eVscope 2 vs Vespera 2: 30 Second Summary
- The Unistellar eVscope 2 is one of the only smart telescopes that has an eyepiece for realtime viewing through the telescope, rather than just on a screen. It has a higher aperture telescope, and with it you can take part in Citizen Astronomy initiatives.
- The Vaonis Vespera 2 is cheaper, doesn’t require collimation, has a slightly higher resolution camera, a wider field of view, and a Mosaic Mode to stitch together larger images.
- I believe the main decision between these two models comes down to how much you want the eyepiece and if you have the bigger budget. If so, then the eVscope 2 might be for you (but you should also look at the Unistellar Odyssey Pro).
- If the eyepiece is less important to you and/or you don’t have the budget, then the Vespera 2 is a great value option and has a lot of advantages in terms of being smaller, lighter, and not needing collimation.
Why choose the Unistellar eVscope 2 over the Vaonis Vespera 2?
The Unistellar eVscope 2 is a premium smart telescope from French manufacturer Unistellar that was released in 2022.
The three main reasons to favor it over the Vaonis Vespera 2 are:
- It is one of only two smart telescope models that have an eyepiece (the other is the Odyssey Pro). This means you can look through the telescope, rather than just view images on your smartphone or other screen. This is particularly good if using with friends or family as you have a more shared experience in taking turns to look through.
- It has a much higher aperture telescope which will be better at gathering the light needed to capture astrophotography images.
- It comes complete with tripod, which the Vespera 2 does not.
- With all Unistellar models you can take part in Citizen Astronomy initiatives and join missions to track asteroids and hunt exoplanets.
Why choose the Vaonis Vespera 2 over the Unistellar eVscope 2?
The Vaonis Vespera 2 is a compact, premium smart telescope from French manufacturer Vaonis that was released in 2024.
The main reasons to consider it over the Unistellar eVscope 2 are:
- It is cheaper – less than half the retail price.
- It has a slightly higher resolution camera with 8.3 megapixels, compared to 7.7 megapixels for the eVscope 2.
- It is smaller and lighter, weighing just 5 kg compared to 9 kg for the eVscope 2.
- It doesn’t require any collimation, whereas the eVscope 2 does. Collimation is a manual adjustment you need to make occasionally to the alignment of the mirrors inside. It is not too difficult and Unistellar have an easy to follow guide, but can be a barrier to quick use.
- It has a wider field of view and all Vaonis models have a Mosaic Mode which enables the stitching of multiple images to capture much larger astronomical objects.
Telescope Specifications
The Unistellar eVscope 2 has 114 mm (4.5 inch) aperture, 450 mm focal length, f/3.9 focal ratio, and 0.57° x 0.76° field of view.
The Vaonis Vespera 2 has 50 mm (2 inch) aperture, 250 mm focal length, f/5 focal ratio, and 2.5° x 1.4° field of view.
Camera Specifications
The Unistellar eVscope 2 has a 7.7 MP resolution camera of 3200 x 2400 size using a Sony IMX347 sensor and a pixel size of 2.9 μm.
The Vaonis Vespera II has a 8.3 MP resolution camera of 3840 x 2160 size using a Sony IMX585 sensor and a pixel size of 2.9 µm.
Size and Weight
The Unistellar eVscope 2 weighs 8.9 kg (19.8 lb) and has dimensions of 23 x 19 x 65 ((H x W x L in cm).
The Vaonis Vespera II weighs 5 kg (11 lb) and has dimensions of 48 x 20 x 9 ((H x W x L in cm).
Price and Value for Money
The Unistellar eVscope 2 costs $4,899, and the Vaonis Vespera II costs $1,590.
Just note that the Vespera II does not include a tripod, so you will need to add that if you don’t already own one (any regular photography tripod should work).
Note, these may vary so check the links to compare retailers if thinking about buying.
Specifications
| Unistellar eVscope 2 | Vaonis Vespera II | |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 2022 | 2024 |
| Aperture | 114mm (4.5 inch) | 50mm (2 inch) |
| Focal Length | 450mm | 250mm |
| Focal Ratio | f/3.9 | f/5 |
| Limiting Magnitude | 12.98 | 11.19 |
| OTA type | Reflector | Refractor |
| Eyepiece | Yes | No |
| Field of View | 0.57° x 0.76° | 2.5° x 1.4° |
| Resolution | 7.7MP | 8.3MP |
| Sensor Size | 3200 x 2400 | 3840 x 2160 |
| Sensor | Sony IMX347 | Sony IMX585 |
| Pixel Size | 2.9μm | 2.9µm |
| Image Formats | FITS, TIFF, PNG, JPEG | TIFF, FITS |
| Mosaic Mode | No | Yes |
| Size (H x W x L) cm | 23 x 19 x 65 | 48 x 20 x 9 |
| Weight | 8.9kg (19.8 lb) | 5kg (11 lb) |
| Mount | Included | Included |
| Tripod | Included | Not included |
| Battery Life | 9 hrs | 4 hrs |
| Internal Storage | 64GB | 25GB |
| Dew Control | None | None |
| Retail Price* | $4,899 | $1,590 |
eVscope 2 vs Vespera 2: Verdict
The main reason to opt for the eVscope 2 over the Vespera 2 would be the eyepiece.
If this is something that you really want, and have the budget, then the eVscope 2 might be right for you.
You may also want to look at the Unistellar Odyssey Pro as this is the only other smart telescope model with an eyepiece. It is slightly lower spec, but is cheaper and doesn’t require collimation.
If the eyepiece is less important to you then the Vespera 2 is a great value option.
Whilst it’s not cheap, it costs a lot less than the eVscope 2 and has many advantages, like the wider field of view, the mosaic mode, and smaller size/lighter weight.
|
Premium Option with Eyepiece
|
Premium Value
|
|
$4,899.00
|
$1,690.00
|
Related content and more information
- Skies & Scopes: Best Smart Telescopes
- Unistellar website: eVscope 2
- Vaonis website: Vespera 2
- Skies & Scopes: eVscope 2 review
- Skies & Scopes: Vespera 2 review
Other eVscope 2 comparisons:
- Celestron Origin vs eVscope 2
- Dwarf 2 vs eVscope 2
- Unistellar Odyssey Pro vs eVscope 2
- Vaonis Vespera Pro vs eVscope 2
- Unistellar eVscope 2 vs Unistellar Odyssey
- Unistellar eVscope 2 vs Vaonis Vespera 2
- Unistellar eVscope 2 vs ZWO Seestar S50
- Unistellar eVscope 2 vs eQuinox 2 vs eQuinox
Other Vespera 2 comparisons:
