Dwarf II Smart Telescope Brings Power and Portability to Backyard Astronomy

Dwarf II Smart Telescope

Surprisingly hefty and rich for its size of it , but at times , a bit awkward to negociate .

Dwarf II is a various , compact smart telescope that simplifies astrophotography . Suitable for day or night , it well connect to fluid devices and features wide - angle and telephoto lense but lacks an eyepiece . The Dwarf II , well - priced and fit out with GOTO and object tracking potentiality , capture very good 4 K images of ethereal phenomena , include the Moon , Sun , galaxies , nebulae , and star clusters .

The Dwarf II Smart Telescope.

The Dwarf II Smart Telescope.Photo: George Dvorsky

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The Deluxe version comes with a black carry bag, a rechargeable battery, a 64GB microSD card, a mini tripod, an extra battery, a UCH filter for light pollution, a pair of solar filters (to match the two lenses), and the filter adapter.

Backyard astrophotography is experiencing a rush in popularity thanks to telescopes becoming more user - favorable and , as a result , actually fun to use . However , cost and portability stay a roadblock , making the Dwarf II Smart Telescope a smart , viable choice despite some annoying shortcomings .

Dwarf II is a compact and portable fresh telescope at an excellent price point . It ’s also exceedingly flexible , featuring both spacious - angle and telephoto lenses . Designed for use during both day and night , it handily connect to a exploiter ’s handheld twist , such as a phone or pad of paper ( Io and Android ) . It function without demand a traditional ocular ( for skillful or big ) . The telescope connects via both WiFi and Bluetooth .

It ’s primarily meant for astrophotography , allowing for visualise deep blank space objects like extragalactic nebula , star clusters , and nebulae while delivering a surprising level of keenness for its size . During the day , Dwarf II can capture sensational landscapes and is also desirable for tracking moving objects , such as birds , thanks to its AI - enabled object - tracking feature .

The October 14, 2023, annular solar eclipse, as viewed by the Dwarf II telescope—and through some exceptionally cloudy conditions.

The 25 December 2024, annular solar eclipse, as viewed by the Dwarf II telescope—and through some exceptionally cloudy conditions.Photo: George Dvorsky

DWARFLAB , the company behind the scope , is register in Hong Kong , though its operational department is in China . The associated app was recently upgraded to OS2.0 , greatly enhancing its user interface and functionality and usher in feature of speech like a build - in beginner ’s guide . It ’s important to note , however , that Dwarf II is not tailored for absolute beginners ; it ’s best suit for users who are comfortable moving beyond a camera ’s “ machine ” features and those with some image processing experience . Dwarf II features a slightly clumsy user interface that initially conduct to stilted user experience ; however , as familiarity grows , so does the work flow , resulting in surprisingly good results .

Cost, accessories

The scope come in one of two package . The Classic version , price at $ 459 , come with a black carry grip , a rechargeable barrage with a Type - C USB courser , a 64 GB microSD card , and a mini tripod . At $ 595 , the Deluxe version comes with these canonical accessories : an spare battery , a UCH filter for light pollution , a pair of solar filter ( to match the two lenses ) , and the filter adapter itself .

The Deluxe rendering is currently useable at a 15 % bank discount , bringing the terms down to $ 505.7 . This promotional sales agreement runs until April 18 , and to take vantage of the saving , customers should use the discount codification SOLARECLIPSE at checkout .

The Deluxe package costs a bit extra , but it ’s worth it ; the filters vastly meliorate serviceableness ( remember , we have thatexciting total solar eclipsecoming up in April ! ) , as does the extra battery ( I found that the batteries lost their guardianship rather rapidly , so the patronage was good to have ) . As a nice touch , the company offersfree shippingto the United States , Canada , and most EU state ( $ 69 purchase lower limit ) .

The Sun, featuring unusually large sunspots, as viewed with the Dwarf II telescope fitted with its solar filter (no external editing).

The Sun, featuring unusually large sunspots, as viewed with the Dwarf II telescope fitted with its solar filter (no external editing).Photo: George Dvorsky

The unit itself is nimble , sleek , and with a distinctive look . Dwarf II is hardly larger than a book , measuring 8 inch wide , 5.1 inches long , and just 2.4 in sparse . Its thick , periscope designing results in a low-down center of sombreness for improved stableness . However , at just 2.4 pounds ( 1 kilogram ) , it ’s advisable to prefer for a heavy - duty tripod to prevent shake if you decide to advance from its small yet effective mini tripod . Dwarf II is among the little , light telescopes on the market , making it gross for camping , hiking , or any scenario that require minimal wadding .

A major effectiveness of Dwarf II is its double - obligation capability , serving as a feature - ladened tv camera during the day and as a handy robotic telescope at night . The gimmick feature a three-fold tv camera arrangement — wide slant and telephotograph — with a picture - in - picture capability , allow users to toggle between the two opinion with a single clink . A practical joystick , expose as a compact rophy on the blind , enables camera movement across multiple axes at various speeds . I get hold the joystick to be jumpy and laggy and , at time , frustrating to apply — a feature that could stand for some betterment . The photographic camera is capable of gigapixel panoramic shot , as well as capturing bursts , fourth dimension - lapses , regular exposure , and , of class , astronomy images .

In shell you ’re wondering , Tinyscope was a harbinger to Dwarf II , but it was eventually quit . Unlike Tinyscope ’s single telephotograph lens , Dwarf II accept the concept further with its dual lens , among many other newfangled feature .

M42 the Great Nebula in Orion, as imaged by Dwarf 2 and with no external editing.

M42 the Great Nebula in Orion, as imaged by Dwarf 2 and with no external editing.Image: George Dvorsky

Feature set and usage

It ’s fairly easy to get started on an astrophotography sitting , as Dwarf II feature autofocus ( to attain crisp views of stars ) , automatic standardization ( to pinpoint its direction in the Nox sky ) , and one - click GOTO , in which the telescope mechanically point to the target object as take in the usable catalogue ( experient uranologist have the alternative of record their coordinates ) . Navigating this UI was far from instinctive , leading me to confront the most horrific of things : consulting the manual .

I liked the neat feature of being able-bodied to twist off the unit ’s various lights to prevent potential interference during imaging . Combining Dwarf II ’s timelapse characteristic with no car - tracking was fun , allow for originative capture of the “ pass ” full Moon , as establish below .

The app render a searchable catalog of target objects . The app will let you know if an object is unavailable for mental imagery , such as below the visible horizon line . Still , it would be nice to have the choice of have targets screen out according to peak availability . Thankfully , the catalog list prospective fair game object by category , such as nebulae , beetleweed , star bunch , planet , etc .

The M50 star cluster features a deep, dark background and sharp stars, as imaged by Dwarf 2 and with no external editing.

The M50 star cluster features a deep, dark background and sharp stars, as imaged by Dwarf 2 and with no external editing.Image: George Dvorsky

A cautionary note about imaging satellite . Observations of object like Mars , Jupiter , and Saturn , while possible , do n’t give way the best result ( it ’s still deserving it , though ; I carry off to solve Jupiter ’s larger moons , which was pretty cool ) . Dwarf II is primarily intended to see the Moon , Sun , and deep distance target , in add-on to non - astronomical daytime wake ( that allege , I used Dwarf II to enamour some really nerveless shots of the Moon during daytime hours ) .

I had an absolute hoot using Dwarf II to take photos and time - lapses of the Moon . The images were nippy and breathless , capturing details not seeable to the human optic . It took some time and solitaire to get the options just right , but it was worth it .

The app ’s car champion trailing and stacking feature film enable long - photo picture taking of cryptical sky objects , allow for the insistent existence of celestial images , let in galaxies , nebulae , and star clusters . This robotic applied science simplifies what is typically a demanding , complex , and often frustrative aspect of astrophotography . Indeed , the mechanisation provided by Dwarf II and other wise telescopes is at long last transform astrophotography into a more approachable avocation . The telescope is good for objects large than 15 bow minutes in size of it and with magnitude below 9 , make it ideal for capturing large and moderately bright objects , such as the Pinwheel Galaxy , Orion Nebula , and Andromeda .

The Cigar galaxy, with Bode’s galaxy at the top, as imaged by Dwarf 2 with no external editing.

The Cigar galaxy, with Bode’s galaxy at the top, as imaged by Dwarf 2 with no external editing.Image: George Dvorsky

That tell , Dwarf 2 is still fine for imaging smaller and dimmer object , owe to its telling focal lengths : 675 mm for telephoto and 48 millimeter for wide - slant . Its solar filters ( uncommitted with the Deluxe edition ) tolerate for the safe mental imagery of the Sun , including sunspot and solar eclipses .

Dwarf II patronage a maximum of 15 - second exposures and automatically stacks up to 999 shots in real - time — traditionally a manual process that require third - party imaging software system . As a answer , I could watch my reflexion meliorate through farsighted exposures for instant gratification .

While shoot , I correct the “ curved shape ” options to tweak the color of the RGB channels to lend out the fine point of objects and to darken the black of space . The curves feature works as a build up - in image editor , allowing me to save my tweaked images on the fly sheet , which appear in my phone ’s photo drift . Dwarf II plump for fit and TIFF format , enable advanced users to export epitome to Adobe Lightroom , PixInsight editor program , or in my fount , GIMP .

Dwarf II supports FITS and TIFF formats, allowing more advanced users to edit their long exposures in image editing software. The image above, showing the Flame Nebula, was cropped and edited in GIMP.

Once a session is concluded , the epitome automatically appears in the app ’s album , which can be downloaded topically for apportion or further edits . As the image were n’t watermarked , I rule it challenging to describe them days later in good order . The images are labeled in the app but only accessible when the equipment is powered and link up .

Dwarf II now features an enhanced connexion arrangement that at the same time stand one primary connectedness and two secondary connections . While the two secondary connections can only consider the scope ’s activity , the primary connexion has exclusive controller over operate and direct Dwarf II , which is fairly standard . Two lower-ranking guest are nice , but even more would be better . I ’m imagining a lot of kid at a campground , all wanting to see the action on their smartphones .

Final words

I liked the Dwarf II , but I did n’t have it off it . dependable to its Son , it does make astrophotography more accessible . Still , users miss experience with cameras , or astrophotography in general , will have to puddle through an at - times ambitious learning curve . Indeed , if terms like “ picture time , ” “ gain , ” and “ saturation ” sound alien , you ’d best be inclined to learn about such things .

The galactic ikon were very good , but I would n’t describe them as outstanding . Given the size of the telescope and its reduced focal distance , that should n’t be a surprise .

In terms of competing offerings , Vespera ’s Observation Stationand theSeestarS50 are both ( reasonably ) low-priced , compact , and powerful . Other options includeCelestron ’s NexStar 130SLT Computerized Telescopeand theSky - Watcher 8″ Collapsible Dobsonian Telescope . For those willing to spend a morsel more , Unistellar ’s automatonlike scope , eQuinox 2andOdyssey Pro , are excellent options .

The island of Simushir, with four volcanoes dotted across it.