The Unistellar Odyssey Pro is a premium portable smart telescope released in January 2024.
In this Unistellar Odyssey Pro review we are going to assess just how good this model is and how it will compare to other smart telescopes on the market.
Key Points
- The Unistellar Odyssey Pro was released in January 2024 alongside the Unistellar Odyssey
- These two models form Unistellar’s Discovery Range which have improved usability and do not require collimating
- The Odyssey Pro features an eyepiece for live viewing – something that previously only the Unistellar eVscope 2 had
- It has 85mm aperture, 350mm focal length and f/3.9 focal ratio. The camera has a 4.1 MP sensor
- It is light, compact, portable and beautifully designed
Unistellar Odyssey Pro Review
The Unistellar Odyssey Pro is a smart telescope, which means:
- it is a fully automated astrophotography telescope with a camera built-in
- You control it via app on your smartphone and it takes images of astronomy objects for you at the press of a button and sends them to your phone.
In this review, I will give my views on how it shapes up based on the five criteria we use to assess smart telescopes:
- Ease of Use
- Portability
- Imaging Quality
- Value for Money
- Versatility
Ease of Use
The only downside of Unistellar’s previous smart telescopes – the eVscope, eVscope 2, eQuinox and eQuinox 2 – was that you occasionally had to collimate them.
This is a manual process that is common in many telescopes and was not difficult to do but it was a barrier to having seamless usability.
The main selling point of smart telescopes is that you can just pull it out whenever you want and it should work with little or no effort. And this is what you have with Unistellar’s rivals – the Vaonis Stellina, Vespera, Vespera II and Vespera Pro.
Unistellar have now fixed this with the Odyssey Pro:
- They now class this model and the Odyssey in their Discovery Range not requiring any collimation, and
- The eVscope 2 and eQuinox 2 in the Expert Range where collimation may sometimes be required.
Add to this that the app was already excellent and you have usability that is up there with the best for any smart telescope.
Portability
The Odyssey Pro telescope weighs 4 kg (8.8 lbs) with the tripod adding an additional 2.5 kg (5.5 lbs), so totalling 6.5 kg (14 lbs).
This means it is certainly light and portable but does weigh more than the Vespera II and Vespera Pro (11 lbs), as well as the ZWO Seestar S50 and Dwarflab Dwarf 2 which are in the budget category of smart telescopes.
Imaging Quality
Telescope
The OTA has:
- 85 mm (3.3 inch) aperture
- 320mm focal length
- f/3.9 focal ratio
This puts it above the Vespera II and Vespera Pro in terms of aperture and only behind the Unistellar eVscope 2, eQuinox 2, and Celestron Origin.
Camera
The camera inside has 4.1 megapixel resolution.
Here are a number of images taken with the Odyssey Pro:
Value for Money
The Odyssey Pro costs $3,999. This makes it:
- More expensive than the Odyssey by $1,500. This is the price of the Nikon additional eyepiece
- More expensive than the Vespera II and Vespera Pro which are lower spec
- About the same as the Celestron Origin. The Origin has a higher spec telescope but also weighs substantially more
- Cheaper than the eVscope 2 and eQuinox 2
These prices will vary and so check the live links to compare.
Versatility
The Unistellar Odyssey Pro is one of only two smart telescopes that has a liveview eyepiece (the Unistellar eVscope 2 is the other).
Its ease of use makes it good for all levels and it is capable of photographing both deep sky objects and planets (something some other smart telescopes struggle with).
However it is not usable for non-astronomical purposes.
Unistellar Odyssey Pro: Pros and Cons
Unistellar Odyssey Pro Advantages
The pros of the Unistellar Odyssey Pro are:
- Easy to use with no adjustment (collimation) required
- One of only two smart telescopes to feature the liveview eyepiece
- Compact size and light weight
- Good telescope and camera specifations
- Slick user experience and a great app
- Beautiful design
- Join Citizen Science initiatives
Unistellar Odyssey Pro Disadvantages
In terms of the downsides:
- Pretty expensive in comparison to the Odyssey and the Vespera models (its most obvious competitors)
- Lower spec than premium alternatives like the Celestron Origin, eVscope 2 or eQuinox 2
Unistellar Odyssey Pro Alternatives
The main alternatives to the Unistellar Odyssey Pro are the:
- Unistellar Odyssey – the cheaper alternative that lacks the eyepiece and has a slightly lower camera resolution
- Vaonis Vespera II – lower aperture telescope but higher resolution camera, has a mosaic mode, is smaller and cheaper
- Vaonis Vespera Pro – lower aperture telescope but even higher resolution camera, has a mosaic mode, is smaller and costs about the same
- Celestron Origin – higher spec for a similar price but much heavier
See our overview of the Best Smart Telescopes to see how they all compare.
Unistellar Odyssey Pro Specifications
- Aperture: 85 mm (3.3 inch)
- Focal Length: 320 mm
- Focal Ratio: F/3.9
- Weight: 14 lbs (6.5 kg)
- Height: 122 cm (fully assembled)
- Sensor: Sony IMX615
- Resolution: 4.1 MP
- Year of release: 2024
Our Verdict
The Unistellar Odyssey Pro has taken a great step in removing the necessity to collimate. Experienced astronomers will not worry about this but many people shopping for a premium smart telescope will have been put off by this requirement.
It is the only option other than the eVscope 2 (that is more expensive and does require collimating) that has the eyepiece so you can look through it like a regular telescope, rather than just viewing the images it captures on your smartphone.
This is a key feature for many and adds a communal element to sitting around with family and friends and looking through it at the planets, galaxies and whatever else you wan to see.
The Odyssey Pro will appeal to people that want complete ease of use, a beautiful appearance, and the live viewing experience with the eyepiece.
Premium Smart Telescope - Brand new in 2024
- Easy to use and perfect for complete beginners
- Features eyepiece for live viewing of the night sky
- Portable with a compact size and light weight
- Lower spec than premium alternatives
- Premium price
Sources and further information
How we reviewed the Unistellar Odyssey Pro
This Unistellar Odyssey Pro review is based on an assessment of its core specifications and comparison to existing models and the reviews of a number trusted experts:
Unistellar
SETI Institute
Submit Your Review of the Unistellar Odyssey Pro
If you own (or have used) a Unistellar Odyssey Pro, you can submit your review and ratings to us via this form to be incorporated in this review:
Unistellar Odyssey Pro
Pros
- Easy to use and perfect for complete beginners
- Features eyepiece for live viewing of the night sky
- Portable with a compact size and light weight
Cons
- Lower spec than premium alternatives
- Premium price
