Why The Unistellar Odyssey Pro Is My Favorite Smart Scope Ever - NOT for Astrophotography Though!
Check out the Odyssey Pro: https://tidd.ly/42bOKXr The Odyssey Pro is one of the latest smart telescopes, and I’ve been testing it for months. Unlike my usual reviews,...
I was a little confused by your comment that one should not buy it without the eyepiece. Wouldn't the image on, say, an Iphone be the same? Would also have the advantage to not having to bend over to look into the eyepiece.
Does that means it filters the image “noises” based on their data base which means they fake the result and might mute the new finding…?
My daughter is 15 and has been asking for a telescope that takes photos she can print out and hang on the wall. She turns 16 this fall, and I've been thinking about getting her this as a birthday/xmas gift. I like the idea of her friends all being able to connect their phones to this one at the same time. Is this a good entry-level telescope? Or would you recommend something else?
this scope is very fun but if your daughter's primary goal is photography, there are some other smart telescopes on the market that would be a better fit. The Odyssey is awesome for outreach when you want people to look into the scope and give them a sense of connection with the instrument. For photography, there is a wide range of options, including the ZWO Seestar, the Dwarflab Dwarf 3 or a Vaonis Vespera. I have videos demonstrating practically all of them on my playlist called "Smart Telescopes" if you're interested!
@the_space_koala thank you so much for getting back to me Ill check those out.
At 6:12 100% agree. You have to be sure you're able to engage you audience, and faint fuzzies just aren't appreciated by the lay public. We visited Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff several years ago. Waited in a 30 minute line to see through the eyepiece of the famous 24" Clark refractor and the "astronomer" had it aimed at a nondescript star cluster while Jupiter was just a few degrees away. It was such a letdown for me and I could hear the "mehs" of those ahead of me. Jupiter was probably boring to him but here was a major opportunity to engage with the public. It was a pretty big weekend event so there were several members from the local astronomy club there with their own telescopes setup along the walkway and yes, we got to see Jupiter through big telescopes with really nice setups and THAT'S where you heard the "Ooooos!" and "Ahaaas", and the "OMG, I can see the MOONS!" Thanks for this really detailed review! My main interest is participating in actual citizen science since I'm not a scientist, just an enthusiast and that was one of the appealing aspects of Unistellar - the global network and all the ways you outlined that they advertise on their website how we (me) low-skilled amateurs can really make a contribution and feel involved besides just doing something like monetary donations. Currently the Pro is $2K more than the non-pro version and I don't think I can justify that. Even the big step up to the Equinox2, which supposedly brings you to real science is just $300 more (again, no "eyepiece") than the base Odyssey.
I'm not convinced. for that amount of money a real modular gear makes more sense.... this way you are basically in a way street with not upgrade path.
It's like extracting an image from the Internet and it's free too!
Its also soo cheap just $4, 500 a real steal... 😁
I have zero experience but want to get started with an easy to use smart telescope that i can share with my grandkids - they have short attention spans, so i need it to be quick - this seems like a great starter for me - the $4k price is not a problem for me, my problem is TIME - thank you for the demonstration - it seemed like you were apologizing a lot, so maybe the long time telescope enthusiasts see smart telescopes as a betrayal? Maybe i start here and grow into something more complex later?
this is a great scope if your goal is looking into the eyepiece and seeing stuff. My point was to clarify that the quality is not good enough for photography and I wouldn't recommend it if that's the goal
Hi @the_space_koala, Thanks for this great review (they are all great by the way :-) )but could you tell me to your point of view the reasons that such a device can't be used for astrophotography ? Is it the limitations of the Sony IMX415 sensor, the mirror diameter, something that Unistellar did wrong inside the device ? Why are all those captured images not useful to be used for a classical astrophotography treatment, what are they missing ? Thanks in advance for your precious input.
It can be used for astrophotography (you are taking pictures of the sky, that’s what it is) but the quality is just not great. I think it’s mostly the optics rather than the sensor at fault - the stars don’t have a great shape which means you also get less detail in deep sky objects. I love this scope for outreach but wouldn’t recommend it if someone’s main goal is taking pictures
@the_space_koala It could be that the binning they apply for deep sky objects in their multi-depth technology is the culprit, capturing more photons at the expense of reduced resolution ?
BETTER STILL..... "The INDOOR Smart Scope"!!! Sit in your lounge and the Smart Scope will show you everything! Just like looking through your ceiling, roof and those annoying clouds! All while you stay warm in doors! WOW What a THRILLING experience, you don't need to know anything or do anything..... oh wait you mean that would destroy all sense of achievement 🤔
I may be old-school, but I prefer the raw view through a glass eyepiece over a screen. That is probably why I do not own a telescope big enough to watch deep sky objects. Now call me crazy if you want, but I would also prefer a 35mm film camera for astrophotography.
I fully understand the preference for pure visual observation. The film camera on the other hand, ehm, that's way too painful for my liking haha
Isn't the eyepiece basically looking at a screen of the image, rather than looking directly looking at the image as in a traditional scope?
Yes exactly! You are looking at a tiny screen behind a lens
Finally an honest reviewer! I've watched so many reviewers showcasing the Unistellar telescopes as vainly expensive, and poor performance. This image here, at 15:18, is breathtaking! Thank you so much, for making this, actual review. Thank you.
EAA astronomy is so much superior to visual astronomy
Astrophotography is an art and does not represent the real object and is in the eye of the beholder. If Astrophotograhy was not art then all images of the same object online would all look the same, but given the same object, look online and will see all different versions, so it is the person's interpretation of how it looks to him, or her
Wow your stunning and beautiful eyes, and your videos are very informative, love your videos
I worry that if they stop hosting the app online, that this thing will become a $3500 paperweight.
I hadn't considered this. I believe it will still work with the last version of the app as it runs locally on your phone. The concern would be if they don't update it to any new iOS/Android requirements and it stops working after a few years
Wow what a stunning location. Thanks for the detailed review
The real astronomy is "visual" . Use your eje
Great review. I’ll stick with my Origin
Tory! I would love to see some videos with you and your Scopes!