Vaonis STELLINA Observation Station and Hybrid Telescope with Gitzo Systematic Short Tripod

2023-10-03T08:09:20

I like it.

JACK G.

2022-12-01T16:52:48

I love the Stellina. I love it so much that I have sold all of my other astrophotography gear and telescopes. No more spending an hour to set up my astrophotography gear. The files it produces stack and are processed nicely in Pixinsight. And others produce equally nice images in other software as seen in the Vaonis FB page. And for those that prefer not to process images the JPG images produced automatically are impressive too. The app makes it super easy to find a target and image the night sky and even the sun with an optional filter. Makes it easy even for a beginner. Definitely worth every penny IMHO. All from the comfort of your couch.

Louis V.

2022-11-30T05:22:02

Wow! Quantum leap from novice astrophotographer to professional looking astrophotos "overnight"! This superb equipment brings ease of use from the warmth and comfort of the living room to view the infinite wonders of the universe in real time! I have graduated from spending frigid nights with redlight headlamp and numb fingers to really enjoying the adventure of viewing galaxies, nebulae and star clusters only previously possible through the use of professional observatories or complex equipment setups. This is truly a game changer and quite easy to use. With additional time using inexpensive photo editing software images can be further enhanced (ie, removing some granularity or highlighting certain colors) to produce spectacular resolution images that are easily shared. Wifi connection and controls have worked from a distance of 40 feet from the unit to an indoor (and warm!) room and scheduling function enables collection of images automatically if time doesn't allow real-time use. Spectacular product and great user groups available to assist in advice on use. No issues whatsoever so far with functionality and performs as described (you won't be disappointed!)

Robert M.

2022-11-28T14:58:10

If you like to set up a lot of equipment and spend time with alignment, then this is not for you. If you want to take high quality Astro photos easily and with minimal set up, then the Stellina will make you very happy. It?s easy to set up and use. You can share the image as it develops with several others on their smartphones or tablets. It is, in effect, equivalent to a traditional telescope with an equatorial mount and a h-ires camera all packaged into a single modern package. I?ve been an amateur astronomer for sixty years. This is the best and easiest piece of equipment I?ve ever used. Because of the size of the internal telescope,80mm, it is not suitable for imaging the planets, but for everything else, it?s wonderful.

Glen H.

2022-10-23T09:15:58

This is an Overall best thing I've ever used in my life. The downfall is it takes a while to get the photos but it takes so many of them and it stacks them together and makes a beautiful picture. This is more for a grown up or older teenager because the time it takes to take a picture is not something kids have the patience for! In my opinion.

DANIEL H.

2022-03-23T05:03:25

Very happy with this product. I've used it every cloudless/moonless night since receiving it about 10 days ago. Easy to set up and capable of advanced features too.

KARIM E.

2022-02-09T07:55:17

So excited about this! First clear day and night this winter. Will give it a try. So easy to (hopefully) use. Directions anyone can understand!

JANE S.

2022-01-13T08:20:19

This has been an exceptional piece of equipment, easy to use, great images with user friendly interface. I would highly recommend this product for anyone wanting to get into astro photography. Especially for users that want to share the imaging experience with others, the app and Wi-Fi function allows multiple users to connect to the observation station and keep their own images.

DENNIS B.

2021-12-06T08:29:17

I have been trying for years to take even average pictures of the stars and until the Stellina came along I was not even remotely successful. Now, I am capturing images like those here in the review. I won?t go into detail on how this works since there are a number of great YouTube videos on this and comparisons to traditional setups. For someone like me that has no interest in assembling a Frankenstein Astrophotography setup , this is the perfect solution.

CHARLES H.

2021-11-17T08:16:35

Thus is an extraordinary piece of equipment that represents a "game changer" for those who want to get involved in astrophotography. Stellina allows one to capture breathtaking images of deep sky obects without having to carry large and heavy aperture telescopes into the field. Three nights of observation with Stellina yielded amazing images. I hope Vaonis will continue to add features that will (1) show the battery life, and (2) manually control slewing.

GARY S.

2021-11-15T02:08:01

Fantastic telescope for astrophotography. Easy to use and great photos of stars, galaxies and nebulae!

STEVE E.

2021-11-10T08:03:21

I absolutely love the Stellina. Does it replace my main astrophotography rig? No, but that is not what this is for. I use the Stellina almost every night that weather allows. It sets up in less than 5 minutes and then I am off observing. The image quality is pretty good from my Bortle 9 backyard and pretty great if I can get to darker skies, which being super portable helps (unlike my main rig). My favorite thing to do is set up the Stellina along side my main rig, and by the time I get my tracking good on my main rig, Stellina has already been imaging for over an hour. Can't beat the convenience of this scope if you can stomach the price, but in my opinion is well worth it. Sure you can build a better "portable" system for cheaper, but the convenience of an all-in-one I can't stress enough. I love this thing and can't imaging not having it anymore.

EVAN T.

2021-09-30T09:37:18

First night out set up was very quick. Made a photograph of the Eagle nebula 7000 light years away. It was a no brainer exactly as advertised.

Alan s.

2021-08-26T09:41:10

Stellina setup and use is very easy, but a printed manual or a how to use the features sheet would be helpful. I had to spend a lot of time looking for answers on the Internet. I was taking photos the first night of using the Stellina which is what it is all about. The skies were not ideal but I was surprised at what the Stellina could do when visually it looked too hazy and light polluted. The Stellina is a little expensive and I wish it came with a larger capacity battery, the larger tripod and a hard cover case, but it seems to do what it said it could do without a lot of fuss. I did purchase a USB-A to USB-C cable and a 5v - 2.4A AC Adapter on Amazon for use without the battery. It would have also been nice if the Stellina had also included these. (Cost for both under $20) Attached are some of photos I have taken. One is of the Trifid Nebula, one of the Dumbbell Nebula and one of Saturn. I have taken better photos of Saturn with my 8" scope, but this is not bad for something quick and easy to show the grandkids.

THOMAS T.

2021-08-23T15:44:01

Got first images in just a few minutes even with some light pollution. Very easy to use. Wish the WiFi range was better, but overall very happy.

CHRIS L.

2021-08-11T08:34:44

Excellent product

RICHARD T.

2021-07-22T13:15:25

Love my Stellina! Easy to set up and operate. very happy with the purchase.

Kevin K.

2021-07-21T09:19:19

Awesome telescope! Best I ever had. Would buy another.

KEVIN K.

2021-07-18T08:25:31

East setup, captured star images on my first try! Don?t know how they do it, but I?m hooked. Every time the sky is clear, I lose sleep because I am in the yard searching for more deep space images!

JOHN B.

2021-07-11T12:02:07

As advertised 15 minutes after taking outside I was getting my first astrophotography images. You can watch your image build from the mobile app. Looks amazing on the iPAd, can even screen mirror to Apple TV is real time.

Graham F.

2021-02-02T07:11:55

Extremely easy to use. First night using it, we got a beautiful picture of the Orion Nebula fully captured and edited all from my phone within an hour. And being from the Metro Detroit area, I never expected such clarity!

JORDAN T.

2021-01-24T19:25:33

I've always loved astronomy. My last try at stargazing as a hobby was years ago with a 10" dobsonian Celestron. I remember being in awe at the images I could see, and then wondering how strong telescopes can get and how I could capture the image to share. Years later I'm interested but didn't want to invest the time in re-learning all of the steps it takes to sight and photograph with a traditional telescope. I saw the Vaonis Stellina and thought "This could work." I was ecstatic that the night it arrived was an atypical clear night here in the Pacific Northwest. It was super easy to assemble the scope on a tripod and get started. Even in my noise polluted neighborhood, it aligned in just a few minutes. About 30 minutes later I had a strikingly clear image of the Andromeda galaxy. It was amazing! This is revolutionary. I never dreamed I could make pictures of deep space like this. I've since imaged multiple galaxies, nebula, and clusters and they all look amazing. Highly recommend!

JEREMY L.

2021-01-14T05:39:30

Ordered Stellina and arrived on time and undamaged, setup was super easy and have already captured some really nice pics. Support from manufacturer is amazing, great support from website and follow up from Vaonis. Looking forward to many evenings of enjoyment. Took my first pic within 30 minutes after unboxing and now got my wife interested in Astronomy

ALEJANDRO M.

2021-01-06T19:10:53

I would love to give it a 5 rating. We have not been able to enjoy it. It was a Christmas present and living in Northern Idaho we have not had a single clear night.... I have it all charged and ready once we have a clear night. It was very easy to set up. The Tri pod is a little challenging as the unit is a little hard to handle as it has a very slick finish on it..

KIM D.

2020-12-24T23:25:35

Fantastic device, it is a beautiful looking gadget with lots of potential. It still needs to be set up every single time you use it, but leveling the tripod is a lot less work than collimating a telescope. The vendor website says it comes with two battery units but mine only came with one - this was rather disappointing.

TENDAI G.

2020-11-24T09:49:51

Great Telescope Very poor product help, they don’t reply to any communication NO SUPPORT

JOHN A.

2020-08-30T08:31:30

This is a simple way to get familiar with the cosmos. Very happy with this purchase

BRYAN H.

2020-06-01T11:16:28

The Stellina makes photographing Deep Sky Objects fun! Yes - it is pretty expensive but there is literally nothing else you need to buy - and it is worth every dollar! I live in Florida, under Bortle 6 skies, and have to deal with high humidity - no problem for the Stellina with built-in dew heater. Vaonis is a really friendly company, with outstanding customer service, and their commitment to support and increase Stellina's functionality is apparent. They are extremely helpful and are constantly making updates to the Stellinapp. The catalogue of preset DSO's continues to increase. Furthermore, Stellina has also recently added manual entry - so input Declination/Right Ascension coordinates and you are good to go! Awesome! One of my most satisfying purchases ever!

Liz P.

2019-12-26T14:59:15

I own a variety of astronomical equipment, including several scopes, mounts (including equatorial) and both a dedicated digital astro camera (ATIK) and a modified Canon DSLR. With almost any combination of these items I can take superb astro photos. The price? Time, and lots of it. Oh, and patience. My new Stellina consists of the combined scope and electronics in a briefcase size package and a small, portable tripod. Set up takes only a few minutes and another five or so for the unit to use your OIS/Android phone to orient itself, take a few photos of star fields for precision location, and focus. The Stellina app will then give you a variety of objects/targets that are currently in the night sky for your location and cay and time. In the month or so that I've had the scope I have been delighted at its ease-of-use but more importantly, at the quality of the images. No, the scope will not duplicate the photographic results of more sophisticated (and often more expensive) equipment, but I was -- and you will be -- impressed with what you do achieve. The JPEGs are processed by the unit's computer using advanced stacking and processing software but you're also given RAW files which you can process yourself with any number of currently available astronomical software. While the scope is essentially on an altazimuth mount it contains a mechanical field rotator which keeps the scope accurately focused for extended periods of time. I recently took a 60-minute photo of the Horsehead Nebula which stayed in focus the entire time. You could not do this with most altazimuth mounts offered by Celestron or Meade. Yes, the Stellina is expensive but in my mind worth every penny. In short, for ease, simplicity of use and great images, it can't be beat. And on a personal note, I can't tell you how many of my neighbors have been dazzled with the beauties of the night sky taken from my driveway. Highly recommended.

JAMES K.