The Vaonis Stellina was discontinued by Vaonis during 2024 and is no longer sold new, so this is not a duel between two products on sale: it is a guide for someone looking at a used one. The Vaonis Vespera III costs $2,490 (2,490 € in Europe) new. The Stellina has no US price on file and its last official price was 3,999 €. The only question worth asking is how far below that a used Stellina has to fall before it beats a new Vespera III, and the answer is: a long way.
The 20-second verdict
Buy a used Stellina only if you find one heavily discounted, several hundred euros below the 2,490 € of a Vespera III, and only if 80 mm of aperture and 400 mm of focal length matter more to you than everything else. Vaonis still maintains support and software updates, which makes a second-hand purchase defensible rather than reckless. But 6.4 MP, 11.2 kg and 5 h of battery life are 2019 numbers.
Buy the Vespera III if you want a current instrument with a warranty: 8.3 MP, 11 h of battery life, 115 GB of storage, 5.0 kg, and a CovalENS mosaic mode that widens the field to 4.33° × 2.43°. One caveat to state plainly: released in April 2026, it has no published independent test yet, so what follows for it is a specification comparison, not a measured one.
Side by side
| Spec | Vaonis Stellina | Vaonis Vespera III |
|---|---|---|
| Indicative price | Discontinued, no US price on file, last official price 3,999 € | $2,490 (2,490 € in Europe) |
| Aperture | 80 mm | 50 mm |
| Focal length | 400 mm | 245 mm |
| Focal ratio | f/5 | f/4.9 |
| Sensor | Sony IMX178 | Sony IMX585 |
| Resolution | 6.4 MP | 8.3 MP, 24 MP in mosaic |
| Field of view | 1.0° × 0.7° | 2.5° × 1.4°, 4.33° × 2.43° in mosaic |
| Mount | Motorised alt-azimuth with field derotator | Motorised alt-azimuth |
| Equatorial mode | No, motorised field derotator | No |
| Built-in filters | Yes, CLS light-pollution filter | None, solar, dual-band and CLS optional |
| Mosaic | No | Yes, CovalENS, 24 MP |
| Battery life | 5 h | 11 h |
| Storage | Not disclosed | 115 GB (eMMC) |
| Weight | 11.2 kg | 5.0 kg |
| Tripod included | Yes | Yes |
What actually separates them
Optics and light gathering
80 mm against 50 mm is about 2.6 times the collecting area, and 400 mm of focal length against 245 mm puts noticeably more reach on small targets. The focal ratios are effectively identical, f/5 against f/4.9. This is the Stellina’s one genuine advantage and it is not a small one: on globular clusters and compact galaxies the older instrument still has the better front end. Winner on optics and light gathering: the Stellina.
Sensor, resolution and field
The Stellina’s Sony IMX178 delivers 6.4 MP across 1.0° × 0.7°. The Vespera III’s Sony IMX585 delivers 8.3 MP across 2.5° × 1.4°, and up to 24 MP across 4.33° × 2.43° through CovalENS mosaic. That is more than five times the covered sky in mosaic mode, on a newer sensor generation, with more pixels to crop into. The Stellina has no mosaic mode at all. Winner on sensor, resolution and field: the Vespera III, by a distance.
Battery, weight and portability
11 h against 5 h, and 5.0 kg against 11.2 kg. The Vespera III runs more than twice as long on a body less than half the mass. The Stellina is a garden instrument you set up once and leave; the Vespera III travels. Storage tells the same story, 115 GB against a figure Vaonis never disclosed for the Stellina. Winner on battery, weight and portability: the Vespera III, comprehensively.
Filters, support and real cost
The Stellina has a built-in CLS light-pollution filter, which the Vespera III does not: on the Vespera the solar, dual-band and CLS filters are optional purchases. That is a genuine point for the older model, and for city imaging it partly offsets the sensor gap. Against it: no warranty on a used unit, a 2019 design, and the fact that Vaonis support, while still active, is support for a product it no longer sells. On price, the honest framing is that at 3,999 € the Stellina was hard to defend even when new; the arithmetic only works second-hand at a steep discount. Winner on real cost: the Vespera III, unless the used price is genuinely low.
Which one for your use case
For a first smart telescope
Buy new. A discontinued 2019 instrument with no warranty is the wrong place to start, whatever the discount. Winner for a first smart telescope: the Vespera III.
For large nebulae
2.5° × 1.4° natively and 4.33° × 2.43° in mosaic against a fixed 1.0° × 0.7°. The Stellina cannot frame the big emission nebulae at all; the Vespera III does it in one CovalENS pass. Winner for large nebulae: the Vespera III.
For small targets and galaxies
80 mm and 400 mm against 50 mm and 245 mm. On compact objects the Stellina still puts more light and more focal length on target, and this is the one use case where a cheap used unit makes real sense. If you want current hardware with more resolution instead, the Vaonis Vespera Pro 2 offers 12.5 MP at $2,990. Winner for small targets and galaxies: the Stellina.
For city skies
The built-in CLS filter is a real advantage, and the extra aperture helps too. The Vespera III can match it, but only after you buy the optional CLS filter. Winner for city skies: the Stellina, narrowly. Our best smart telescope for light pollution guide covers the alternatives.
For travel
11.2 kg against 5.0 kg, and 5 h of battery against 11 h. There is no argument to be had. Winner for travel: the Vespera III.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Stellina still worth it in 2026?
Only heavily discounted second-hand. Its 80 mm aperture and 400 mm focal length still beat the Vespera III on small targets, but 6.4 MP, 11.2 kg, 5 h of battery and no mosaic mode make it a hard buy at anything close to its old 3,999 € price. Several hundred euros below 2,490 € is where it starts to make sense.
Is the Stellina still supported by Vaonis?
Yes. Vaonis discontinued it during 2024 but continues to maintain support and software updates, which is what makes a used purchase defensible.
Does the Vespera III have a published independent review?
No. It was released on 11 April 2026 and no independent test has been published to date, so every figure quoted for it here comes from Vaonis specifications rather than measured field results.
Which one is better under light pollution?
The Stellina, out of the box, because its CLS filter is built in. The Vespera III needs the optional CLS filter to compete, after which the comparison becomes a straight aperture-versus-sensor question.
What should I buy instead of a used Stellina?
The Vespera III at $2,490 for wide fields and endurance, or the Vaonis Vespera II at $1,590 if budget is the constraint. Browse all comparisons for the full picture.