Unistellar eVscope 2 - Information (4.5" Newton)

Introduction | About the eVscope | Look | Sensor, Pixel Data, Field of View, Image Size (Pixels) | Visited Sky Objects | How To Observe with the eVscope 2 | First Experiences | Photo Attempts | First Conclusions | Links || Appendix: Data for the Unistellar eVscope 2 | Appendix 2: eVscope 2 vs. eVscope Equinox and vs. the original eVscope | Appendix 3: Published and Sent Photos, Comparisons with the Original eVscope

Archive

Note: This page describes my second sample of the Unistellar eVscope 2, which was replaced with a new one on August 22, 2022. It is for information only, and does not reflect the performance of the eVscope 2!

On this page, I provide some information about my electronic 4,5" Newton telescope Unistellar eVscope 2, 112 mm/450 mm (f/4)*. After the launches of the original eVscope at the end of 2019 and of the eVscope Equinox (no eyepiece) in spring 2021, Unistellar launched the eVscope 2 in mid-September 2021. This model looks like the original eVscope, but offers a new sensor chip (IMX347) and an improved electronic eyepiece (designed by Nikon). In many respects, the eVscope 2 looks like "what the original eVscope should have been"... More on the eVscope 2 on this page and from Unistellar!
*) Ordered on November 9, 2021; first sample delivered on December 3, 2021; second sample delivered on April 8, 2022 (only this sample is covered here) and sent in for repair/exchange in May 2022. On August 22, 2022 I received another new sample (the third one...).

Notes:

See page Overview of the Unistellar Pages for just that! There are also links to pages about my first sample of the eVscope 2.
For a comparison with similar products, see page DSO Photography for Dummies - Motivation and Introduction.
In spring 2021, Unistellar launched the eVscope eQuinox, which lacks an electronic eyepiece and is more or less identical to the original eVscope. More on this from Unistellar!
This page covers primarily the eVscope 2, in particular, the second sample, which I received in the beginning of April 2022 and returned in May 2022 (it will be replaced by another new one in August 2022).

Note: I received my eVscope 2 at the beginning of December 2021. I bought it, because I was convinced by the better image quality* of the published sample photos and by the slightly larger field of view. I therefore sold my eVscope in mid-March 2022.

*) Since I was not satisfied with the results of my new eVscope 2, Unistellar offered to check and possibly repair my eVscope 2. So, I sent it to Unistellar on February 14, 2022 and received information on February 18 that my eVscope 2 had been repaired and will be returned to me. When asked, I was told that there was a problem with the primary mirror, which was slightly under tension and therefore produced blurry images. As proof of the repair, I received a photo of Alnilam, which looks much better than my similar photo of Alnitak (near the Flame Nebula).

I describe my subsequent tests with the repaired eVscope 2 on the pages First Experiences (After Repair - Part 1) and First Experiences (After Repair - Part 2). According to this, the repair resulted in an improvement, but did not completely eliminate the mirror tension. Unistellar therefore offered me to return my eVscope 2 (end of March 2022) and exchange it for a new one. This arrived on April 8, 2022. For my first experiences with the new eVscope 2 sample, see page First Experiences. Because it suffered from the same issues, I sent it to Unistellar for repair on May 4, 2022. After inspection, Unistellar offered to send me another new one, but offered to send me photos taken with it beforehand for evaluation. On August 11, 2022, I received a photo and expect my third new eVscope 2 arrived at my home on August 22, 2022.

Introduction

In September 2021 Unistellar launched the eVscope 2, which offers an improved electronic eyepiece and a new, larger sensor (Sony IMX347). It does not differ much from the original eVscope with respect to its look. It costs including the backpack, with which it is sold as a package, 800 Euros more than the original model without a backpack. The differences between the eVscope models (the original eVscope is no longer available) are described here.

Update: On February 1, 2022, I received a newsletter from Unistellar announcing a price increase for the eVscope 2. On the Unistellar Website, I then found prices of 4700 EUR for the eVscope 2 with backpack (instead of 3800 EUR) and of 4500 EUR for the model without a backpack (the eVscope eQuinox remained at 2800 EUR). All prices one euro less, shipping included, and are given without guarantee...

Photos: My second eVscope 2 (April 9-10, 2022)

Delivery

While there had been problems with the delivery of my first eVscope 2 copy (but they could be solved...), there were no problems with the delivery of my second copy. It was shipped on April 5, 2022 and arrived at my door on April 8, 2022.

About the eVscope 2

What is the eVscope 2?

Since the eVscope 2 is an update and improvement of the original eVscope, I will not repeat the main characteristics of the eVscope family of electronic telescopes here. See page eVscope - Information for more information on this.

Details and technical data can be found at Data for the Unistellar eVscope 2.

Brief History of the eVscope, Who is Behind the eVscope?

For the history of the eVscope and the people behind it, see eVscope - Information.

Why Did I Buy an eVscope 2?

On the one hand, the eVscope was exactly what I would expect from an electronic telescope. On the other hand, it gave me not only pleasure, but also a lot of frustration. That was to be expected with new technology, but my hope was actually that certain initial problems, especially of the app, would be eliminated faster than actually happened. Nevertheless, O was happy to have opted for the eVscope on Kickstarter. That way, it was considerably more affordable than when I had bought it later at a dealer.

The eVscope's "competition" consists of the Vaonis Stellina and Vespera refractors (I ordered the latter, again on Kickstarter on the one hand), and of self-assembled EAA configurations on the other. I have either started (Vespera) or even already explored both of these options (own EAA configurations).

For exploring my own EAA configurations, I bought an Atik Infinity and meanwhile also an ASI224 camera. The latter has the same sensor as the eVscope, so that I can use it to compare how the eVscope fares with respect to self-assembled EAA configurations. In comparison with my own EAA configurations, I noticed the aggressive image processing of the eVscope, looking more like "painting" and causing details to be lost (most noticeable and "worst" in the case of the Orion Nebula M 42). However, with app version 1.3, Unistellar released an image processing that, in addition to upscaling the photos, produces much more detailed photos. Actually, I would have to use it to repeat all my eVscope photos, which would be quite an effort....

The Vaonis telescopes, on the other hand, provide better image quality than the eVscope, but in return you have to wait much longer for the result, at least if you value good image quality. What this means in detail, I will find out after the Vespera has arrived at my place. Overall, the Vaonis telescopes seem to me to offer a very different "observing experience" than the eVscope: you have to be much more patient! When I present the eVscope to others, I notice how their patience runs out after just a few minutes. In that case, a Stellina or Vespera would probably not be appropriate at all.... Thus, the eVscope shines for me with its quick and easy setup and the possibility to access and photograph many targets in one evening. With my own EAA configurations, on the other hand, I never got beyond testing.... I put some hope on the StellarMate astrocomputer, with which I can set up small equipments in 5-10 minutes. But I have not yet been able to gain any experience with its GoTo behavior...

Somewhat surprisingly for me, Unistellar announced the eVscope 2 in September 2021, whose most important innovation for me is a new sensor (IMX 347) with slightly more pixels and a little more field of view - enough to show the moon completely now. At first, the eVscope 2 did not appeal to me much, especially since I found 10% discount for eVscope owners to be quite "stingy". However, after more and more image samples (there are still far too few!) were published, I started to change my opinion. Somehow, the eVscope 2 seemed to me like the telescope the eVscope should have been. And because I am quite convinced of the basic concept of the eVscope, I decided to order the eVscope 2 before the rebate period expired (which was not without problems...) and received it on December 3, 2021 after a "one-day detour" to Dresden.

However, this first sample had a main mirror under tension, which could not be completely eliminated even by a repair by Unistellar. So Unistellar finally offered me to exchange the first specimen for a new one, which was done in early April 2022. This second sample is the topic of this page.

Look

Unboxing

The Box


The outer box..	Ditto	Small damage to the outer box (bottom right) - not an issue...
		Box weight: 17.7 kg, Box size: 800 x 575 x 340 mm (L x W x H, measured myself)
The labels...	The label, closer look...

Opening the Box


Outer box opened...	Ditto, closer view	Even closer!

The Universe Awaits!	Ditto, farther away	Second inner lid opened

Ditto, closer view	Instructions	Instructions taken out

Foam lid removed	Ditto, backpack, tripod and accessory box visible	Ditto, closer view

The empty box with foam	Ditto	eVscope 2 serial number

Unpacked Accessories


Instructions, tripod, and accessory box taken out	Accessory box opened	Accessory box opened and accessories partly taken out

Tools shown	Ditto	Backpack "parked"

Backpack Content...


Backpack taken out of the box	Backpack opened: you can see the eVscope 2 and the accessory bag	Ditto, closer view

eVscope in backpack, accessory bag taken out	eVscope taken out a little, you can see the protection foan	Ditto, closer view

Transportation protection	Protection removed	Empty backpack

Assembled - eVscope 2 Look


eVscope 2 on tripod	Ditto	Ditto

eVscope 2, closer look	The proud owner with his eVscope 2	Ditto

Details


USB connections	Focusser	Lid and Bahtinov mask

Eypiece with lid	Eypiece without lid	Lid and Bahtinov mask

Backpack


Backpack, tripod side	Backpack, other side	Backpack, tripod

Backpack	Backpack in action	Ditto

Ditto	Ditto	Ditto

Baclpack	Rain cover pulled out	Ditto

Rain cover pulled over backpack (no tripod)	Ditto, back side	Ditto, back side

Sensor, Pixel Data, Field of View, Image Size (Pixels)

The eVscope2 uses the new sensor Sony IMX347 (CMOS), with a used resolution of about 3 MegaPixels, or 2048 x 1536 pixels (H/V). The pixel size is 2.9µm (quadratic pixels).

With this, all sizes are known to calculate the field of view of the eVscope, which amounts to 0.78° x 0.57° (47' x 34').

The following table shows the eVscope 2, eVscope, and Vaonis Vespera in comparison with my current telescope tubes at the ASI224MC* and Atik Infinity:

				Field of View
Telescope	Reducer	Focal Length	Aperture	ASI224MC	Atik Infinity	Remarks
PS 72/432	---	432	72	0.65° x 0.48°	1.19° x 0.89°	The largest FOV
C5	---	1250	127	0.22° x 0.17°	0.41° x 0.31°	FOV like C8 with reducer
C5	f/6.3	787.5	127	0.36° x 0.17°	0.65° x 0.49°	FOV a little smaller as with TLAPO1027
C8	---	2032	203	0.14° x 0.1°	0.25° x 0.19°	The smallest FOV
C8	f/6.3	1280	203	0.22° x 0.16°	0.4° x 0.3°	FOV like C5
TLAPO1027	---	714	102	0.39° x 0.29°	0.72° x 0.54°	FOV a little larger than for C5 with reducer
				in Degrees	in Minutes
eVscope	---	450	114	0.61° x 0.46	36.7' x 27.6'	Same sensor as ASI224: Sony IMX224
eVscope 2	---	450	114	0.78° x 0.57°*	47' x 34'	*New sensor: Sony IMX347
Vespera		50	200	1.5° x 0.9°**	90' x 54' (ca.)	** New sensor: Sony IMX462

*) No longer in my possession (I bought an ASI294MC instead, having four times the FOV)

Image Size (Pixels)

Sony's IMX347 sensor can be used with different pixel numbers; 2688 x 1520 pixels are recommended by Sony; 2712 x 1538 effective pixels are the maximum possible.

Unistellar has opted for the following image formats:

Rectangular format: 2048 x 1536 pixels in Live View mode and 3200 x 2400 pixels in Enhanced Vision mode, which are interpolated, i.e. upscaled, from 2048 x 1536.
This gives the eVscope 2 photos in the rectangular format an aspect ratio of 4:3, just like the original eVscope's ones, although more would have been possible horizontally.
Quadratic format: 1792 x 1792 pixels in Live View mode and 2800 x 2800 pixels in Enhanced Vision mode (which are probably interpolated, i.e. upscaled, from 1792 x 11792).

The eVscope 2 uses the same app as the original eVscope and the eVscope eQuinox, and should also use the same new image processing; this was introduced with app version 1.3 (my eVscope 2 started with app version 1.4.3). While the original eVscope upscales the photos by a factor of 2 in EV mode, the eVscope 2 only uses a factor of just under 1.6.

Visited Sky Objects

M 34, M 35, M 38, M 42, M 45, M 51, M 65, M 66, M 78, M 84, M 95, M 97, M 101, M 105, M 108, NGC 2024, NGC 3628, NGC 4435/38, NGC 4461, NGC 5371

For more objects, see page My Deep Sky Observations with the eVscope 2 (Complete List of Observed DSO)

Note: In order to avoid redundancy and double work, I will move the list of visited sky objects to this page some day in the future...

How To Observe with the eVscope 2

Page Observation in Brief offers instructions for using the eVscope. They can be easily transferred to the eVscope 2.

First Experiences

Observations

For space reasons, I deferred my first observation experiences to an extra page. See page First Experiences for more information.

Photo Attempts

See page First Experiences.

First Conclusions

Since I was not satisfied with the results of my new eVscope 2, Unistellar offered to check and possibly repair my eVscope 2. So, I sent it to Unistellar on February 14, 2022 and received information on February 18, 2022 that my eVscope 2 had been repaired and will be returned to me. When asked, I was told that there was a problem with the primary mirror, which was slightly under tension and therefore produced blurry images. As proof of the repair, I received a photo of Alnilam, which was taken with my eVscope 2 after the repair. It looks much better than my similar photo of Alnitak (near the Flame Nebula).

I describe my subsequent tests with the repaired eVscope 2 on the pages First Experiences (After Repair - Part 1) and First Experiences (After Repair - Part 2). According to this, the repair resulted in an improvement, but did not completely eliminate the mirror tension. Unistellar therefore offered me to return my eVscope 2 (end of March 2022) and exchange it for a new one, which arrived on April 8, 2022. See page First Experiences for early information. Because it suffered from the same issues, I sent it for repair to Unistellar at the beginning of May 2022. After inspection, Unistellar offered to send me another new one, but wanted to send me photos taken with it beforehand for evaluation. This has happened in the meantime, and I got my new sample on August 22, 2022.

Appendix: Data for the Unistellar eVscope 2

Hardware

Magnification: 50 x optical / 400 x digital (adjusted in the app), 150 x recommended at maximum
Maximum magnitude: up to 16 mag in standard night sky, 18 mag in optimal conditions
Mirror diameter: 112 mm (BK7)
Focal length: 450 mm
Focal ratio: 1:4
Motorized Alt-AZ mount
Weight: 9 kg (19.8 lbs) including tripod
Size: 65 cm tall and 23 cm wide (25.5" tall and 9" wide)

Bag

Weight: 2 kg or around 4.5 lbs
Size: 72 x 22.5 x 29 cm (H x W x D)
Features see below

Electronics

Sensor model: Sony IMX347 (CMOS) - for details see below
Display: Micro-OLED (1,000,000:1 contrast ratio) ?
Battery life: up to 10 hours
6 axis compass/accelerometer
Wireless connectivity: Wifi or Bluetooth for smartphone or computer control and GPS access (no GPS inside)

Smarts

Autonomous field detection
Fully automated star alignment procedure
Automated pointing
Automated celestial tracking with feedback
Field derotation
Intelligent image processing
Intelligent sensor settings
Light pollution reduction

Sensor Data

Sony Starvis IMX347 color CMOS sensor - 4.17 MPixels (effective), 4.09 MPixels (recommended)
Sensor size: 1/1.8" (diagonal 9.04 mm), 2781 x 1632 Pixel ( 2712 x 1538 effective, 2688 x 1520 recommended)
Pixel size: 2.9µm x 2.9µm
Pixel number (used by eVscope 2): 2048 x 1536 (Live View), 3200 x 2400 (Enhanced Vision, interpolated)
FOV: 34 arcmin x 47 arcmin

Backpack Features

Carefully designed with the world-leading manufacturer of large telephoto lens transportation bags, the eVscope backpack is made of tough reinforced fabric, and carefully padded with high-density foam to protect your telescope from any shock.

Built-in foam inserts precisely match the shape of your eVscope
Internal strap to securely fasten the instrument while backpacking
Removable rainshield protects it from rain and humidity
Padded adjustable shoulder straps
Padded adjustable hipbelt to distribute the load weight
Ventilated backpanel
5 small internal pockets. 2 zipped, 2 to hold telescope and eyepiece lid while observing
2 large external zipped pockets
1 hipbelt zipped pocket

The ideal accessory to take full advantage of the eVscope’s portability. (Source: Unistellar Help Center)

Appendix 2: eVscope 2 vs. eVscope Equinox and vs. the Original eVscope

The differences between the models (the original eVscope is no longer available) are described in the table below (from Unistellar Help Center: eQuinox VS eVscope 1.0 VS eVscope 2), to which I added some information:

Specifications	eQuinox	eVscope 1	eVscope 2
Battery Life	up to 12h (no eyepiece)	up to 10h	up to 10h
µSD Storage Capacity	64GB	16GB	64GB
Display	---	OLED screen	OLED screen
HARDWARE
Optical Magnification: 50x	✔	✔	✔
Digital Magnification: up to 400x (150x recommended maximum)	✔	✔	✔
Field of View	27 arcmin x 37 arcmin	27 arcmin x 37 arcmin	34 arcmin x 47 arcmin
Max Magnitude: <16 in the medium quality night sky in under a minute, up to 18 in excellent conditions in a few minutes	✔	✔	✔
Resolving Power (Image Scale)	1.72 arcsec	1.72 arcsec	1.33 arcsec
Mirror Diameter: 4.5"	✔	✔	✔
Focal Length: 450 mm	✔	✔	✔
Motorized Alt-Az Mount with extreme tracking accuracy thanks to Automated Celestial Tracking with Feedback	✔	✔	✔
Weight: 19.8 lbs (9 kg) including tripod	✔	✔	✔
ELECTRONICS
Sensor Technology: Sony Exmor with NIR technology	✔	✔	✔
Sensor Model	IMX224	IMX224	IMX347
Pixel Size	3.75 x 3.75 µm	3.75 x 3.75 µm	2.9 x 2.9 µm
Pixels	1280 x 960	1280 x 960	2048 x 1536
Megapixels	approx. 1.23**	approx. 1.23**	approx. 4.09**
eVscope Pixels in EV Mode (since app version 1.3/1.4)	2560 x 1920	2560 x 1920	3200 * 2400
eVscope Megapixels in EV Mode (since App Version 1.3/1.4)	4.9*	4.9*	7.7*

*) according to Unistellar; **) according to Sony; more on the eVscope on page Unistellar eVscope - Information (4.5" Newton)!

Appendix 3: Published and Sent Photos, Comparisons with the Original eVscope

Since I do not yet own the eVscope 2 and therefore cannot present any photos of my own, I present photos on this page that Unistellar has published on their Website (eVscope 2 product page) so far, or photos that Unistellar sent me on request. The published photos are reduced in size and partly cropped, the sent ones are, except for the moon, in their original format (the large versions). I do neither know, whether these photos were post-processed, nor how long they were exposed (dwell time in EV or LV mode).

Published

Bubble Nebula NGC 7635		NGC 891

Moon		Helix Nebula
Sent

Moon		M 33 (Original: 3200 x 2400)

		M 33 (processed; original: 3200 x 2400)

Saturn (original: 2048 x 1536)		Jupiter (original: 2048 x 1536)
New in November 2021

M 16 (Eagle Nebula)		Sculptor Galaxy

Tarantula Nebula		Triangulum Galaxy

Comparisons with the Original eVscope

The photos that were taken with the original eVscope, were taken by me and are post-processed.

eVscope 2		eVscope

Bubble Nebula NGC 7635		Bubble Nebula NGC 7635 (processed)

NGC 891		NGC 891 (processed)

Moon		Moon (processed and sharpened)

Moon		Moon (processed and sharpened)

M 33 (original: 3200 x 2400)		M 33 (processed)

M 33 (processed; original: 3200 x 2400)		M 33 << eVscope 2

M 16 (Eagle Nebula)		M 16 (Eagle Nebula)