Nikon - Unistellar Strategic Partnership

[helicon]

Nikon Partners with Unistellar to Advance Consumer Telescope Tech...

https://petapixel.com/2021/07/07/nikon- ... cope-tech/

"Nikon has partnered with telescope brand Unistellar — a self-described astronomy disruptor — to advance telescope technology for consumer applications and bring the average enthusiast “closer to space.”

Unistellar has made waves in the telescope community with its eVscope and eQuinox, two telescopes that use proprietary “Enhanced Vision” and “Automated Field Detection” technologies to offer what the company claims is “unmatched power and accuracy in a compact telescope.” Both work in the wilds or in the city thanks to the company’s intelligent pollution reduction technology as well."

Thoughts???

[GCoyote]

Interesting.

[SkyHiker]

The Equinox model does not even have an "eyepiece" viewer option. Why not just bring a tablet with SkySafari instead? The more remote these gadgets become from actual optics, the less fun they are IMHO. The evScope has an "eyepiece" viewer so it feels more like the real thing.

Nikon does not have plans to integrate it with their cameras, maybe they just wanted to buy the patents in case there is a future market. I don't know if the "enhanced vision" and "automated field detection" are patentable, astrophotographers use plate solving and stacking all the time.

[Ylem]

Interesting...
Not for me, but I guess if brings more into the hobby.

[helicon]

The Equinox model does not even have an "eyepiece" viewer option. Why not just bring a tablet with SkySafari instead? The more remote these gadgets become from actual optics, the less fun they are IMHO. The evScope has an "eyepiece" viewer so it feels more like the real thing.

Nikon does not have plans to integrate it with their cameras, maybe they just wanted to buy the patents in case there is a future market. I don't know if the "enhanced vision" and "automated field detection" are patentable, astrophotographers use plate solving and stacking all the time.

I am not very impressed with the evScope and they seem to be marketing it to people who know nothing about astronomy. I suppose as you suggest Henk that this may just be an effort to secure access to the patents over time, without acquiring Unistellar necessarily. There are ways to create a patent-sharing agreement (or licensing of the patents). The exact nature of the relationship between both entities is not revealed in the press release, either.