AMAZING images with the Seestar SMART TELESCOPE⚡ FULL tutorial, Free Software ONLY!

My Patreon: / cuivlazygeek
My Merch Store: cuiv.myspreadshop.com/
Seestar S50: bit.ly/49mQhLJ (Agena) or tinyurl.com/3n62hpzx (ZWO)
GraXpert: www.graxpert.com/
Siril: siril.org/
Gimp: www.gimp.org/
Siril Seestar Script Tutorial: siril.org/tutorials/seestar/
Equatorial Mode Video: • Seestar S50 - Polar Al...
Amazon affiliate: amzn.to/49XTx01
Agena affiliate: bit.ly/3Om0hNG
High Point Scientific affiliate: bit.ly/3lReu8R
First Light Optics affiliate: tinyurl.com/yxd2jkr2
All-Star Telescope affiliate: bit.ly/3SCgVbV
Astroshop eu Affiliate: tinyurl.com/2vafkax8
-----------------------
My equipment
-----------------------
Dwarf 2 Smart Telescope: bit.ly/3SyChXua
Seestar S50: bit.ly/49mQhLJ (Agena) or tinyurl.com/3n62hpzx (ZWO)
ZWO ASI2600MC Duo: bit.ly/3M8IkPS (Agena) or bit.ly/3Jti7KQ (HPS)
ZWO ASI585 MC Pro Camera: bit.ly/3Iwo6y8 (Agena) or bit.ly/4cp1Ofn (High Point Scientific)
TOUPTEK IMX571 APS-C Cooled camera: tinyurl.com/mr2yhvcw
TOUPTEK IMX585 Cooled camera: tinyurl.com/4y9dz774
OGMA versions (use code CUIV on checkout for a small discount!): getogma.com/
CarbonStar 6" Newtonian: bit.ly/3W7ZFiA
Mirror Mask for CarbonStar (designed by me :) ): www.thingiverse.com/thing:661...
SW Quattro 150P Budget Newt: bit.ly/3BABCxl
Backyard Universe upgrade kit: tinyurl.com/3juwm5sz
OCAL Collimator: s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_Dmu... or s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_Dc6...
Askar V Modular Telescope: bit.ly/3Imoq2M
or bit.ly/3GLuyR8 or tinyurl.com/2h758bvt
RedCat51: bit.ly/48hyuVx (Agena) or bit.ly/48pTWXW (HPS)
Cable Organizers/Focuser bracket: www.etsy.com/shop/SmartCompon...
WarpAstron WD-20 Mount: bit.ly/3wxNbGI
ZWO AM5 Mount: bit.ly/3Qb5xVf or bit.ly/3JeVUkn
ZWO EAF Focuser: bit.ly/45agP0Z (Agena) or bit.ly/4avCIcE (HPS)
Antlia ALP-T highspeed filter: bit.ly/42RBR2e
SVBony Filters: amzn.to/3yBuQZX
Mini Computer (newer version): amzn.to/49XTx01
Flocking paper/Felt paper: amzn.to/3zASgvu or amzn.to/3m94zwa
Follow me!
My Instagram: / cuivlazygeek
My Facebook page: / cuivlazygeek
00:00 Introduction
02:18 Setting up the Seestar
07:10 Transferring images to PC
10:20 Downloading the free software
13:18 Processing the Seestar-stacked image
15:49 GraXpert (Background extraction, denoising)
22:38 Siril (Colors and stretching)
32:24 Gimp (Curves and sharpening)
35:35 Stacking from individual subframes
45:52 GraXpert
47:58 Siril
51:10 Gimp
52:30 Final Comparison

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

My Patreon: www.patreon.com/cuivlazygeek My Merch Store: cuiv.myspreadshop.com/ Seestar S50: bit.ly/49mQhLJ (Agena) or tinyurl.com/3n62hpzx (ZWO) GraXpert: www.graxpert.com/ Siril: siril.org/ Gimp: www.gimp.org/ Siril Seestar Script Tutorial: siril.org/tutorials/seestar/ Equatorial Mode Video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/h52vmn5jrMh_p80 Amazon affiliate: amzn.to/49XTx01 Agena affiliate: bit.ly/3Om0hNG High Point Scientific affiliate: bit.ly/3lReu8R First Light Optics affiliate: tinyurl.com/yxd2jkr2 All-Star Telescope affiliate: bit.ly/3SCgVbV Astroshop eu Affiliate: tinyurl.com/2vafkax8

[@scottfrost7178]

I love the fact that you are spending time creating content for the seestar, and how to get the best out of the little device. Thank you, I appreciate it.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Glad you enjoy it!

[@TL1000S97]

"When Tokyo is cloudy, Cuiv The Lazy Geek makes excellent videos" 🤗 I have experienced a bit myself with manual stacks from my Seestar, but this video was very helpful.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Haha thank you so much!

[@madsfjord-elsvaag497]

I just received my Seestar two days ago and captured M51 and M81 right away but was looking for a workflow to get more value our of the data, and you provided exactly this, thank you so much!

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Glad this is helpful, I hope you have fun testing this out!

[@kevinfisher3293]

Thank you so much for this video! As a dad to an 11 y/o daughter and 8 y/o autistic son, I havent had much time to myself for quite a long time. I've always loved astronomy, but never had a telescope. I bought myself a Seestar for my birthday this year because of its low cost and ease of use for a newb. I've had so much fun since getting it and really looking forward to trying your methods of improving my images. I knew there were ways to improve them, just didn't know how! Thanks so much! Clear skies!

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

That's so amazing to hear Kevin, thanks so much for this feedback! I love how you're having fun with the Seestar, and hopefully you can share the joy with your kids!

[@santiagomadruga4298]

Seestar is the best has happened to the hobby since I remember. Recently, I saw in astrobin the image of quasar taken with it. Nothing compares in simplicity, performance, and price.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Yeah as an all in one at this price, it's impressive!

[@santiagomadruga4298]

@@CuivTheLazyGeek I think is much more than an all in one. It's a qualitative change. Many people are entering into astrophotography because of the S50. Otherwise they would just continue with pure visual systems. S50 solves entry price point and crazy complexity.

[@Marco81MX]

A great example of what can be achieved with a little Seestar, good integration time and free software. With a bit of learning and paid software you can get even better results, however this is quite good. Thank you so much!

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Absolutely! Wanted to restrict myself to free software for now though!

[@cherylwilcox9648]

Thank you! I will try this on my husband's files - he can't sit still in front of a computer to edit, but I'm happy to do it. Did try this with data I collected last night on the Fireworks Galaxy with my Sky-Watcher 150P that has had some upgrades thanks to your videos, using the 533MC Pro camera. I've only dabbled with processing in Photoshop thus far, so it's nice to have some new (and free!) tools to help me before taking the PixInsight plunge. Great video, as always!

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Happy to see that, and thanks for helping your husband like that! Good luck with the processing!

[@keiminSK]

getting mine S50 on Monday. this tutorial is released just in time for me and it is perfect , thank you !

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Excellent! Enjoy the scope and the processing!

[@santiagomadruga4298]

Haha glad you mention images downloaded from internet. It's the first reaction I've seen in some people that owns expensive visual rigs.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Hey this kind of comment is actually a form of flattery ;)

[@gregorywilkins1001]

Hey, Thank You very much. That was a great basic tutorial that really helps alot of the folks just learning. Its also inportant so people know, dont over process, you dont need perfection

[@maktham2006]

1:52 Another proof that Seestar is neither AI nor does it download frames from the Internet. I own a green laser pointer, and once, while imaging M13, I pointed my laser toward M13 in the sky. Consequently, I saw the green glow in my image of M13

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Yep, exactly!

[@tedterranova]

Great video. I was using the live stacking in my ASI Air and getting nice results but decided to try stacking on the PC for more control (Not a Seestar User). Wow, what a difference. SIRIL is really great. I'm using Photoshop for the last steps, instead of Gimp, but using your same workflow. Thank you for taking the time to share all of this information. It really makes the hobby more fun. Clear skies!

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Great to hear, glad this was helpful!

[@StephanFlegler]

I admire your work and your commitment to the scene. I have also recently become the proud owner of a Seestar S50. However, I have to say that, in my opinion, the extra effort compared to autoprocessing with the Seestar tools and/or other one-click tools is not worth it. From an aesthetic point of view, I think the manually corrected photo from the Seestar app is even better. But that may be due to my personal taste or different weighting in terms of detail vs. aesthetic ratio. I wish you continued fun and success with your channel and send my best wishes from Mallorca to Tokyo! Stephan aka Moonlight Surfer

[@RoyalOaksObservatory-qr9zp]

I always look forward to your videos. Well done and keep up the good work!

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Thank you very much!

[@marvinwhisman3333]

Yet another great video. Appreciate the detail you go into in explaining how to get better images.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Thank you so much for the feedback as always!

[@WoldsWhite]

Very clear explanation of a complicated process. Thank you 👏

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Thank you, and glad it was helpful!

[@deep_space_dave]

Awesome tutorial Cuiv! Makes me want a SeeStar S50 now 🙂

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Thanks Dave! It definitely helps when you're feeling frustrated by something not working on your main rig!

[@maurodoria1665]

I really enjoyed this video, many thanks

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Glad to hear that! Thanks for the feedback!

[@collegedad8656]

Incredibly helpful, taking my Seestar to another level. Thank you 👍

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Great to hear!

[@maurodoria1665]

Great, really fantastic video for seestar users!❤

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Thank you! I do hope the video finds its audience :)

[@tomdaigon8707]

I spent 2 years doing astrophotography with my C 11 / Ioptron / ZWO rig. And I feel good about the images that resulted. astro bin tom daigon But after 2 years I got tired of lugging the rig around and constantly troubleshooting software and hardware ( CEM70). So I took a 2 year break and focused on my guitar and making music. Then I bumped into some YT videos on the latest smart telescope tech. And I was intrigued with the Seestar and Vespera 2. But the more I found out about them, the more I gravitated to the Seestar. My only wish is that they would develop a wedge (yes Ive seen the DIY stuff) that allows the scope to see the entire sky so I could increase the 10 sec exposure time which avoids the field rotation issues. My experience with ZWO products was always positive.

[@holtneil]

Great work I will use this video for reference last image was the best to me

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Awesome, thank you! Enjoy processing :)

[@Paul-ds9fh]

Great video, thanks

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Glad you liked it!

[@latin01720]

Awesome tutorial. Thank you very much. So far, I have been using the Sesstar stacking, but I'll try your two approaches next.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Have fun testing out the manual processing!

[@johnleach324]

Another excellent video Cuiv. The SeeStar has given me so much fun. It's a joy to use and serves my purpose fully

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Thanks so much, and yes it is a cracking little scope :)

[@alexanderdemeij687]

I've tried to apply the manual stacking procedure as shown by Cuiv on several DSOs and indeed this method rejects significant less subs than with Siril's pre-processing scripts. The method presented is fast and allows you to include many, many more of your subs. GREAT VIDEO and GREAT TIP!! Thanks for sharing your experience Cuiv!!

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

I'm so happy this made such a difference!! Thanks for the feedback!

[@peterlert3809]

Brilliant as usual--merci! And I'll think of you next time I get to that touristy square on Montmartre (inside joke).

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Mwahaha i do have a picture with the name of that Place

[@lebatg]

Hello Cuiv, thx a lot for this tuto. I bought a seestar and it is amazing what we can do with it! I've just shot M51 and did the different processes with my images (taken from south of France) and the results were better doing all manually. Thx again, your explainations are really clear as a teacher (as I am).

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Glad this was helpful! I love the South of France btw :)

[@imonacan]

Thank you for this tutorial. It was easy to follow, and i was successful.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

That's awesome to hear, thanks for the feedback!!

[@LightsOnMultiMediaMindArts]

Very helpful. Thanks!

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

You're welcome! Glad it was helpful!

[@ivanmikov4143]

Thank you so much, with this tutorial I can try follow your step and make my seestar imaging even better 🎉

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

You are so welcome!

[@ivanmikov4143]

@@CuivTheLazyGeek Is this tutorial gonna work for nebulae's too?

[@AmatureAstronomer]

Interesting.

[@justklaas4703]

Super helpful! A free course how to process astrophotography images! Once it is a bit darker earlier, I will try this out!

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Enjoy!

[@jjl.]

I just order my seestar and i will learn from you 😊

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Hope you like it!

[@shusiman]

I guess ZWO will release a “Seestar on steroids” pretty soon, with 1” sensor, F4 optics and a compact equ mount 😉

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Maybe with the 585 sensor?

[@shusiman]

@@CuivTheLazyGeek I hope it'll be IMX533-like 😆

[@fitz-patrickfamilyuk9661]

Super vid Cuiv also if you have the Seestar in 'Station' mode you can use \\Seestar to connect to it a pull the frames in across wifi, even whilst its still imaging.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Very nice! Thanks for the tip!

[@GRILL332]

Wow you hit the nail on the head with this video! Pix incite is wonderful software but cost 1/2 the price of the seestar. For beginning astrophotography on a budget this is great. Thanks.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Exactly! Cheers!

[@shubinternet]

So, the thing I noticed, even at maximum video resolution on KZbin (1440p), I didn’t see any differences between any the before/after preview comparisons. The final results do look better, but it’s hard for us to see the impact for many of the individual steps.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Interesting, I had a look at a few in the Siril portion of the video (on my phone!) and can see the differences quite clearly... I wonder if there is something else going on

[@KingLoopie1]

Yep, this little s50 keeps on impressing me! I guess time will tell how long it will last, but I think I already got my money's worth out of it! Now I need to try the eq mod. I don't think it'll hurt the bearings or motor but yeah, I realize it will void the warranty if I ruin it... I'd just buy another. It's too convenient! The only real trouble for me is now I have to come up with an excuse for keeping all the other stuff I have... 🤔

[@davidsimard1522]

Merci beaucoup pour cette video je vais l ecouter écoute ecouter jais beaucoup de misère pour processer l image et tu m aide beaucoup merci beaucoup

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Content que ça aide!

[@Hanneszeigt]

As always: Many thanks! You have once again filled the gap between theory and practice for me. Now I have a 'red thread' that I can work my way along again and again! I assume that in principle I can work in a similar way with my "Dwarf 2", right? I have both telescopes, but the "Dwarf" is more compact for me and therefore easier to take with me everywhere...

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

It should indeed work well for the Dwarf II, although for that you will need to take your Darks to calibrate - I actually have a separate, similar video for the Dwarf II! kzbin.info/www/bejne/poutnpeErqp-nJI

[@jeffteasdale8276]

You should do a pixinsight one 😊

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

I know! But then PI + RC Astro are the cost of the Seestar so I wanted to keep things cheap for now :)

[@user-gp3hv9fz2d]

Personally I like GIMP a lot, mostly because you can open individual .FITS files and process them one by one. I tried this practicing with another user's files (I don't have a scope at the time, had an LX90 years ago) and when finishing I stack them in Deep Sky Stacker, then processing the details with various techniques using Photoshop. Well, I imagine what a Seastar of bigger diameter could do, let's say an 8" or 10".... I guess, diameter, even in the case of the Seastar, would play a significant role..

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Yeah a slightly larger Seestar to start with would be awesome :)

[@glennn.3464]

I’m not an expert by any means regarding deep sky imaging and processing. As a photography enthusiast I do have experience with processing and removing noise from high ISO images and some astro photos. To me it’s always best to remove the noise from an image as early as possible in the post processing so that any other algorithms used to correct or enhance the image is not seeing and working on the noise along with the rest of the image. With that in mind, would it not be better to do the same with these deep sky images that contain a lot of noise, possibly right after stretching, so that the remaining processing is analyzing a "clean" image with only the desired data and not being thrown off by interpreting the noise as well. What are your thoughts?

[@dennisrogers6786]

I use gimp to change image from tiff to png, rather than jpeg as its better for processing and finish with lightroom on my phone. It's better than gimp I feel

[@ronsinda]

Thanks so much, wonderful training on these tools. I Hestia smartphone telescope from Vaonis with a iPhone 15 pro camera and it does not have tracking, but takes I think about 10 or 20 images and stacks them. I’ll call these mini stacks. Can I multiple mini stacked images that it makes of something like the Hercules and cluster and stack these, them process them as you did. Or can I only process my mini stack image? To be honest I;m not too impressed by this telescope but only have used in in Phoenix which has a lot of light pollution. They are suppose to come out with a tracker and maybe I’ll buy it when they do. Thanks for your help

[@AcoVanConis]

You can remove the colorfull background noise with synthetic flats.

[@EmBe-le2ko]

Can you explain how you do this? Do you make the flats with the Seestar?

[@poida_de_bogan]

@CuivTheLazyGeek great video....im going to reprocess some of my older images this way to see if i can get better results....can i ask though....why you use graxpert instead of the gradient tool in siril?

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

I used GXP because it's basically a one button background extraction :) Easier and gives great results :)

[@TheCosmicGuy0111]

Niceeee

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Thanks 🤗

[@user-gm7tr4xj5c]

Thanks Cuiv, brilliant experiment which I will discuss with my friends using Stellina (a similar smart telescope). Great improvement, no doubts, but still very far from the results anybody can get with a more appropriate eq mount, apo lens 80mm, guiding etc.etc.....with a budget around 2.5 keuros, still less than a Vaonis stellina! Two questions: 1) i have the impression that with subs at 10 sec this "game" is useful only with very bright objects like m51....not with faint nebulae....confirm? 2) would a stacker like DSS provide better results than Siril? I would really like to have your view on that. Thanks again for your channel!!

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

1) Not really, even if read noise is an issue darker areas should put less bright objects within reach. And setting the scope in Eq mode allows 30s exposures 2) I don't think so, Siril is excellent at stacking in its own right - in fact, I couldn't get DSS to stack more than 1/3 of the frames when I was testing!

[@jaconkl1]

Cuiv, thank you for making these videos. You are awesome! Wirh that said, if i only wanted to use one software, grax or siril, which would you recommend? I dont mind paying for a subscription if that makes a recommendation easier.

[@Rubik3x]

Thank you so much for doing this. I found the information about using Siril and GIMP to be most useful, even though I'm working with a Celestron Evo6 and ASI462 and ASIair Pro images. I got some beautiful results following your step-by-step process with my .fit subs. However, when I ran Siril again adding my ASIair stacked calibration files, nothing would happen when I clicked on Start Calibration or, sometimes I got complaints about 32-bit. Do you know what is wrong? I'll check your Script Tutorial next. Thanks again.

[@loetauge]

Vielen Dank für das tolle Video, aber ein aktuelles Video um Fotos im EQ Mode aufzunehmen würde mich weiterbringen um die Fieldrotation auszuschalten. Ich hatte jetzt einige Monate gewartet und von ZWO kommt da anscheinend nichts mehr. Wichtig wäre zu sehen was geht und was nicht, wo sind die genauen Probleme bei deiner Methode? Welche Objekte können nicht von Europa aus vom Seestar angefahren werden. In der Theorie ist alles klar aber nimm uns die Angst vor dem EQ Mode. Zeig es doch bitte an einer Galaxie oder Nebel. Liebe Grüße

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Unfortunately ZWO doesn't support EQ mode - so only unofficial methods are supported

[@stealth50541]

Can you process this same image in Pixinsight?

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

I'll try :)

[@busload_uk]

Great video! Very helpful. I’m curious, however, why you went straight to ‘Histogram Transformation’ in Siril rather than the ‘Generalised Hyperbolic Stretch Transformation’ function first, which I believe I saw you do in a different video (the Dwarf 2 / M42 tutorial).

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Because GHS is much more complex!

[@busload_uk]

@@CuivTheLazyGeek Valid!

[@shadowOrgon]

Just double checking what I know about seestar/siril processing already since I've pieced it together from different sources but would like to hear your take. If I used the seestar on the same object over multiple nights and have say 4000 images (over windows image limit) I would use the same siril sequence/registration/stacking step but make sure the file is a .fitseq right? heard someone mention that file type before, but wasnt too sure on that. I tried a 'stack of stacks' method with my 11.5hrs of data on the pelican nebula from a vacation and was a bit disappointed in the final stack, when the 3-4hr stacks from each night from seestar looked better.. so looking to get around the image limit of windows.

[@astrotimber8925]

Can the Seestar be used with capture software like NINA or Voyager? Not asking for SGP... SGP won't run autoflats no matter what I do. I'm switching to something different. Anyone have any recommendations?

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

I think the Facebook group Smart Telescope Underground has found a way to do that but it's not that easy either!

[@Chiclets1]

Amazing work. Great video but!.... what about Seestar Post-Processing using an equal amount of $$$ in software as the cost of the Seestar? (as in Pixinsight/RC-Astro Tools) Is it worth it?

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

I'll try it out at some point :)

[@Chiclets1]

​@CuivTheLazyGeek I'm sure you have plenty on your plate. I'm not being needy 😊 Just value your opinion. Thank you again.

[@yearningmice]

Not sure if others can see some of the before and after particularly with noise cancellation but I think the KZbin codec is blocking most of that part.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

I uploaded in 1440p resolution, make sure to set it as your video quality!

[@richardlighthill3228]

I got a SeeStar but it was useless for me because it's reliance upon a strong internet connection which I don't have... latency issues. Had to send it back and get my money back. Wanted it to work so badly. So my question is: what use is it if you are in a remote location where there is either no internet connection via one's phone because it relies too much on hot internet? Love your videoes, Culv !

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

I actually don't understand - it works without any Internet connection...

[@purrito3892]

There’s no wifi need, there’s a one time wifi connection needed for a firmware update when you get it, but after that you could use it on a remote island without issue

[@richardlighthill3228]

@@CuivTheLazyGeek When I bought it, they had almost no "requirement" listing memory, internet connection speeds, cpu of the phone/tablet, etc. They assumed everyone had the latest (within the last year) and greatest tablet (again, within the past year or so). The result was that none of my equipment would connect longer than a few minutes (if that). When I sent the unit back they tested it and it worked flawlessly and returned it. Again, it would not connect effortlessly. I had another friend in our astronomy society who bought one and he brought his to my home and guess what, yup, he could not connect either to mine of his! Seestar does requires low latency of internet connect and I live 5 miles from the nearest cell tower in Bortle 2 skies. Perhaps one can setup and connect if one took it to a "hot" zone and then go to Bortle 1 skies and not have a problem. As for me, I had enough and if I could not connect consistently without headaches from my home location, I bailed out and returned the unit with full refund. I really wanted it to work and I am no dummy when it comes to computers, software or internet...I have a double pier mount with a rolloff roof, computer guided astrophotography, etc. so I am just bummed out that it would not work for me. Looking forward to more of your great reviews and astro-tips!

[@Chiclets1]

Did you try turning it off and on? :)

[@neutralenull]

When cuiv fulltime astro

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Hopefully soon :)