Vaonis Vespera Pro - Information (2" Refractor)

Introduction | About Vespera Pro | Look | Sensor, Pixel Data, Field of View, Image Size (Pixels) | Visited Sky Objects | First Experiences and Photos | Photo Attempts | First Conclusions | Links || Appendix: Technical Data | Appendix: Comparison of the Vaonis Vespera, Vaonis Vespera Pro, and the Unistellar eVscope (2) | Appendix: Look | Appendix Photos

On this page, I provide some information about my future electronic 2" refractor telescope Vaonis Vespera Pro 50 mm/250 mm (f/5). I pre-ordered it on June 14, 2023; shipment was promised for May 2024. And that was indeed the case. UPS initially reported a delivery of my Vespera Pro on May 3, 2024, but after two sort erors it only arrived on May 8, 2024. Not too bad!

Note:

For further information about Vaonis see the Vaonis Website, the Vespera Pro product page there, and page Vaonis Vespera - Information (original Vespera) on this site.
Some of the photos were taken from the Vaonis Website. Vaonis granted me the permission to use their photos on my Website.

Introduction

Photo: My Vaonis Vespera Pro (May 8, 2024)

Vespera Pro is an update of the Vespera electronic telescope from the French company Vaonis (in the meantime there appeared a version limited to 222 samples called Passenger and the successor model Vespera II). It has been available for pre-order on the Vaonis Website since mid-June 2023. Delivery of the telescope was promised to take place in May 2024 for the first pre-orders and started in the beginning of May 2024. Later pre-orders are to be delivered from July 2024 on; the price has also been gradually increased.

In the following, I try to collect information about the Vespera Pro as far as I could get them from the Vaonis Vespera Pro product page or other sources and from my experiences with my own sample (particularly the unboxing photos).

About Vespera Pro

What is Vespera Pro?

Vespera was meant to become a small and affordable version of Stellina. The Vespera Pro is an evolution of the Vespera with some changes from the original Vespera (sensor, focal length, aperture ratio). It also has some "pro features" that the other Vespera models do not offer.

Thus, the Vespera Pro is also a refractor, the lens again is a quadruplet with 50 mm aperture (like binoculars), but with a focal length of 250 mm (aperture ratio f/5) and with a specially designed "pro" field corrector. It looks more or less identical to the other Vespera models, has the same size and weight as the other models.

The Vespera Pro uses a Sony IMX676 Starvis 2 sensor with a resolution of 3536 x 3536 pixels (12.5 MP). This delivers a field of view of 1.6° x 1.6°, which makes also the Vespera Pro a small rich field telescope. Its image scale or sampling rate is 1.65"/pixel, which is much better than that for the original Vespera (2.99"/pixel). With a weight of 5 kg and a height of 40 cm, the Vespera Pro has remained light and compact, making it an ideal travel telescope. The internal battery lasts for 11 hours, which is quite a long time. I decided to go for the simple package without an additional high tripod (2000 EUR instead of 2500 EUR), which I had already bought.

Here are some technical data:

Technique

Optics

Mount

Weight: 5 kg
Size: 15 x 8 x 3.5 in (40 x 20 x 9 cm)
Power supply: AC power with USB power supply
Autonomy: ≈ 11 hours of use with internal battery
Image processing: Integrated and adapted to target
Alignment: Automated
Focusing: Automated
Water resistance: IP43
Accessories included: an adjustable tripod, a hygrometer sensor
Control: Smartphone/Tablet

Objective: ED quadruplet refractor with Lanthanum glass (S-FPL52) and "pro" field corrector
Aperture: 2 in (50 mm)
Focal length: 10 in (250 mm)
Focal ratio: F/5
Focus: Integrated autofocus
Field of view: 1.6° x 1.6°
Magnification: 40 x???
File formats: JPEG, TIFF, FITS (16-bit RAW)

Sensor

Sensor: Sony CMOS IMX676 (12.5 MP)
Pixel Resolution: 3536 x 3536
Pixel Size: 2.0µm x 2.0µm

Type: Alt-azimuth
Pointing: Automated with star aiming technology
Guiding: Autonomous autoguiding included
Field derotation: done in the software

Other

Filter: Light pollution (CLS), Dual Band, and Solar filter optional
Dew control: Dew sensor integrated (heater inbuilt), same hygrometer sensor as for the original Vespera

More on this telescope on the Vespera Pro product page.

Why Did I Opt for the Vaonis Vespera Pro?

Especially since the introduction of the Mosaic mode, I am very fond of my Vespera. The appeal of the Vespera Pro for me was that the new sensor has a higher resolution and its field of view is 1.6° square. This makes the Vespera Pro almost a rich-field telescope, especially in mosaic mode (maximum 2.6° squared).

Who is Behind the Vaonis Vespera Pro?


Cyril Dupuy, founder and CEO of Vaonis, in an interview		The manufacturer's team

(Photos from the Vaonis-Website (EN); permission for use granted)

Vaonis is a French company based in Montpellier, France, that designs and manufactures telescopes and accessories. The company was founded in 2016 by Cyril Dupuy, a young start-up entrepreneur, after obtaining his Bachelor in Optics and Aerospace. From his experience of using different telescopes with complex installation, long user guides and recurring breakdowns, he imagined and designed Stellina, the world's first all-in-one telescope connected to a mobile app. Vaonis' products are designed and developed by specialists in optics, mechanics, electronics, material and ergonomics, giving special attention to its design, quality and safety. (From the Vaonis Website, adapted)

Look

Here I present photos of the unboxing, the telescope itself, and its initially delivered and bought accessories. Since much of it looks like the original Vespera, I will show less photos here.

The Box, the Hard Case, the Content, ...


The outer box	Outer box opened, hard case visible	Outer box and hard case (taken out of the box)

Technical data on the hard case	The hard case (for storage and transportation)	Hard case opened, content visible

Hard case opened, content closer view	Hard case opened, content closer view	Empty hard case (content taken out)

Unpacked Hard Case Content, Telescope, ...


Content of the hard case...	Ditto, tripad assembled (with bubble level) but not extended	"Vespera Pro" label on the telescope

	Technical data at the bottom and USB-C connector

Vespera Pro with bubble level on tripod	Arm starts to move	Arm stopped moving...

Charger


USB charger and (extra) USB-C charging cable	USB charger and (extra) USB-C charging cable

USB charger	Ditto	Vespera Pro charging

Further Accessories


Lens cover for dark and flat frames	Ring, used when working without filters	Safety lock

Lens cover for dark and flat frames, installed	Ring, used when working without filters, installed	Vespera Pro with cover on tripod

Bubble level	Ditto, bottom side	Vespera Pro with bubble level on tripod

Bubble level installed	Bubble level installed	Vespera Pro charging (with bubble level)

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

The Vespera Pro uses the new sensor Sony IMX676 (CMOS; Starvis 2), with a used pixel size of about 12.5 megapixels, or 3536 x 3536 pixels (H/V). The pixel size is 2.0 µm (quadratic pixels).

With this, all sizes are known to calculate the field of view of the Vespera, which amounts to 1.6° x 1.6°.

The following table shows the Vespera Pro, Vespera, eVscope, and eVscope 2 in comparison with my current telescope (plus the C8 that I owned) tubes at a selection of cameras that I own(ed):

					Field of View				IS*
Telescope	Reducer	Focal Length	Aperture	f	ASI224MC*	ASI294MC	ASI462MC*	Atik Infinity*		Remarks
PS 72/432	---	432	72	7	0.65° x 0.48°	2.54° x 1.73°	0.74° x 0.42°	1.19° x 0.89°		The largest FOV of my tubes
C5	---	1250	127	10	0.22° x 0.17°	0.88° x 0.60°	0.26° x 0.15°	0.41° x 0.31°		FOV like C8 with reducer
C5	f/6.3	787.5	127	6.3	0.36° x 0.17°	1.40° x 0.95°	0.41° x 0.23°	0.65° x 0.49°		FOV a little smaller as with TLAPO1027
C8*	---	2032	203	10	0.14° x 0.1°	0.54° x 0.37°	0.16° x 0.09°	0.25° x 0.19°		The smallest FOV
C8*	f/6.3	1280	203	6.3	0.22° x 0.16°	0.86° x 0.58°	0.25° x 0.14°	0.4° x 0.3°		FOV like C5
TLAPO1027*	---	714	102	7	0.39° x 0.29°	1.54° x 1.05°	0.45° x 0.26°	0.72° x 0.54°		FOV a little larger than for C5 with reducer
					in Degrees	in Minutes
eVscope*	---	450	114	4	0.61° x 0.46°	36.7' x 27.6'			1.72	Same sensor as ASI224: Sony IMX224
eVscope 2*	---	450	114	4	0.78° x 0.57°	47' x 34'			1.33	New sensor: Sony IMX347
Vespera*		200	50	4	1.6° x 0.9°	96' x 54' (ca.)			2.99	Same sensor as ASI462: Sony IMX462
Vespera Pro		250	50	5	1.6° x 1.6°	96' x 96' (ca.)			1.65	New sensor: Sony IMX676

*) No longer in my possession
*) IS = image scale: describes the relative sizes of objects at 1:1 pixels (the larger the number, the smaller the objects)

Image Size (Pixels)

Sony's IMX676 sensor can be used with 3536 x 3536 pixels (12.5 MP; recommendation by Sony). However, the resulting photos may often be somewhat smaller because they are automatically cropped, probably in response to field rotation.

Field of View (FOV)

The Vespera Pro has nearly double the FOV of the Vespera (calculated with astronomy.tools):

Vespera Pro in red (Custom Camera)

Simulation of the FOV by Vaonis, rotated for 180° (product page for Vespera Pro):

And another comparison with the Sky-Watcher EvoGuide 50ED (calculated with astronomy.tools):

The EvoGuide 50ED with ASI676 and the Vespera Pro have nearly identical FOVs; Vespera Pro in red (Custom Camera)

Field of View in Mosaic Mode

4.18° x 2.45° or 3.2° x 3.2°

Visited Sky Objects

These are the very first DSO (during the first two months) and objects that I observed with my Vespera Pro:

May 9, 2024: Sun spots (one was ery large)
May 10, 2024: M 95, M 96, M 105, and several small galaxies; M 81, M 82, and several small galaxies
May 12, 2024: M 64 (30 min); M 63 (briefly)
May 13, 2024: M 51 (7:50 min); M 63 (25 min)
May 14, 2024: M 104 (30 min); M 64 (30 min); M 86 (Markarian's Chain; 30 min) - many galaxies
May 22, 2024: M 101, M 106, M 97/108, NGC 4565
May 25, 2024: M 51, M 97/108, NGC 4631
June 4, 2024: M 5, M 13, M 92, M 109
June 7, 2024: M 3, M 5, M 53, M 101, NGC 5005, NGC 5033, NGC 5053
June 24, 2024: NGC 6960, NGC 6992/5
June 25, 2024: M 8, M 20, M 27
June 28, 2024: M 11, M 14, M 16, M 17

All the DSO that I observed with my Vespera Pro can be found on page My Deep Sky Observations with the Vespera Pro (Complete List of Observed DSO).

First Experiences and Photos

For space reasons, I moved my first experiences with and photos taken with my Vespera Pro to a seperate page.

First Conclusions

In preparation

Appendix: Technical Data for the Vaonis Vespera Pro

Hardware

Magnification: 40 x optical???
Maximum magnitude: up to 16 mag in good sky
Aperture: 50 mm
Focal length: 200 mm
Focal ratio: 1:5
Motorized Alt-AZ mount
Weight: 5 kg
Size: 15 x 8 x 3.5 in (40 x 20 x 9 cm)

Bag

Same as the one for the Vespera (optional)

Electronics

Sensor model: Sony IMX676 (CMOS, Starvis 2) - for details see further below
Battery life: up to 11 hours (internal battery)
Wireless connectivity: Wifi 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
Intelligent image processing

Sensor Data

Sony Starvis 2 IMX676 color CMOS sensor - 12.5 MPixels
Sensor size: 1/1.6", 3536 x 3536 pixels
Pixel size: 2.0µm x 2.0µm
Read noise: < 0.5e-???

Appendix: Comparison of the Vaonis Vespera, Vaonis Vespera Pro, and the Unistellar eVscope (2)

	Vespera	Vespera Pro	eVscope	eVscope 2
Weight	5 kg (11 lbs)	5 kg (11 lbs)	9 kg (19.8 lbs) including tripod	9 kg (19.8 lbs) including tripod
Height	40 cm (15 in)	40 cm (15 in)	65 cm (25.5 in)	65 cm (25.5 in)
Width	20 cm (8 in)	20 cm (8 in)	23 cm (9 in)	23 cm (9 in)
Depth	9 cm (3.5 in)	9 cm (3.5 in)	n.a.	n.a.
Telescope type	Refractor	Refractor	Reflector (Newtonian)	Reflector (Newtonian)
Lens/Mirror	Apochromatic Quadruplet	Apochromatic Quadruplet	mirror	mirror
Lens/Mirror special features	Extra low dispersion S-FPL52 equivalent (ULD) with lanthanum glass	Extra low dispersion S-FPL52 equivalent (ULD) with lanthanum glass	BK7 glass mirror	BK7 glass mirror
Aperture	50 mm	50 mm	112 or 114 mm	112 or 114 mm
Focal length	200 mm	250 mm	450 mm	450 mm
Focal ratio	F/4	F/5	F/4	F/4
Field of view	1.6° x 0.9°	1.6° x 1.6°	0.61° x 0.46° (36.7' x 27.6')	0.78° x 0.57° (47' x 37')
Mount	Alt-azimuth	Alt-azimuth	Alt-azimuth	Alt-azimuth
Field derotator	no, done in software	no, done in software	no, done in software	no, done in software
Image sensor	Sony IMX462	Sony IMX676	Sony IMX224	Sony IMX347
Resolution	1920 x 1080 (2 MP)	3536 x 3536 (12.5 MP)	1280 x 960 (1,2 MP) / 2560 x 1920 (2.4 MP) scaled (EV mode)	2048 x 1536 (3.2 MP), 3200 x 2400 (7.7 MP) scaled (EV mode)
Sensor size	1/2.8"	1/1.6"	1/3"	1/1.8"
File formats	JPEG, TIFF, FITS (TIFF/FITS in 16 bits)	JPEG, TIFF, FITS (TIFF/FITS in 16 bits)	PNG	PNG
USB port (pictures download)	no (with Wi-Fi)	no (with Wi-Fi)	no (with Wi-Fi)	no (with Wi-Fi)
Autofocus	yes	yes	no	no
Light pollution filter	Optional	Optional	no, done in software	no, done in software
Dew control	Yes as soon as the (optional) sensor is installed	yes	no	no
Temperature/humidity sensor	Optional	yes	no	no
Battery type	Integrated	Integrated	Integrated	Integrated
Battery life	up to 8 h	up to 11 h	up to 10 h	up to 10 h
Water resistance	IP43	IP43???	n.a.	n.a.
Multi user mode	up to 8 users	up to 8 users	yes (number unknown)	yes (up to 10 users)
Number of objects in data base	300+ (July 2023) 4000 (extended)	300+ (July 2023) 4000 (extended)	> 5000, > 120 with descriptions	> 5000, > 120 with descriptions
Object access via coordinates	yes	yes	yes	yes
Solar pointing	yes (with optional filter)	yes (with optional filter)	yes (with optional filter)	yes (with optional filter)
Connected battery	possible	possible	possible	possible
Connection to Wi-Fi hotspots	no	no	no	no
Scheduling of observations	yes	yes	no	no
Expert mode (camera control)	yes	yes	manual pre-processing (brightness, background) already available in 2020	manual pre-processing (brightness, background)
HDR Image processing	yes	yes	no	no
Pictures stocking in the app	up to 100 images	up to 100 images	no, on the smartphone depending on its memory size	no, on the smartphone depending on its memory size
Mosaic mode	3.2° x 1.8° (4 x sensor field) at maximum, up to 8 MP	3.2° x 3.2° (4 x sensor field) at maximum, up to 50 MP	no	no

Appendix: Look

Here I present photos of the Vespera Pro that Vaonis published.


Photo: Vaonis Vespera Pro (mid-July 2023)		Photo: Vaonis Vespera Pro (May 2024; larger)

As I now can take photos of the Vespera Pro on my own, I will not present further photos published by Vaonis.

Appendix: Photos

Here I present two photos taken with the Vespera Pro that Vaonis published. Probably, the photos were post-processed.

Photo: NGC 6992/5 (Eastern Veil Nebula) photographed with Vespera Pro - the very first photo taken with the Vespera pro that Vaonis published (larger)

Photo: M 8 (Lagoon Nebula) taken with the Vespera Pro (from Vespera Pro product page, slightly cropped)