Tufty Posted December 9, 2022 Share Posted December 9, 2022 I just saw this on Facebook today. I'd never heard of it but its claims seem impossible to my meagre understanding. My scepticism was fired by the idea of a 114mm mirror scope showing what the ad claims, nebulae and galaxies in colour invisible to conventional telescopes without the nikon smart eyepiece. But reading through Unistellar's page they claim to be partnered with NASA, SETI institute DART etc, that their customers search for asteroids and observe exoplanets and exchange data with professional astronomers. At the reduced price of $3,999 I became very confused. Previously I might be attracted to a 114mm mirror scope or a 90 as a travel scope for say $39 but I think I must be really missing something in the specs here??? https://www.unistellar.com/evscope2/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=EN_EMEA_UK_AWARENESS_BASELINE&utm_content=EN_EMEA_UK_AWARENESS_BASELINE_ENGAGED+SHOPPERS&fbclid=IwAR0aUm8CPH1TeDcw6OzoX0vd_9n7xDufXztl2IjhNfu28YMP2zQO3UzkqSM&ad_id=23852682754820282&campaign_id=23848173808140282 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerryMcK Posted December 9, 2022 Share Posted December 9, 2022 It is a genuine product and Unistellar have been around for a while. It doesn’t have a conventional eyepiece but an electronic one - read camera. More intended for wider field objects such as nebulae. Check out this review https://www.space.com/unistellar-evscope-2-telescope-review If I was in the market for such an item I would choose the robotic scope Vaonis Vespera Observing Station instead. https://vaonis.com/vespera 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tufty Posted December 9, 2022 Author Share Posted December 9, 2022 Wow wow. OK sounds like it's doing what cameras do but all live somehow. Thanks for the reply. I will have to check these out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tufty Posted December 9, 2022 Author Share Posted December 9, 2022 I've looked at the websites now, thanks for the heads-up. Both those scopes are a very long way from what Rev T Webb thought of in his 'Celestial Objects for Common Telescopes' (1859)! His assumption was that people would want to know about what they are looking at. The advertising for these camera scopes suggests the buyer is someone who doesn't want to know the names or is happy to remain oblivious to the sky locations of what they're looking at, let alone what they are. Some of the ad images show couples in evening dress in romantic settings with a telescope as an accessory or conversation piece. I'm sure experienced astronomers or astrophotographers could find a good use for one...I dunno, I feel a lot closer to Rev Webb ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nightspore Posted December 9, 2022 Share Posted December 9, 2022 Just a fancy camera. I'd rather see stuff with my own retinas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tufty Posted December 9, 2022 Author Share Posted December 9, 2022 (edited) 1 hour ago, Nightspore said: Just a fancy camera. I'd rather see stuff with my own retinas. Yes indeed. Their marketing though strongly suggests to people that they are looking directly at objects rather with an eyepiece that magically brings up the colour etc. I was quite shocked with the claims. Didn't even realise it was a camera til I read the review that Terry posted here, it's not obvious in the marketing lit Edited December 9, 2022 by Tufty Spelling Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nightspore Posted December 9, 2022 Share Posted December 9, 2022 If you watch The Sky at Night you can do the same thing (maybe to a lesser degree) with a lot of cameras, particularly smart phones and some tablets. It looks great fun but it just isn't visual astronomy to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tufty Posted December 10, 2022 Author Share Posted December 10, 2022 Yes I tend to agree. I did get an eyepiece camera to take short videos as momentos of viewing sessions. Not entirely successful, the software was clunky. I think astrophotography is fairly specialist. I'd like to have a decent photo as a record or momento of an obs session but it looks to me as if you have to have a different base set of gear and organise a bit differently to primarily visual observing. I wouldn't mind being able to take phone snaps, but I can't get that right either lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nightspore Posted December 10, 2022 Share Posted December 10, 2022 Plus, AP is super expensive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tufty Posted December 10, 2022 Author Share Posted December 10, 2022 Lol yes so I see! I want to put more effort into moving to a bit darker sky, currently in a B5 but there's some B4 nearby. If I get the sky I want I might spend the money on binoculars! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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