JimH123 Loc: Morgan Hill, CA

A new product called Stellina has been released, and is offering a new way to do astrophotography. Basically, all you do is set it on its little tripod, turn it on and from your smart phone or tablet, pick the object you want to capture.

See:
https://vaonis.com/

My thoughts on this:

I like the idea of not having to do a manual setup. And I like how easy it would be to take this to a dark site. I like that it does auto focusing.

But I am not keen on the idea of spending $4000 on this product. It is also limited in only viewing the preprogrammed objects in its database which is listed as 100, although I read that it has since been updated to > 150.

The scope has an 80mm objective and a FL of 400mm for f5.0. The sensor is tiny. The results seem nice, but can't compare to what a larger scope can produce.

I also suspect that if the sales volume goes up, that perhaps cost will come down. And maybe it will generate me too products? Certainly would be easier traveling to a dark site with this than to drag along a large scope, a large mount, a large battery, all the necessary cabling plus a camera and laptop. I've gone this route, and also have experienced forgetting to bring something that I needed for this to all work. When in the backyard, I can just go back into the house and get what I forgot. When remote, that just isn't possible.

It will be interesting to see how this fares in the astrophotography world.

See also:

https://gizmodo.com/i-made-amazing-images-of-galaxies-and-nebulas-in-minute-1837845368

https://www.galactic-hunter.com/post/stellina_review

SonnyE Loc: Communist California, USA

Thanks Jim!
When I got to the $4K price I almost stopped reading....
But went on.
I could see this as something for the rich and dumb. A bubble level? Uh, O...K....
I doubt it can compare to dedicated Astrophotography equipment. Probably do better than my equipment, but not Brian's, nor Ed's dual setup.
Having learned what I have the hard way, plopping something down on a deck and expecting it to compensate for the vibrations inherent to buildings (as shown) causes me to scoff at it.
Then there was the micro tubes of tripod grease at $24...
But $4K is a bit out of my reach anyway. But $4K beats what I've spent on my set-up. I looked at the images in the review, and honestly, I think what I have done from my back yard compares, and may surpass what they get with an ED doublet. Why did they not offer a triplet lens?
So I'll pass.
But it is good to see. Technology advancements are amazing, if they work.

Might be a nice toy for somebodies Mediterranean Yacht.

JimH123 Loc: Morgan Hill, CA

Some other downsides:

You can't pick your own filter. It has one built in, and that is the one you have to use.

You can't pick something other than their pre-approved object list.

If the object you pick is not centered, you can't center it.


But it will be interesting to watch how this progresses in the future. They are adding more objects. And there is mention of creating panoramic images to get wider FOV. And I'm sure there is lots more that they are mulling over. The idea is great. The cost is insane. It will take a much higher volume to bring the price down. At the right price, this type of product can expose a lot more people to astrophotography.

FYI:

Infinity Stellina

Sony Sensor ICX825 IMX178
pixel size 6.45um 2.4um
pixels 1392x1024 3086x2076
diagonal 11mm 8.9mm

Larger pixels tend to be known for gathering more light. Infinity should have the advantage here.
Stellina has higher resolution, but probably more noise.
Stellina sensor is slightly smaller.

DickC Loc: NE Washington state

A little pricey for the hobbyist!

JimH123 Loc: Morgan Hill, CA

That's why I won't be getting one.

But I do like to read up on new things being offered.

DickC Loc: NE Washington state

Yes, me too, and I love to see what others are doing!