Sky & Telescope - July 2024 - 69

hit its mechanical stops, resulting in a
" Calibration Failure " message.
During calibration, the Dwarf II
quickly takes three images from left to
right spaced about 10° apart in azimuth.
As long as it can see stars at each
position, it will successfully calibrate
and will be ready to slew to targets.
I tested calibration in twilight,
moonlight, and on smoky summer
nights, when I could see only the brightest
stars. It worked just fine. The catch
is that it can't calibrate unless it sees
sharp stars. But to focus on a bright
star, you have to first find one, yet
without that initial calibration or with
out-of-focus optics that's tough to do.
A helpful step is to initially focus the
main optics during the day on a distant
target or on the Sun (with the solar
filters in place) using the Auto Focus
button in the app. Once the optics are
focused to infinity, they hold that position,
even after the telescope is powered
down, making calibration the next
night quick and easy.
Once calibrated, I always slewed to a
bright star to confirm exact focus before
starting an imaging sequence. Checking
the Auto Focus result with a Bahtinov
mask, I found it accurate.
I tried Go To calibrations with the
Dwarf II initially aimed south, but
also east, west, and north, as users
with restricted views of the sky might
have to do. It worked fine, just as long
These pictures compare images of the Crab
Nebula, M1, shot at 2K resolution or 1,920 ×
1,080 pixels (left) with a stack taken at 4K resolution,
or 3,840 × 2,160 pixels (right). As seen
in the insets, the 4K mode produces noticeably
sharper images with smaller stars.
The Promise and Perils of Smartscopes
Despite it being an entry-level telescope, the Dwarf II proved to be one of the
most demanding products I've ever reviewed. It presents a multitude of options
and modes of operation. And just when I had learned my way around the
app, DwarfLab released a major update that changed everything!
Of course, one of the great benefits of integrated smartscopes is that their
software can be updated easily, adding welcome new capabilities. But as I
found with the Dwarf II, with new features can come new bugs.
To be fair, manufacturers have been good about fixing bugs. What they also
do, for better or worse, is cater to advanced users who request yet more features,
to give their entry-level scope the capabilities of a high-end astro-imaging
rig. More choices sound wonderful, but they add more difficulty for beginners.
When mastered, smartscopes can work so well that, as avid fans proclaim,
" They are the way all astronomy will be done in the future! "
I certainly hope not. We should always have the option to stand outside under
the stars to just enjoy the view with our unaided eyes, through binoculars,
or through a telescope eyepiece. By contrast, smartscopes allow us to distance
ourselves from the sky even more, to spend yet more of our lives looking
at screens and struggling with technology.
Those are some of the perils I see. Their promise is rewarding images captured
with unprecedented ease and under increasingly light-polluted skies.
Longtime amateur astronomers who want to try their hand at astrophotography,
or who just want to simplify their imaging, will find smartscopes fun to use.
But it is newcomers who will benefit the most from a smartscope. Here at
last are devices (in the case of the Dwarf II and its main competitor, ZWO's
Seestar S50 reviewed in our March issue, p. 66) that can produce presentable
images of the brighter deep-sky objects beginners want to capture, at a price
many are willing to pay, and without the complexity of conventional gear.
Adults with children or grandchildren keen on stargazing might well consider
a smartscope as a great gift. I can't imagine a starstruck child being anything
but thrilled by their first images of the Moon or Andromeda Galaxy!
Astronomy clubs can make good use of these devices during outreach
events. The phone or tablet's view of the app and incoming images can be
cast to a smart TV. A group can watch as a presenter explains what they're
looking at. Members of the audience can help choose targets.
Lastly, anyone with mobility challenges will be able to explore the sky with
greater ease. Smartscopes can open up the hobby to many more people, a goal
DwarfLab's designers told me they aspired to achieve with the Dwarf II. I know
that's true of other smartscope manufacturers. I heartily applaud their success!
sk yand tele scope .o r g * JULY 2024 69
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