Vespera
Portable Exploration Station
key advantages
- Ultra lightweight & portable
- Combination of telescope & camera
- Smart & automated through the app
campaign
status
Live
estimated
delivery
December 2020
Most popular Perk
Early Bird – Classic Edition
Included items:
1x Vespera Station
1x Charger
1x Tripod
Limited time offer
d · : :$1099
Night sky observation has recently become everyone’s main hobby. I am more than sure each of you has enjoyed the night sky under the slight breeze trying to figure out the objects that seem so realistic. Silvery white moon in the sky and a bunch of stars beautifully aligned to make mysterious constellations is the best scenery on the earth. It takes your breath away when you just realize how these illusive colours work together to create such a mindblowing view. And the sky you have observed at least once in your life is embedded in your memory forever. If you want to discover more and keep those memories alive then you should have a night sky observer tool with a camera.
So here is Vespera, a new generation exploration instrument combining a telescope with a camera. Capture the shots of celestial objects, learn and share everything about the Universe. Due to Star Field Recognition technology Vespera calibrates itself through the GPS. Although aperture is 50mm, its 200mm wide focal length, 1.6° x 0.9° field of view boost its capabilities, but the highest advantage is the way Vespera produces images. Sony sensors working brilliantly in low light, specially developed electric card to eliminate the amount of heat, solar filter and the autofocus are the keys behind the perfect shots. And of course, the Vespera App plays a big or better to say the main role, so we will discuss it later in our review.
| PROS | CONS |
| ✅ Easy setup | ❌ Aperture |
| ✅ User-friendly app | ❌ Price |
| ✅ Lightweight | |
| ✅ Small sizes | |
| ✅ High portability | |
| ✅ Waterproof | |
| ✅ Connects up to 5 devices |
The Product
Innovation
Is this a truly new product that you can’t find on the market? Or this a product that defines an entirely new product category. In some cases, the combination of several features into one or the introduction of a new feature to an old product are also considered to be an innovation.
Vespera is a revolutionary astrophotography telescope with a camera designed to take beautiful pictures of deep-sky objects with the help of a user-friendly app. It is unique in its kind as it is a combination of a telescope with the camera. As promised, I will stay here a bit longer introducing the main functionality of the Vespera App. According to your geolocation, it recommends the best sky objects to observe. The App also has educational content so you can learn and observe the Universe at the same time. Take photos effortlessly and discover new Galaxies, unknown celestial objects and so much more. The App also gives you the opportunity to edit the shots and share in social media. One of the most important things it stands out in the market is the size and weight of Vespera. It fits your backpack and makes it easy to carry wherever you go.
Competitiveness
How much better is it than the competition? Is it faster? Bigger? Cooler? More affordable? There needs to be a solid reason why you should back this project over any other.
 Vespera |  Stellina |  Gskyer | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | KS $1099 | $4710 | $320 |
| Dimensions(cm) | 40x20x9 | 49x39x13 | 96.5x30.5x20.3 |
| Weight(kg) | 5 | 11.2 | 8.2 |
| Aperture (mm) | 50 | 80 | 90 |
| Focal Length | 200 | 400 | 600 |
| Focal Ratio | F/4 | F/5 | F/6.7 |
| Field of View | 1.6°x0.9° | 1°x0.7° | 1°36 |
| Sensor Type | SONY IMX462 Starvis | CMOS Sony | - |
| Battery Life | 4 hours | 5 hours | - |
| Waterproof | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
First of all, I would like to once again mention that Vespera is unique in its kind and the main comparison is made with another Vaonis product Stellina. Gskyer is actually a telescope only with a special place where you can attach your phone and take photos. But the quality depends on your phone so it doesn’t make sense to have a comparison here. All these features might seem unknown to you if it is the first time you have decided to buy a compact telescope. So let’s start with a quick introduction:
- Aperture is the size of the objective lens if it is a refracting type as we have for Vespera. The larger the telescope, the more light it collects. In general, the aperture for refracting telescopes should be more than 75mm. As you can see for Vespera it is 50mm which is the result of its small size and portability.
- Focal Length in astrophotography is the same as in regular photography. It measures how the system converges and diverges the light. The longer the focal length, the greater the magnification. Here we have the same explanation as for aperture size. As the product itself is small, the parts are small in their turn. But this doesn’t affect the quality.
- Focal ratio is the length between the telescope and the aperture. For example, if the focal length is 200 and the aperture is 50, then the focal ratio will be 4. In general, a good telescope should have a focal length of 1000mm with a 200mm aperture. But I will repeat here again that Vespera is small in size and its main focus is capturing shots rather than observing the sky.
For the final comparison, I will once again highlight Vespera’s small size and high portability. It is a lightweight telescope and you can take it while camping and take perfect shots in the highlands. Full HD resolution provides high-quality images with 1920x 1080px. The user-friendly app plays the main role in the work of observer. This feature can be seen only in Stellina which is actually another Vaonis product but heavier and larger.
The Team
Reliability
How capable is the team? Have they developed something like this before? Do they have crowdfunding experience? Manufacturing experience? A lot of campaigns fail to deliver their product because they don’t know what they’re doing.
Vespera is designed and developed by a French start-up company Vaonis. Founded in 2016, the team is actively working on the projects that aim to make astrophotography accessible to anyone. The 10-15 person team is led by Cyril Dupuy who has a background in astronautical and aeronautical engineering. They believe design is in their DNA. And they are not lying. In 2018 they became the reddot design award winner and were rewarded in 2018 for the Best Innovation in CES Innovation Awards.
Vespera is their first crowdfunding campaign. In 13 days they managed to raise almost $1.2mln with the help of 1013 backers. This shows the high demand and interest in the product. Before Vespera they manufactured Stellina which is another astrophotography telescope bigger in size and slightly different in specifications as you can see in the table above. Although not crowdfunded, Stellina is one of the beloved astrophotography telescopes with a camera among sky lovers.
Attitude
How transparent are the campaigners? Do they give their backers valuable updates on their progress? Do they engage with their backers? Crowdfunding is all about community, sharing information and building a meaningful relationship with the people who fund your project.
During 13 live days, Vespera’s team shared 3 updates with the backers. They inform the backers about the current production stage.
The team is very responsive in answering the comments. Almost all of them are answered immediately or within 2 hours. As you can see in the below image, they have FB group of Vaonis community where I guess users share their experience and ask questions to each other.
The team is open for new suggestions and feedback regarding the product and the app. So if you have one feel free to suggest.
Conclusion & Public Opinion
As Vespera is not produced I will put here the reviews about Stellina from Amazon.
Here is the shot made by one of Stellina’s users.
Vespera is a well-thought smart telescope with a camera. It has the simplest way of setting up and can be transported from one location to another thanks to its high portability. As you have already understood the Kickstarter community is really excited about the product and like the concept, Vaonis team wants to transfer.
We hope the new version will be more functional as a telescope and act like an eyepiece. Do you have plans of releasing the new version guys?
TIW Total Score