Exploring the planets and distant nebulae with a telescope is great fun – but it can be hard work for the beginner. And it can be a freezing experience in the middle of winter too! A new breed of smart telescopes is changing all this. Instead of looking through an eyepiece, a camera in the telescope beams the image to your phone or tablet - so you can stay in the warm, whilst you leave the telescope outside. And you can control the position of the tripod remotely - using the app to guide you automatically to the most interesting things in the night sky.

These smart telescopes are expensive - but market-leader Unistellar is slashing up to $690 off its Odyssey smart telescope – and knocking $750 off its Evscope 2 model.…

See also best telescopes for beginners, and the best telescopes for kids

I think it’s fair to call Unistellar’s Envision Binoculars the smartest pair of binoculars on the planet, and while limited stocks last, US customers can pre-order and get $500 off the RRP, while UK buyers can save £400. That’s roughly a third off the RRP!

And while the reduced prices of $999 / £899 are still a significant outlay for a pair of binoculars, the Envision isn’t your average pair of ‘bins’. They boast Unistellar- and Nikon-integrated tech, for an augmented reality experience that’s set to deliver like none other. The first batch of pre-orders has already sold out, and the second batch is selling fast, so make sure you check them out if you're interested.

Envision works in conjunction with a companion app and is said to draw from a database of millions of elements, providing information via augmented reality on a huge variety of outdoorsy objects, including trails, peaks, and celestial objects. It can even pinpoint Apollo landing sites on the moon.

Target Lock mode allows you to lock onto a target, hand the binoculars over to a companion, and the AR will guide the person to your point of reference. You can also turn the tech off and use the binoculars the old-fashioned way.

This offer only applies to a limited number of 350 units, off which, at the time of writing, only around 60 are left. The binoculars are currently due to be delivered in November 2026. Along with the binoculars, you get a carrying bag, neck strap, and charging cable.

The Kickstarter for Envision finished in July 2024, as of right now, the company states that the binoculars have been designed, mass-production tools are being built, and components required to manufacture thousands of units have started to be ordered.

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Exploring the planets and distant nebulae with a telescope is great fun – but it can be hard work for the beginner. And it can be a freezing experience in the middle of winter too! A new breed of smart telescopes is changing all this. Instead of looking through an eyepiece, a camera in the telescope beams the image to your phone or tablet - so you can stay in the warm, whilst you leave the telescope outside. And you can control the position of the tripod remotely - using the app to guide you automatically to the most interesting things in the night sky.

These smart telescopes are expensive - but market-leader Unistellar is slashing up to £800 of its Evscope 2 smart telescope – and knocking £400 of its budget Equinox 2 model.…

Check out other Black Friday telescope deals - with options for all budgets

French smart telescope maker Unistellar used IFA 2024 to announce a new image processing technology that promises to reveal more color and detail in deep-sky objects, including galaxies, star clusters and faint nebula.

Unistellar's new Vivid Vision Signal Processing technology, which will be available in October as a free firmware update across its suite of smart telescopes, will add an optional enhancement to each image, which will take two minutes to complete. Vivid Vision uses the latest data on the color of stars collected by the European Space Agency’s Gaia satellite, which has spent the last decade mapping the motions, luminosity, temperature and composition of stars. 

The brand currently has four smart telescopes across two ranges – the eQuinox 2 and eVscope 2 in its Expert range and the Odyssey and Odyssey Pro in its Discovery range, launched at CES 2024 in January. 

The eVscope 2 and Odyssey Pro both sport a Nikon-made eyepiece. The firmware update will apply to all current models but not to the first-gen eVscope and eQuinox, which lack the computing power, Unistellar confirmed. 

These reflector telescopes focus light on a Sony IMX CMOS sensor, with an onboard computer taking multiple short exposures of objects in the night sky and stacking them. Vivid Vision is an additional feature to the Enhanced Vision digital image processing suite, which presents a colorful, detail-rich, deep black image on smartphones and tablets via the Unistellar app. Vivid Vision promises more authentic colors of space, revealing the nuanced colors of stars, nebulae and galaxies.

“Recreating colors with sensors that see only three colors has been a big challenge since the beginning of digital photography,” said Laurent Marfisi, co-founder and CEO of Unistellar, to Digital Camera World in a press briefing. 

“Vivid Vision uses the Gaia database to better match the actual spectrum of colors of the universe.” The reddish nebula of the Cigar Galaxy (M82) and the blue and yellow of the Whirlpool Galaxy (M51) are two of the objects expected to benefit. “Stars in globular clusters like Hercules (M31) will look more red because they are older stars, which will help users to understand the stories of the universe,” said Marfisi. The current tech makes these stars appear white.

About 25,000 Unistellar smart telescopes have been sold so far, and its deep analysis and reprocessing of user images has directly led to the development of Vivid Vision, said the company. “We have relied on the millions of images shared with us from our users,” said Marfisi. 

Unistellar, which recently launched its Cosmic Card Collection to encourage regular observing, is currently running a campaign on Kickstarter for its augmented reality Envision binoculars, which will go on sale in 2025. 

If you're after a serious, high-end smart telescope but don't want to pay the high prices for Unistellar's 'Expert' range—chiefly the eVscope 2 and the eVscope eQuinox 2—the Odyssey is an attractive option in the company’s drop-down 'Discovery' range.

An entry-level smart telescope, Odyssey is essentially an all-in-one astrophotography rig. It captures light from the night sky and lets it fall only onto a camera sensor, taking long exposures of faint objects. It automatically stacks them as it observes, applying post-processing algorithms to build a clean and colorful image that appears in a smartphone app.

This is deep-sky astrophotography made easy. However, its feature set ranks it a notch below the company's Odyssey Pro. Compared to its pricier sister, the Odyssey lacks a Nikon-made electronic eyepiece, so it can't be used in any way as a traditional telescope. That makes it the same as much more affordable smart telescopes like the ZWO Seestar S50 and Vaonis Vespera II. However, here you get bigger, better optics, and superior build quality. It's also a Newtonian reflector-type of telescope (rival brands of smart telescopes are all lens-based refractors).

With a lower price, can the Odyssey compete for the title of the best smart telescope in 2024? Here’s everything you need to know about the Odyssey Pro. 

Unistellar Odyssey: Specifications

Unistellar Odyssey: Price

The Odyssey sells for $2,099 / £1,849, with frequent discounts available. That compares to the Odyssey Pro, which sells for $3,599 / £3,149. Both smart telescopes are in Unistellar’s 'Discovery' range.

The Odyssey and Odyssey Pro are essentially smaller and more affordable versions of the eVscope eQuinox II and eVscope II smart telescopes in Unistellar's 'Expert' range, which sell for $2,499 / £2,199 and $4,899 / £3,999, respectively.

For those after a Unistellar smart telescope for the lowest price possible, the choice is mostly between the Odyssey and the eVscope eQuinox 2. Neither has an electronic eyepiece, but where they differ is in their mirrors and megapixels. While the Odyssey has an 85mm mirror and 3.4 megapixels, the eVscope eQuinox 2 boasts a 114mm mirror and 6.2 megapixels.

Optional accessories for the Odyssey comprise a custom-fit backpack for $299 / £269 and a smart solar filter for $199 / £179. The latter is essential for capturing sunspots.

Unistellar Odyssey: Design & Handling

It’s not the smallest smart telescope around, but on the Odyssey, that’s a good thing. At its core, it’s a 3.35-inch/85mm reflector telescope. Its Nikon-made optics have a focal length of 320mm and a field of view of 34 x 45 arcminutes. Thanks to its lack of an eyepiece, it’s a shade lighter than the Odyssey Pro, so even easier to maneuver and store. Perhaps that’s its best design trick; whereas Unistellar’s eVscope telescopes are big and bulky (and brilliant), the Odyssey is significantly smaller and easier to live with. One issue with reflector telescopes is the need for occasional repositioning of their mirrors (a maintenance task called collimating). Happily, that’s not the case for the Odyssey, a closed unit with mirrors that won’t ever need tinkering with. 

Odyssey’s small size does mean it has a short battery life. At five hours, it has the same problem as its rivals, the Vanois Vespera 2 and Seestar S50. It’s also a shame that although it recharges via a USB-C slot, it can’t be used with just any USB-C cable—it has to be the wall adaptor cable supplied in the box. 

Its proprietary tripod is also initially irritating, considering how many tripods photographers tend to have lying around. At least it’s of excellent quality. Strong, sturdy, and able to extend to four sections, it’s super-steady and has a built-in bubble level. It also folds up nicely to fit in a camera bag. 

Setting up this telescope is so simple. Switch it on and pair it with a smartphone, and within minutes, its ‘smart star finder’ system has it imaging the sky, cross-referencing the stars it can see with images in its database (with a little help from the GPS in your phone). You then choose an object from a list, and the Odyssey will slew to it and autofocus upon it. 

There’s a search function if you want to find something specific, though it would also be nice to have the option to move around a virtual representation of the night sky and geographically choose objects for Odyssey to slew to. After all, if you know the night sky, you’ll also know when an object is behind a tree, so having a sky map to navigate makes more sense than a list. It would also be an excellent way for beginners to learn how to navigate the night sky. 

Once an object is slewed to, a press of the ‘Enhanced Vision’ button sets Odyssey on its imaging journey, taking multiple short exposures to stack atop one another, creating an ever-improving merged image in the app. At any time, it’s possible to save the entire 16:9 image to a smartphone or share a square image to social media, the latter complete with framing and a caption that includes basic image parameters. Toggle on an option in the app’s settings and lossless PNG, TIFF, and FITS  files can be saved to Odyssey’s 64GB hard disk for post-processing. 

Unistellar Odyssey: Performance

When it comes to pure imaging quality, the Odyssey is superior to its more affordable rivals, yet inferior to the pricer Odyssey Pro. That’s no surprise, but we did notice that some bright objects caused problems. 

All the images we created were sharp, but some lacked ultimate detail. For example, it overexposed the Andromeda Galaxy—albeit while also skillfully revealing subtle dust lanes in its outskirts. Albireo, a famously contrasty double star in Cygnus, proved impossible to resolve as two stars in Odyssey’s image. 

Other images, including those of globular clusters, open clusters, and galaxies, impressed. What all Unistellar’s images have in common is peerless contrast. Its ‘Deep dark technology’ clearly works, with lusciously black backgrounds to star fields and celestial objects that rival brands cannot match. 

Also unlike other smart telescopes, Unistellar’s range has multi-depth tech, allowing them to image planets and the moon and deep-sky objects. Essentially, that means swapping from its usual long exposures to high-frame-rate imaging. 

We tried it on Saturn, the only planet visible after sunset during the review. Saturn’s rings are seen only side-on for the next few years, so the view isn’t as good as it could be, but we were able to make them out in a reasonably fuzzy image. 

For the moon, Odyssey excels, producing sharp, contrasty images of our nearest celestial neighbor.

Unistellar Odyssey: Verdict

The most affordable Unistellar smart telescope is a joy to use. Setup takes minutes and imaging celestial objects of all kinds is easy. There’s a noticeable drop in imaging quality compared to the Odyssey Pro, and there’s no eyepiece for traditional astronomy, but this easy-to-store smart telescope is a great way to beat light pollution and try your hand at deep-sky astrophotography for a fraction of the fuss. 

Alternatives

Smart telescopes like the Odyssey Pro are all about astrophotography. With a camera sensor instead of an optical eyepiece, the Odyssey Pro takes long exposures of the night sky and stacks them to create an ever-improving image that you can check the progress of on your smartphone. In that way, it’s no different from the other small smart telescopes available, chiefly the ZWO Seestar S50 and Vaonis Vespera II. However, it’s a big step up from its rivals in three ways. A Nikon-made eyepiece means it can be used just like a traditional telescope – unlike its rivals – it’s a significantly better telescope than the others, optically speaking, and, of course, it’s much more expensive. 

Is it the best smart telescope in 2024? For some, it could be, but while it’s certainly one of the best telescopes for astrophotography, there are some nuances that may restrict its appeal. Here’s everything you need to know about the Odyssey Pro. 

Unistellar Odyssey Pro: Specifications

Unistellar Odyssey Pro: Price

At $3,599 / £3,149, the Odyssey Pro is the most expensive choice in Unistellar’s new Discovery range (the other being the eyepiece-less Odyssey, which costs $2,099 / £1,849). It’s a step down from the eVscope eQuinox II and eVscope II in the French company’s Expert range. Optional accessories include a solar filter ($199 / £179) and a custom-made backpack complete with a dedicated tripod compartment and multiple storage pockets ($299 / £269).

Unistellar Odyssey Pro: Design & Handling

The Odyssey Pro is easy to store and highly portable. At a mere 5kg, it can be stored on a bookshelf or put in a cupboard when not in use. However, its small size does come at a cost. It only keeps shooting for five hours, though it can be attached to a portable battery. 

At the core of this product is a 3.35-inch/85mm reflector telescope with a focal length of 320mm and a field of view of 34 x 45 arcminutes. 

The Odyssey Pro is incredibly easy to use. It arrives with a proprietary tripod and must be set up and leveled. Then, it’s just a case of firing it up along with the accompanying app. It plate-solves with the stars above and, in conjunction with your phone's GPS, finds its place in space and time. Fully aligned, it then slews to any object you care to choose from a list in the colorful, easy-to-use app. 

The need to collimate the mirrors, which is standard on all other reflector telescopes, has also been dropped; the Odyssey Pro is a closed unit that ought never to need its mirrors tinkered with. 

Like the eVscope, the Odyssey Pro includes a Nikon-made eyepiece. It’s excellent, offering OLED-style deep blacks and vivid colors, though it’s not strictly necessary given that all of the Odyssey Pro’s images display on Unistellar’s new app. The Odyssey Pro is unique in Unistellar’s line-up in offering Nikon High Precision Optics, which uses an OLED micro-display technology for ultra-high contrast. However, during our review, we didn’t find ourselves using the eyepiece much at all.

Unistellar Odyssey Pro: Performance

Although supposedly a drop-down from its ‘Expert’ range, there are some really useful features on the Odyssey Pro that make it much easier to use than previous iterations of Unistellar’s smart telescopes. For starters, Stellar Autofocus means there’s now no need to manually focus, something that has to be done using a Bahtinov mask on the eVscopes. It’s also now got Unistellar's proprietary Multi-Depth tech, which allows it to switch instantly from observing deep-sky objects to planets, the moon, and the sun.

It’s got the same Smart Star Finder tech as before, which plate-solves images of the stars to align with the night sky. It also uses Enhanced Vision to stack multiple images and Deep Dark tech to keep the resulting composite images contrasty. 

Imaging is simple, although slightly different from other Unistellar smart telescopes. It live stacks and presents an ever-clearer image, with patience paying off; leave it imaging a galaxy for an hour, and it will tease out dust lanes (though the image impresses after as little as 30 seconds). Either way, the Odyssey Pro will show you deep sky objects in a clarity that no optical telescope can rival. If you live under any kind of light pollution, that goes triple. 

This telescope’s Multi-Depth tech is its new ability to swap between long-exposure imaging (deep sky objects) and high-frame-rate imaging (sun, moon, and planets). Images impress from both techniques, the exception being planets. Only Jupiter was available during our test. It appeared blurred and lacking in detail, though that may have been due to poor atmospheric conditions. 

In a new feature that astrophotographers looking for a grab-and-go option will love, lossless  PNG, TIFF or FITS  files can now be easily accessed on the telescope’s 64GB hard disk for post-processing in software like Adobe Photoshop, GIMP, PixInsight, and Siril. 

Unistellar Odyssey Pro: Verdict

Although the Odyssey Pro delights at most turns, its high price does tempt us to consider the much more affordable step-down option, the Odyssey. For a hefty saving, the only sacrifices appear to be a drop from 4.1 to 3.7 megapixels and that Nikon eyepiece. However, if you want a small, easy-to-store smart telescope that travels well and can be used out in the field—and has the option of traditional eyepiece observing—the Odyssey Pro is hard to beat. 

Alternatives

UPDATE: The crowdfunding campaign for the revolutionary Unistellar Envision Binoculars is now open. These revolutionary AR binoculars, made in cooperation with Nikon, superimpose augmented reality features on your view, whether you're scoping out a hiking trail or gazing at the stars.

They can do everything from overlaying a map on the scene in front of you (identifying things such as landmarks and trails) to offering guided navigation to points of interest (like showing you where Neil Armstrong landed when you look at the Moon). 

They can even lock onto a target or point of interest – such as an animal or part of the landscape – and when you hand the binos to someone else they will guide the person towards what you want to show them. Check out the video below to see exactly what Envision is capable of. 

Within 15 minutes of going live, the campaign had already racked up over 1,000 backers, and over $675,000 / £530,000 / AU$1 million towards its $2.5 million / £2.0 million / AU$3.8 million target. 

You can find out more and back the campaign over at the official Kickstarter page. 

ORIGINAL STORY (May 21 2024): Innovative smart telescope manufacturers Unistellar will expand its expertise in the field of exploration with the upcoming launch of its Envision smart binoculars, via a Kickstarter campaign. 

Unistellar is hoping that this new technology will help them become the best binoculars on the market, combining high-quality optics with augmented reality (AR) features to overlay contextual information directly onto the natural field of view at the user’s command. This offers "a personalized, intuitive, and detailed experience in every situation," according to the brand. 

Unistellar's eVscope Kickstarter campaign gathered overwhelming support in 2017, raising over $2.2 million / £1.7 million / AU$3.3 million, enabling the company to revolutionize backyard telescopes and establish smart telescopes into a new product category today – which ultimately earned the strategic support of Nikon, which invested in the company in 2023.

According to the brand, this new integrated technology is the first significant advancement in the field in decades. 

This integration enhances both night-time stargazing and adds meaning to daytime terrestrial observation, according to the brand, and "users can explore  the night sky like professional astronomers and navigate their earthly surroundings like experienced guides."

The Envision smart binoculars connect to smartphones via their companion app, providing instant access to a comprehensive database of maps and contextual information.

Unistellar was founded in Marseille, France, in 2015. Their computer-connected telescopes offer non-professional sky watchers the opportunity to look at astronomical objects at a relatively low cost.

"Continuing our endeavor to expand people's exploration capabilities, we will now offer a convenient, versatile, and portable tool that will delight explorers, day and night," says Laurent Marfisi, co-founder and CEO of Unistellar. 

"This is an exciting time at Unistellar, and for this second category-defining invention in the history of our brand, we will soon reach out to innovators and pioneers around the world through a crowdfunding campaign, as we did when we invented the eVscope, the world’s first truly smart telescope."

The Envision binoculars offer four modes of use:

Smart Scouting Mode, which creates a 3D map that overlays onto reality to enrich your field of view, indicating landmarks, water sources, trails, refuges, and points of interest during the day. Look up at the night sky after dark and the binoculars will tell you exactly what you’re looking at.

Guided Navigation Mode will take you on a tour of the night skies, and during the day similar visual clues will point you towards places of interest improving navigation in unfamiliar terrain.

Shareable Target-lock Mode means that whether it’s a camouflage lion during a safari, or a twinkling star in the night sky, you can lock the binoculars on specific targets, enabling you to then pass them to someone else, who will be guided to the same target.

Classic Optical Mode means you can still use these as classic binoculars by turning off AR overlay and enjoying a high-quality pair of binoculars.

Register now for the early bird offer coming soon with limited quantities at only 1,000 units. The early bird price is $599, reduced from $999. 

Take a look at our guide to the best binoculars on the market. We've also rounded up the best binoculars with built-in cameras and the best binoculars for under $100.

Smart telescopes have only been around for a few years, but until the Seestar arrived, they were a high-end purchase for early adopters. Now, everyone can afford a smart telescope, thanks to the Seestar, which has become a word-of-mouth hit that threatens to trouble the best telescopes for astrophotography in 2024. Sold out in advance of April 8’s total solar eclipse in the USA, it can take images of both the sun and moon, and deep sky targets. 

Is it the best smart telescope in 2024? It’s not. Smart telescopes are available with better optics, costing many times the asking price of the Seestar, such as the Unistellar eVscope 2 and Vaonis Vespera. However, there’s no doubt that the Seestar is by far the best-value smart telescope around. 

That said, its optics are limited. Its 2 inches/50mm aperture suggests a wide-angle view of the night sky, but its Sony IMX462 image sensor – which reaches only HD quality – is so small that it actually has a narrow field of view. It also lacks high-end features. For example, there are no audio descriptions for the astronomical objects you observe, as you’ll find on most GoTo telescopes. Nor is there a citizen science option, as seen on other smart telescopes. 

Seestar comes from the Chinese manufacturer ZWO, which also makes high-speed and high-sensitivity astronomy cameras, telescopes, and other accessories for serious astronomy. 

Is this the smart telescope that grows the market for a new kind of smartphone-operated, astrophotography-centric telescope? Absolutely, and, in fact, it already has. Who needs an eyepiece? 

ZWO Seestar S50: Specifications

ZWO Seestar S50: Price

That ZWO is asking just $499 / £539 / AU$949 for the Seestar makes this a revolutionary product in the smart telescope market. It’s also been a huge reason for its success, with demand so high that at times Seestar has been difficult to get hold of. For context, the next most affordable smart telescope is the Vaonis Vespera II (the 2024 successor to the original Vaonis Vespera), which sells for $1,590 / £1,370. 

Despite its low price, Seestar has a carry case, a tripod, a USB-C cable, and a solar filter. 

ZWO Seestar S50: Design & Handling

Seestar is small and lightweight. At just 2.5 kg, it weighs about the same as a house brick, seven cans of beans, or half a cat. That hugely changes how this product is used because it can be easily put in a backpack or placed on a bookshelf. I’ve seen people store it in a cupboard in a campervan, ready to be brought outside on any clear night.

Its designers presumably foresaw this, providing L-shaped rubber pads on the underside corners to prevent scratches and slippage. Placed lowdown on one corner is the all-important USB-C slot for recharging, while on the back is the on/off switch along with four LEDs to let you know the battery status. There is no lens cap; the Seastar’s motorized arm parks itself while pointing downwards, thereby protecting the lens. 

On the undercarriage is a 3/8-inch tripod thread. Any photographic tripod can, therefore, be used to mount the Seestar, but an excellent-quality small two-section carbon fiber tripod is included. 

Although the (lack of) weight is useful when traveling, it does at least suggest that the Seestar won’t last as long as the more expensive – and far heavier – smart telescopes available. We’re also wary about it easily getting damaged through wear and tear. For now, the build quality seems good enough, particularly given its meager price. 

ZWO Seestar S50: Performance

Whether you're interested in capturing long-exposure images of deep sky objects, observing sunspots on our nearest star, or capturing the moon, the Seestar has you covered. The only thing it doesn't impress with is the planets. 

Core to the Seestar is its app, which is mostly intuitive and user-friendly. After a simple, quick set-up that involves leveling the tripod and the software plate-solving images of the stars to sync with the night sky, it slews to whatever target you choose in its built-in Sky Atlas planetarium software. You virtually compose the shot and then let the Seestar slew to it and begin taking 10-second images. The built-in light pollution filters work well on this setting, though 20-second and 30-second options are also available. It then live-stacks the image, which gets better over time. Faint objects, such as galaxies and nebula, are best left for over 30 minutes, while other, brighter objects max out after just a few minutes. You can even save each frame, post-process them and stack them yourself, which will appeal to budding astrophotographers with time on their hands. 

It’s possible to return to an object at any time –  even weeks or months later – to shoot more images of an object to add to your composite. It might make sense if you take Seestar to a particularly dark site. It’s problematic because the Seestar uses an alt-az mount, so the sensor’s rectangular composition twists, leading to blurred stars in the corners. In practice, that makes no difference to most small targets, only large frame-filling targets (such as the Andromeda galaxy).

The main drawbacks are that the Seestar captures in 2-megapixel resolution and portrait mode only, the latter unexpected and limiting. These are less of an issue for the sun and moon, which the Seestar excels at. Usually finding its targets easily – unless there are clouds – the moon is shown with impressive sharpness, while the sun, with the included solar filter in place, displays plenty of sunspots. On all targets, its electronic autofocus works well. 

As a bonus, the Seestar S50 can take some rather impressive images in daylight. It has a virtual directional keypad to move it into position, but once you've found your target, the auto-focus produces very sharp, balanced images (though you can manually tweak the brightness). 

ZWO Seestar S50: Verdict

Though it may not boast the highest resolution and comes with a few technical limitations, the Seestar makes up for them in affordability, ease of use, and sheer enjoyment. A casual device that’s hugely affordable, relatively speaking, it’s the perfect introduction to astronomy and astrophotography, particularly in light-polluted cities, because it will show you things you will never, ever see with any other kind of telescope. It’s not the best smart telescope around, but it’s definitely the most popular. 

Alternatives

If you're a keen astronomer and you're on the hunt for one of the best smart telescopes, you've got to check out Unistellar. Right now, they've got an awesome deal going on that you won't want to miss. 

With every purchase of their Odyssey Pro, Odyssey, Evscope 2, or Equimox 2, they're throwing in a FREE Smart Solar Filter valued between $199 to $249! 

It's a stellar offer that's perfect for enhancing your stargazing and taking your solar observations out of this world!

From February 15 to March 3, 2024, Unistellar is offering an incredible deal. When you purchase any of their Smart Telescopes during this time, you'll receive a FREE Smart Solar Filter valued between $199 and $249, depending on which model you choose. It's an amazing bargain that's perfect for anyone looking to kickstart their stargazing journey with a shiny new telescope.

But wait, there's more! You don't have to go directly through Unistellar to snag this fantastic offer. You can also get your hands on the FREE gift at all Unistellar retailers, including popular ones like B&H and Adorama. 

So don't miss out on this stellar opportunity to elevate your stargazing experience!

Why use a solar filter on your telescope?

A Smart Solar Filter is a game-changer when it comes to protecting your eyes and equipment while observing the sun. With its UV and IR filter, it enhances the quality of your solar observations, especially during eclipses. And let me tell you, with this deal, getting it for free instead of shelling out $199 to $249 is a fantastic bargain in my book!

French smart telescope maker Unistellar has launched two new smart telescopes at CES 2024. 

The Unistellar Odyssey ($2,499/£2,199) and Odyssey Pro ($3,999/£3,499) join the eQuinox 2 and eVscope 2 in the company's four-strong lineup of smart telescopes. Both can be aligned and controlled remotely using a newly developed smartphone app.

While Unistellar's two legacy smart telescopes – the eVscope 2 and eQuinox 2 – deal primarily in dim and distant deep sky objects such as galaxies, nebula, and star clusters, the Odyssey and Odyssey Pro can also image the solar system. Unistellar also reports that it has surpassed 10,000 sales of its smart telescopes. 

Both the new smart telescopes are 3.35-inch/85mm reflector telescopes with a focal length of 320mm. Smaller and more affordable than their 4.5-inch/114mm reflector/450 focal length forebears, the two new smart telescopes use Unistellar's proprietary Multi-Depth Technology, which allows the Odyssey and Odyssey Pro to switch instantly from observing deep-sky objects to planets and the moon. They each have a field of view of 34 x 45 arcminutes and a battery life of five hours. 

While the Odyssey doesn't have an eyepiece, the Odyssey Pro adds one that, like the eVscope 2, has a Nikon-made eyepiece. The Odyssey Pro also increases the resolution of its astrophotography from the Odyssey's 3.4 megapixels to 4.1 megapixels. 

"They represent the ultimate technological innovation in telescopes," said Laurent Marfisi, co-founder and CEO of Unistellar, to Digital Camera World in a press briefing. "They provide people who are not familiar with astronomy or with space exactly the same kind of meaningful and emotional experience as people who already have knowledge about astronomy." 

He added that the Odyssey and Odyssey Pro are designed to help people curious about the night sky but have no idea where to start. "People don't know what's out there in space, so we're bridging that gap with an app that is easier to use and hardware that is super-powerful but even more user-friendly than before," said Marfisi. 

The Odyssey and Odyssey Pro are available now from the Unistellar website. In April, Unistellar will also sell the Odyssey Pro Red Edition (£3,999). Both the eVscope 2 and eQuinox 2 will continue to be sold. 

Read more: 

The best telescopes

The best camera for astrophotography

The best CCD cameras for astrophotography

The best lenses for astrophotography

The best light pollution filters

Smart telescope company Unistellar has unveiled new technology to fight light pollution as well as a new solar filter for observing the sun. 

Available now as a firmware update for all Unistellar products – the eVscope, eVscope 2, eQuinox and eQuinox 2 – the new Deep Dark Technology is an attempt to automatically eliminate interference caused by city lights even in very bright urban areas to create black backgrounds to celestial objects.  A recent international study revealed that sky brightness is increasing in the US and Europe by an average of 10% per year, making observing faint objects such as nebulae and galaxies much more difficult using optical telescopes.

Read: Unistellar eQuinox 2 smart telescope review

The smart telescopes produced by Unistellar – some of which use electronic eyepieces made by Nikon, which is also an investor – are not optical, instead using camera sensors that take long exposure images and stack them in real-time to reduce noise and improve clarity.

The new algorithms – which automatically download in the Unistellar app and automatically update the firmware in the products – are a direct response to the large number of images of the night sky captured by users of Unistellar telescopes. “Light pollution is not flat – it has variations – and while our former treatment could roughly identify a variation, it was a standardized simple shape,” said Laurent Marfisi, co-founder and CEO of Unistellar, told Digital Camera World in an interview. “Now we have a smarter algorithm that is able to accurately map the variation of luminosity in images – and remove it more accurately.”

Promising deep darks and plenty more dynamic range for the signal from faint celestial objects, the new technology also enables the telescopes to be used sooner after sunset. “Twilight is similar to light pollution, but it depends on the twilight you're talking about,” said Marfisi. “We recommend users can observe in nautical twilight – they don’t have to wait for astronomical darkness.”

For the complete opposite – observing the sun – Unistellar has also announced a custom-made solar filter that transmits only 1/100,000th of the sun’s light. Selling for $249/£219, it’s guaranteed delivery in September. That’s crucial because on October 14, 2023, a ‘ring of fire’ annular solar eclipse will be visible across the southwest US, with the rest of North America experiencing a big partial solar eclipse. 

Solar eclipses are not something Unistellar telescopes have been able to observe before, though Unistellar’s real smart telescope company Vaonis does enable the feature on its Vespera Observation Station. 

“We call it a Smart Solar Filter because it’s a hybrid of software and hardware,” said Marfisi. “The hardware is not revolutionary – it’s just a normal solar filter – but we developed it together with software that allows people to easily and safely point at the sun automatically.” Since images show up only in an electric eyepiece and in the Unistellar app for smartphones and tablets it’s a totally safe way of being solar eclipses. 

At night the telescopes align automatically to the stars using plate-solving technology, so Unistellar had to develop a new orientation technology. “It uses brightness gradients in the sky to find the brightest spot – you just point the telescope, with the filter on, roughly where the sun is and it will automatically get to the brightest spot in the sky, which is the sun,” said Marfisi. 

The filter also comes in good time for the next total solar eclipse, which will cross Mexico, 14 US states, and southeastern Canada on April 8, 2024 – the last such event across the continent until 2045. 

Now is a good time to study the sun even without a solar eclipse. It’s currently close to solar maximum – a peak in activity that occurs every nine to 14 years – which means a lot of sunspots and solar activity can be seen on its surface. 

Read:
Where to photograph 2023’s ‘ring of fire’ annular solar eclipse in America

Plan now for the 2024 Great North American Solar Eclipse

Best telescopes for beginners

Many photographers love to image the night sky and taking long exposures on a wide-angle lens is an affordable way to do so. However, deep sky photography is a real treat but it’s relatively complex when dealing with star trackers and camera adapters. That’s where the Unistellar eQuinox 2 comes in. The second in the eQuinox series this smart telescope navigates to and zooms into the most distant galaxies and nebulae for impressive views. Not only that, but the telescope also photographs the views for you. In its database, there are over 5000 celestial objects and over 37 million stars which it can automatically slew to.

A simple set-up that will be familiar to any photographer with a tripod, it’s quick to get started and there’s almost no prerequisite knowledge of the night sky needed (except to use the telescope when it’s dark and cloudless). An improved 6.2MP image sensor gives decent images of the stars and if you pack it away in the proprietary backpack it’s handily convenient to travel to locations with.

Specifications

Image resolution: 6.2 MP
Focal length: 450 mm
Storage: 64 GB
Field of view: 34 x 47 arc minutes
Mount: Motorized Alt-azimuth
Limiting magnitude: 18.2
Battery: 11 hrs
Mirror diameter: 114 mm
Weight: 9 kg

Key Features

Everything about the eQuinox 2 is designed to be simple. The telescope has a single power button that flashes purple and is a constant red when attempting to connect and connected to a smart device respectively. The telescope tube is mounted on a single fork arm which is also motorized and slots into the tripod with ease, secured with two screws.

The tripod is height adjustable with three leg sections and two locking levels and the legs can be widened by sliding out the adjustment tab at the top of the tripod legs for a total of two positions. The lens cap also doubles as a Bahtinov mask for which to focus the telescope which is useful when attempting deep sky imaging which is notoriously difficult to get pin-sharp due to the lack of light from small, dim stars.

The real magic happens in the interface between the telescope and the smart device. Install and open the Unistellar app on Android or iOS devices and you’ll be met with a user-friendly interface that has three main sub-menus: Catalog, Scientific Observations, and the Gallery. The Catalog outlines every possible night sky object on its database, which can be searched using the search function or filtered through by type and whether it is currently visible in your location and time. A big part of Unistellar’s push is in its astronomy community, under the Scientific Observations tab you can sign-up and take part in citizen science projects and help with asteroid occultations, exoplanet transits, planetary defense tracking, or cometary activity.

The telescope can be manually controlled by pressing the purple telescope icon and selecting ‘move’ which is helpful to look at specific objects in the sky when the telescope isn’t oriented (sadly it only orientates correctly when it’s properly dark) and has a slow mode for accurate slewing. When oriented though, use the Catalog to ‘go to’ specific night sky objects without having to know anything about where they are in the night sky. 

Build & Handling

It’s hard to tell the eQuinox 2 apart from the original and it’s also very similar in style to the eVscope 2, its more sophisticated sibling. But no matter how similar it looks to the other Unistellar smart telescopes it’s absolutely beautiful. A long, slender 450mm reflector it’s flanked in black plastic and a meteor grey metal finish. 

Although quite long at 68cm base to lens cap and it weighs 9kg it’s easily portable with the additional backpack, we’d recommend this if you’re wanting to take it further than the garden as it confidently protects the delicate instrument and tripod. Though we’d avoid walking long distances because the backpack is long and with all the kit loaded up it’s quite wearing on the shoulders.

The tripod is absolutely rock solid and thanks to several aforementioned height and leg adjustments it’s flexible enough to be used pretty much anywhere. We didn’t feel that at any point the telescope was at risk of toppling over. 

The Unistellar app is brilliantly designed and connects to the telescope without issue, provided it’s dark enough for the telescope to self-orientate. Slewing is quick and simple as the app displays a virtual joystick to change positions. Overall, both the telescope and the app feel solid, robust and are nice to look at and use.

Performance

The performance of the eQuinox 2 is impressive. Building on everything the original eQuinox did well it kicks things up a gear with a higher resolution of 6.2MP to provide more detailed imagery of the night sky. There was a little waiting around for a completely dark sky when we tested it because it automatically aligns itself based on the night sky visible and, when setting up at twilight, it was still a little too bright for the sensor despite our being able to see the moon, Jupiter and some of the brighter stars.

A quick go to on the app sent us whirling across the night sky to view galaxies, nebulae and star clusters. It took about five to ten minutes to get going from synchronising it with our Android smartphone and then we could let it do its thing. So much so that, provided we retained Wi-Fi communication with the telescope (the phone attaches to the broadcasted Wi-Fi signal from the eQuinox 2) we could go back inside and operate it in the garden from the warmth of the kitchen, or car when on location. 

This kind of speedy setup and wireless operation is ideal for anyone who wants to view and photograph the night sky but doesn’t have the time or patience to spend a long time aligning the telescope and setting up a mirrorless camera on the eyepiece with an adapter and continued the convoluted process of imaging the night sky with dark and light frames etc. We managed to photograph the Whirlpool galaxy, Sunflower galaxy, the moon and some star clusters without issue. The enhanced view mode gives even more detailed views as it takes multiple long exposures and stacks them, without any camera settings or editing requirements from the user.

Verdict

Smart telescopes aren’t cheap, but the eQuinox 2 is much more reasonably priced than the eVscope 2 so it’s a good way in if you’re an astronomer that has a little cash to invest in a decent telescope but also wants to photograph the night sky. It’s especially good for rank amateurs who want to learn about and see the night sky but have little to no knowledge of constellations or where to find deep-sky objects. However, it’s also equally helpful for more advanced astronomers who simply don’t have the time to go through a lengthy setup process as with traditional telescopes, adding adapters on for cameras and experimenting with accessories to make the most of the optical instrument.

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Unistellar isn’t the only company to manufacture smart telescopes. The other big hitter is Vaonis and their latest effort is the Vespera. Smaller and lighter than the eQuinox, the Vaonis Vespera is seemingly the world's lightest smart telescope at under 11lbs. It’s still an investment so beginner astronomers may need to take this into account at first, but it works in much the same way as the eQuinox 2 by automatically slewing to celestial objects and imaging them using its Sony IMX462 image sensor that can photograph up to 8MP stills.

Those that want a more traditional way to stargaze will likely want something like the Celestron NexStar 5SE which is a neat little catadioptric telescope that combines the benefits of both reflector and refractor into a tiny telescope that’s still eminently useful. You can upgrade the eyepieces, finderscope, tripod and other parts unlike the smart telescopes which come bundled as-is and it too has a motorized, computerized single fork arm mount that can ‘go to’ celestial objects, once aligned.

For beginners though, you may want to take a look at a cheaper refractor like the Celestron Inspire 100AZ. Long and slim, it’s lightweight and ultra-portable so you can take it further than the back garden for skywatching. It’s inexpensive too, which makes it ideal for beginners and those on a tight budget.

Read More: Find out more about astronomy and astrophotography with our guides to the best smart telescopes, the best computerized telescopes, and the best budget telescopes.

Nikon's telescope credentials are well established, but the company yesterday announced its first investment in smart telescopes. It is not, however, a completely strange new world; Nikon is backing Unistellar, a French company with whom it has already worked.

Smart telescopes are seen as a disruptive technology in the amateur astronomy market, with smartphone control helping people find the subjects and keep them in frame. Nikon had already prodived a micro OLED eyepiece for the Unistellar eVscope 2, after a previously announced partnership. Now it seems Nikon is investing in what might be the future of its telescope business.

• Check out the best smart telescopes on the market right now

Unistellar's description of the Nikon technology is fullsome in its praise. It describes "a sophisticated array of lenses, sourced from Nikon's expert optical labs." And that's just for the eVscope 2. The next step, according to the Unistellar announcement, is to become the world leader in consumer astronomy.

"Nikon ambitions to contribute to the advancement of science by bringing the excitement of astronomical observation to all" is the word from Yasuhiro Ohmura, Senior Vice President of Nikon. 

We hope we can blame the translation for the verb use there, but the point is strong. Unistellar smart telescopes have been used in spotting exoplanets and near-earth asteroids, and users can collaborate through organizations like NASA and SETI.

Indeed, Unistellar's existing collaboration software is used by an online community of 10,000 observers. Live captures can be shared and, who knows, perhaps this is how extra-terrestrial life will first be seen?

As Unistellar's announcement makes plain, the investment-backed partnership will make the company more nimble in the market. It already has a presence in the US, Europe, Japan, and 60 countries, but is keen to grow. It also notes that smart tech makes it easier for urban astronomers to find their targets, despite noise pollution.

While the announcement is exciting, you can start using Unistellar's tech now; as well as the eVscope 2 we mentioned, there is also the Unistellar eQuinox 2 that uses phone screens.

If this article was of interest you might want to check our list of best computerized telescopes, or our best beginner telescope guide. If you feel you'd like to start more traditionally – and at a bit less cost – then check our best budget telescopes. Let's not forget the photographic, either; we also keep an eye on the best telescopes for astrophotography.

French smart telescope-maker Unistellar has used CES 2023 to announce and show off its eVscope eQuinox 2 smart telescope – the follow-up to 2021’s impressive eVscope eQuinox. Selling for US$2,499/£2,199, it’s the company’s most affordable model yet in a line-up that also includes the Unistellar eVscope 2. 

Read: Best smart telescope

What sets apart eQuinox 2 from eVscope 2 – and, indeed, from almost every other telescope on sale – is its lack of an eyepiece. A 4.5-inch/114mm reflector telescope with a focal length of 450mm, focal ratio of f/4 and 50x magnification, like its stable-mates the eQuinox 2 is more an autonomous astrophotography rig than a backyard telescope. 

It’s inspired by how professional telescopes on mountaintops work; inside is a Sony CMOS image sensor that uses Unistellar’s ‘Enhanced Vision’ technology’ intelligent image processing, live-stacking long-exposures of deep-sky objects it’s tracking and displaying them on the company’s smartphone/tablet app. Unistellar also tells us that its partnership with NASA will soon permit any eQuinox 2 to be used to search for distant exoplanets around other stars. 

On this new version, the image sensor is upgraded from a Sony IMX224 to a Sony IMX347, which increases the resolution of its images from 4.8 megapixels to 6.2 megapixels, an increase of 27%. The eQuinox 2 also brings a new field of view, offering 34x47 arcminutes compared to the original product’s narrower 27x37 arcminutes. Crucially, that means the Moon now fits into its field of view. Though eQuinox 2 isn’t primed for observing our natural satellite, Unistellar tells us that a future firmware update will bring it into sharp focus. The telescope weighs 9kg with its motorized Alt-Azimuth mount and 11-hour rechargeable battery; it has 64GB of built-in storage.

The eQuinox 2’s images will also benefit from advances in machine learning, not only in terms of contrast and color, but also the removal of the effects of light pollution – perhaps the most impressive benefit of smart telescopes. Here ‘Smart Light Pollution Reduction’ digitally removes skyglow to allow people in heavily urban settings to view deep-sky objects. 

However, perhaps the biggest change is what the eQuinox 2 is designed to observe. Once restricted to long exposure observations of galaxies, nebulae and stars, a new firmware addition to its ‘Enhanced Vision’ technology makes it possible to use eQuinox 2 to study planets – chiefly Jupiter, Saturn, and Mars. That will be done using a technique called ‘lucky imaging’ to help overcome Earth’s turbulent atmosphere, which plays havoc with planetary photography. Often used by astrophotographers, ‘lucky imaging’ refers to the practice of taking a succession of short exposures of these bright objects in the hope that there will be a gap in turbulence when the ‘seeing’ is perfect.

“Thanks to its state-of-the-art innovations and its smart design choices, we are making space within reach from anywhere, even from light-polluted cities,” said Laurent Marfisi, co-founder and CEO of Unistellar. “Now, everyone from novice stargazers to amateur astronomers can enjoy stunning clarity, color, and hard-to-see detail like the striking colors of the Dumbbell Nebula.”

Pre-sales for the eQuinox 2 are open with the product available from mid-February 2023.

Read more: 

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Unistellar eVscope 2 smart telescope review

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In November 2021, NASA embarked on a first-of-its-kind space mission to find out if it's possible to protect Earth from an asteroid impact. Known as DART (Double Asteroid Redirection Test) the mission sent a spacecraft into deep space with the intention of impacting an asteroid. 

Just over 10 months later and the spacecraft has finally made it to a 160m-wide asteroid named Dimorphos. Tonight at 7.14pm EDT on September 26 (00.14am BST on September 27 in the UK), DART will impact the asteroid - an event that will be visible from Reunion Island on the East coast of Africa. 

Thanks to Unistellar - a pioneer in modern smart telescope astronomy - the historic event will be live streamed on YouTube in partnership with the SETI Institute by Patrice Huet, a local astronomer from the Unistellar network.

• Read more: Best telescopes for astrophotography

Using a Unistellar eVscope, Huet will attempt to detect and live stream the collision on the Unistellar social networks in order to help people learn more about this unique defense mission. 

Watch the livestream using the link above

Before the live stream begins, there will be a welcome and introduction followed by short 20-minute talks from different people at the Seti Institute, Caltech, Planetary Science Institute and the Unistellar network. They will be discussing everything from what to expect post-impact to why the mission was commissioned, how the navigation system works and the first photo of Dimorphos will be revealed.  

For any budding astronomers or astrophotographers, there are also ways you can help from your own back garden by joining the Unistellar network which currently consists of more than 10,000 digital telescopes spread across Europe, Japan and North America.

The collision will take place at 12:16 BST/19:14 EDT/16:14 PDT and can be live streamed on YouTube via the Seti Institute - a nonprofit organization whose aim is to understand the nature and origins of life in the universe. To find out more information about the DART mission, check out the NASA website. 

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Smart telescopes are revolutionizing how we observe the night sky — offering app-controlled, automated stargazing without the steep learning curve. These modern telescopes have built-in cameras, so you don't have to peer through an eyepiece - instead, you look at a live image on the screen of your phone or tablet. As the connection between the telescope is wireless, you don't even need to stay outside to explore the night sky! Even better, since the first models appeared on the market from Vaonis and Unistellar five or so years ago, there are now some much more affordable options from companies like Zwo and Dwarflab to choose from.

Whether you’re a beginner or an enthusiast, this guide highlights the best options to get into astrophotography and astronomy with ease. We've found and reviewed all the best smart telescopes available, testing them all to bring you the most accurate buying recommendations for your needs.

Unlike the best telescopes for astrophotography, smart telescopes are easy for beginners to use. They use cutting-edge astrophotography techniques to locate faint objects in the night sky and then take long exposure images of them, stacking one on top of the other to remove noise, battle light pollution, and improve the image quality. The result? Colorful images of deep-sky objects like galaxies and nebulae that are next to impossible to see with even high-powered optical telescopes.

Our Top Picks

The best smart telescopes

Best overall

The arrival of the now-discontinued Seestar S50 in 2023 made smart telescopes affordable. The Seestar S30 Pro takes the next step by making them genuinely capable imaging tools.

At first glance, it barely looks like a telescope at all. Closer in size to a large telephoto lens, it’s designed for travel, something that would have been unthinkable for traditional astrophotography rigs just a few years ago. Yet once powered on and connected to a smartphone, it performs the same essential workflow as far larger systems: automatic alignment, object selection, tracking and live stacking.

What sets the Pro model apart is its imaging system. The jump to dual 4K sensors — one for wide-field views, one for telephoto detail — means more resolution, more flexibility and far greater potential for post-processing (thanks to its ability to export FITS files). The same goes for pro-grade EQ mode, though that requires the addition of an equatorial edge.

The longer you let it run, the better the results become, as stacked exposures gradually reveal faint structure and color, but there are limits. Its 30mm aperture restricts raw light-gathering power while planetary imaging remains basic, but overall it represents a clear shift in what a beginner-grade smart telescope can be. By simplifying astrophotography, the Seestar S30 Pro lowers the barrier to producing genuinely good images.

Read our full ZWO Seestar S30 Pro review.

Best for images

The eVscope 2 offers some of the most advanced features available in a smart telescope today. It may ship with an excellent quality backpack for taking to dark skies, but the eVscope 2 copes brilliantly with urban light pollution. Its Enhanced Vision (EV) images of faint galaxies, nebulae and star clusters can be viewed in the Unistellar app and shared as a PNG file complete with some basic information about the target. A 4.5-inch reflector telescope with a Sony IMX347 image sensor, eVscope 2 has 64MB storage and a 12-hour battery.

Unusually, the eVscope 2 has an electronic eyepiece. Made by Nikon, its micro OLED tech provides crisp, contrasty views of night sky objects with plenty of eye relief for glasses-wearers. It helps eVscope 2 bridge the gap between traditional observing and gives users a reason to be outside, but it also makes it easier to focus on the optics. Since it’s a reflector telescope, it will occasionally need collimating.

Read our full Unistellar eVscope 2 review.

Best for ease of use

If the sleek Vespera II made smart telescopes accessible, the newer Vespera Pro refines the concept into something closer to a fully automated observatory.

At its core, the experience is unchanged. You place it on a tripod, connect your phone, and within minutes it’s aligned itself, found the target, and begun capturing exposures. Like all smart telescopes, it stacks images over time, gradually revealing detail that would otherwise remain invisible to the eye.

The Pro’s upgraded sensor delivers noticeably higher resolution, while its CovalENS mode expands the field of view by stitching multiple panels together. It works a bit like creating a panoramic landscape image, allowing large objects such as the Andromeda Galaxy (M31) to be captured in full.

In practice, the Vespera Pro excels at deep-sky imaging. Nebulae, galaxies, and star clusters emerge cleanly even from light-polluted cities, especially when paired with optional filters from Vaonis designed to suppress light pollution and enhance specific wavelengths of nebulae imaging. Its ability to build multi-night stacks also makes astrophotography less like a single observing session and more like an ongoing project that improves over time.

There are trade-offs. Like most smart telescopes, planetary imaging is underwhelming, while the price is firmly in premium territory, particularly once accessories are added. However, the Vespera Pro offers a great build quality and an excellent app, which shouldn’t be underrated.

Read our full Vaonis Vespera Pro review.

Best for design

The Odyssey Pro is a simplified version of the Unistellar eVscope 2. Again, it has the advantage over other smart telescopes in that it can be used like a traditional telescope - as it has a Nikon-designed digital eyepiece, so you are not completely dependent on using your cellphone or tablet to see the night sky. This model is cheaper and lighter, though - and for that, you do sacrifice some resolution. However, its 4.2MP sensor was still capable of producing some great images in our tests - even in areas with significant light pollution.

Read our full Unistellar Odyssey Pro review

Best for price

The Seestar S30 is a compact, beginner-friendly smart telescope that brings deep-sky astrophotography within reach of anyone thanks to its low price. Controlled via an intuitive app, it auto-aligns, tracks and stacks images with ease. Its dual-lens system handles both solar, lunar and deep sky targets, and the framing mode captures stunning wide-field mosaics.

While limited in resolution and planetary detail, its portability, built-in filters, and powerful Sony sensor deliver impressive results for its size and price. With a travel-ready form, magnetic solar filter, and smart automation, the S30 is an excellent tool for photographers wanting to capture the cosmos without the cost, the bulk or the learning curve.

See our full ZWO Seestar S30 review

Best for portability

If most smart telescopes are designed to simplify astrophotography, the Dwarf Mini goes one step further by miniaturizing it. Small enough to slip into a camera bag — or even a large pocket — it barely feels like a telescope, yet the core experience remains familiar. As with all its rivals, you connect your phone, select a target, and the system aligns, tracks and stacks exposures automatically.

What makes the Dwarf Mini distinct is its dual identity. It’s not trying to compete with larger, higher-resolution instruments. Instead, it prioritizes portability and flexibility, making it ideal for travel, spontaneous observing sessions or supplementing a more advanced setup. Results won’t rival higher-resolution rivals, but they’re more than sufficient for sharing — and improve noticeably with longer integration.

A surprising feature is its equatorial tracking mode, which allows exposures of up to 90 seconds when properly aligned with Polaris. It also stands out for its versatility. With a built-in filter wheel and included solar filter, it can image the sun, moon and night sky straight out of the box — no extra accessories required. However, there are downsides, with that modest resolution paired with limited battery life and the need to supply your own tripod. Nevertheless, this travel-first smart telescope makes astrophotography possible anywhere, anytime.

Read our full DwarfLab Dwarf Mini review.

Best for science

The eQuinox 2 is a lower-cost alternative to our top-rated Unistellar eVscope 2 — with the main difference being that this smart telescope doesn't have a built-in electronic viewfinder. As such, you need to view the night sky exclusively through your phone or tablet via a WiFi connection.

The resolution has also slightly decreased, but its 6.2MP sensor still ensures that it gives you better image quality than some earlier smart telescopes.

What impressed us most about the eQuinox 2 in our test is its ease of use. Once set up on its motorized tripod, the Unistellar app effortlessly allows you to locate any one of thousands of objects — and even take part in organized citizen science observing campaigns for comets, exoplanets and more. We did find that you do need to wait until you have a completely dark sky to get the best results for the setup - but we love that once it is set up and running, you can sit inside (or in your car) and control the telescope (which is very welcome on a cold winter's night!).

Read our full Unistellar eQuinox 2 review.

Common questions

You might also like the best lenses for astrophotography and the best star tracker camera mounts. Check out our astrophotography tips while you're here.

The best telescopes are ideal for both stargazing enthusiasts and those who want to capture the cosmos with their cameras. So which model should you buy? Well, that depends a lot on your level of experience.

If you're looking for the best telescope for beginners, we recommend setting your sights on an inclusive package that lets you try a bit of everything, from general observing to afocal astrophotography. These instruments often come with a tripod, mount, eyepieces, finderscope, and even a smartphone adapter.

If your needs are slightly more advanced, you should consider whether you're a deep-sky or Solar System imager. The aperture (or objective lens) of the telescope will be your guide on whether it's capable of capturing 'faint fuzzies' or just enough to make the planets and lunar surface pop. For more details, skip to our section on How to choose.

An increasingly popular option is a smart telescope – that has a built-in camera, and beams its images to your phone or tablet, so everything is remotely-controlled – and you can even observe the night sky from indoors

Luckily, there are so many great telescopes for astrophotography that users are spoilt for choice. You'll find my pick of the best telescopes for astrophotography below.

The quick list

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The best telescopes for astrophotography

Best overall

When the ZWO Seestar S50 dropped in 2023, it felt like a seismic shift in amateur astronomy. For me, it wasn't just another gadget; it completely demolished the cost barrier to entry for the "smart telescope" category.

Three years on, I still consider it the absolute champion for democratizing the night sky. The sheer value packed into this little device is astounding. And let’s be clear, this isn't some fly-by-night operation—its manufacturer, ZWO, is one of the most trusted and respected names in specialist astrophotography cameras. That pedigree alone should tell you this is something to be taken seriously.

The Seestar S50’s arrival in 2023 slashed the entry cost to get a smart telescope by a huge margin. A couple of years later, it’s still the standout, bringing effortless astronomy to a greater number of people in a great value package. It needs to be taken seriously, too; its manufacturer, ZWO, is one of the most respected names in the specialist world of specialist telescope cameras.

There is no eyepiece, so you view the images on your phone or tablet. As a budget model, resolution is restricted to 2MP, and you can only shoot vertical images – but then there is no need to buy a separate camera or lens..

In my tests, I was impressed with the results you got for the price. A major advantage is that the software allows it to give you decent results even in places with noticeable light pollution — and we also found it worked well in daylight for solar observations.

Read our full ZWO Seestar S50 review.

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Best reflector

If you're after the best telescope for astrophotography and serious stargazing, we recommend the Celestron AstroMaster 130EQ, which offers a great package for the slightly more experienced amateur astronomer – especially given that it comes with a CG-3 equatorial mount, which requires more practice and patience to use over the basic alt-azimuth.

The equatorial mount assists with tracking, which is essential for longer exposure astrophotography. Meanwhile, its decent aperture will show a good amount of detail on the solar system and deep-sky targets. However, in order to get the very best from the optical system – which is a Newtonian reflector – you'll need to collimate the setup.

This process can be tricky for beginners, but with practice, it's easily achieved – especially given Celestron has supplied a manual that walks you through the process. The optical performance is very good, with no major visual defects visible and we enjoyed the stunning contrast and clarity in the field of view.

The Celestron AstroMaster 130EQ comes fairly well equipped, and features two good quality eyepieces (20mm and 10mm), a StarPointer red dot finderscope, and a free download of Starry Night Basic Software, allowing you to choose your targets and plan your observing session before heading outside. Be warned though: you won't see all 36,000 objects in the software database using the 130mm aperture.

Overall, the package is a sound choice as the first serious telescope for astrophotography. And, if you're a complete beginner, practice, and patience will help you to yield some impressive images – more so, provided you accessorize the Celestron AstroMaster 130EQ with eyepieces that are respectful of the optical tube's useful magnifications. For example, it doesn't come with a Barlow lens, which will improve viewing and imaging further.

Read our Celestron AstroMaster 130EQ telescope review for more details

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Best catadioptric

Very popular among amateur astronomers worldwide, the Celestron NexStar 5SE is an extremely user-friendly option for those who are not just starting out in observing, but who are also keen to try their hand at astrophotography.

It features a computerized mount, which enables the astronomer to spend more time imaging and observing instead of spending huge amounts of time tracking down targets in the night sky: at the simple touch of a button on the included hand control, you can lock onto your chosen object and get stargazing right away. What's more, the SkyAlign technology is a breeze to use and, in our experience, aligned the instrument within minutes.

The telescope's design is exquisite given the cost and we're impressed with the optical performance. Given its focal ratio of f/10, the NexStar 5SE is a fast telescope, so it's best suited to lunar and planetary astrophotography. We found views and resulting images clear and crisp, especially craters along the Moon's terminator where night meets day.

Beginners and seasoned astrophotographers will also enjoy picking out detail on the surface of Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn; we highly recommend accessorizing this telescope with a range of filters for optimum results.

The Celestron NexStar 5SE is quite portable, and since it's comprised of three different components – the optical tube, mount, and steel tripod – assembly takes no more than about 10 minutes.

Read our Celestron NexStar 5SE telescope review for more details

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Best all-rounder

The largest of Celestron's StarSense Explorer range, the Celestron StarSense Explorer DX 130AZ offers a very good aperture size and a selection of accessories, including two eyepieces (10mm and 20mm), star diagonal, StarPointer red-dot finder, alt-azimuth mount, tripod, smartphone dock, and accessory tray. Set up is a simple process that takes no more than about 15 to 20 minutes. And it all comes in at a very reasonable cost

The StarSense Explorer DX 130AZ is a fast telescope due to its focal ratio of f/5 and focal length of 650mm. That makes it better suited to low-power views of the night sky. We enjoyed a selection of planetary and deep-sky targets in the field of view.

Before we began observing, we downloaded the StarSense App, which is supplied for free with the telescope. We encountered no problems installing it onto our iPhone 11 and found the interface to be extremely simple to navigate and use.

The StarSense App is packed with planets, stars, nebulae, and galaxies to explore – so if you don't know what to observe on your first night, there are plenty of recommendations. The app also makes short work of aligning the telescope, working accurately, and offering plenty of guidance to ensure that the skywatcher is imaging and observing within minutes.

Our first target was Mars, which shone brightly in the south east. Slewing to the Red Planet as instructed by the app, we noted the screen "zoom in", which prompted us to use the slow-motion controls (which work smoothly enough) to bring our target into focus. The fourth planet from the Sun is an impressive sight through the StarSense Explorer DX 130AZ, especially when we added a 2x Barlow lens. At a magnification of 150x, Mars appears as a sharp disk with the south polar cap visible.

Testing the StarSense Explorer DX 130AZ's mettle on fainter deep-sky targets, we slewed to the Andromeda Galaxy (Messier 31) and the Triangulum Galaxy (Messier 33). We weren't disappointed with the views; they were clear, and contrasty and demonstrated the reflector's ability to collect enough light for bright observations.

It's not possible to take long-exposure astrophotography due to the undriven amount but were able to take a decent focal shot using a smartphone and the supplied dock – results are pleasing and sure to delight beginners.

Read our Celestron StarSense Explorer DX 130AZ review for more details

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Best for beginners

The Celestron Inspire 100AZ is our recommended telescope for the ultimate beginner, or for those on a tight budget. Given the complete package, which features a 10mm and 20mm eyepiece, erect image star diagonal, accessory tray, smartphone adapter, Starry Night Software, red LED flashlight for preserving night vision, and a StarPointer Pro red dot finderscope, you truly get more bang for your buck with the Inspire series of telescopes.

Though its mount is a basic undriven alt-azimuth design, it will still enable you to get some impressive images of the lunar surface – which is by far the best initial target to try photographing.

As with the majority of instruments, the Inspire 100AZ's optics are multicoated providing good clarity for the low price tag. Color fringing is visible in images, but this is to be expected through the optical system of a budget telescope.

The integrated smartphone adapter means you can mount your phone to the eyepiece to take photos. You can also easily mount a digital SLR or mirrorless camera to the telescope with a low-cost adapter (this is available separately), although be mindful of the loading weight of this instrument when attaching additional pieces of kit.

Read our Celestron Inspire 100AZ review for more details

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Best for solar system objects

The Sky-Watcher SkyMax-180 PRO features a long focal length, which makes it ideal for those who like to image the members of the solar system. Its Maksutov-Cassegrain design offers excellent, high-clarity views of the cratered surface of the Moon, very good contrast of Jupiter's atmospheric bands and belts, spectacular views of the dust storms that rage across the face of red planet Mars, and enables astrophotographers to pick out the Cassini Division in Saturn's rings.

While it's famed for planetary and lunar imaging, the Sky-Watcher SkyMax-180 PRO is also capable of giving fair views of a selection of bright nebulae and galaxies, particularly those that take up a larger section of the sky – the Andromeda Galaxy (Messier 31) and the Orion Nebula (Messier 42) in particular are worthwhile astrophotography targets through this telescope.

Sky-Watcher prides itself in creating an instrument that stops chromatic aberration – also known as color fringing – from ruining views and images taken through the SkyMax-180 PRO. We were pleased to find that no purple-blue tints are visible along the limb of luminous targets such as the Moon and Jupiter, which both dazzle at magnitudes -12.6 and -2.7.

A downside of the Sky-Watcher SkyMax-180 PRO is that it doesn't come with a mount, tripod, or plenty of eyepieces, despite the hefty price tag. With any instrument, the more you accessorize, the better the views get provided the astrophotographer is respectful of the optical tube assembly's highest useful magnification.

With the tube exuding a high-quality finish and manufactured using robust materials (the SkyMax-180 PRO weighs in at 7.8kg), we recommend purchasing a heavy-duty mount such as the Sky-Watcher HEQ5 to support the heft, especially given that accessory and a camera will add to the weight.

Read our Sky-Watcher SkyMax-180 PRO telescope review for more details

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FAQs

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How to choose

If you're new to the world of astronomical telescopes, some of the telescopes below might look a little odd. We're all used to 'refracting' telescopes, which are not unlike telephoto lenses, using a series of optical glass elements to focus an image captured at the front end into an eyepiece at the back.

But most astronomical telescopes use a 'reflecting' design. Instead of a large, glass objective lens at the front, they are essentially hollow tubes with a large parabolic reflecting mirror right at the back which does the same job. This mirror reflects the image back up to the front of the tube where a secondary mirror reflects it into an eyepiece in the side of the telescope (a 'Newtonian' reflector) or straight back down the tube and through a hole in the main mirror to an eyepiece in the conventional position at the back (a 'Schmidt Cassegrain' reflector).

There are also 'Maksutov reflectors', which are a kind of hybrid, using a glass lens at the front to help focus the light for a mirror, just like 'catadioptric' mirror lenses for cameras, in fact!

Neither design has any specific optical advantages, but refracting telescopes tend to be longer and heavier, and those with large objective lenses to match reflecting telescopes tend to be pretty expensive.

Reflecting telescopes tend to give you more light-gathering power for your money, and because they 'fold' the light path within the barrel, they are a lot shorter.

To make observations and set-up easier, computerized telescopes offer a motor-driven mount that can automatically guide you to hundreds of celestial objects.

A recent high-tech option is the smart telescope - that does away with an eyepiece and instead uses a built-in camera to transmit your images to an app on your smartphone or tablet.

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How we test

Our mission on Digital Camera World is to give you the best advice we can about which products you should buy. We do this with buying guides aimed at particular users or needs, and full standalone product reviews.

We also work tirelessly to find the best prices for the products you’re interested in, via our unique real-time price-checking engine. Digital Camera World is funded by affiliate links, but this does not affect the price you pay and will never affect our review ratings.

Digital Camera World is 100% independent and never swayed by the influence of advertisers or PR firms. The tests you read are our genuine unbiased opinions. We do not operate on an ‘influencer’ model. We are an independent editorial website that operates without bias or favor.

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Compare today's prices

The Unistellar eVscope 2 is a hint that smart telescopes are the future of astronomy. Why? Light pollution is the future for humanity. Most of us can’t see anything but the brightest of stars from our homes and yet interest in the night sky is on the increase. Cue the eVscope 2, the latest smart telescope from Marseille-France-based company Unistellar that successfully overcomes the scourge of light pollution and does it with a little help from Nikon. 

Controlled via an app on a smartphone or tablet, this update on the original eVscope is built around a new Sony IMX347 CMOS image sensor. That makes this 4.5-inch reflector telescope as much about astrophotography as amateur astronomy, presenting 7.7 megapixel images to anyone in its vicinity holding a smartphone or tablet hosting the Unistellar app. 

Specifications

Optical design: Reflector
Aperture: 114mm
Focal length: 450mm
Focal ratio: F/4
Magnification: x200
Mount: Alt-Azimuth
Resolving power: 2 arc seconds
Limiting stellar magnitude: 18
Battery life: 10 hours
Weight: 9kg

Key features

Unlike the company’s recent eVscope eQuinox, here the images are also funnelled to an all-new Nikon Electronic Eyepiece. It’s excellent – a vast improvement on the original eVscope – and hosts rich, contrasty images of stars, nebulae and galaxies against a more convincing blackness of space.  

It does this using its ‘Enhanced Vision’ technology. A tried-and-tested astrophotography trick, ‘Enhanced Vision’ sees the eVscope’s onboard computer imaging an object every four seconds and stacking the results, constantly refreshing and improving the composite image displayed via the app and through the eyepiece. In doing so the eVscope 2 goes way beyond your average backyard telescope, which when used under light-polluted light skies can muster views of very little beyond the Moon and planets. 

However, one of the few disappointments about the original eVscope was that it couldn’t quite fit the Moon into its field of view. That’s corrected on the eVscope 2, which has a slightly wider field of view at 34 arc minutes compared to the 30 arc minutes of its predecessor. 

That may not sound like much of an upgrade, but it makes a huge difference. For example, instead of only using the eVscope 2 on dark, moonless nights you can now position outside and get fabulous, fullscreen images of the Moon itself. We tried this during the night of the rise of September’s ‘Harvest Moon’ and got some excellent views as it rose above the eastern horizon. 

Performance

It's not just lunar photography that's improved here. It’s much the same for a few other key sights that are simply too large for the original eVscope to get a good look at. Chiefly, that means the stunning spiral Andromeda Galaxy (M31), whose core is about 30 arcminutes wide. The eVscope 2 gets eyes-on properly this time, though it’s best to leave it on ‘enhanced vision’ for 20 minutes or so before you start to see dust lanes in its spiral structure. 

It’s worth noting that the atmospheric conditions make a huge difference when taking astronomical photographs, so if the eVscope fails to get sharp views one night, take it out the next night. That alone can make a huge difference. So can light pollution, though it’s the light of a bright Moon that you need to worry about the most (though you can reduce its interference by slewing to objects on the opposite side of the night sky… though that does require some familiarity with the constellations). 

Setting-up the eVscope is as easy as ever, with the ‘Autonomous Field Detection’ software – a mash-up of a built-in planetarium, the GPS on your smartphone and some clever AI-powered star pattern-spotting – automatically calibrating everything. Though you will have to either focus manually on the Moon or learn how to use the lens caps’ built-in Bahtinov Mask to get super-sharp stars (it’s easy enough to do if you follow Unistellar’s YouTube video). 

The jump in pixels and the slightly higher resolution images on the eVscope 2 means it now comes with 64GB of onboard storage (the eVscope had 12GB). The only other physical difference between old and new is that this new version has a quoted battery life of 10 hours to the original eVscope’s 12 hours, which is down to the jump in processing power. 

Like its predecessor, the eVscope runs off a built-in battery that can be topped-up using a portable battery via a USB-C cable. It could do with a fold-out shelf to rest that battery. Since it doesn’t have one, we’d recommend using a long USB-C cable to prevent tangles. 

Verdict

With an excellent new eyepiece, higher resolution views and a new ability to get the whole of the Moon and the Andromeda Galaxy into the frame, the eVscope 2 contains some useful upgrades. Easy to use and impressive under light-polluted night skies, it’s a slick but also an expensive way into hassle-free astrophotography and astronomy, at $4,199 / £3,399. 

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Ever since the pandemic struck telescopes have been flying off shelves as home-based hobbies soared in popularity, but it’s a sad fact that light pollution seriously limits what many new stargazers can see from their back gardens. Cue the eVscope 2 from Marseille, France-based Unistellar, which has partnered with Nikon on what it claims is now the world’s most powerful consumer-grade digital telescope. 

The eVscope 2 is a very different beast to your average beginner’s telescope. For starters, it’s entirely digital, allowing up to ten smartphones for tablets to connect via WiFi and live-stream observations made by its 114mm/4.5-inch reflector. 

However, while the original Unistellar eVscope had a rather disappointing eyepiece, the eVscope 2 includes a best-in-class Nikon electronic eyepiece that Unistellar claims creates immersive observation with rich contrast and perfectly black images.

• Read more: Best telescopes for astrophotography and stargazing

The telescope’s images are digitized by a camera sensor inside the eVscope 2, which uses Unistellar’s ‘Enhanced Vision’ technology’ intelligent image processing, which stacks long-exposures of deep-sky objects you point it at – such as galaxies, globular clusters and nebulae. 

“Through Unistellar’s digital telescope leadership, combined with Nikon’s optical expertise, space-lovers can immerse themselves in the wonders of the Universe – no rocket required,” said Laurent Marfisi, chief executive officer at Unistellar. 

The company’s technology seriously impressed us on the original eVscope and the eyepiece-less eVscope eQuinox, with image quality in the Unistellar app far surpassing what you might see on your average back garden telescope. Crucially, that applied even in heavily light-polluted cities. So our hopes are high that this image quality will be significantly increased in the eVscope 2’s all-new eyepiece.

That goes double since the eVscope 2 also comes equipped with upgraded electronics, a jump in pixels and Unistellar’s new ‘Super Resolution’ tech. New for the Unistellar eVscope 2 is a Sony Exmor IMX347 sensor replacing a IMX224 in the original. That means an improvement in resolution from 1.4 megapixels to 7.7 megapixels (though a recent firmware upgrade enables the original eVscope to push-out 5 megapixels). Those extra pixels are going to be useful because the eVscope 2 enables users to zoom-in more on its images, too. 

This second iteration of the eVscope also has a slightly wider field of view at 47 arcminutes. That’s going to be very useful for observing and photographing large celestial objects such as the Android Galaxy, the Orion Nebula and the Moon, which the original eVscope struggled to fit into its field of view. It’s a change that makes a lot of sense. 

However, all these advances come at a high cost. While the original cost US$2,999/UK£2,599, the eVscope 2 costs US$4,199/UK£3,399. It’s now on pre-order at unistellaroptics.com/evscope2. 

Unistellar’s aren’t the only so-called ‘smart telescopes’ in town; it will go head-to-head with the Vaonis Stellina, which offers 6 megapixel images and costs an almost identical US$3,999/UK3,440. 

Its price tag might make the eVscope 2 seem like a complicated and specialist purchase, but the eVscope 2 – like its forbear – is all about simplicity. Designed specifically to enable stargazers to easily and quickly observe deep-sky objects from their backyards, even in light-polluted skies – and share their photos – the eVscope 2 uses ‘Autonomous Field Detection’ software to automatically calibrate to the stars above it using the GPS in the user’s smartphone. As well as being automated, it’s portable; it weighs 9kg and comes with a snug backpack and a ten-hour battery. 

“Amateur astronomy typically requires a dark sky location, complex gear assembly, time-consuming setup, often hours of image processing, plus the knowledge to bring it all together,” said Marfisi. “With eVscope 2, anyone can join a quick half-hour observation session and enjoy numerous colorful deep space objects, even from a downtown balcony. Our technology is helping astronomy to finally play a role in people’s daily lives.”

However, eVscope 2 has a serious amateur astronomy side to it. Able to collect valuable scientific data from remote locations, Unistellar has developed a 5,000-strong community that together make observations of near-Earth asteroids and even exoplanets orbiting distant stars. The goal is to use these digital, connected telescopes to contribute to space science and even support NASA missions. 

“The eVscope 2 is a leap forward for ‘new astronomy’ and is helping fuel a significant cultural and scientific shift,” said Marfisi. “While enjoying the colors and details of nebulae and galaxies, they can also contribute to increasing our knowledge in space through citizen science.”  

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A 'smart telescope' that swaps an eyepiece for a Sony IMX224 CMOS image sensor seems an awful lot like a camera, right? Except that the Unistellar eVscope eQuinox, an update of the original eVscope, is simply about creating a telescope that actually works well under light-polluted skies than it is about being the best telescope for astrophotography. 

However, that changed slightly during our review. While we were testing this 4.5-inch reflector telescope a firmware update increased the resolution of its deep-sky astrophotos from a shareable 1.27 megapixels to a much more serious-sounding 4.8 megapixels. 

Pixels aside, the eVscope eQuinox – which arrives with a photographic-style adjustable tripod (though with a proprietary design) – has some impressive light-gathering abilities. Though its core optics are average for a backyard telescope, it’s sensor, circuitry and its algorithms are unique. Small telescopes only impress with planets and the Moon, but the eVscope eQuinox goes for the celestial jugular by concentrating solely on galaxies and other previously unobtainable objects in the deep sky. However, its lack of an eyepiece means the objects you point it at can only be seen on the screen or a smartphone or tablet hosting the Unistellar app. 

Order the Unistellar eVscope at Astroshop  £2,660 
Order the Unistellar eVscope at Astroshop $3,635 

Specifications

Optical design: Reflector 

Aperture: 114mm

Focal length: 450mm

Focal ratio: f/4

Magnification: x50

Mount: Alt-Azimuth

Resolving power: 1.7 arc-seconds

Field of view: 30 arc-minutes

Limiting stellar magnitude: 18

Storage: 64GB

Battery life: 12 hours

 Weight: 9kg

Handling

The lack of an eyepiece takes a bit of getting used to. In theory it’s slightly more difficult to focus. Whereas on the original eVscope you could use its electronic eyepiece itself to focus the telescope, on this latest iteration that's obviously impossible.

In our test we first focused the eVscope eQuinox on a waxing crescent Moon, twiddling the focus knob on the bottom of the tube with one hand while looking at an iPad with another. The results looked good, but since the eVscope eQuinox isn’t really designed to observe the Moon we slewed the eVscope eQuinox to bright star Arcturus high in the east to focus it using an included Bahtinov mask. Say what?! Hidden in the lens cover is a plastic circle with a distinctive pattern of slits in it. All you do is have the eVscope eQuinox line-up with a bright star and tweak the focus until you see three angled spikes of starlight come into alignment. Easy! 

However, the standout feature of this telescope’s super-simple set-up is its Autonomous Field Detection, during which the eVscope eQuinox checks-out what stars it's pointed at and automatically calibrates itself. It mostly works well, though more quickly if you orient it towards the Milky Way where there are more stars. An app is then required to slew to anything on a ‘recommended’ list. It’s cleverly tweaked depending on whether you’re observing from very dark skies or, like most of us, in light-polluted urban skies. 

The key to the eVscope eQuinox’s success is its Enhanced Vision (EV) mode. The digital noise present on a pure view of a galaxy is initially disappointing, but with EV mode engaged the eVscope eQuinox takes a photo every four seconds, stacking and constantly refreshing a composite image; you see it gradually appear and improve on a smartphone or iPad. The end result is a dark, clean, bright image of a galaxy, nebula, globular cluster or open cluster the likes of which you can never see through a regular eyepiece on a similarly-sized reflector telescope. You can manually adjust the gain (ISO) and exposure times if you want to, and even take a dark frame to cancel-out any hot pixels on the sensor. 

Performance

Image quality does depend on the target. For example, the Whirlpool Galaxy (M51) looks good seconds after you engage EV and just better the longer the eVscope eQuinox is trained upon it. That's not always true; some faint nebulae never really look good at all, though most targets benefit from patience – and that can mean a wait of 30 minutes if you want the very best images of distant galaxies. 

It’s specifically not designed to observe the Moon and planets, with this reflector telescope’s field of view measuring 30 arcminutes – too small to get the entire lunar disk in. However, we were able to focus on some of the limbs of the Moon and get some decent images of its mountainous southern highlands. 

Although the eVscope eQuinox is largely the same as its predecessor, that slicing-off of the electronic eyepiece means it now lasts 12 hours instead of 10 hours. It’s also got four times the storage at 64GB. 

That was, of course, a clue as to the imminent increase in the eVscope eQuinox’s maximum resolution. Although it’s not yet possible to download the images in raw (only JPEG), Unistellar did tell us that it’s developing a backend for its users where they will be able to access their observations in various formats such as FITS, alongside other post-processing options.

For now the eVscope eQuinox is largely for observing and sharing nicely-labelled images on social media (typically the object’s name and your exposure time are populated) but it also has an intriguing citizen science dimension. Although the excellent app is mainly about making the eVscope eQuinox easy to use, there is a manual page where you can enter any location in the night sky (right ascension and declination). There’s also a community dimension; Unistellar also runs themed observation events where multiple citizen astronomers can identify an asteroid occultation or even exoplanet detection, with this unique crowdsourced scientific data made available for proper science. 

One thing we did notice is that although you can attach a battery via a (preferably very long) USB-C cable, there’s nowhere to rest a battery and the slewing around the night sky does cause tangles. It would be great if there was a fold-out shelf on the tripod and a USB-C slot on the undercarriage of the eVscope eQuinox rather than on its side. During our review we also found the app to be just a little unstable, though on the few times it did crash it re-booted quickly and kept connection to the eVscope eQuinox.

Verdict

The eVscope eQuinox is not perfect, but compared to your average small reflector telescope the views it affords of deep sky objects are astounding. With resolution increasing via firmware updates, the already very clever algorithms inside the eVscope eQuinox’s onboard computer will only get better. Add an intriguing community dimension for crowdsourcing observations and the admittedly very expensive eVscope eQuinox seems a next-generation ‘smart telescope’ with a very bright future. It is available to pre-order now for $2999 / £2599.

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Telescopes have been flying off the shelves during the pandemic, but a new ‘smartscope’ could have a unique appeal to anyone thinking of trying out astrophotography. 

The Unistellar eVscope eQuinox, a second-generation attempt at a ‘smart telescope’, has just been announced – but it has no eyepiece. 

If you’ve ever looked through a telescope at objects in the ‘deep sky’ then you’ll know that astronomy is all about the art of collecting light. It’s also about standing around and taking your turn to look through an eyepiece. 

So what if you built a telescope around a camera sensor that produced a clearer, brighter image of a galaxy, nebula, star cluster or supernova remnant the longer you pointed your telescope at it? And then let up to 10 people attach to that telescope by WiFi to view the ever-improving image on their smartphone or tablet? 

That’s the idea behind the eVscope eQuinox, which is available on pre-order from today for €2,799  (approximately US$3,336 or £2,411) with the first devices expected to be delivered in May 2021. 

Essentially an astrophotography set-up ‘in a box’, the eVscope eQuinox is the follow-up to the original  Unistellar eVscope, and a rival to the rival smart telescope, the Vaonis Stellina, but it comes with improvements. 

Like the original Unistellar eVscope the eVscope eQuinox is built around a Sony Exmoor IMX224 imaging sensor. Its 65cm tube is mounted on a motorized alt-azimuth arm and motor. It’s also fitted with the same 114mm/4.5 inch diameter mirror as the original so has an identical focal length of 450mm, and a focal ratio of f4.

However, whereas the original’s lithium-ion battery was only good for nine hours, the eVscope eQuinox’s is said to keep going for 12 hours – because there's no longer an eyepiece. It recharges via a USB-C slot, which can also be used the other way to recharge a smartphone or tablet. 

That longer battery, says Unistellar, makes the eQuinox easier to use to make longer observations. That’s crucial if you want to use it to join in with ‘citizen science’ missions with some of the nearly 5,000 owners of the first-gen version across Europe, Japan and North America. 

Unistellar runs various projects in conjunction with the SETI Institute, a recent success being the capturing of Apophis Asteroid by a community of amateur astronomers using the original Unistellar eVscope. As well as detecting hazardous asteroid it’s possible to use the eVscope eQuinox to discover and confirm the existence of ‘hot Jupiter’ exoplanets around distant stars and study comets and supernovae.

Just as critical is that the eVscope eQuinox is easy to set-up. Its ‘autonomous field detection’ software means it recognizes stars, so the alignment procedure is fully automated and takes just 10 seconds, according to Unistellar. 

Using the connected smartphone as its point of reference, the eVscope eQuinox then uses its built-in catalogue of 5,400 objects to recommend targets based on the time, date and location of your smartphone.

“With the eVscope eQuinox you can be that Earth-saving scientist from an action movie – you can travel distant galaxies and hunt for new worlds,” says Laurent Marfisi, Unistellar’s chief executive officer. “Best of all, you are not alone on your space adventure. You have got 5,000 crew-members in the Unistellar network, right by your side.”

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Thinking of getting into astrophotography but can’t stand the thought of assembling an expensive and complicated rig? Aimed at would-be astrophotographers, the Unistellar eVscope has instant must-have appeal for anyone attracted by the idea of having photos of deep-sky objects magically delivered to their smartphone from a telescope sitting in a backyard. That’s precisely what the Unistellar eVscope offers plus a chance to take part in some guided live observation nights.  

The Unistellar eVscope isn’t the only smart telescope in town. It joins the Vaonis Stellina, though that product didn’t have an eyepiece, and instead funnelled all observations to a smartphone. That’s the main trick of the Unistellar eVscope, too, but it does add an electronic eyepiece on the side of the telescope. So as well as astrophotography, you can also have a solo or shared observing session under the stars as you would with the best telescopes. 

A reasonably compact device, the Unistellar eVscope is the equivalent of a 114mm/4.5 inch reflector telescope. It's fitted with a 114mm/4.5 inch diameter mirror that has a focal length of 450mm, so a focal ratio of f4. However, instead of having a secondary mirror to produce images for an eyepiece, this smart telescope sends light to a Sony Exmoor IMX224 imaging sensor. It’s all inside a 65cm tube that’s mounted on a motorized Alt-Azimuth arm and motor. Inside that motor is a lithium-ion battery that’s good for nine hours. 

Order the Unistellar eVscope at Astroshop  £2,660 
Order the Unistellar eVscope at Astroshop $3,635 

Unusually for a telescope, its internal battery is recharged using USB-C and, naturally for a device that relies on the user having a smartphone or tablet, it provides a standard USB slot for recharging any smart device. 

Handling

Slightly annoyingly it ships with a hefty and proprietary tripod; it would have been nice to be able to use it on any photographic tripod, but there’s a weight issue going on here. The Unistellar eVscope and tripod together weigh 9kg, so although it all comes packed in an excellent custom-made backpack, you’re probably not going to be hiking into the back of beyond with the Unistellar eVscope.

Nor do you really need to because rather remarkably it produces excellent images even from a light-polluted urban back garden. So how does the Unistellar eVscope work? It’s not a telescope, but a camera; it collects long exposure images and stacks them, revealing faint but beguiling objects like nebula and galaxies in all their glory. Seriously, you’ll never get a view like this from any standard 4.5-inch reflector telescope. 

Not that it always starts off like that. After a relatively simple alignment process (an on-board computer compares what stars it can see with planetarium software and aligns itself), initial images are nothing to get excited about. In spite of the fact that this is an automatic ‘Go To’ telescope, which you can point at any number of recommended sights via a smartphone app, the first images of star fields and nebula were nothing to get excited about. Sometimes there was nothing to see at all. 

The trick is to engage the Enhanced Vision (EV) mode, which can take anything from a few seconds to a few minutes depending on the object. After a few minutes everything is revealed; open clusters of stars, faint planetary nebula and dim and distant galaxies are revealed, and with an almost unbelievable level of clarity and colour. What's happening is that the telescope is tracking the object you've chosen, knows the camera settings (ISO and exposure), and how many images it needs to take and live-stack to give you the most detail. The finished image then just pops-up on your phone and is ready to share. 

Sounds too easy? In some ways, it is. The sky’s transparency does make a lot of difference, and during our review there were a few times when the app crashed, lost connection to the ‘scope, or that EV mode stalled. The upshot was a lot of time standing around outside staring at a phone, which isn't really what astronomy should be like.

Performance

However, there’s no denying the Unistellar eVscope’s skills. For this review it was slewed to the Ring Nebula (M57), a faint fuzzy circular object in the constellation of Lyra that's ideally placed in the UK summer skies, but consistently impossible to see using a small telescope from a light-polluted back garden. However, even the first image taken by the telescope of M57 was acceptable; the EV mode versions were incredible. Ditto for the ‘Great Hercules Globular Cluster’ (M13) and the ‘Cigar Galaxy’ (M82). 

That said, the images you produce – which you see on your phone via the Unistellar app, and which can be shared easily — aren’t exactly Hubble Space Telescope-like. They’re relatively low resolution at 1.2 megapixels, but the app does allow plenty of manual adjustments. 

As well as going through a list of recommended targets in the app, and allowing the Unistellar eVscope to slew to them and photograph them, it’s also possible to take part in some citizen science. For example, during our review, there were groups of users attempting to find an exoplanet. Asteroid-hunting, occultations and other group observations are on the menu, too. 

Conclusion

Are smartscopes like the Unistellar eVscope the future of astrophotography? Definitely, though the software needs to be faster and more reliable, and the images higher in resolution, for smartscopes to really catch-on. Still, the Unistellar eVscope is a lot of fun and surely the easiest way so far to get into backyard astrophotography. 

Order the Unistellar eVscope at Astroshop.eu  £2,660 
Order the Unistellar eVscope at Astroshop.eu $3,635 

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