New Telescope ?

[arfur]

So during Covid lockdowns etc I bought a bunch of 2nd hand telescope and dslr body equipment that we really enjoyed using

Once all the lockdowns were over it all sat gathering dust so I sold it all - telescope, mounts, lenses, Canon camera etc etc - probably broken even overall so no great issue with that. (I even sold the D200 body back to CEX for more than I paid for it .... from CEX)

As the darker nights start to set in again I actually think I miss having that kind of kit to set up in the garden. The trouble was that "setting up" and aligning (it was a computer controlled setup) was a right faff, and probably why I let it gather dust once we could go out and about again !

I saw this today - The Unistellar eVscope ... It appears to "just do its stuff" without any real setup, cables, power or faffing to connect a phone/laptop/tablet

Has anyone used one, have one, have any thoughts on it ? Granted it's not cheap, but if it just "works" and delivers then I may consider a purchase

tia

[skwdenyer]

arfur said:

So during Covid lockdowns etc I bought a bunch of 2nd hand telescope and dslr body equipment that we really enjoyed using

Once all the lockdowns were over it all sat gathering dust so I sold it all - telescope, mounts, lenses, Canon camera etc etc - probably broken even overall so no great issue with that. (I even sold the D200 body back to CEX for more than I paid for it .... from CEX)

As the darker nights start to set in again I actually think I miss having that kind of kit to set up in the garden. The trouble was that "setting up" and aligning (it was a computer controlled setup) was a right faff, and probably why I let it gather dust once we could go out and about again !

I saw this today - The Unistellar eVscope ... It appears to "just do its stuff" without any real setup, cables, power or faffing to connect a phone/laptop/tablet

Has anyone used one, have one, have any thoughts on it ? Granted it's not cheap, but if it just "works" and delivers then I may consider a purchase

tia

Not used it, but this review is interesting: https://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/reviews/telesco...

The only problem I see is that exporting images seems to involve using the vendor's servers. What happens if they drop support or go out of business?

[arfur]

skwdenyer said:

Not used it, but this review is interesting: https://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/reviews/telesco...

The only problem I see is that exporting images seems to involve using the vendor's servers. What happens if they drop support or go out of business?

Interesting - thanks ! I was looking at the 1700£ original evscope as 3500£ for the newer one is a lot to drop on a bit of kit if you are just playing.

There is a scope store not far from me that stocks them. I may take a wander over there and take a closer look

[Simpo Two]

skwdenyer said:

Not used it, but this review is interesting: https://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/reviews/telesco...

'The new Nikon-made eyepiece on the eVscope 2 creates real-time views of deep-sky objects'

Aren't all telescopes 'real time'?

[skwdenyer]

Simpo Two said:

skwdenyer said:

Not used it, but this review is interesting: https://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/reviews/telesco...

'The new Nikon-made eyepiece on the eVscope 2 creates real-time views of deep-sky objects'

Aren't all telescopes 'real time'?

This is as much a camera as a telescope. That eyepiece is digital. All-digital camera-telescopes often have long exposures and extensive post-processing to create acceptable images, AIUI. A long-exposure SLR camera-telescope would blank the eyepiece during photography, I guess. If you don't want that, you need a prism to split the light, which in turn requires more light, which in turn requires much bigger optics.

[arfur]

Simpo Two said:

skwdenyer said:

Not used it, but this review is interesting: https://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/reviews/telesco...

'The new Nikon-made eyepiece on the eVscope 2 creates real-time views of deep-sky objects'

Aren't all telescopes 'real time'?

The evscope is more astrophotography than a telescope (although it does that too). With my old setup I had to layer after layer using a laptop connected to the scope (I did get a usb digital lens as well but it was crap). This appears to do all this for you and then you can see the results (lets say you left it taking photos and layering for a few hours) in all their glory.

Basically I'm lazy and if I can press buttons to get the same result as standing out in the cold with a laptop connected to a scope then I'll have the button version every time.

That said, need to go and look at one and maybe be able to rent the display unit for a weekend if I'm lucky to have a play

[Simpo Two]

skwdenyer said:

This is as much a camera as a telescope. That eyepiece is digital.

A digital eyepiece? I thought they were made of glass. Ah well!

So it's basically an electronic viewfinder as on a camera, gottit.

[skwdenyer]

Simpo Two said:

skwdenyer said:

This is as much a camera as a telescope. That eyepiece is digital.

A digital eyepiece? I thought they were made of glass. Ah well!

So it's basically an electronic viewfinder as on a camera, gottit.

Yes. Apparently a very good electronic viewfinder, but nonetheless that's what it is.