Is Stellina the Ultimate Telescope for Amateur Astronomers?

[swampwiz]

https://vaonis.com/stellina

 

[jedishrfu]

Yes but don’t know much other than the price is astronomical for my budget.

There is a 2019 review of the product on youtube

 

[PhysicoRaj]

I think the price for the specs is bonkers. I would personally prefer a modular setup that goes upto the same cost in total. I might grow out of Stellina very soon if I were to buy.

 

[Bandersnatch]

I have conflicting thoughts on this. On the one hand, it seems like a natural and sensible step to fully automate the image acquisition and processing work one would have to do themselves with a regular telescope+digital camera setup. A lot of automation is already there in common use, but spread out among different devices and applications. It's also a nice way for non-nerds to enjoy the views of the universe, as even with equipment like GoTo and apps for stacking images etc., complete newbies have to surmount a steep learning curve.

On the other hand, I feel (snobbish, elitist - I know) disdain for what appears to be the Macintosh laptop of telescopes: overpriced for its specs, limited in customisation options, aimed at people who don't care to learn what they're doing, and apparently designed to be more of a status symbol than a tool.
Although, again, it's probably just the dinosaur in me talking (you're not doing >real< astrophotography unless you're tracking the sky by hand and capturing images on film with a camera bolted to the telescope via a DIY adapter).

 

[Vanadium 50]

the price is astronomical

I saw what you did there.

 

[DennisN]

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Anyone heard of Stellina?

I think I've seen an ad somewhere.

There is another similar type of telescope (fully automated) called Unistellar eVscope, a bit cheaper but still expensive (£2,599).

Here's a post with a video where it was used, and here's a review:
Unistellar eVscope review (BBC Sky at Night)

It's also a nice way for non-nerds to enjoy the views of the universe, as even with equipment like GoTo and apps for stacking images etc., complete newbies have to surmount a steep learning curve.

Very true.

for what appears to be the Macintosh laptop of telescopes

 

[Bandersnatch]

There is another similar type of telescope (fully automated) called Unistellar eVscope, a bit cheaper but still expensive (£2,599).

The company making Stellina has two other lines of products (accessible from the linked website). The smaller one is both significantly cheaper at 1500 EUR, and with less powerful optics (approx. half the aperture and focal length). But given how it's never going to be used for naked-eye viewing, the lower specs are less of an issue.

 

[collinsmark]

(Oops, I was going to reply to this thread when it started, but I got distracted. Well, here we go.)

I have reservations about recommending a robo-scope like the Stellina. It does have a niche market though. So if the following applies to you, then you might consider an all-in-one, automated scope like Stellina:

• You have no interest in taking up astrophotography as an actual hobby. Maybe you're too busy. Maybe you don't like or are not good at learning technical, and often tedious things. Maybe you have no interest in going down the astrophotography rabbit hole. All you want is some astro-photos you can call your own, even if they're not the best, and you have no interest in improving upon them. You just want them anyway.
• You have a lot of money to blow.

If these apply to you, then a robo-scope such as Stellina might be marketed to you. Otherwise there are better and cheaper ways.

I'll be the first to admit that astrophotography is a serious rabbit-hole. It can get really, really expensive if you let it. And even if you keep things on the cheap, there is still so much to learn it can be overwhelming if you're not truly interested in it. So if you know you're not going to be dedicated to the learning -- lots of learning -- but you still want some space photos anyway, then maybe a robo-scope like Stellina is up your alley.

But what any experienced astrophotographer will tell you is that flexibility in equipment is really important. I'll make many changes to my equipment depending on the target I'm working on. I don't use the same filters for galaxies that I use for nebula. Sometimes I'll use a focal reducer and sometimes not, depending on the target. For planetary imaging I'll use a completely different camera, and a barlow lens, not to mention an atmospheric dispersion corrector. And I'll process all of the above completely differently. None of these necessary configuration changes can be done with a robo-scope.

The robo-scope uses a one-size-fits-all for everything. And what if next year a new camera, with a new, state-of-the-art sensor is on the market. I can buy the new camera and still use it with all my existing equipment. But with the robo-scope, you'd be stuck with the existing camera. Hell, I can buy a new telescope and use my existing cameras and accessories with it; but with the robo-scope, nope: you're stuck with what you got. No mixing-and-matching. No configuration changes. You're stuck in an inflexible setup.

Anyway, that's my two cents.

[Edit: Oh, and if I want, I can dig out my diagonal and eyepieces and use the telescope visually. Although I don't do it much anymore, there's something truly special about visual astronomy, particularly when it comes to star clusters (either globular or open). So take that, robo-scopes!]

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Astrobiscuit has a pretty good (and funny) review of the Stellina:



Here's some additional details on his Stellina clone:
https://www.astrobiscuit.com/build-your-own-stellina

 

[DennisN]

Astrobiscuit has a pretty good (and funny) review of the Stellina

I've just watched it, very funny!
(I realized I've actually seen some videos before on that channel when I was looking for telescopes.)