Same 114 mm f/4 tube, same 9-hour battery life, same lack of an equatorial mode: between the 2019 Unistellar eVscope and the Unistellar eVscope 2, everything is decided behind the optics, in the electronic eyepiece and the sensor. One warning first: Unistellar has removed every technical specification sheet for the first-generation eVscope from its website. Not one figure in the “eVscope (2019)” column comes from the manufacturer — they all come from the specialist press. The 2019 model is discontinued, so this page is written for an owner considering an upgrade, or for a buyer looking at a second-hand unit.
The verdict in 20 seconds
The eVscope 2 is not a more powerful telescope: it is the same telescope, better looked at. Aperture, focal length, focal ratio and claimed battery life are identical. What changes comes down to two parts: an electronic eyepiece designed with Nikon in place of the 2019 in-house OLED, and a 7.7 MP Sony IMX347 sensor in place of the Sony Exmor IMX224.
If you already own a 2019 eVscope in working order, upgrading will bring you no extra light, no extra time in the field and no equatorial mode: it will bring you a sharper image and a more comfortable eyepiece, for €4,699. Facing a used unit, the question is not which one is better — it is the eVscope 2 — but how much cheaper the used one has to be.
The numbers side by side
Read this before the table: the “eVscope (2019)” column has been reconstructed from the specialist press, because Unistellar no longer publishes any specification sheet for this model. Wherever the press documented nothing, we write “not published” rather than inferring a value.
| Criterion | Unistellar eVscope (2019) | Unistellar eVscope 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Release year | 2019 | September 2021 |
| Status | Discontinued | Available |
| Optical design | Newtonian with OLED electronic eyepiece | Newtonian with OLED electronic eyepiece designed with Nikon |
| Aperture | 114 mm | 114 mm |
| Focal length | 450 mm | 450 mm |
| Focal ratio | f/4 | f/4 |
| Sensor | Sony Exmor IMX224 | Sony IMX347 |
| Resolution | not published | 7.7 MP |
| Field of view | 30 arcmin | 0.57° × 0.76° |
| Mosaic | not published | No |
| Mosaic field | not published | not stated |
| Mount | Motorised GoTo altazimuth, single arm | Motorised altazimuth |
| Equatorial mode | No | No — altazimuth |
| Built-in filters | not published | No — Deep Dark software processing |
| Battery life | 9 h | 9 h |
| Storage | not published | 64 GB (eMMC) |
| Weight | 9 kg | 7 kg (9 kg with tripod) |
| Tripod included | Yes | Yes |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi, GPS, iOS and Android app | Wi-Fi |
| Subscription | No — free Unistellar app | No — every feature is included |
| Indicative price | not published | €4,699 ($4,999) |
Two caveats. The scope of the 2019 model’s 9 kg — tube alone or with tripod — is not documented, so the figure is not comparable with the eVscope 2’s 7 kg tube. And the first generation’s price is no longer published anywhere: no original list price, no measured second-hand value.
What really separates them
The electronic eyepiece, the real dividing line
Both instruments share a feature that has become rare in this market: an electronic eyepiece, a small OLED screen placed at the focus of a real eyepiece, which you look into as on a classic telescope. Almost all the competition has given it up and sends the image to a phone instead. This is the thread linking the two generations — and what separates them most clearly.
On the 2019 eVscope, the eyepiece is an OLED developed in-house by Unistellar. On the eVscope 2 it is an optical block designed with Nikon: the most visible change from one generation to the next, noticeable within the first minute. Everything the sensor gains in resolution ends up in your eye rather than on a screen — that is where the price premium is spent.
The sensor: from IMX224 to IMX347
The 2019 generation relies on a Sony Exmor IMX224, whose resolution was never published by Unistellar nor reliably documented by the press. The eVscope 2 moves to a 7.7 MP Sony IMX347. The change also shows in the field: 30 arcmin on one side, 0.57° × 0.76° on the other, on unchanged optics. And this point is inseparable from the first: a sharper sensor only pays off fully if the display keeps up.
What did not move between generations
Everything else, or nearly: 114 mm Newtonian, 450 mm focal length, f/4, motorised altazimuth mount with no equatorial mode, 9 h of battery life, tripod supplied and no subscription on either side. The eVscope 2 handles light pollution in software, with its Deep Dark feature, and does not do mosaics. So you do not change eVscope to gain observing time or field: you change it for what you see.
What we do not know about the 2019 eVscope
You need to know this before buying used: sensor resolution, internal storage, built-in filters, mosaic capability, original price — none of it is published, neither by Unistellar nor by reliable third-party sources, and we do not infer it from the eVscope 2. Only connectivity is better documented on the 2019 side: Wi-Fi, GPS and iOS and Android apps, whereas the eVscope 2 sheet lists only Wi-Fi.
Which one to choose for your use
You already own a 2019 eVscope
Keep it as long as it works, unless image resolution is your daily frustration. Moving to the eVscope 2 costs €4,699 for a gain concentrated in the eyepiece and the sensor: noticeable, but with no effect on the optical field or on the targets within reach.
You are looking at a used unit
We have no verified second-hand value to give you, and we will not invent one. The reasoning is relative: the discount has to cover a previous-generation sensor whose resolution is not even documented, on a discontinued instrument, with no official specification sheet and no warranty. If the gap with the eVscope 2’s €4,699 is not decisive, the used unit is not worth it; if it is wide, the first generation remains defensible: same aperture, same battery life, same electronic-eyepiece principle.
For observing in a group
This is what the eyepiece exists for: you pass the eye from one person to the next instead of passing a phone around. The eVscope 2 is more comfortable, but a working 2019 eVscope already does the job.
For photographing and sharing
Clear advantage to the eVscope 2: 7.7 MP, a wider field and 64 GB of storage, against an undocumented sensor and unknown storage in 2019. If the final image matters more than the experience at the eye, the price gap is easier to justify here than anywhere else.
For citizen science
Both instruments rely on the Unistellar app, with no subscription. The first generation remains usable; we have no verified information, however, on how long a discontinued model keeps receiving software support.
Frequently asked questions
Why insist on where the 2019 eVscope data comes from?
Because Unistellar has withdrawn every specification sheet for this model: not one value in the 2019 column is confirmed by the manufacturer, they all come from the specialist press. For a second-hand purchase, that is front-page information.
What does the eVscope 2 eyepiece add over the 2019 one?
It is designed with Nikon, where the first generation used an OLED developed by Unistellar alone. It is the most immediately noticeable change, and it works hand in hand with the sharper sensor.
Can a 2019 eVscope be upgraded to the eVscope 2 eyepiece or sensor?
We have no verified information on this and the manufacturer publishes nothing about the model any more: buy the instrument you want, not the one you hope to upgrade.
Does the eVscope 2 allow equatorial tracking or mosaics?
No to both: the mount is altazimuth and mosaics are not supported. On the 2019 generation the equatorial mode is missing too, and mosaics are not documented.
Is there a cheaper Unistellar with the same principle?
Not with the electronic eyepiece: that is what separates the eVscope line from the eQuinox 2, which is observed on screen only. The other trade-offs are covered in all our comparisons.