Does the ASIAIR Plus 256GB work with non-ZWO cameras?

No: only ZWO cameras and DSLR cameras. The focuser, the filter wheel and the camera angle adjuster have to be ZWO too, while just about any mount connects; I run many third-party mounts through its OnStep option.

Does the ASIAIR Plus 256GB have a microSD slot?

No. This version has 256 GB of built-in eMMC storage and no TF (microSD) card slot, so extra storage goes on a USB drive. The earlier ASIAIR Plus 256GB with the slot is on my board as the ASIAIR 256GB.

Can it stack my images?

Yes. It live stacks through the night, and after a session I leave it stacking every frame I have ever captured of that target while the rest of the rig is packed away.

What is the best alternative if my gear is not ZWO?

A mini PC, like the MeLE, running NINA or SharpCap. The ToupTek AstroStation accepts other brands, but it had no Sky Atlas and no live stacking when I tested it against this ASIAIR.

Is the power supply included?

No. ZWO sells the 12 V power adapter separately.

ASIAIR Plus 256GB review: brilliant, but ZWO cameras only

Where does it rank on our leaderboard

Nine of the 46 accessories on my board, against price
Rank	Accessory	Stars for Your Buck	Recorded UK price
1	GEMINI EAF	100 out of 100	£42
2	Generic Dew Heater	93 out of 100	£9
6	Generic Guide Scope 50mm	88 out of 100	£41
13	ASIAIR Plus 256GB	81 out of 100	£399
23	ASIAIR 256GB	72 out of 100	£230
33	ZWO EAF	51 out of 100	£199
43	ToupTek AstroStation / StellaVita	40 out of 100	£339
45	SKY ROVER 2x54 Binoculars	28 out of 100	£139
46	365 Solar Telescope Cover	5 out of 100	£73

Contents

01 Where does it rank on our leaderboard
02 Specifications and features
03 In use
04 From the video
05 Watch the review
06 Should you buy it?
07 Questions and more about this review

In 30 seconds

Stars for Your Buck 81/100

Reviewed 25 Nov 2024 Updated 25 Sep 2026

Rank: #13 of 46 accessories
Verdict: Damon recommends

Written by Damon Scotting 3 min read

Buy it if

You already image with ZWO cameras and want the whole rig run from a phone or tablet.
You want power outputs, guiding, plate solving and live stacking in one small box.

Skip it if

Your camera, focuser or filter wheel is another brand: a mini PC running NINA takes them all.
You want a microSD slot for more storage: this version has none.

“One of the best pieces of kit you can add to an astrophotography setup, though how much it gives you depends on the rest of your gear.”

Specifications and features

Against the other controllers I have reviewed

Compare with

ASIAIR Plus 256GB reviewed #13 of 46	MeLE MiniPC #10 of 46	ASIAIR 256GB #23 of 46	ASIAIR Mini #28 of 46	ToupTek AstroStation / StellaVita #43 of 46
Recorded UK price	£399	£490	£230	£215	£339
Stars for Your Buck	81/100	84/100	72/100	64/100	40/100
Storage	256 GB eMMC	By version: eMMC or SSD	256 GB eMMC	32 GB eMMC, 20 GB free	32 GB built in
Card slot	None (USB drives)	microSD	microSD (TF)	None (USB drives)	SD card
USB ports	2 x USB 3.0, 2 x USB 2.0	2 x USB 3.2, 1 x USB 2.0, 1 x USB-C	2 x USB 3.0, 2 x USB 2.0	4 x USB 2.0	2 x USB 3.0, 2 more marked WiFi
Power outputs	4 x DC 12 V	None	4 x DC 12 V	4 x DC 12 V	4 x DC out, 3 A maximum
Power input	DC 12 V, 2 to 10 A	12 V 2 A USB-C adapter	DC 12 V	DC 12 V; USB-C 5 V for the Mini alone	DC in, with a power switch
Wireless	Dual-band Wi-Fi, 20 m	Wi-Fi 5, Bluetooth 5.1	Dual-band Wi-Fi, 20 m	Dual-band Wi-Fi, 20 m	Wi-Fi, external antenna
Wired network	Gigabit Ethernet	Gigabit Ethernet	Ethernet	None	Ethernet
Size	102.5 x 70 x 26.5 mm	131 x 81 x 18.3 mm	not recorded	78 x 52 x 26 mm	not recorded
Weight	210 g	203 g	not recorded	165 g	not recorded
Camera support	ZWO cameras and DSLRs	Any brand, through NINA or SharpCap	ZWO cameras and DSLRs	ZWO cameras and supported DSLRs	Open to other brands
Sky Atlas	Yes	Through NINA	Yes	Yes	No, on my unit
Live stacking	Yes	Through NINA	Yes	Yes, up to 26 MP cameras	No, on my unit

In use

On the HAC125

Beside the AstroStation

Four DC outputs

Power end

The label

USB and Ethernet

From the video

One frame from my video

The ASIAIR app, guiding and stacking M 31

Watch the review

I TESTED the Astrostation V.S ASIAIR · published 25 November 2024 · 10:47 · Watch on YouTube · 17,816 views, 604 likes on 2 Oct 2026

Jump to

1:19 The two apps side by side
1:36 The main camera tab
2:08 Guiding
2:25 The mount and the Sky Atlas
3:02 Filter wheels and focusers
3:48 Storage
4:43 Power and Wi-Fi
4:57 Imaging and live stacking
6:32 Finishing notes
8:34 Conclusion

Transcript of the video 2,081 words · 11 chapters · searchable

Press a time stamp to play from there.

0:00 The opening

0:02 could this mini Astro computer be about to change the face of astrophotography as it finally allows users to operate their entire setup from the comfort of 0:07 their mobile device meet the Challenger the soon to be released ToupTek AstroStation in order to claim the title as the ultimate smart device for Astro 0:16 photographers it must supersede The Undefeated Champion the ASIAIR 6 years on from the release of its first model the ASIAIR plus is still the unrivaled 0:25 go-to portable Astro computer this thing is fantastic but it suffers from one nauseating flaw and that is it only cooperates with equipment produced by 0:34 the same brand ZWO so you'd expect that this tiny device was going to be dead in the waters before it even had a chance 0:41 except ZWO gear is actually really good and they offer lots of different choices especially when it comes to cameras to clarify you can use whatever telescope 0:50 and whatever Mount you like with the ASIAIR which are two out of three of the main aspects but you must use that specific 0:56 equipment to image to guide to focus and to filter which can be extremely restrictive which is what brings us to where we are today the AstroStation is 1:06 offering us the keys to the kingdom complete flexibility when it comes to Imaging our night sky but will that be enough to overthrow the king let's find 1:15 out I'm Damon scotting and this is astronomical so here is a side-by-side comparison of what each of the interfaces look like for the Astro

1:19 The two apps side by side

1:25 station on the left and the ASIAIR on the right the ZWO ASIAIR hasn't changed too much over the years and that's likely due to the fact that if it isn't 1:33 broke don't try and fix it so I'm going to go through each of the corresponding tabs for these mini computers starting with the main camera now for the Astro

1:36 The main camera tab

1:41 station I'm using the ToupTek ATR2600C whilst for the ASIAIR I'm using the ZWO ASI2600MC Duo the key difference between the two being that the ASI Duo 1:51 camera features a second sensor that can be used as your guiding camera the ToupTek camera has a lot more flexibility in terms of adjusting the Imaging 1:59 settings which the AST station is aware of it's also able to cool all the way down to -10° in less than 30 seconds whilst the ASI generally takes 5 minutes

2:08 Guiding

2:09 plus then moving on to the guiding tab I'm just going to quickly disconnect the ToupTek camera as the main and reconnect it as The Guiding we see a 2:16 very similar set of options for both sets of cameras I think the ASIAIR does a good job in not overloading the user with all of the options at once you'll 2:24 notice this as a running theme throughout these tabs then we have the mount now the ASIAIR does allow all types of mounts providing you with plenty of

2:25 The mount and the Sky Atlas

2:33 options each of their style libraries are very similarly designed although one absolutely huge and crucial element that the ToupTek has not integrated it 2:41 seems is a Sky Atlas this is incredibly useful as it allows you to frame your deep Sky objects and even accurately plot out Mosaic shots although the 2:51 interface designs so far have been very level the lack of a Sky Atlas certainly puts the ASIAIR in the lead but of course the biggest discussion Point as 2:59 to why the AstroStation may be the better alternative becomes quickly apparent once again as we move on to the filter wheel and autofocus her tabs the

3:02 Filter wheels and focusers

3:06 ASIAIR only allows the ZWO filter wheel whilst the AstroStation allows practically every filter wheel ever made I don't really use filters so this tab 3:14 didn't affect me too much but certainly the autofocuser tab does ZWO only allows their electronic autofocuser which is priced at $199 but if you're 3:23 willing to take a small risk you can purchase this Gemini focuser from AliExpress for almost a third of the price it does the same job and that's 3:31 why I use one myself and my ToupTek autofocuser has been working like a 3:39 dream as you can see on the AstroStation screen that's what I currently have connected right now both mini Astro computers have a similar layout allowing 3:46 users to finally tune their settings next we have storage in terms of inbuilt storage the AstroStation has 32 GB whilst the ASIAIR boasts a much higher

3:48 Storage

3:56 256 GB of storage however the ASIAIR plus can no longer take expandable storage whilst the AstroStation allows for the input of an SD card there's not 4:07 too much to note here in this section except for the heartbreaking realization I had last night and that is that the USB port on the AstroStation is 4:15 currently not in use and since I've saved my images to the AstroStation I have no way of getting them off there doesn't seem to be a feature that allows 4:22 you to copy your storage files off onto an SD card which is very frustrating I've tried connecting to the AstroStation via Wi-Fi from my computer so I 4:30 can access the folders and download the images but I keep getting error messages so lesson learned save to the removable storage I imagine when the AstroStation 4:38 is actually released the USBC will be available for use I might take mine apart later and see if I can actually Rectify this myself and lastly although

4:43 Power and Wi-Fi

4:46 they have different names this seems to be the master tab that controls the power storage and Wi-Fi the only difference is that the ASIAIR gives you a 4:53 good reading of the power input and output which I find very helpful now onto the Imaging tab this part is very interesting different designs but the

4:57 Imaging and live stacking

5:02 same core features and camera settings provided with shortcut buttons but this is probably my biggest issue with the AstroStation it does not utilize a live 5:11 stacking feature it also does not have the capability to later stack your images its services are strictly limited to right now I find it so crucial to 5:20 have an Ever updating view of how your Collective image sequence is turning out am I using the right settings are my images drifting in a certain direction 5:27 should I take some varying exposure length images to compensate for the overblown core of my image it's very difficult to assess any of this with the 5:35 AstroStation I'm sure most people will prefer to later copy their data onto their computer and stack it using a different software sometimes I may do 5:43 the same but I also love the ability to finish up an Imaging session bring my gear back inside and turn off all the power but leave the ASIAIR going with 5:52 the request to stack not just the images I captured of a certain object from tonight but all of the images I've ever captured of this object I I then just 6:00 let it run for as long as it needs this is a critical feature which if it was either way around right now and the ASI 6:06 air didn't have it but the AstroStation did would be singing from the rooftops about how groundbreaking this new piece of Kit is the post-processing aspect of 6:15 astrophotography can be more time consuming than the actual Imaging process which is why this part is a significant time saver for me especially since a review video like this isn't as 6:24 straightforward as unboxing the product stating its features and then uploading it to YouTube review videos like these can take weeks depending on the weather

6:32 Finishing notes

6:32 conditions sure so some finishing notes on my experience so far using the AstroStation it's good and the ability to connect any Astro gear you have to it is 6:40 undeniably an outstanding feature ZWO have cornered the market in this aspect by mostly accepting ZWO gear forcing users to favoritize ZWO models I did a 6:51 review earlier this year where I compare two cameras that use the same sensors and captured images of similar quality so in order to separate them I actually 6:57 gave the edge to the ZWO camera purely because of how portable my current setup was and how helpful the ASIAIR can be but very soon we're going to have the 7:06 choice of an ASIAIR or an AstroStation as our portable mini Astro PCS in this example here I've set up a very powerful 7:13 ZWO rig versus a ToupTek based alternative each capable of producing images to a similar degree I still think I'd give the ZWO rig The Edge simply due 7:22 to its larger scope but these are the price breakdowns astrophotography is without a shadow of a doubt one of the most expensive hobbies to get into into 7:30 in order to take decent images of our night sky you must contribute a significant sum of money so I'm all here for companies that offer cheaper 7:37 alternatives which ToupTek generally do on average by 5 to 10% it is kind of cool to see two companies compete against one another especially since 7:45 they've taken on distinctly different colour schemes Which side will you choose red or blue I did specifically mention at the start that the AstroStation is 7:54 unreleased and since owning it I've already downloaded a couple of updates ToupTek didn't send this to me to review I found it listed by a shop on 8:02 AliExpress and decided to take a gamble it's paid off because the ToupTek AstroStation is a very handy piece of kit that works great alongside my JUWEI-17 8:10 mount my ToupTek cameras and a various number of different branded accessories but this right here is simply not a polished product the ZWO ASIAIR has been 8:21 setting the template for a competitor for years it first release was in July 2018 so this is a product line that started 6 years ago it's taken a time to 8:30 fix the cracks and make it as user friendly as possible and I feel like that's where the AstroStation is currently lacking so in conclusion these

8:34 Conclusion

8:37 are my most critical points of each of the mini PCS the ZWO ASIAIR locks users to within its own product sphere this isn't necessarily the worst thing since 8:46 ZWO products are as a whole very good quality products you can almost make a lazy comparison between ZWO and apple another company that releases 8:54 top-of-the-line products that they refuse to allow buyers to mix and match accessories with and unless they are forced to in specific regions by the 9:02 law the question has been asked a lot already are ZWO going to cave in due to the release of the AstroStation will they start allowing the connection of 9:11 other brands of equipment to their mini PC we all know it's possible and yet I suspect the answer will continue to be no yes the AstroStation is still 9:21 technically in its beta stage but without the introduction of two massive features one being an interactive Sky Atlas that also allows for Mosaic Imaging 9:28 and assisted image rotation the other a live stacking function that truly makes this a portable astrophotography computer without either of these two I just don't see ZWO being too scared to 9:38 put it plainly if you're not too bothered by the lack of a Sky Atlas or an ability to stack then the AstroStation is The Way Forward especially 9:46 for those of us who prefer to use more budget friendly options when it comes to our telescope equipment but at this point you're actually probably better 9:52 off just buying an actual mini PC and using a free software like NINA to do all of the same processes I remote control mine from my phone inside 10:01 anyways so it's not too different from using an AstroStation at least this way you can once again use a Sky Atlas and a live stacking feature so what are your 10:10 thoughts thumbs up or thumbs down for the AstroStation it's most definitely a step in the right direction but with it set to be officially released very soon 10:18 do you think it offers enough compared to the Alternatives of an ASIAIR or an actual mini PC I've attached links to all of the items featured in today's 10:26 video in the description below thanks for watching and let me know what you think is in the comments I'm Damon scotting and this was astronomical

Check out more videos on the ASIAIR Plus 256GB

Check out this FORBIDDEN TELESCOPE Gear?!

1 Nov 2024

CHEAP v.s EXPENSIVE Telescope Gear?!

18 Dec 2024

Should you buy it?

81/100 Stars for Your Buck

Pros

It takes everything complicated about setting up a rig and getting it all running together, and makes it simple, portable and, above all, controllable from my phone.
It also carries the power inputs and outputs, which is a big part of what makes it so good.
I love being able to finish a session, bring the gear inside and switch everything off, but leave the ASIAIR stacking not just tonight's frames of a target but every frame I have ever taken of it.
The Sky Atlas finds a target as I pinch and zoom on my phone, with the field of view set by my telescope's focal length and my camera's sensor.
It gives a clear reading of the power going in and out, which I find very helpful.

Cons

Only ZWO cameras and DSLRs work with it.
The focuser, the filter wheel and the camera angle adjuster all have to be ZWO too.
I was disappointed when ZWO dropped the expandable storage from the newer models.
It is due a refresh: ZWO could have released a bigger and better model by now.
ZWO does not include the 12 V power adapter.

I now prioritise ZWO gear because the ASIAIR is such a crucial part of my workflow.

Three alternatives I have reviewed

Questions and more about this review

Reviewed by

Damon Scotting

The Telescope Man Verified

BSc (Hons) Physics with Astrophysics and Cosmology, Loughborough University PGCE / QTS, University of Nottingham

About Damon About Damon Damon Scotting is The Telescope Man. He holds a BSc (Hons) in Physics with Astrophysics and Cosmology from Loughborough University and a PGCE with QTS from the University of Nottingham, and taught physics in secondary schools before becoming an astronomy creator. He is a contributing writer for BBC Sky at Night Magazine and the author of 42 Wonders of Our Night Sky, and his photograph of the galaxy M100 with the dwarf planet Ceres was Highly Commended in the Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2024 competition run by Royal Observatory Greenwich. He has appeared on the BBC's Blue Peter. More than 750,000 people follow his astronomy channels on YouTube, Instagram and TikTok, and he has reviewed more than 140 telescopes, mounts, cameras, filters and accessories hands-on for this site. More about Damon · How I test · Damon's book

I review all kinds of gear: most of it I buy, some is gifted and some is loaned, and all of it is reviewed the same way. How this site is funded

Five questions, answered

Questions about the ASIAIR Plus 256GB

Reviewed 25 November 2024 ·Updated 25 September 2026

I review all kinds of gear. Most of it I buy, some is gifted and some is loaned, and all of it is reviewed the same way: no company sees or approves a review before it is published. Shop links marked Ad are affiliate links: I earn a commission when you buy through them, at no extra cost to you. How this site is funded

Does the ASIAIR Plus 256GB work with non-ZWO cameras? No: only ZWO cameras and DSLR cameras. The focuser, the filter wheel and the camera angle adjuster have to be ZWO too, while just about any mount connects; I run many third-party mounts through its OnStep option. The specifications and the comparison table ↓
Does the ASIAIR Plus 256GB have a microSD slot? No. This version has 256 GB of built-in eMMC storage and no TF (microSD) card slot, so extra storage goes on a USB drive. The earlier ASIAIR Plus 256GB with the slot is on my board as the ASIAIR 256GB. The specifications and the comparison table ↓
Can it stack my images? Yes. It live stacks through the night, and after a session I leave it stacking every frame I have ever captured of that target while the rest of the rig is packed away. Watch the review ↓
What is the best alternative if my gear is not ZWO? A mini PC, like the MeLE, running NINA or SharpCap. The ToupTek AstroStation accepts other brands, but it had no Sky Atlas and no live stacking when I tested it against this ASIAIR. Watch the review ↓
Is the power supply included? No. ZWO sells the 12 V power adapter separately. The specifications and the comparison table ↓