Is this the most ambitious smart telescope yet? No bigger than a thick hardcover book, the DwarfLab Dwarf III is an instant must-have smart telescope that can shoot the sun and moon, distant galaxies and nebula, and shoot photos and videos during the day.
At its heart is a tiny motorised refractor telescope that collects light on a Sony image sensor; it’s operated solely by an app and has no eyepiece. It’s not unusual for modern telescopes not to have an eyepiece – look at T3’s best telescope guide for more examples.
What the Dwarf III offers to stargazers, however, are real-time images of objects that are otherwise impossible to see with the naked eye, from distant galaxies to nebulae, both of which are increasingly difficult to see due to creeping light pollution.
It takes image after image and lays them on top of one another, using its onboard computer and 128GB hard drive. Easy to use and travel with, and incredibly impressive, here’s everything you need to know about the DwarfLab Dwarf III smart telescope.
DwarfLab Dwarf III Smart Telescope review
Price and availability
Retailing for around £492, $599 and AU$ 811, the Dwarf III is not the most affordable smart telescope available, though it’s a close contest. Although that distinction goes to the equally small Seestar S30 at £419, $399, and AU$ 699, the Dwarf III is only marginally pricier and a touch smaller.
The Dwarf III’s lack of a tripod does not help boost its value, though any photography tripod with a standard 1/4-inch thread will do the job. The Dwarf III has a well-made carry case with a shoulder strap and straps to secure a tripod and attach to a backpack. All in all, it’s cleverly designed for travel.
Specifications
(Image credit: Jamie Carter)
- Aperture: 35mm/1.37 inches
- Focal length: 150mm/5.91 inches (f/4.3)
- Sensor: Sony IMX678 Starvis 2, 3840 x 2160 resolution
- Image scale: 3 arcseconds/pixel
- Field of view: 2.7 x 2 degrees
- Storage: 128GB internal memory
- Battery: 10,000 mAh rechargeable (4 hours)
- Weight: 1.3 kg/2.87lbs
- Size: 222 x 142 x 65mm/8.74 x 5.59 x 2.56 inches
- Mount: Alt-azimuth and EQ mode
- Filters: Built-in VIS (daylight, sun and moon), astro (galaxies), dual-band (nebulae)
- Connectivity: USB-C, Bluetooth, WiFi
- Included accessories: Magnetic solar filters, USB-C cable, carry case
Features and what’s new
(Image credit: Jamie Carter)
A tiny telescope, it may be, but the Dwarf III has a laundry list of features, and some of them are very advanced for such a diminutive product. A 35mm aperture telescope with two lenses – wide-angle and zoom – the Dwarf III is very similar to the Seestar S30, its main competitor, but there are some key differences. Simply put, the Dwarf III has a larger field of view.
Something else it offers that its competitors don’t is a new EQ mode. Standing for equatorial, it means the Dwarf III can be (manually) aligned with Polaris, the North Star, to enable it to track objects for up to two minutes. In its standard mode, it can do so for about 15 seconds. It’s a pro feature that few will use initially, but it may give the Dwarf III longevity.
As well as being able to image and stack deep sky objects like galaxies and nebula (using an array of filters to mitigate light pollution) in Astro mode, the Dwarf III can also be used in the day, shooting photos and video in 4K quality. Talking of daylight, a solar filter, which covers both lenses and looks more like a high-grade pair of solar eclipse glasses, magnetically attaches to the Dwarf III.
Set up and use
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Getting started is painless. Out of the box, the Dwarf III is well-packaged and includes everything but a tripod. Setup takes minutes: power on, open the app, connect via Bluetooth and WiFi, and you’re ready to stargaze.
During the test phase, we did have a few issues consistently connecting to the Dwarf III, which uses Bluetooth and creates its own WiFi network (we had to switch off WiFi to get it to link consistently).
The firmware updates came thick and fast but installed smoothly (it’s wise to check before you head outside, away from WiFi, just in case a large download is required).
Once it’s up and running, targets can be selected from the Atlas, its built-in planetarium app. The Dwarf III then plate-solves the stars to align itself before locking on to and tracking targets.
It takes short exposures and stacks them in real time, using AI to reduce noise and increase contrast and color. The images can then be downloaded as JPGs, PNG, FITS and TIFF files. They’re small but impressive and fine for sharing and social media.
It worked incredibly well at targets including the Orion Nebula, the M81 and M82 galaxies, the Horsehead Nebula and the Pleiades, the moon and, during the day, the sun. Images of faint objects (chiefly nebulae) look far better the longer you leave the Dwarf III to collect data.
Although you don’t need to do any post-processing, it can help deepen blacks, make the colors pop a little more, and clean up noise (as can shooting dark frames before imaging, which is crucial not to overlook). The ability to shoot a few stills – including via the Sun Track mode – and take some video during the day was welcome, too, and so easy to do.
Verdict
(Image credit: Jamie Carter)
Heard the saying, “The best camera is the one you carry with you”? Well, it now applies to smart telescopes, too, with the Dwarf III not just incredibly portable but also capable of producing spectacular, albeit small, images. With such a small footprint and so easy to use, the Dwarf III makes a play for the title of the most enjoyable – and certainly the most portable – all-around smart telescope yet.
Also consider
There’s one major competitor to the Dwarf III. Launched late in 2024 by ZWO, the SeeStar S30 builds on the success of the larger ZWO SeeStar S50, which took the smart telescope world by storm. The S30 is smaller, almost as small as the Dwarf III, but it has a different form factor, with a motorised arm supporting a refractor telescope with a slightly smaller aperture.
Another good option for travelling light is the Vaonis Vespera 2, which has a 50mm/2-inch aperture refractor and an excellent app. Like the Dwarf III, it also has a mosaic mode for shooting large sections of the night sky, which automatically stitches together into one image.
