigginson9307]

Remembered when I watched your castle visit video that I saw you carrying the scope and I thought then that you were out to test it! And so this video proves that!! Great to have clear information. Thanks!

[@Astrobloke]

Hi Jeremy. Yes that was a good opportunity to try it out and for me the best use for a smart telescope. Thanks for watching and commenting mate, clear skies

[@Astroman5665]

Great video Glenn. Like you say these smart scopes are getting better all the time

[@Astrobloke]

Yes they are, thanks for watching and commenting

[@SimonsAstro]

Great video Glenn, this little bit of kit has got potential! As you said, they’ll only get better! It was a great night mate, can’t wait to do it again 👍 I was impressed with those images! Clear skies mate

[@Astrobloke]

Thanks Simon. Proved to be very useful while we were out and was so simple to set up and use. Be interesting to see how far these smart scopes develop

[@arnsteindale5531]

Can I come along? 😄

[@SimonsAstro]

@@arnsteindale5531 Pop over mate! You’re most welcome 😀

[@kentfaithwendyzeng]

That was a really interesting and helpful review of the Vasara 2 smart telescope. It's great to get an honest assessment of the image quality it can produce for various targets.

[@Astrobloke]

Thank you Wendy. Was a good piece of kit and I thought the results were really good.

[@kentfaithwendyzeng]

You're very welcome! Can't wait to see more of your amazing work! 🎥👏

[@AZ4Runner]

formidable little AIO scope. images came out nice right out of the box. Your edits looked like they came from a standard AP setup. great review Glenn. CS

[@Astrobloke]

Hi Jason, great to see you mate. Took some really nice data so made editing quite simple really. Thanks for watching, clear skies

[@davidwoods7720]

Thank you so much for this. I have a dwarf,seestar and Unistellar. I struggle with processing software. Would you consider doing a tutorial on the pixinsight and the addons you used. I am holding out for the pro version as at the age of 69 I can no longer use my older rigs with all the hard work of rigging up. Once again thanks so much for this upload

[@Astrobloke]

I am making a video atm on the Dwarf II and will include some pixinsight work in that video as that made a huge difference to the images, I'll try and not make you wait too long. All the best mate, clear skies

[@davidwoods7720]

@@Astrobloke many mnay thanks

[@arnsteindale5531]

Impressive results from the Vespera - thanks mate 👍

[@Astrobloke]

Had a bit of fun using it actually. Think these smart telescopes are just going to get better.

[@markbayfield6381]

I don’t know how you do it but you just seem to het the best out of everything. I have a friend with a Seestar and I borrowed it but couldn’t get anything to match what you have posted here, well done

[@Astrobloke]

Thanks Mark. Editing is a challenging part of the process of Astro, just keep practising. Clear skies

[@JohnKindle]

Excellent review. Thank you for that. Does the unit use any dark frames in its stacking? Did you take any darks for your own processing? If so , how easy to do?

[@Astrobloke]

It is not clear like say with the dwarf lab where it takes a set of darks. It may do it automatically in the background but I don’t think so. The IMx585 has no amp glow and at 10secs is not being pushed. I think the sensor is very good without darks. That said taking a set may improve even further, I would have needed it for longer to really test its full capabilities. I was still impressed however. Thanks for watching and commenting

[@JohnKindle]

@@Astrobloke Thank you for the response. God to know that you think the sensor works fine wo darks. Since I posed that question, I've been searching Cloudy Nights and discovered that Vaonis has added Expert Mode to the Singularity App which allows for varying the gain and shutter speed. And also for taking darks. It looks like the new Vespera Pro will take be able to take darks automatically when stacking but there is a note that this capability won't be available until the 2nd half of 2024. I don't think this this will available for the Vespera II.

[@erichfurtwangler9683]

Thank you for the very sympathetic post. Greetings from Germany Erich

[@Astrobloke]

Thank you too! Glad you liked it. Thank you for watching.

[@speedtripmantriumph7542]

Interesting smart telescope, they are getting good. Thanks for making this Glenn

[@Astrobloke]

Thank you, they really are and I was impressed with the performance of the Vespera

[@LogansAstro]

Nice review Glenn and some pretty nice images from the unit. These are superb for things like outreach and will only get better in time. I see Pegasus Astro has brought out an eyepiece that basically does something similar which is quite an innervation. Clear skies.

[@Astrobloke]

Hi Logan and thank you. I will have to check that Pegasus eyepiece out, thanks for the info. I agree that they will just get better and like you say perfect for outreach. CS

[@Starlightchaser100]

Love your videos, looks a fantastic piece of kit, bit out of my price range atm. Thanks though and clear skies

[@Astrobloke]

So kind of you to say. Thank you CS

[@philipean1721]

What’s your opinion on Vespera pro?

[@Astrobloke]

I have not had hands on with the Pro only the Vespera II. I am hoping that they send one to me to evaluate and I will of course make a video asap. vaonis.com/smart-telescope-lineup-comparison This link useful showing the comparisons between the models. Its quite a higher price. Longer battery life, much larger internal memory and a better sensor with darks ability built in. Its the image quality that will prove whether its worth the investment though.

[@philipean1721]

@@Astrobloke thank you :)

[@tyncam24]

Any concerns with the 25GB of memory?

[@Astrobloke]

I didn’t have any issues with it but then I would transfer the nights data the next morning so it never filled up. If I was travelling with it I would make sure I could offload captured data the next day to external storage or cloud service. Hope that helps

[@tyncam24]

Very helpful, thanks.

[@Tony-Elliott]

Hi Glenn great review mate i think this would be a good asset for outreach and schools but seems a little expensive in comparison with the competition

[@Astrobloke]

Hi Mate. Yes perfect for outreach. It is pricey but looks like it would last and I was impressed with the quality of the images. There are some great more budget friendly options about as you say.

[@clairehunter7911]

Super video, I am looking at these 😍

[@Astrobloke]

You should! I really had a fun time using it. Great piece of kit

[@woody5109]

They have their place, once they improve the software so you can scan the cosmos for undiscovered objects or asteroids. Maybe set it up for multiple images for weeks on end? Great video Glenn.

[@Astrobloke]

Totally agree with you there Woody. Smart telescopes are only just doing the basics but could become very advanced and I think will in the future. Who knows what can be achieved. Astrophotography certainly doesn’t stand still for long. Thanks for watching

[@hr29ukvlogs78]

Why so many old school astrophotographers are saying that vespers and all other smart telescopes they just downloaded pictures from internet is it true as I am planning to buy it soon can please clear this point ?

[@Astrobloke]

Unfortunately people don't like competition or change. I can assure you that all the images I show on this video were captured solely on the Vespera II so you can see exactly what it is capable of. I am always honest in my videos. Good luck and clear skies

[@dumpydalekobservatory]

Looks a great bit of kit mate I think one day ones will be built that can work in equatorial mode & when that happens that could be a game changer for a portable setup. Would I own one now? Probably not unless I started back into doing outreach again something I haven't done for 5 years now but definitely a capable bit of kit.

[@Astrobloke]

Hi Tich. I think an EQ one would tempt more people. For outreach these smart telescopes are really very well suited. I still love all gear and challenges of Astro, glutton for punishment me lol

[@dumpydalekobservatory]

I hear ya Glenn it's taken me many years to get where I am as I don't have a massive budget but still happy doing what I do. I just need to update the PC so I can move to Pixinsight as my old i5 aint gonna cut it. I don't mind the challenges I've had to put up with over the years as frustrating as it has been at times but when everything works it's been worth it.

[@robmailconway]

You got a good image but it's not cheap and you would have to compare what else you could get for that money which might be a better setup but then you are paying for the convenience and that will suit some people, particularly families with kids.

[@Astrobloke]

Thank you and agree its not cheap. I don’t think comparing with different kit is helpful. You are either interested in this kind of solution or not. it’s perfect say for outreach or someone with limited space or knowhow but a true enthusiast will want all the components and challenges they pose.for me I can see its uses for venturing out away from home but would never swap for my scopes and mounts

[@AzulaTheZula]

This is cool if only i had enough money for one

[@Astrobloke]

They are very good but not cheap. There are lots of new models and other companies making similar so eventually used ones will be available a lot cheaper. Thanks for watching

[@Simon-mz7sf]

Thanks. Very interesting overview.

[@Astrobloke]

Glad you liked it!

[@vicvinegar3660]

I am completely ignorant of how any of this works, but I want to know how anyone actually knows it's finding the object, or if the app is just sending you pictures of a previous picture of an object and saying it's what it's actually seeing? Probably a really dumb question.

[@Astrobloke]

HI and thanks for watching, No such thing as a dumb question, especially in this hobby. I have been doing Astrophotography for 5 years and can promise you this is actually capturing the images it shows back. Like my full rigs that I have set up in my observatory it uses a process called plate solving where it compares a test shot of the sky with a star atlas to know where it is looking. Then it can locate the object you are after. Proof however would require me to write an essay of all the reasons why this is imaging and not just displaying saved pics of the deep sky object in the APP. All I can say is I would never help promote a fake piece of equipment and what you see in this video is genuine and an honest appraisal. Hope that helps

[@vicvinegar3660]

@Astrobloke Thanks man. Yeah, sorry if I came off a certain way, I definitely wasn't implying you would back a fake product. I honestly was wondering if that could actually happen. Thanks again for the information because that actually does help. I am thinking about getting this for my son for his birthday coming up.

[@Cheapass-tro]

It does look quite capable and having put so much time and work into my setup, I hate that! 😆 I would always prefer to say "look what I captured" than "look what my smart scope captured" even though the reality of it is that we do use software to find, guide and capture these images with our "manual" rigs. I think there's satisfaction to be gained from building your own rig, as well as the added bonus of interchangeability. I suppose it's the same thing that I will always choose a hi-fi separates system over a midi system. The midi system will do it all, after a fashion, but will only ever excel at simplicity.

[@Astrobloke]

Hi Nugsy, hope you are well and thanks for dropping in. As much as I was impressed with the scope and how easy it is to use there is something about setting up a complicated set up and capturing that image. The challenge is what has kept me so hooked. Clear skies mate