Unistellar - San Francisco, California

Alex D.

I am a *very* amateur astronomer with a love of space and the night sky, and previously owned a Celestron NexStar 6SE. 2 years ago I read about the Unistellar eVscope on a crowdfunding platform and decided to back it. I finally received my eVscope (and backpack) in August, joining the ranks of thousands of eVscope users who have now been able to put this telescope through its paces over the past few months. The verdict? Written on the box it came in are the words "Prepare to Be Amazed." And they weren't exaggerating - this product *is* amazing.

The concept behind the eVscope is relatively simple: a small, lightweight telescope that uses a high-resolution, low-light sensor in place of one of the mirrors, which allows it to accumulate light in real time to display extremely faint deep sky objects in rich detail and color. And this is exactly what it does. In the past two months I have used the eVscope from my suburban front yard to easily view countless objects that I was never able to see in the dark skies of the Mojave Desert with my 6SE. This alone makes the eVscope a game-changer, but it isn't the only thing. The eVscope is, by far, the easiest telescope I've ever used. I can take it out of its backpack, mount it on its tripod, and with two taps on the smartphone app, begin viewing objects in under two minutes (yes, I've timed it). The app design is rich with capabilities, but simple enough for my 9-year-old to operate. And it allows anyone with the Unistellar app on their phone to view in real time whatever the scope is seeing, making it perfect for socially-distanced star parties.

At $2700, the eVscope isn't cheap. But assembling a telescope and astrophotography rig with similar capabilities would *easily* approach that price point, only without the eVscope's extreme portability, ease of use, or ability to participate in "Citizen Science" campaigns through the SETI Institute (like observing near-earth asteroids or confirming exoplanet candidates, which I regularly do from my front yard). Though I only paid $1799 as a result of being an early backer, now that I've used the eVscope, I would probably find a way to pay the retail cost for one. It's that impressive.

Richard B.

I received my eVscope mid-June 2020 and have spent countless ENJOYABLE hours imaging the sky: Moon, Planets, Stars, Nebulas, Galaxies, Star Clusters, Comet Neowise, and asteroids. Setting up the eVscope for an evening of "stargazing" takes about five minutes and is quite easy to do. Capturing images is just a click away on your phone. I have even been able to sell some of my images framed. People have commented how beautiful they are and that they have a "painterly" feel that is attractive. Finally, I have participated in a number of Citizen Science projects including observing asteroids to help scientists determine their shape via light curves. It is a good feeling to know that an ordinary citizen like myself can contribute to science!

Kevin V.

The eVscope by Unistellar is a wonderful tool for any level of astronomer. The point and click ease of the interface and the ‘smart’ features of the software make finding deep space objects a breeze for any novice. And the ability to easily contribute to citizen science campaigns, provides great opportunities for more seasoned astronomers to be involved in astronomical discoveries.
It is also amazing how well it works in poor lighting conditions. I live near one of the biggest cities in the world and I’m always impressed with how much can be seen with the eVscope even with all of the light pollution.
I own bigger and more powerful telescopes, but the ease of use, compact nature, and versatility of the eVscope has quickly made it my goto instrument for most observations. I also highly recommend the back bag!

Alex B.

Unistellar's eVscope has made getting into astronomy very easy. I've been frustrated at the setup complexity and configuration of more traditional telescopes and the eVscope has made it the stars very accessible. It's great being able to look at deep sky objects even in my well lit neighborhood and I really appreciate being able to set it up and be looking at the sky in minutes and then view a dozen different objects in less than an hour.

victor O.

My eVscope by Unistellar is. . . . . . Stellar!!! And I will say that the support from Unistellar has been exceptionally good. The eVscope is the future. I say that without hesitation. The ease of "setup and shoot" makes it a pure joy to use. I have taken more images of deep sky objects with it than I ever could with my "traditional" equipment. Yes, I am a fan. So much so, I started a Facebook User Group just for the eVscope! Come and visit if you have any questions, see beautiful images, or just hangout.

fnersch

In my 60+ years as an amateur astronomer and telescope collector & builder I find the Unistellar eVscope to be the best and most used of them all. In my first 10 months of eVscope use, I have looked at almost 500 galaxies and other faint objects. The telescope works almost equally well in urban (Bortle 8 or 9) skies which is a major revelation for me as I live in one of the worst polluted areas in the world. I want to extend my thanks to the Unistellar team for making this possible.

Tommyr R.

The eVscope is very well packaged in a soft Styrofoam like material. There's no way the contents can get jostled around during transit, everything is tight in the foam packaging. It comes with a quick start booklet and a larger instruction manual. Also included is a small box with the battery charger, several adapters to fit all different outlet types and a nice little pouch with all the tools needed inside.

The tripod is VERY solid! It's very good quality and not flimsy at all. There is a bubble level at the top. The scope fits into the top and secures with 2 nice sized knurled screws.

When charging the power button the on the scope flashes a blue color.
The evscope sets up in about 5 minutes and is ready to go. You turn on the scope after making sure the tripod is level, aim it at a field of stars and hit the auto align button and in about 1 minute the scope is ready to go. When I "goto" an object the scope slews for less than a minute and places the object in the center of view then begins tracking it. The tracking is perfect. I'm still learning digital imaging (I never did it before) so I have to get used to making adjusts in gain, exposure time and brightness and contrast.

The scope come with a Bathinov mask (it's located inside the front cover!) which is used to achieve perfect focus. It's very easy to use. Just get that center line in the middle of the “X” and you're focused.

The scope senses vibrations. It was slightly windy last night so when in "enhanced" mode the scope will stop stacking until the vibration stops, usually after a second or 2. It then resumes.
I think the images are fairly decent. Are they super high quality? No. But they were not meant to be considering the sensor used. The scope is for viewing after all, not photography.

Unistellar has made a number of great upgrades to the app software since it's release including the ability to take dark frames which eliminates hot pixels and colored pixels. During live stacking you can now also see the time acrue as well which is very helpful. You can also chose as to whether you want their unistellar round overlay on the photos or just a regular image.

To be able to bring a scope out and be seeing deep sky objects in less than 5 minutes is pretty neat. With most conventional scopes there is no way that is possible, even with better EAA (Electronic Assisted Astronomy) equipment. I do want to dip my toes into EAA with better cameras and equipment eventually but for now the eVscope whets my appetite just fine. This technology will only get better and cheaper as time goes by. Exciting times for amateur astronomers!

Tom R. Poughkeepsie,N.Y.

randolph B.

I had the unlucky experience of receiving a somewhat wonky Evscope that was superb until a sector of the field in the eyepiece went black or black with streaks of red. Starting over eliminated this black sector and the problem happened primarily when pointing at a lower object, but still well above the horizon (45 degrees ). The customer support I received from Trevor at Unistellar was superb. The process of returning the telescope under warranty was smooth with timely information and communication from Trevor. Excellent communication skills and empathy.
I have to say I have never had customer support that was so good. Is there anything else I can ad? Just a final "bravo"!
Randolph Baron
Palm Springs, CA