Early Black Friday deals on telescopes have begun, with Unistellar reducing the cost of two of its biggest models.
Unistellar has announced an early Black Friday deal that’s seeing a sizeable discount on two of the company’s most popular telescopes: the eQuinox 2 and the eVscope 2.
From 14 – 27 November, Unistellar is reducing the cost of the eQuinox 2 from £2,199 down to £1,799 and the eVscope 2 from £3,999 down to £3,299.
This is a hefty reduction in the price of two sizeable ‘smart’ telescopes, which operate via WiFi on a Go-To system.
The Unistellar telescopes can automatically slew to celestial targets, track them in the sky and capture frame after frame of data to produce an image.
You can find information about the two telescopes below, courtesy of our independent reviewers.
And find out more about the best Black Friday telescopes, Black Friday binoculars and Black Friday cameras
eQuinox 2 – £2,199 £1,799
Buy it from Jessops, Park Cameras, Unistellar
The eQuinox 2 is a 4.5-inch reflector telescope mounted on a motorised altazimuth mount that automatically slews to a chosen target and tracks it in the night sky.
It boasts a Sony IMX347 image sensor that captures short exposures of deep-sky objects.
These are stacked in real time to create a clearer and clearer image of the chosen galaxy, nebula or globular cluster, for example.
The image is revealed on the user’s connected smartphone or tablet and can then be shared via social media.
While many seasoned astronomers and astrophotographers might wince at the automated nature of Unistellar’s telescopes, it’s worth remembering that they are modelled on how many robotic professional telescopes work.
We used the eQuinox 2 to capture an old favourite: the Orion Nebula.
Every few seconds, dustier detail, brightness and colour became evident, and all from the centre of a light-polluted city.
What eQuinox 2 can do that the previous model couldn’t is image larger objects like the Andromeda Galaxy and the Pleiades.
This is a great telescope for those who live in light-polluted cities, and also for beginners on a budget who aren’t interested in navigating the sky manually.
There’s also a nice citizen science aspect to these telescopes, which will interest users who are keen to contribute their observations to science.
Find out more in our full eQuinox 2 review.
Key specs
- Optics: 114mm (4.5-inch) reflector
- Focal length: 450mm, f/4
- Sensor: Sony Exmor IMX347
- Mount: Motorised single-arm, altaz, Go-To
- Power: In-built lithium-ion rechargeable battery
- Tripod: Aluminium, adjustable height
- Ports: USB-C for power; USB-A for charging
- App control: Unistellar (Android and iOS)
- Weight: 9kg
eVscope 2 – £3,999 £3,299
Buy now from Jessops, Park Cameras, Unistellar
The Nikon-made eyepiece on the eVscope 2 creates real-time views of deep-sky objects.
It’s fitted with a Sony camera sensor and tracks-and-stacks images in real-time to produce colourful views of deep-sky objects
The eVscope 2 works best under a dark sky, but even in the centre of a city it can still see down to around 16th magnitude without the need for filters.
It’s a 4.5-inch reflector telescope with a motorised altazimuth mount, simply set up by lifting the tube and motor (with the computer and battery) onto a tripod.
Switch it on, attach a phone or tablet to its Wi-Fi network and begin a short set-up process.
Once set-up is complete, you can then slew to objects via the Unistellar app, which gives you advice on what targets are currently visible, and which are about to set or rise.
The computer images an object every four seconds and stacks the results.
Its 7.7MP images are then visible to anyone close by with the Unistellar app open on a smartphone or tablet.
Image settings for each object are automatic, but you can make manual tweaks to gain, exposure and brightness.
Find out more in our full eVscope 2 review
Key specs
- Optics: 114mm (4.5-inch) reflector
- Focal length: 450mm, f/4
- Sensor: Sony Exmor IMX347 CMOS
- Mount: Motorised single-arm, altaz, Go-To
- Power: Built-in, lithium-ion rechargeable (12-hr) battery
- Tripod: Aluminium, adjustable height
- Ports: USB-C for power, and USB-A for charging a smartphone
- App control: Unistellar app for smartphones
- Weight: 9kg