Unistellar eVscope - More Experiences (V. 2.4ff)

Archive

On this page, I will report on first experiences with the new app version 2 (using the eVscope 2), specifically version 2.4 and newer. App versions2.0 to 2.3 are covered on a separate page Archive.

Note: See page Overview of the Unistellar Pages for just that! For a detailed version history of version 2 of the app, see page Unistellar App Version History (Version 2) Archive.

Introduction

Photos: My third eVscope 2 (August 22, 2022)

Unistellar offers the following information about app version 2:

The new Unistellar App is here !: help.unistellar.com/hc/en-us/articles/5224215379740-The-new-Unistellar-App-is-here-
Video Short Tutorial on the App 2.0: youtu.be/onbz0sNADyk

I will therefore not offer any information as to the handling of the eVscope with app version 2.

Information regarding the version history of app version 2 can be found on page Unistellar App Version History (Version 2) Archive.

Overview of the Changes in App Version 2 (from 2.4 on) and some Remarks on it

Over time, I wanted to describe on this site what I noticed with respect to app version 2, starting with version 2.4. App versions 2.0 to 2.3 are covered on a separate page.

Version 2.4: Deep Dark Technology

With app version 2.4, Unistellar introduced the so-called "Deep Dark Technology" in mid-June 2023. Unistellar writes:

Deep Dark Technology (DDT) is a radical advancement designed by Unistellar to filter noise and light pollution. This technology automatically filters out the interference from city lights that would otherwise obscure the light signal from distant celestial objects.
Even in very bright urban areas, Deep Dark Technology instantly transforms the image so that it has a black background as intense as the depths of space, revealing even the faintest celestial objects with impressive clarity.

Further information on the Deep Dark Technology can be found on the Unistellar Website:

What is the Unistellar Deep Dark Technology?: help.unistellar.com/hc/en-us/articles/9108661610908-What-is-the-Unistellar-Deep-Dark-Technology-
Deep Dark Technology: www.unistellar.com/deep-dark-technology/

I have to admit that I cannot glean much information from these sources. As far as I understand, the Deep Dark Technology is based on AI-based pattern recognition and has been trained with thousands of user photos. I am not convinced by the image samples (before/after) either, because the "before" photos" just look artificially brightened; otherwise they are identical with the "after" photos.

For a long time, I did not have the chance to test my eVscope 2 with this new technology. But on August 21, 2023, I made a first attempt with the following well known DSO: M 13, M 92, M 51, M 101, M 17, M 16, M 27, M 57, M 56, NGC 7023, NGC 7000 (11 objects). The DSOs in bold are shown below, the others appear only on the object pages (for each observed DSO, there is a page listing the observations).

Photo Comparison without/with Deep Dark Technology

In the following I would like to show some image examples taken with DDT (in bold in the list above, gray text background). Photos taken with my eVscope 2 before the introduction of DDT are used as comparison photos.

Note: Actually, you should compare the unedited versions of the photos taken in automatic mode; but because these are partly very dark, I also present edited versions.

Note: My eVscope 2 was obviously decollimated when I took the DDT images.

M 13


M 13 - Aug 22, 2022		M 13 - Aug 22, 2022, photo left processed

M 13 - Aug 21, 2023, DDT		M 13 - Aug 21, 2023, photo left processed

M 51


M 51 - Aug 22, 2022		M 51 - Aug 22, 2022, photo left processed

M 51 - Aug 21, 2023, DDT		M 51 - Aug 21, 2023, photo left processed

M 101


M 101 - Aug 22, 2022		M 101 - Aug 22, 2022, photo left processed

M 101 - Aug 21, 2023		M 101 - Aug 21, 2023, photo left processed

M 17


M 17 - Aug 22, 2022		M 17 - Aug 22, 2022, photo left processed

M 17 - Aug 21, 2023, DDT		M 17 - Aug 21, 2023, photo left processed

M 16


M 16 - Aug 22, 2022		M 16 - Aug 22, 2022, photo left processed

M 16 - Aug 21, 2023, DDT		M 16 - Aug 21, 2023, photo left processed

M 27


M 27 - Aug 22, 2022	M 27 - Oct 22, 2022	M 27 - Aug 21, 2023, DDT

M 27 - Aug 22, 2022, photo on top processed	M 27 - Oct 22, 2022, photo on top processed	M 27 - Aug 21, 2023, photo on top processed

Remarks

Attention: When comparing the photos, the computer should rather be in a dark room. Comparisons in daylight are very difficult because the photos are relatively dark.

After this first test of the DDT, I think that I see a little more contrast, better colors, and sharper contours in the DDT photos. But it is still too early for me to make a conclusive judgment. The differences between the photos are (at first glance) rather small and more or less visible depending on the object.

Basically, the point is that the background becomes "black" due to the use of DDT. This is indeed the case as long as I do not brighten up the photos (I darkened brightened up versions again). I also have the impression that the "amp glow", which is very pronounced with the sensor used, is now dealt with better. Last, but not least, the sky seems to be made uniformly dark even if there was some loss of field of view due to field rotation (see M 27 photos).

I also noticed that the unprocessed images are brighter/stronger with DDT than without. When observed outside in the dark, the DDT photos appear bright enough - just not when viewed in daylight. It is almost that the unedited DDT photos look like the edited photos without DDT (as a rule of thumb...).

It is also possible that the sky at my home is not as light-polluted as to be a real test case for the DDT.

Get DSO Brighter with Longer Exposure Times?

Note: For space reasons, this topic is covered on page Image Brightness versus Exposure Time.

In short, this is the case, and I found this to be the case even for exposure times over 10 minutes (sort of the "standard" for EAA and the eVscope), so 30 or 60 minutes, and even still for 110 minutes.

So far, it is not clear to me whether my results only apply to app version 2.4ff or also to earlier app versions. But since most eVscope users will work with the current app version, this is not important.

Examples


M 51 - Aug 23, 2023 - 10 min	M 51 - Aug 23, 2023 - 30 min	M 51 - Aug 23, 2023 - 45 min

M 51 - Aug 21 2023 - 10 min*	M 51 - Aug 23, 2023 - 60 min	M 51 - Aug 23, 2023 - 110 min

M 101 - Aug 25, 2023 - 10 min	M 101 - Aug 25, 2023 - 20 min	M 101 - Aug 25, 2023 - 32 min

Note: If you click on the images, display the larger versions in different tabs, and switch between the tabs, you can see the differences in brightness better!

*) On August 21, 2023, the conditions were obviously better and M 51 was rather bright after minutes.

Wishes Fulfilled...

Note: As I sold my eVscope 2 in December 2023, this page will not be continued.

The Deep Dark Technology is another attempt by Unistellar to further improve the image quality of the eVscope photos. This is, of course, also an attempt to fulfill a wish, namely the always prevailing desire of the owners for better image quality.

Small Bug List

Note: As I sold my eVscope 2 in December 2023, this page will not be continued.

On my first try with app version 2.4 I did not notice any bugs; the app ran very stable, which I was not used to at all with Unistellar...

On my second try, however, the error reappeared, that the app correctly accesses a new GoTo target, but keeps the name of the previously displayed object and uses it also in the overlay and in the EXIF data. This error seems to be very persistent...

Overall, however, the app seems to have become much more stable.

Suggestions for Improvement

Note: As I sold my eVscope 2 in December 2023, this page will not be continued.

One wish that I have for the new app would be the multiple selection of photos in the gallery like in the Apple Photos app, in order to delete or share several photos at once. However, since the gallery photos also appear in a Photos app album, you can of course switch to the Photos app...

First Conclusions on App Version 2 (from Version 2.4 on)

Note: As I sold my eVscope 2 in December 2023, this page will not be continued.

According to my investigations, the Deep Dark Technology seems to improve image quality, but not to the extent or in the way that Unistellar's sample images suggest. Perhaps I should test this in a more light-polluted area than where I live....

Unistellar eVscope - More Experiences (V. 2.4ff)

Introduction

Overview of the Changes in App Version 2 (from 2.4 on) and some Remarks on it

Version 2.4: Deep Dark Technology

Photo Comparison without/with Deep Dark Technology

M 13

M 51

M 101

M 17

M 16

M 27

Remarks

Get DSO Brighter with Longer Exposure Times?

Examples

Wishes Fulfilled...

Small Bug List

Suggestions for Improvement

First Conclusions on App Version 2 (from Version 2.4 on)

Links