It's Not That Good - Review of the Seestar S50. Plus: What's Wrong With Smart Scopes? Let's Look!

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

It's an interesting viewpoint Ed! As an avid early adopter I both agree and disagree :-) The Seestar, once you takes the raw images off the scope and stack/process them yourself, gives very solid results - even on more difficult targets from Tokyo (!). I've had a lot of fun processing its images, and its dualband filter for emission nebulae isn't bad! The small FOV is a compromise as well due to field rotation, although that gets much better once you mount the Seestar un equatorial mode (not officially supported and has its limitations, but it works - it does go back to what you said: wait for better smart scopes to come out). As you mention the onboard processing is indeed limited to a very simple unweighted stacking algorithm and effectively an autostretch. This can and will ve optimized, although how far can "autoprocessing" go in the short term is another question. And yes, after 15 minutes you won't see much improvement, since the next doubling in SNR will come after a further 45 minutes of imaging :-) But that's for astrophotography in general! By the way you dont really need the leveler anymore - the Seestar now has a three point alignment routine that takes care of misleveling. Although some people have issues with the TPA routine and still need the leveler. To me what is truly incredible with the Seestar is that I can plop it down, and 1 minute later I'm imaging. 5 minutes later I could clearly see the corkscrew structure of M27. From Tokyo. For $500. It's a unique experience. The best compliment on the Seestar I get in the comments of my videos is "It's AI generated images" or "It downloads the images from the Internet". Having seen the raw frames I know for a fact it's not true, but this kind of accusation is actually high praise. Main issues for me with the Seestar is the dithering every 5 frames that adds a lot of overhead, the poor tracking near zenith, and the high rejection rates of subframes. Most of those get fixed by using it in EQ mode (unsupported :-( ) and using 30s subframes. And yes, the landfill aspect. I'm worried about this too because even though the battery is replaceable, the tech will get obsolete... Oh, and I personally don't think smart telescopes will end up getting better results than traditional means - near equal, sure, but not better. Traditional means are also advancing at a fast pace! In a way, your waiting advice applies to some of the traditional gear too :-)

[@briankotak403]

Totally agree with you Cuiv. I have only been in this hobby a couple of years but give me a go to mount, my refractor or SCT and a nice astro camera. I personally love the hands on approach (even though I use a ASIAir) and post processing my images! These new systems may be good to get even more interested in the hobby, but I don’t think they can ever produce better images than a more traditional approach. Dr B from Manitoba, Canada 🇨🇦

[@stinkyfungus]

This is a non elitist point of view. Thank you Cuiv. Yes, with 10k worth of gear, a night and a half a day of processing you can get a better image. Not all of us have the time or money to do that.

[@martynh5410]

I agree with Cuiv. I love EAA and I like to see quick results, it’s so satisfying. Even though I have an 8” scope and camera, I’ve only attempted EAA or that plus some very quick post touch up to improve color, contrast, etc. I’m thinking of getting the s50 as it will be much easier to set up and start imaging than my big scope which always takes at least 30 minutes.

[@stinkyfungus]

@martynh5410 I like to let the seestar "cook" while I fart around with visual on my 150mm mak or my 80mm F8 refractor. When I stop to give my "working eye" a break, I'll give the seestar a new target (usually something i simply can't see with a glass enhanced mk1 eyeball) and let it chew on that and get back to lookin' It has its place.

[@markbc1]

I wish Ed had teamed up with Cuiv. Together they would have made this review. . .credible! (Go Lazy Geek😂!!)

[@bretspencer]

I have an S50, a Dwarf, and over $10K in conventional astrophotography equipment. There is no question that the overall image quality is better with the full rig. But, I enjoy using the two smart scopes. Setting up a heavy EQ mount, leveling, balancing, polar alignment, calibrating the guiding, focusing, etc, is a pain. I won't even try it on a weeknight when I have to work the next day. The S50 can be set up easily in a few minutes. It allows me to image on nights when I otherwise cannot. Stacking and processing the images yourself yields much better images than the app. I think $500 is a bargain for this. My EQ mount alone costs more than 3x as much. When I am able to use my full rig, it produces great images. But, I find myself using the smart telescopes more often, and it allows more overall time to enjoy the hobby.

[@gomcse]

Absolutely agree. The s50 is amazing.

[@cosmicinsane516]

This is 100% where they shine, ok quality with super convenience. I’ve just got a 5” newt on a cheap EQ mount but I won’t bother packing it up and going out on a weeknight, and if the weather is questionable at all on a weekend I won’t bother either. Lots of setup, packing, aligning, maybe collimating, just to not even get a clear sky. When all I have to do is get out of the car and get set up in 1 minute, the lower time investment would mean I’d spend lots more time out there in the field than I do now.

[@billmurphypenguins3774]

good point, the more gear i have to set up the more reluctant i am to set up. And the wise gods always say the best scope is the one you use the most.

[@svdaedalus]

Seems like S50 would make a good travel scope being all self contained, too.

[@ciberdog6029]

I agree I find it also teaches me thing that will help with my big rig finding Targets is amazing.

[@wanderingbrummie]

Can only comment on the Seestar, but for £500 it punches well above its weight, and you are hardly paying a premium, it’s hard to put together anything comparable yourself for that price. Sure, it doesn’t perform as well as my 90mm guided triplet refractor/cooled camera on a heavy EQ mount, but it has the huge advantage that I can use it immediately when there is a break in the clouds. My big rig has been sat in the garage for months due to awful weather. I had a total window of about 1 hour clear sky this week spread over two nights, managed to image PonsBrooks with the Seestar whereas I would still have been setting up my big rig when the clouds returned. At the £500 price point I think they are a worthwhile introduction to the hobby for newbies, and for more seasoned practitioners a good way of doing some imaging when it just isn’t practical to set up a “proper” rig. The old adage “ your best scope is the one you use the most” rings true here. No reason not to early adopt at the £500 price point. Now the more expensive smart scopes, that’s a different story…

[@jpbslayer]

THIS is the truth, the s50 is an awesome piece of hardware

[@martynh5410]

I second this opinion!

[@stevenickolls8016]

Really glad that I've held off buying any of these smart telescopes as the quality of the DSO images has proved to leave much to be desired and instead I'm slowly adding to my savings ready for a future date when I might buy a future but better model as Ed hopes may come out. I like the usefulness of the SeeStar etc for imaging the Moon and Sun in moments of opportunity but am fortuate to have already put to use a repurposed old Alt-Az mount (SkyWatcher Merlin from around 2012), spare ASI178MC and RedCat for solar and lunar imaging that more than matches the quality of the SeeStar and which too can be set up at a moment's notice. For me £500 is the best part of a year's savings in the hobby so it's not to be spent on a snap decision. To my way of thinking all the frenetic early adopters may encourage ZWO and others to make improved models down the line.

[@wanderingbrummie]

@@stevenickolls8016you are right, the Seestar isn’t as good as a “ proper” rig in terms of image quality, but if you stack and process the subs yourself, rather than take the final output from the device, you can get some pretty pleasing results. And as I said, being up and running literally within a few minutes is something no traditional rig can match unless you are fortunate enough to have a permanent observatory. If I had to rely on my traditional rig I’d have no images at all from the past few months.

[@bonesshed.]

I have ummed and arred about splashing out on a 'proper' rig but you're spot on. The cost, effort and time spent learning will not reward me fast enough. The SeeStar does that for me. For 500 quid, its a no brainer.

[@johnrombi3060]

I've been an astronomer for nearly 60 years. I love my 12" Geoptik Dob with the Nexus DSC. I don't have the patience & inclination to set up a full A/P rig, and of course there's the price! I can see a great market for people like me, that love their visual work, but would like to dabble in A/P. The Seestar and/or Dwarf 11 are perfect for this. Beginners in astronomy would also find these scopes as a great incentive. Too many newbies buy scopes, attempt to use them to find any object. And apart from the Moon, they fail. The scope goes into a wardrobe and a budding astronomer goes to waste. At least these smart scopes are a lot more user friendly, and will yield results on the first night/day. In conclusion, Ed is correct in his thoughts, but I feel a little harsh in his conclusion. My two cents

[@endautrestermes]

I think they will equally land into people's wardrobe once their wife will tell them that google image gets better result with less efforts. And since they haven't made any effort and invested any time in their newfind consumer's hobby, they will end up agreeing. To me, for newbies, this is just some disposable toys. For your use, I agree it's probably great. But the bigger picture, I have to agree with Ed : it's just more ejunk

[@anata5127]

Get Hubble pictures. Sorted.

[@starman3088]

I totally agree with you and I bought the Seestar for exactly the same reasons.

[@MichaelS-ob2mm]

I agree that Smart Telescopes are exciting. I disagree that one shouldn’t buy them now. Two nights ago, I viewed 19 objects, 12 of which I could never really see on my 80mm refractor or 8” SCT in my Bortle 8 area. The $500 I spent for the scope was equal to one of my Delos lenses and one UHC filter. It was money VERY well spent. I agree that the products will get better and less expensive (less than $500 ? Really???) over time. I plan to happily upgrade when that happens. In the meantime, I will enjoy all of my equipment, including the SeeStar.

[@JimJimJimJim99]

I have Bortle 4 skies. Through my £700 10" Dobsonian I cannot see the spiral structure of spiral galaxies. Through my £500 Seestar S50 I can see the spiral structure... with just one 10 second exposure.

[@Talalpro_1]

Human eyes are not sensitive bring a camera to ur 10 then talk

[@JimJimJimJim99]

@@Talalpro_1 What mount and camera do you suggest I get to allow me to image galaxies with my 10" Dobsonian?

[@timwhitlock3500]

You make a great point! My 8SE was great for the moon, planets and double stars, but everything else was a big disappointment. Just a lot of fuzzy blobs. I'm strongly considering a Seestar to open up the rest of the universe for me.

[@hmuphilly9129]

@@JimJimJimJim99 you dont need to listen to him

[@Astronurd]

​@@JimJimJimJim99Get an EQ platform and a ZWO 585MC.

[@VisualObserver]

First of all, I watched at least 50 video of yours talking about telescopes and other bunch of accessories. Well, I almost spend a year watching hundreds of telescope, mount, camera, image processing, filters, focuser, polar alignment videos from other channels. All bunch of stuff will cost a lot of money and very big learning curve. I personally didn’t wanna spend much money on astrophotography rig. I didn’t wanna spend hours learning all the things I mentioned. Just for this price, this telescope is absolutely a STEAL. I really don’t care what people think about this telescope. “Oh it’s not real astrophotography.” Why do you want me to spend 5-10k$?? If the result which comes from s50 satisfies me, saves me a lot of TIME, saves me a lot of MONEY, why I wouldn’t buy such smart telescope. I ordered mine yesterday, also svbony nebula filter. Can’t wait to test this beast!!

[@darrenpardoe]

Thank you for the review. I have a Seestar and have some observations to share as a total amateur. 1. The battery is very user replaceable. It sits behind a door on the bottom held closed with a screw. 2. The Seestar is a bit hit and miss with a few things, but for the most part there is no need to adjust the level any more as it has an "auto level / Horizon function". But it does need to be able to have a good view of the sky as it uses several stars, compass, gyroscopes, view of the horizon to get level. Works well most of the time. 3. With it zooming in too far. There is a mosaic mode in the pipeline, so it should be able to stich together large objects, increasing the relative resolution/detail etc. 4. The Seestar is also good for watching wildlife remotely. No need to be cold/hot in a hide when in theory you can sit in your house, car, motorhome etc whilst capturing video or stills live onto a screen size of your choice. It can also be broadcast on the internet. There are lots more features not explained in the video and I cant type for ever :)

[@neiltonks]

mosaic mode would be good.

[@heywardhall1489]

Ed, sir I watch your videos because of your expertise. But somehow you missed the mark on the S50 review. The Seestar images are so much more than the jpg it sends to your phone. With the option to download the fits files, and process them with your favorite astrophotography editing software, the images are so much better than that jpg. Even if you don't download all the sub images, just simply processing the jpg with your phone photo editor turns even the Horsehead Nebula into a nice image. So for $500 can you assemble a rig that does equally as good as the S50? Not a chance. I've owned an Evolution 9.25 SCT for almost a year. I love it. The number of things I've viewed with it since buying it is extremely slim compared to the number of objects I've seen and imaged with the Seestar since buying it in late January. With the Seestar, I've now photographed 77 of the 110 Messier objects, almost another hundred of the NGC, SH2, and other catalogs. I've even captured three supernovas, five comets, and three quasars, all with the S50. One of the quasars I captured is almost 10 billion light years away. Show me any $500 telescope where that is possible. Tell me the least expensive rig you own that will capture a quasar 10 billion light years away. I'm sure it's well above $500 and not as easy to set up. I can be imaging in about 2 minutes from the time I decide to take the S50 outside. How long does it take to move that Tak and setup? If you're going to compare the S50 to the Tak, let's discuss mobility, ease of use, etc.

[@guitarchitectural]

if you have a site i would love to see your images! this is a really compelling option but naturally this review leaves me concerned. i'd happily pay double for a larger sensor with a wider FOV, so maybe i'll wait... but i would love to see the quality you can get with processing yourself

[@sscheaper]

Agree with your comment. Love Ed's videos and opinions, but he did miss the mark here. I have always been heavily against smart telescopes but the S50 offers incredible value per dollar. Nothing will perform as well at the 500 dollar price point. This thing would be a steal even at the 1000 dollar price point just based on ease of use alone. Dare I say - this is the best astronomical product to come out within the past 10, maybe even 20 years. The price simply cannot be beat!

[@MathewWeaver73]

What I got from his review is if you can’t afford to buy a Ferrari or a Lamborghini, then you should just walk.

[@RR-zq3mk]

My $450 smart telescope got me laid. Money well spent

[@Jcom3030]

Oh it’ll do that.

[@466rudy6]

It's like that movie.

[@cryhavoc38]

I wish to personally thank all of those who purchased the rev1 of the SeeStar, thus solidifying the line's future. I will be seriously interested when the SeeStar II comes out :) Here's the thing though. Ed is reviewing the SeeStar from the lens of an experienced Astrophotographer and telescope guy. He isn't the target market. The SeeStar, in my opinion, is not geared towards those users who already have a proper Astrophotography rig unless they know exactly what they are getting with a SeeStar and just want one for the very casual use. The SeeStar is geared more to those who would like to get into casual astro but don't have the time, money or abilities to set a proper rig up.

[@hmuphilly9129]

yes why cant the most serious ones leave us casuals alone?

[@jenni5104]

You should watch what a lot of other 'experienced astrophotographers' had to say about it and then you'll realise that not only is this man wrong, he's seriously bitter and somewhat delusional.

[@hmuphilly9129]

@@jenni5104 makes me wonder if trad astrophotographers are part of the flat earthers hm

[@TMS5100]

@@hmuphilly9129 the serious ones are known as gatekeepers. there's only two ways to do something. their way, and the wrong way.

[@nancyschwartz7692]

My friend has all the expensive gear and really into the Astrophotography. But he still loves and appreciates the SeestarS50 he got about 3 months ago. In fact, his post about it has made me realize that learning more about Astronomy and Astrophotography is also accessible to me both in terms of affordability and being something light weight and easy to set up. After doing a lot of research between the SeeastarS50, the Dwarf30, the upcoming SeestarS30, and some other smart telescopes that are going to be wayyyyy out of my budget, I am going to be ordering a Dwarf3 for the built in larger field of view and the EQ functionality. Was looking at possibly waiting on the S30, but that is still going to be a smaller field of view than what the Dwarf3 has (if I'm understanding the specs correctly....I know nothing about astrophotography or photography in general). I'm super excited to be a complete beginner with all of this stuff and have a relatively affordable and easy way to casually learn something new and intimidating.

[@Stuart.Little.07.07]

Ed, I love your videos, but I finally, found something I can disagree with you on, yep its the Seestar, I have a few great rigs, but recently I lost my wife, and with that any interest in astronomy or even life itself, a few years before we lost our son, and we were able to support each other, my remaining daughters were concerned about my mental health, so I got myself a little Seestar, the weather where i live seemed to be as miserable as I felt, this little gem has seen me through some of the hardest times of my life, an hour here and there, has started me on the journey of finding myself and my passion for astrophotography, once again. Obviously its never going to replace a great scope, but for those who already use apps like Pixinsight etc, have achieved great images from the raw data which is downloaded from the scope itself in single frames as FIT files, I have a disabled friend who had to give up the hobby, he just couldn't set up the equipment anymore, he's very excited at the fact he can once again enjoy the hobby, so I suppose it will find a home, and get better at what it does.

[@brizzle3903]

My condolences for your losses 😢 I’m glad to hear you’ve gotten into this hobby because of ZWO same for your friend as well Clear skies

[@randydodge160]

if everyone waits, there'll be no development. Vote for the future with your money. Agree with some items, disagree with others - comparing a $500 smart scope with a Tak priced at 4-5 times the price (once you add the extras needed to do imaging, camera, filters, dew heater, PC) is off the mark.

[@AshA-ww8hc]

4-5 times? Think more 10-15 times..

[@johnhoffer5429]

There junk and should be regulated to the trash bin

[@Bridse.]

I’m with you Randy, we have a product that is reachable by many and opens their eyes. I don’t care if the magnification is bad, they plug it in and get something they feel proud about sharing. If they went down the rat hole of Astrophotography, it would be years before they could share something proudly.

[@SpaceRocksandStardust]

@@Bridse.Agreed! How many people have been turned off the hobby by mass produced junk visual scopes? By big names too! At least these will give them a somewhat decent result!

[@bonesshed.]

explain why @@johnhoffer5429

[@bobsymondsmusic]

Ed standing in room full of expensive gear saying Seestar is no good is like Jay Leno standing in his garage and saying my car is crap and I should wait until I can afford a few hundred grand.

[@anata5127]

He is right. People who bought strain gear mounts 7-8 years ago, regretted.

[@Icanhasautomaticcheeseburger]

​@@anata5127 There's an awful lot of dead LX200s out there, too.

[@testboga5991]

That's completely wrong. The points he raises are just facts, not opinion influenced by high tech stuff. You just can't get the performance out of a small refractor that you can get out of a larger cheap reflector.

[@cosmicinsane516]

@@testboga5991Yeah I mean just because it can’t perform as well as a bigger scope is no reason not to buy one. At $500 I could make incredible photos when I can’t even afford a decent camera for my reflector for the same price. Then I’d need a decent EQ mount better than my EQ-2. That’s the cost of 4 Seestar S50s. Sure that would do better but what’s the point? I’d have way way more fun with a $500 smart scope than I would with a $3000 traditional imaging setup. I still keep my reflector around for observing planets and for higher magnification views of the sun.

[@GregoryPecaut]

Right a cheap Tak!

[@halleighartllc5947]

I've been an amateur astronomer since 1975, performing several hundred star programs using some great optics. Lugging all this stuff around was a real chore, setting it up was a pain, and the investment was thousands of dollars. The first time a "point and shoot" telescope came on the market I bought one, for years to come I spent more time enjoying star gazing because it was easier to do it. I would tell my audiences that the best telescope to have is one you will use, not hide away in the closet because it's too much work to set up for an hour or two of viewing. I think the ZWO Seestar S50 is a good solution for anyone, new or advanced amateur, to enjoy astronomy. The setup is easy, weighs very little, and doesn't cost thousands to image the Sun, Deep Sky Objects, the Moon (a favorite with my audiences), etc. Looking in my equipment closet at $$$$$ of astronomy gear, I wish this scope was around when I started. Thumbs Up!

[@jimmydoodlebug]

Ed, how much was your Takahashi astrophotography setup? Was it more than $499?

[@APRH305]

But one doesn't need a Tak FS-60C to get comparable images. A good 60mm ED doublet AND a guide camera can be had for $500. Getting a good mount at that budget will be a challenge though. Something like an used Celestron AS-GT can be had but it will be far bulkier (but much more useful at the same time.)

[@hcm5467]

If I read you correctly once you ad a mount and an imaging camera you're definitely above 500$ at the cheapest.

[@APRH305]

@@hcm5467 To squeeze within the $500 budget the mount will be one of the cheapest GOTO models (and to go with a cheaper OTA) and I really wouldn't recommend that. Going with the equipment I suggested before will end up somewhat above $500 but the components are higher quality and more versatile. Since everyone wants a strain wave mount one can get lucky with used but good GOTO GEM mounts for far less than when they were new.

[@JedWhitten]

Ok so let's compare the seestar to your 60 mm doublet with guide scope and no mount since it's the same price. I'm willing to bet the seestar gets much better results.

[@anata5127]

@@APRH305 AVX could be bought for 400-500.

[@amyelr]

The thing is, I don't care that the images aren't that great. I'm not an astrophotographer and am not trying to be. I spent $400 (pre-order) to very easily see things I would otherwise not be able to see. I hope someday I can get out in dark skies with a big dob, but it's not happening right now. The Seestar is really fun! Maybe if you've been involved with telescopes / astronomy / astrophotography for a long time, you're not impressed; and I'm sure the criticisms will help companies improve, but as an astronomy noob and regular customer, I love mine. And I'm excited to see where they go from here!

[@gomcse]

Except that the images ARE great. I agree with you that the s50 is really fun. Fantastic tool at a miracle price.

[@anata5127]

Correct! It is for people who have no experience in astrophotography or have no space to do so.

[@anata5127]

@@gomcseGreat compared to what?

[@cobaltchen119]

Well said. I have been attracted to watch the sky/astral objects from my middle school (30 years ago) and dreamed to have my telescope for 20 years after worked, but I never have one because living in an unban city plus shortage of personal time/space plus the size/weight of the devices limited the dream. Seestar released me, now I can go to the top of my apartment building everyday (if weather allowed) to get a picture of something I had only seen in website AND watch that part of sky by my eyes to imagine what it actually like. With Seestar I watched sky more frequency. That is why I really appreciate ZWO and similar companies who can target the customers like me.

[@MichaelS-ob2mm]

Your comparisons of the SeeStar vs the Takahashi are incomplete and that is unfortunate. Specifically, you compare internally processed Seestar images with externally processed Takahashi ones. If you truly wanted to make fair comparisons, you should have externally processed the raw SeeStar FITS images through the identical flow you used for the Takahashi. This would have been a more objective approach and the results would have been much closer in final image quality.

[@edting]

Give these devices a few generations; they'll give the Taks of the world a run for their money. Using the FITS files won't make that much difference given the current state of the product. It's also a non-intuitive process and it's something that should be streamlined in the app.

[@BearLurcher]

@@edting I leant mine to my Gran a few weeks back, as she has always had a passing interest in Astro. She was able to operate it without issue and loved the results (she even had a play around with a little post processing in Siril). I'm struggling to understand what exactly you found so challenging?... You turn it on, you point, you shoot.

[@bobmusil1458]

@@edting You seriously expect the automatic stacking in the telescope to be as good as PixInsight? Do you not know that PixInsight with the Xterminator add-ons is just as expensive as the whole telescope? You can’t be serious!

[@grantsorenson4113]

Yeah and Takahashi is a completely overrated piece of crap for what you pay. Way way overpriced. it reminds me of these academic beanheads who buy BMWs. Another piece of crap jut buying it for the name. The word Snob snob snob comes to mind in this review from ed...

[@krzysztofkosak4720]

After 2 hours with Seestar while seated comfortably in my car I've seen more than during previous 12 months of using optical telescope when staying out during cold nights. This is a gamechanger.

[@johngleason6472]

I would not have started the story about the Seestar with "It's not that great". Sets a negative tone before understanding your POV. At $499 it's equivalent to the 60mm department store telescope from the 1960s. And factoring in inflation, it's about the same price. It's all about Electronically Assisted Astronomy, or as it is called; EAA. You will see more in a short stack of images, than anything visual through a small telescope in an urban location. I could not see M82 at all in my $10,000 refractor through a $400 premium eyepiece from my B9 location, but the Seestar captured it digitally in only a few minutes. Now to be fair, there are other smartscopes in the $3000 to $4000 range that do seem over-priced, but the little Seestar at $499 is a great value as a gateway telescope into the wonderful hobby of amateur astronomy.

[@edting]

Again, if we can all be a little patient and wait, these devices will only get better with time. Technology moves very fast in this arena.

[@reginaldwilkins5112]

Wait means don't buy...not really a good way to encourage development to me...​@@edting

[@hedgehog3180]

@@reginaldwilkins5112 Why do you want to pay for their R&D? Like you don't need to, this is a private market, the companies are going to develop this technology whether you pay for the R&D or not so like just save the money and wait until a $500 scope gets you three times as much.

[@markbc1]

​@@edting sort of the "don't bother me with other,salient aspects, my thinking on this is done...approach😢"?!

[@abfutrell]

@@edting but ZWO has presently done the right thing by establishing a new market with a new customer base. I guarantee you if I were to buy this unit and show case the ease of use, minimal time commitment, while performing chores inside your house or watching shows, you're going to have a lot of buy in from from non-astronomers. With that said, I'm not in a rush to buy. I'm confident ZWO has a second version in the works, but I already see my use case having immediately benefit when the time comes.

[@chuckg6039]

Life is short Ed. I have 5 friends here in Columbus, Ohio that have them. The results are always stunning. No issues. There will always be something better coming. Just like computers. The Seestar is more than ready right now.

[@klassieker2834]

This is a very apples and oranges, biased review. some comments: stacking; the Seestar has the option to save all separate frames. Stacking can be done in external programs like Siril. Even over multiple sessions. Same for processing and filtering. You cannot compare the present smart telescopes with true astrophotography setups that cost thousands of dollars. Nobody expects astrophotography or indeed Hubble or JWSL quality. The green background is caused by the internal filter, there are aftermarket products to install the best filters available. Can you take one the the devices in the back of Ed's room safely on your bicycle and cycle to a dark spot to start a short observation session before the clouds come in?

[@beenaplumber8379]

Doesn't it feel like you're just using mouse clicks to lead to a picture of fixed quality, less than what you can already get online? Do you feel like you've created an image when you're done? That's where I struggle. Yeah, Ed's full Takahashi rig was an absolutely silly comparison regarding picture quality, even if he just meant to illustrate what's possible, or what modern amateur astronomers expect, but what about that sense of creativity? I see astrophotography as a creative art, and the Seestar seems to take over all creative aspects of that art, leaving the operator as someone who just pushes the buttons to get the predictable, limited result, available only on their screen. Am I missing something? A lot of people seem to like it, so maybe I'm a noob who doesn't get it. I haven't bought my 1st scope yet, and I want to learn. School me if you see something I don't. 🙂

[@Mystearica]

@@beenaplumber8379 You can't go to a place with a really dark sky every night, not even every weekend. The seestar let's you enjoy your hobby without having to set up everything, and just enjoy taking pictures of the moon, or the sun, or just some deep sky objects. If you want to use your creativity, you can still go out with your astrophotography equipment and take that beautiful pictures. Both options complement each other, not the other way around.

[@beenaplumber8379]

@@Mystearica Thanks much for the reply. I'm actually ok with limited photo quality. Right now I use a Sony Alpha 6100 with a 210 mm kit lens on a cheap photo tripod. That's it. No filters added or removed, just a lotta ISO and a lotta hunting by memory. (And a lotta stacked 1 sec exposures.) I want a scope, and I can't afford much, and the Seestar has a great price tag. I could get that or a Dobs, with total control of everything and even worse photo quality but real viewing quality. It's another ridiculous comparison - the Seestar vs the Dobs. They do opposite things. I'd like something in the middle, but then I have to spend $1k - $2k, more if I want a decent mount. A cell phone with gyros and accelerometers would be nice, even with my camera so I could use that kind of star-finding app. I get it though - even packing up my cheap camera gear on a clear night to find a dark sky is a chore. When you get to a remote location, what do you set it on? Do you bring a table? All I can think of is putting it on the top of my car, but that's hardly stable or level.

[@beenaplumber8379]

@@Mystearica I just wanted to share this with you - I just watched a video about remote observing (renting space in a dark sky observatory and operating the telescope online, the way I think professional astronomers do). I think that idea felt a lot like using something like the Seestar. Sure, it's all on a computer screen. Sure, the coordinates are already worked out, but I think I'm starting to understand how it really is like modern astronomy.

[@kitchenraw]

Completely agreed. For example I am going to Turkey end of this Summer and next year winter to New Zealand to capture Magellanic cloud from the Southern hemisphere. The mobility is the most important thing for me.

[@carlwellman3623]

I’m having fun with my Seestar, isn’t that what it’s all about, having fun? I’m in the process of selling thousands of $$’s of astro gear I’ve had for years, sitting in cases and boxes, Seestar is easy and fun.

[@MikeLikesChannel]

I sold $1500 worth of rarely used imaging equipment for a new SeeStar and an updated iPad… with money left over to take my wife and daughters out for sushi and a movie. Well worth the change.

[@ronlouie830]

For an old guy like me, flailing for 20 years with a Meade Newtonian and a Celestron refractor, I'm happy with my DwarfLab2 with its tiny, grainy images and frustrating operating system. At least I'm seeing things, in Bortle 7 suburban skies, the cloudy PNW, which has really increased my appreciation of what is up there! Must be my old-guy-novice limited expectations, not at all ambitious, but still fun at this stage. And I don't have any "aperature envy!"

[@edting]

Hey I'm curious about what you said. Based on what I've seen, the Dwarf is a really weird product. I'm not alone in that assessment?

[@artyombeilis9075]

@@edting depends... Unlike SeeStar it has much wider FOV for good and for worse. Of course SeeStar better product and it is killing Dwarf.

[@bobmyers9008]

I love my Dwarf, it as a few growing pains, but the positives far, far out weigh any negatives. I will be shooting the eclipse with it and have taken to a bortle 2 area. It takes all of a couple of minutes to set up in astronomy mode. @@edting

[@ronlouie830]

@@edting yes it's weird, but as I mentioned, fun for the limited expectations. It's like the first time I saw a prism in the optical path of a monocular, or the first time I used my little Meade Newtonian: not intuitive, making the ability to see anything at all surprising and delightful!

[@Mudslinger821]

The portability of the dwarf is its ace in the hole, seestar gets you better images but I just returned from Japan (organized tour) a nd brought my dwarf in my carry on. Imaged on 3 clear nights under bottle 3-4, much better than my bottle 8-9 at home!!

[@lighstwatch]

We have known people that have spend thousands of dollar on astrophotography equipment and after a couple years or even less they got tired of the amount of work it takes setting up and breaking the system down, and dragging it back inside. No every one can afford their own observatory. In time their equipment sets in storage or in the corner at most being taken out ,if then, one or two times a year. The Dwarf II and the SeeStar S50 has made observing fun again. Takes little time to set up and the picture are no terrible. Been doing this so long we remember the days of film astrophotography. Had someone been turning out images like one gets with these smart telescope of deepsky objects you would have be considered an advanced astrophotographer. What Ed is doing is like comparing a Ford Festa to Maserati. Of course the Maserati is going to be far superior. Then again the Ford Festa will get you from point A and b and back again in some general relative comfort and doesn't brake the bank.

[@PaulWagner1]

Yes, my Seestar has limitations. But I also have a Celestron Nexstar 6 that sees a fraction of the Seestar's use. I realized I needed a Kia, not a Porshe. I can easily hop in the car with my son, Sagan, drive a few minutes with the Seestar and show him live images in seconds. The excitement of even having the app add clarity with each stacked image keeps him tuned in and asking questions. For me, that's a huge win. Finally, you're correct in that the on-device processing leaves a lot to be desired and the FoV is too narrow. But, I'm seeing users create fantastic mosaics in post and leveraging color correction to create impressive images. As good as a $5k rig for the guy who has a lot of time and money? Of course not. But what a wonderful and reasonably priced device to drive interest in astronomy.

[@milocat007]

Ed, as you can tell by the comments to your video, you've completely missed the mark. HUGE kudos to ZWO for putting together a complete solution for viewing and photographing DSOs. For every person out there who wants to go through the steep and expensive learning curve for traditional scopes, then put their frankenstein assemblies in a closet, I'll bet there are dozens of people who simply want to view the stars. It's almost like you didn't really use it. You looked for silly nits like "E-waste" when users throw this away in favor of next gen solutions. Really Ed? What did you do with your last car? Please tell me you kept it.

[@theoldman2821]

It was truly an embarrassing review. He just has some bug up his ass about these type of products and then he sets up a comparison between his 10,000 dollar rig and a 500 dollar one. Very flawed review.

[@0rb0d]

@@theoldman2821 I've read (not watched) a lot of Ed Ting reviews over the years. This was pitiful. Comparing a full Tak AP rig to an S-50? Ridiculous.

[@TTaylor]

I bought one last week and it’s fantastic. I highly recommend it. It’s worth way more to me than the $500 I paid for it. It’s so light weight and convenient and the setup is so quick. My only complaint is 1: too many cloudy days and 2: starlink satellites

[@nitestryker7]

The best telescope is the one you use. This telescope has changed the game and allowed ease of use for a new generation of astronomers.

[@SpaceRocksandStardust]

Ed, I dont think they are meant to be compared to an actual rig…You cannot compare these devices like Seestar and Dwarf with a traditional rig at all. That isnt what they are meant to be. I think they are geared as a ‘gateway drug’ into astro. I have a big set up that I have spent WAY too much money on… and it is beautiful, and takes beautiful images. About 10k in, which is a lot for me! I bought a Dwarf 2 last year, just for fun, for 500 bucks… and it is fun! Hassle free! I did a head to head on the Heart Nebula, after post processing the Dwarf data it was a pretty good image, not as good as my 94 edph Sharpstar of course, but honestly there isnt a 9500 dollar difference… with the right processing they are quite powerful little devices considering the amount of money you arent spending on them! When I first got into astronomy I bought a Celestron 114 Astromaster, it was 300 bucks and probably the worst scope ever created!!! Spending 500 on a smart scope like this would have been a way better entrance into astro… companies like Celestron should be ashamed for putting out trash products like they do, how many people have been completely turned off of astronomy due to these horrible scopes??? Countless!!! I have not heard one bad word about these cheap smart scopes from any beginner, they love them and it makes them fall in love with astronomy… WIN WIN!

[@Cakebattered]

I was hoping he would compare the images to his 8" Dob and his smartphone.

[@Top_Weeb]

"I think they are geared as a ‘gateway drug’ into astro." That's exactly my problem with them. Looking through a screen is going to significantly dilute the experience. This thing isn't meant to compete with traditional astrophotography equipment, it's competing with regular telescopes. If you compare it to a similarly priced real telescope you'll find it to be severely lacking.

[@Top_Weeb]

They will make the hobby worse overall. People don't know what they want. They're allured by pretty photos but once they get a telescope and see the universe with their own two eyes they'll realize what it's all about. If they start with this glorified cellphone app it's going to stunt their long-term interest in the hobby.

[@SpaceRocksandStardust]

@@Top_Weeb I think it is filling a completely different niche, EAA… so neither traditional visual scopes nor astrophotography. It is a different category all together. A traditional scope cannot show you the detail in deep space objects that these devices are capable of capturing. I really think it is the dso category made popular by Hubble and JWST that the average consumer wants to see, not the fuzzy blobs that you get with a traditional scope. Again, I do not think these are at all geared towards anyone who is already established in astronomy or astrophotography. These are hassle free devices that anyone can use to see some of the amazing objects in the night sky.

[@SpaceRocksandStardust]

@@Top_Weeb I think some will… but some will want more, some will take the next step and invest real money in good equipment. How much damage have the heavily marketed junk scopes from Celestron and other manufacturers done over the years to this hobby??? At least these devices do what they say can do. I think they are a fine way for the average person to get involved with astronomy. I know many who are using these devices for public outreach with great success and a great reaction from average folks! Dwarf Labs has given away countless units to those who are using them for public outreach, that is a phenomenal thing for a manufacturer to do! I dont see Astro Physics or Tak or even Skywatcher or Celestron doing things like this to engage people and bring them into the hobby. Kudos to them!

[@altuniversal3445]

Dr. Ting, I’ve been waiting for you to post this video for a long time , even expecting it! Many of these products were in the 2000+ range but I think with this being only $500 we are “there” in terms of this being accessible to almost anyone intersted in the hobby. Excited for what the future holds for the amateur astronomer !

[@RobertRidgley]

Like several others who have commented, I’ve done visual astronomy for well over 50 years and frankly the thrill of dragging a car full of heavy equipment to what might pass for dark skies on the East Coast is gone. I have set up for EAA which I can do from my suburban front yard and that has rekindedv

[@JosephMusgrove]

I think Ed missed the mark. First, when he mentioned the really good image a lady took using stacking software. Tells me he did not study up on the S50. One of the options is storing images and using external stacking software. Second, comparing S50 images with images using a traditional astrophotography setup is like comparing a Honda Accord with a Ferrari. The S50 is not intended to be a on the same level. It’s designed for people like me who are interested in astrophotography but with no desire to take a deep dive into the hobby or spend thousands of dollars. Finally, I have seen this in many hobbies, “old school syndrome”. Basically a dislike of major changes that will eventually surpass the old norm.

[@LawrenceCamera]

I have four telescopes and I got a seestar s50 in January. The best telescope is the one you use and it's so easy to set up compared to my lx200 etc.. that it's the only one I've been using for the last 3 months. Ed is right, these will definitely get better over time but for $500, there's just nothing better at the moment. Also, it's such a great device to get beginners into the hobby and I can't stress that this is probably the best attribute of the Seestar.

[@BennyColyn]

Respectfully, there are quite a few things that can be improved on the Seestar, but the things you mention aren't it's major short comings in my experience. I have the feeling you haven't done much EAA/live stacking with something like SharpCap before, because the Seestar very much resembles that experience but in much more streamlined way: * the performance - the performance in my experience is identical to say a Redcat 50 paired with an ASI462MC (yes the redcat is a Petzval but for a sensor this small that won't matter). But what you get is a) cheaper and b) much more portable. You would need more glass to get better performance, that's just physics and we all know aperture fever and the downsides that come with that. * the color balance - every picture you show has the telltale messed up star colors of a duo narrowband filter. This happens on a conventional AP rig too if you use such a filter. It is a godsend if you live in a Bortle 7 area like me tough and I'm happy they included it out of the box. You can disable it for an unfiltered view. * Diminishing returns is a thing with all astrophotography, you need 4x the exposure to double the signal-to-noise-ration (the "feeling" of the noise). So quality improves very quickly from one minute to 4, to 16 minutes but then you need an hour to double SNR again and after that it's going to take a good chunk of the night. A watched kettle never boils and if you're live stacking (like I often do) patience tends to wear out after say 5 minutes, maybe 15. Again with only 50mm of aperture there's only so many photons it can catch. This is not something unique to the Seestar. * The postprocessing in the APP/device is intentionally limited, again to be able to have this near-live viewing. The math for for example pixel rejection or selecting the best sub isn't done for live stacking, simply because you have to start with the first sub and good pixel rejection algorithms or advanced normalization require looking at all the data at once, not as it comes in. And it takes a beefy machine (200W CPU with 16 cores in mine) the better part of an hour to run the data through pixinsight that the seestar has to do on-the-fly. That isn't going to change in any near future, especially with Moore's law slowing down. For some genuine problems with the Seestar I would mention: * the general QA (there's some lemons out there) and plastic gears * the use of open source software in violation of it's license (just as in ASIAir) * with 10s subs, you lose a lot of time due to the dithering in between each sub * life expectancy of the LiPo battery and it's performance in cold weather (should have been LiFePO4 IMHO) All in all, the best scope is the one you use most of the time, and my Seestar has been outside more than my big conventional AP rig or even my more lightweight EAA setup just because the weather doesn't allow for a 30-40 minute setup time.

[@edting]

Thanks for that. If you saw the whole video, my advice is to wait. These things aren't ready yet.

[@musicaddict5076]

Clickbait clearly. It’s not that good is completely relative. To someone new to astrophotography its a great scope. To someone who wants the convenience and portability its a great scope. To someone who wants to do it all themselves and doesnt mind spending hours and hours setting everything up and on processing time, its not that good.

[@jltomsik]

For some of us this is an amazing product. I've been into astronomy my whole life and never had the kind of money to really make a deep dive into astrophotography. I bought a Celestron go-to 30 years ago and always struggled to set up the go-to because of the difficulty in aligning it in the first place. I would have to find the target myself and just use the tracking to keep it in the eyepiece and that was enough for me to be happy with it. The seestar I just bought I was immediately getting great images of the sun and moon and had no problem taking my first deep sky image of M101 on the very first night. I only had time for a 36 minute exposure but was quite impressed with being able to do it at all. I'm looking forward to imaging the Orion nebula and Andromeda in the next days/weeks. Long story short I am very happy with my purchase and no doubt will get years of enjoyment out of it. It helps that I'm fascinated enough with our home star to make it worth $500 in the first place, I just regret I didn't buy it sooner and had it for total eclipse

[@MichaelS-ob2mm]

Two nights ago, I used my SeeStar in my Bortle 8 site to view and photograph 35 deep sky targets (5-40 minutes each). 25 of these targets I had NEVER seen before at my site, even while using my $25K in astronomy gear (80mm refractor, 8" SCT, Delos eyepieces, binoviewers, IS binoculars, etc). $500 was an insignificant cost for what I saw and how quickly I could see it due to the onboard processing. Yes, I could certainly have waited for improvements in the gear and features that might be available in the future but the time value of having an improved experience NOW is incalculable. I NOW have a portable, simple, time efficient, good quality, low cost, instrument to complement the other items in my toolbox.

[@martynh5410]

To be fair, there’s a huge price difference between Ed’s Tak imaging set up and a SeeStar 50. I’d expect there to be a difference in quality. Some people with only $500 to spend might find this one of two ways to do some basic (not perfect) Astrophotography.

[@SamStars8811]

It is a good way to get people interested and then they can upgrade if they decide the results are not good enough. If we all held off of buying a smart scope, waiting for the design to improve, then it never would, it would just die a death because the manufacturers would think there was no market for them.

[@jayhalloween]

I think you are missing the point. This is meant as an entry to astronomy. You should be comparing the attributes to a store bought, or starter kit. You get several advanced attributes in a simple package, for a low cost.

[@edting]

Yes, good point.

[@hedgehog3180]

I think the inability to view things with your own eyes makes this a really bad entry level telescope. The fun of astronomy isn't looking at pictures of stuff, it's looking at it yourself and getting more intimate with the night sky. I think the space that'll be really interesing is hybrid scopes that offer the convenience of this thing while also getting you an actual telescope you can look through yourself. Though I guess that basically already exists in the form of various guidance apps that make it extremely easy to use any telescope. I think this thing is basically only interesting if you're already into astronomy enough to want to get seriously into astrophotography but also value convenience. I think if you brought this thing as your actual first scope you'd use it for maybe a month at most before the novelty of it wore off and you realized that your experience wasn't really any different from just looking at pictures on the web, and then you either get an actual beginner scope at half the price or you drop the hobby entirely.

[@MartyInLa]

I just spoke with a man who operates the telescope at Garvey Observatory.. in Monterey Park, CA . He was very positive about the See Star. He said it was well engineered, easy to use, and was happy with the results he got. He definitely said no need to wait, I asked him that specific question.

[@edting]

We are likely about halfway through the life cycle of SeeStar 1. The next round of smart scopes are poised to make a sizeable leap. I would like to see the industry address two of the major problems that have plagued all smart scopes since day one - you can't change the magnification, and the planets still suck. Go ahead and get one if you can't wait and if you're OK will all this, just be aware you are buying a first generation product from a brand new technology and they're bound to be imperfect. If you can wait until version 2, you'll be able to pick up used version 1s at bargain prices.

[@MartyInLa]

@@edting you will be glad to know I took your advice about 2 years ago and bought an 8" Dob. I have gotten good use out of it, and am contemplating upgrading to a Televue eyepiece from the 17mm and 28mm Plossl Celestron eyepieces which came with the telescope. I have been to a lot of star parties, but no one has ever brought a Televue with them, even club members I talked to in advance who promised to bring them. I am a pretty good photographer, and it sure would be nice to capture some images of what I am looking at in the night sky. Oh, tempted to get an H-Alpha filter, too! No luck looking at a club members H-Alpha before I buy, either.

[@drawntoview]

​@@edtingyour reply is spot on! I never ever buy the first iteration of something. I wait till it goes through a couple of cycles. By then you end up with a useful product and one that has most of the bugs worked out. 😊

[@charlesbeshaw9843]

If no one bought them now, you would not see any further development. If a company doesn't earn money they go out of business.

[@realmcerono]

Well Ed, seriously you missed the point of the 500usd seestar. I can put the seestar in my dads hands for the first time and 5minutes later he is totally amazed... try that with any usual highend rig...

[@andreww9252]

Ed I love your channel and watch it all the time. I have a SWED80 on a EQ6R Pro, a Williams 71 Triplet, a C5 an old Scope 60, and now a Seestar. The Seestar will do the job nicely introducing my very young grandchildren to the stars until they can look comfortably through an eyepiece. Small group outreach for novice stargazers on a budget is the Seestar's strength. I could wait for a better one, but the young ones will grow older and perhaps less interested.

[@theoldman2821]

I must confess I don't understand the point of comparing photographs taken with your $10,000 rig versus a $500 instrument. What was that supposed to prove?

[@chrisbailey1211]

Can you recommend a better scope for the money with comparable results as the s50? Us poors want to look at the sky as well.

[@gomcse]

No, he can't. His review is wrong.

[@SpaceRocksandStardust]

Us poors should not be allowed into the hobby!!! It is carefully guarded by all the grumpy old men who spend all day yelling at kids to ‘get off their lawn!’. Just pop onto any astro forum and you can hear them spewing on about how if you arent grinding your own lenses and using paper star charts out in the field and only doing visual astro, unless you are using glass plates for imaging (thats pretty modern but acceptable) that you dont know anything! Unless you spend the cost of an average new car or even a house on scopes that they basically hold a lottery for to be able to purchase one, then you are too poor for the hobby. They closely guard this weird idea that being an amateur astronomer somehow makes them so much more intelligent and elevates them high above the rest of the unwashed masses that if even one of us dirty, stupid, poor folk slip through into the hobby then it might knock them off their self installed pedestal… shame on us!😂😂😂

[@hedgehog3180]

You are not poor if you're spending $500 on a scope, budget beginner scopes start at $200 so if you're willing to spend more than double than that on your first telescope you are rich.

[@penu009]

The Seestar has a small FOV but ZWO is actually working on a Mosaic mode.

[@nightmareforest378]

What is it good at? Seeing tons of things I'll never see with my 9.25 SCT while having to squint through an eyepiece.

[@Rfhuir343]

Not really comparable

[@2147B]

your SCT can collect more light and image better. Eye piece viewing and imaging isn't comparable. Not even hubble or JWST

[@CragScrambler]

Why do you need to replace the battery when you can attach an powerbank? It's a light, fast to setup portable unit you can take camping.

[@hmuphilly9129]

I wonder too

[@steveorban3290]

Just imagine when the Kodak Box Camera came out at the end of the 19th century some "Professional Photographer" says "it's not that good"...don't buy it...sheesh!

[@starman3088]

Hi Ed, I stumbled upon you video and thought as an recent owner of the SeeStar s50, that I would give you my views. I have been an visual astronomer for many years and own a 16" Reflections, 8" Skywatcher and a 10" Meade Lx200. I tried astrophotography in the past and struggled with the setup and getting things right. Also, I live in a large town in England with the usual light pollution issues and chasing objects visually is always difficult. I can't afford the luxury of a full modern imaging rig and don't have the space to put up a permanent setup, let along begin to understand the processing. When the SeeStar s50 came along, I decided to get one with the full knowledge that it does not compare to a full rig, but what it has done is expand my observing and allows me to see objects that were a visual challenge in a light polluted area even with a large aperture telescope. It has also helped me to understand how images are taken and I am learning how to post process. The fact that I can simply set it up anywhere (I have put it on a better tripod), turn it on, level it, select an object, adjust the focus and press go then watch the image build is, in my view, absolutely great! Yes, it has its limitations, but as an all-round starter imaging scope, I think ZWO have got it right. PS... I done some field analysis of images I took of Messier galaxies in the Virgo / Leo area under Bortle 6 skies and the s50 is pulling in 15th mag PGC galaxies in the same frame, albeit very small faint blobs, but definitely identifiable!

[@KylesAstrophotography]

I have a seestar s50 that I use along with my other rigs. The images it produces are nothing spectacular compared to a proper ap setup, but it's quite amazing what it can obtain with the amount of effort involved. It is super easy to use. Sometimes, you may not feel like setting up a full rig, or maybe the sky is only clear for an hour or two, and putting the big rig out doesn't seem worth it. The seestar excels in such situations. Its ease of use can get more folks enjoying astronomy, which is wonderful! I think it is great for what it is, and the price point is fair for what you get.

[@Mike__G]

I’ve had my Seestar for a week now. I had nearly left the hobby due to issues with eyesight, lifting heavy gear and pure fiddle factor. From what I have observed, the Seestar overcomes all of these issues at an affordable price point. Certainly it has its limitations but it seems that it does, in fact, collect adequate enough data on a significant number of DSOs to produce very acceptable images with post-processing. One minor correction: the internal battery is user-replaceable and this is easily accomplished.

[@Azreal34]

I love your videos. But this one is a clear miss on pretty much every point. Of course the Seestar and similar small smart telescopes are not going to give the results of a dedicated Astrophotography setup. They aren't supposed to. Your own comparison really took me aback. Why are you comparing a $500 USD all in one Smart telescope to photos taken with your FS60? That OTA alone is what? 1100? Plus camera, plus mount. Plus everything else. I would hope the photos would be better. But lets put aside the cost. Now how long does it take to set up the FS60? How long did it take you to gather the knowledge to do it easily? How portable is that setup? A S50, or similar smart telescope are great for people who want to be able to enjoy the hobby but face various roadblocks. Don't have a lot of disposable income? Small Smart telescope is perfect. Health issues and can't move around a full size setup? Same answer. Time constraints? Takes 5 minutes to set up and get going. Not much room to store a normal setup? The thing is the size of a lunch box. Travel a lot for work and want something you can take with you while away from home for a week? Guess what. S50 again. This is indeed the time to be buying one of these smart telescope. And you should buy the one that suits your needs, whether it be the Seestar or other end of the Spectrum like the Origin. Because that is what will drive the market. I really feel that these devices are going to help grow the hobby and we should be encouraging that not being mad because it doesn't punch above its weight class against a 2-3K setup. This video reeks of elitism and confirmation bias which is shocking to me from Mr Ting. ETA before anyone comes at me: I have a number of dedicated Astrophotography rigs that I love. I also have an S50 and pretty much any time I am using the others I will have the S50 going. Because why not?

[@edting]

Yes. My message is still the same. You need to wait. We are still in the very early part of the curve with these devices.

[@OlliesSpace]

​@@edtingEd I've seen you're getting attacked a bit on this video. I did a similar video on the Dwarf Lab some months back and got a heap of backlash. I think your points here are well made. Keep up the good work.

[@edting]

Confirmation bias is unusually strong among people who buy these things. I've noticed that from the beginning. It resembles religious fervor. I know someone who bought the device you mentioned. He has never gotten it to work. You still can't say anything bad about it.

[@OlliesSpace]

​@@edtingIt's quite bizarre Ed. It's like when digital pianos first came out, they were quite awful, it's taken so many generations for them to get where they are now. I think the religious fever analogy is accurate.

[@edting]

It's a cult. Try having a rational conversation with a Unistellar eVscope owner.

[@gottfriedrotter8550]

Another comparison of apples and pears. 500 vs 5000 USD. EAA vs astrophotography. The S50 should be better compared with Dobson scopes. The question is, what can you see with a 8 or 10" Dobson compared to the S50 under various Seeing conditions and Bortle scales. Then, we are much closer. Btw. the reason for using a small sensor (IMX462) in the S50 is related to the limitations that an Alt/AZ mount brings with it. The larger the sensor, the bigger is the effect of field rotation, ending in oblong stars or at least blurry stars. I'm pretty sure, that we will see more of such smart telescopes in different sizes for different purposes in the future (as we all know, there is no one-size-fits-all scope). As always, demand and price will decide it.

[@AshA-ww8hc]

Agree with you completely. This is ridiculous when you don't take the price into consideration. $500 is still incredible value.

[@hedgehog3180]

You guys are reacting with the fanatic fervour of Apple fanboys on a review that is like mildly critical.

[@iseeum]

@@hedgehog3180 "This is not for everybody" is mildly critical. "A few things about this disappoint me" is mildly critical. "Absolutely do not buy this now or in the near future" is not a mildly critical review.

[@drde4010]

The only thing is if end-users don't buy them, it may not drive their market enough to improve them.

[@edting]

Good point.

[@jorymil]

If a product is good enough, there will be early adopters. If it isn't, companies will wait a year or two for lenses, phones, and processors to improve, then try again. Buying something to help companies out seems like paying a car company to fix their recalled air bags. If it works _now_, great. If not, wait.

[@stevepalmer5115]

Absolutely.

[@hedgehog3180]

You don't need to pay for a company's R&D, they aren't idiots and will develop a product if they know there is a market for it. No one brought the Newton because they were hoping for an iPad one day, but Apple still developed the iPad eventually. Let the company spend their own money developing a product and then wait until they're offering something that is actually good.

[@brettcourtenay569]

@@hedgehog3180 , There is no question about it...ZWO in regards to the Seestar S50 are offering something that is VERY Good. And measured against almost ANY and EVERY parameter that MOST people would consider important, valid and relevant...nothing else comes close. Especially if in fairness , you and others were to compare Apples with Apples. Imagine if the Hubble Telescope had never been developed because they waited for a better Space Telescope , like the James Webb to come. Progress withers when you wait.

[@MbSchrum]

I love my SeeStar. I have been working towards mastering my Nexstar 8se with some nights of frustration. I’m continuing with learning and plan on building towards my own rig in the future. We understand that the SeeStar isn’t nearly as good as an expensive rig with years of experience, but I think you are missing the whole point that this little, affordable device keeps the fires burning towards learning all that is possible. I’ve been able to delve into some post processing software that I would not have been possible for me without this affordable device. There have been multiple upgrades already. Instead of being such a downer, why don’t you celebrate that more people are now able to start to see the beauty in our night skies.

[@falseusername]

Thats funny. Takahashi FS60 ~770$, plus you'll need mount, tracker, and some patience, to build this up in the field. And, ofc, you'll need to bring all this weight to some dark place. On the other hand, we have a lightweight setup, that combines all that things, that you can always have in the trunk and when you have a dark sky - use it. Yes, images directly stacked by the seestar, looks not so good, but well, on conventional setups, you don't have even that. So you would spend some time to manually process images from the both sides. Field of view, yep, not that good, but vaonis vespera already fixed it with mosaic mode, and ZWO promises to add that feature too. Seestar was realeased just recently, and ofcourse it needs to be fixed in some issues. But it's impressive for me already.

[@TMS5100]

not to mention you'll need a pixinsight license to get the most from that takahashi.

[@Kiwi_Dave]

You''re missing the point, but that doesn't surprise me. So for $500 what can I get for my kid instead? A Telescope that she can't capture images from onto any device to share with family and class mates. One that can only provide a blurry small image of some planets? Of course we are in the city so it would be at least an hour drive just to achieve that and another hour to set it up pointed in the right direction. That's not going to keep her interested in astronomy. It's what the S50 can achieve for $500 which is why it's so talked about, not what it can't do compared to something that costs thousands more.

[@Cakebattered]

Ed's first impressions of the SeeStar sounds very reminiscent of those told to me by the owner of the Hifi store I worked at when Sony gave him a sneek peek of their first Walkman. He didn't think it was ready for prime time when he compared it to top of the line Nakamichi Dragon and Revox cassette decks of the day. 😂😂😂

[@brownj2]

undersized and inflexible

[@FernandoRodriguez-pj5uh]

The old story of the Walkman. Have heard the same story many time like Motorola mocking Apple because they knew how to make phones!! Where are the Motorola smartphones? Where is Apple? Same with the first MO3 players. Nice to read from someone probably my age and both of us having fun with a Seestar

[@oz6123]

Not for Astrophotography snobs. So what if it has some picture noise or not NASA like image quality. That's not the point nor is this product to compete with a 100lb, $10K rig set up. Plug and play with instant gratification all in a small box for not too serious stargazers. No different than when photo taking with a mobile phone vs SLR... and today how many use iPhones/Samsung/LG vs an SLR? If you want this hobby to survive another decade, this is it.

[@starhopper59]

I have been following your reviews for many years, and have agreed (mostly) with your takes on many types of Astro equipment. However, I have to say that I’m a bit disappointed in your review of the SeeStar S50. I have been in the hobby for 40 years now and the Seestar S50 has given me renewed excitement about a hobby I had lost interest in. I have primarily been a visual observer because I find astrophotography an expensive and tedious part of the hobby. Most importantly, the IMMEDIACY of the imaging, and being able to share pics in “real time” with my grandchildren has gotten them very excited about the hobby. They were able to easily navigate the Seestar App and take pics of their own….this was a game changer for them. A standard astrophotography setup may achieve better results, but it certainly doesn’t generate the excitement that the immediacy of the Seestar achieves. Imho, it is well worth the $499.

[@edting]

Good point. Obviously for you, you made the right choice.

[@starhopper59]

@@edting Thanks Ed!

[@Tesla_NZ]

But for $500 do we havve a better option? How about $1000-1500?

[@artyombeilis9075]

No. For $500 you barely can buy AZ GTi and basic camera... For decent budget it is a better to build custom rig. Would be more flexible and useful.

[@Boxxkarr]

The Takahashi 60mm telescope is over $1000. A good go to mount is another two to three thousand. Then you need digital cameras, laptop, hardware, software, looking at a minimum of $6,000, and most of my Astrophotography friends tell me they are all over $10k. But their images are absolutely amazing!

[@jorymil]

I saw an iOptron AstroBoy 70mm refractor on eBay for $100, and adding a ZWO camera to it might be $100 more. Obviously the value-add here is computer integration knowledge: it's just a matter of how much it's worth to you versus doing some of the work yourself. If you have the knowledge, but not the money, it's a no-brainer; likewise if you have money and need something self-contained. I could see this being very useful in a kiosk-type situation hooked up to a cheap Android tablet. If I were running, say, a science class or museum, it might be worthwhile.

[@jorymil]

​​@@Boxxkarr I think this is marketed more at the Tasco crowd than the Takahashi crowd. Someone with good computer knowledge and patience to wait for good deals could easily build something better themselves for less than $1000, and it would likely be more future-proof than this.

[@rickmoore4776]

@@artyombeilis9075 a refractor on an eq mount is way better.

[@george150799]

He is right, the chip in the seestar is no where near the size of the chip on his shoulder when it comes to smart scopes

[@RockinRobbins13]

Comment of the section! I hope Ed is amused. Opinions are like less polite parts of our anatomy. Everybody has one and Ed has the absolute right to be wrong! lol But Ed Ting is a big boy, He knew what he was getting into here. I'm sure he's not surprised or taken aback by the reactions here. We're very entertaining. Oh, Ed's right about the approximately 1.3º x .75º degree Seestar field of view being only part of the field of view of the optical system being because of the small size of the chip. Take some conventional astrophotography through a 50mm 150mm focal length scope and you'll see a much larger field of view. There are both advantages and disadvantages to the Seestar's configuration, just as there are with Ed's premium astrophotography gear that he has behind him.

[@heinzschneider279]

In my point of view the S50 is a great tool for educational purposes. A club or even a school can probably afford to buy a set and motivate young people to do astrophotography with a nearly 100% chance of a picture where you can see something unvisible to the "naked eye". When I was young and started out with some astrophotography I was just some kind of "weird" guy spending the night out in the dark (at that time still dark..), trying to track a guide star and fighting the problems of film photography. We had to hand the films to the lab and at the end there were maybe 6 pictures in a series of 36 where the stars were pinpoint sharp, not to forget the loss of sensitivity of the emulsion, eating up the extra exposure time. What followed was an interest in visual observation, sketching once in a while what I could see in the eyepiece.

[@Pwn3dbyth3n00b]

This video is akin to someone from NASA knocking on your "cheap" rig it only a few grand because it cant match what the Billion Dollar JWST can do.

[@FredLombardo]

I’ve got about $6,500 in my main rig. I just fell into a SeeStar for a much lower price, so I now have one. I fully understand the limitations of the SeeStar but I like the idea taking it off the backseat and showing my family what AP is and give a general idea of what I enjoy. I find no problem with owning one knowing what it’s capable. I also fully intend to process my images in PixInsight. Maybe lighten up a bit lol. Perhaps these devices will encourage others to give our hobby a chance.

[@PKH554]

You're a real contrarian in the industry, Ed! Most other KZbin astro influencers are raving about the Seestar. "However," you do make good points about "where we are" right now in the development of smart scopes. I have both a conventional astro-imaging rig on an EQ mount and a visual-only dob, so I agree on the limitations of the Seestar. I myself passed on it. But I went ahead and bought one for my son--he'd seen some of my images and got excited about galaxies and nebulae. I could have gotten him a traditional manual dob for the same price, but in his light-polluted city, he'd never see deep sky objects. Same thing with a $500-ish 80mm doublet refractor. I think the Seestar's achievement--and you're right, this is a "temporary" achievement--is creating a scope capable of live stacking tech that's able to see the brighter deep sky objects through light pollution. In this context, I think the Seestar is a valuable addition to the hobby.

[@youroldpalbyron7578]

If it wasn’t for a relatively cheap smart telescope I wouldn’t be in the hobby at all. My $500 scope gives me images many with traditional scopes can’t achieve because of the skill level required.

[@keithhanssen7413]

The simplicity and convenience is the big selling point. Plunk it down and turn it on and it does the rest. I can see the appeal, but I’ll take my Star Adventurer and mirrorless camera with lens any day.

[@velkylev4217]

I think astronomy is not about simplicity, quite the opposite, smart telescopes make astronomy boring, I mean you don't do anything, just letting the thing do all the work , nothing to be proud about

[@keithhanssen7413]

@@velkylev4217 I like to think some people haven’t entered the hobby because of high costs or because the technology was intimidating. This scope allows more people to pick up the hobby and spend some time outside under the stars. That has to be a good thing.

[@newzerozeroone]

I can't wait for the "if it's not hard you haven't done the work" crowd to die out in this hobby. There's a reason training wheels exist. Want to get more people caring about dark skies and light pollution? You don't get that without things like the s50 or dwarf II. Every day people getting involved increases R&D, increases participation and makes advances happen faster. I have a goto mount, using a dslr being run by nina, being guided by phd2, all on a mini pc. How is this any different than that? Less modular, 1/3rd the price and 1/10th the weight. Very little learning curve, great for getting kids involved without complicated troubleshooting.

[@antiquegeek]

I think for some people they are going to have to decide is astronomy (for them) about seeing a galaxy or the process of trying to see the galaxy. For many astrophotographers the process is a big part of the appeal yet for many ordinary folks astronomy is about seeing what wonders there are and if all they see is faint foggy smudges and monochrome misty haze they might never appreciate what they are actually looking at. Anything that gets us closer to an accessible universe, even if it is kind of "point and click" is a good thing. If one young family is saved from buying a cheap telescope on a toy mount with promises of huge magnification and they can actually see something that looks like what they expect we are making progress.

[@RockinRobbins13]

At 3:04 you pull the classic straw man attack, pulling a photo of the Horsehead Nebula, IC434, supposedly a 17 minute integration and saying "It's not that good." No, the straw man isn't that good. On my Seestar from Bortle 5 sky, I had the Horsehead Nebula better in 10 seconds than I had ever seen it visually in a 20" telescope. I've observed IC434 in a wide variety of optical telescopes over 30 years. The smallest I've seen it in is a 13.1" and the largest is a 36", so I have a wide range of experience, This little 50mm telescope, in less than a minute showed me an image of the Horsehead better than I had ever seen visually in any telescope. I have no idea how you could get a 17 minute integration showing next to nothing at all. That looks like the neutral density cloud filter you're using there. But that is not what the Seestar S50 will show with 17 minutes of integration time in pretty lousy skies with a full moon in the sky. IC434 will be solid, full color, with the wisps in the neck of the horse's head clearly visible. It was only after four months of ownership that I took my first photo of IC434. I had no idea what an bright and easy object this is. After all I fully visualized it, much better than the supposed 17 minute integration Ed shows, in 20 seconds from Bortle 5 skies on the night of the full moon. I had great photos of many much more difficult objects before encountering IC434. Saying the Seestar is inappropriate for objects more difficult than the Orion Nebula is ludicrously wrong. It's unfortunate that KZbin won't allow me to link to any of my own photographs to show how ridiculous Ed's claim really is. Honesty. It's kind of expected in an Ed Ting video. We don't have the benefit of that here.

[@redrocklead]

Ed thanks for the efforts. I remember Canon Fan boys saying digital and mirrorless camera were never going to lead the market. They were toys no real photographer would use. Do you? I take landscape photos with a high end camera. No one looking at it on their tiny phones cares or ever even asked. The only people who care to ask are other photographers. They also more often ask "Where were you?" Not, "what gear were you shooting?"

[@kuanjuliu]

These smart telescopes are infinitely - yes, I mean that literally - better than what the vast majority of people would've done with the night sky ... namely, nothing at all. In that regard, these manufacturers have already created a new market that, by definition, shouldn't be compared with existing ones. Basically, there are many people - especially kids - who would be in this hobby because of this product, not despite it. The cost factor is real, but they've already dropped precipitously since the EVScope days and with all this code (particularly the plate-solving and AP side) being increasingly or actually open-sourced, they will continue to drop sharply. I personally developed a fully-optical, real-time (~10 fps) starfinder using ESA's Tetra3 platesolving package running on a mere Raspberry Pi 3 - and that was almost two years ago! Astronomy will be transformed by automation - frankly, manufacturers have been completely asinine on the software side for decades and their comeuppance can't come quickly enough or with enough fanfare.

[@mikemarcus214]

Obviously, based on the comments, not everyone shares your opinion… however, I for one appreciate your experience, knowledge, and perspective. Critical reviews like this helps manufactures improve their offerings… which helps move the bar forward for everyone. Let’s face it… the reason Smart Telescopes exist in the first place are the numerous niches that were not, or could not, be satisfied with existing solutions. Portability, low cost, ease of use, and shareability of results are big selling points - and kudos to the companies pursuing these features. We are very blessed to live in such times.

[@alexstewart9747]

Stuffy old astrophotographers who have spent a fortune on hardware are beginning to annoy me. The S50 is a brilliant low cost instrument and a great way to capture images that many of us can only dream of. Get off your high horse and encourage amateurs.

[@MikeLikesChannel]

It was disheartening. It shows a concern that they’ve dumped $2500, 6000, maybe $30,000 into their gear and feel threatened by a $500 (or less) gadget that does “pretty good” for amateur eyes. My SeeStar blows the minds of neighborhood kids and parents who stop by. They like looking at the moon or Saturn in the C8 too - but I can’t show them the Pac-man nebula visually under Bortle 6 skies. My SeeStar can.

[@bthurmond]

I remember buying my first PC. The professional advice was "They are not real computers, underpowered, toys, WAIT." I didn't wait then. I'm not waiting now. Early adopters know what they are adopting. A year from now when the 3x more powerful successor to this shows up at one-third the price, guess what I will do?

[@MikeLikesChannel]

Tomorrow is promised to none of us. Gotta enjoy the days we get.

[@choppermontana8212]

Hi Ed, I've re-watched this review a couple of more times and see your points about waiting for the next generation of "smart scopes" and the different ways the S50 falls short. A totally reasonable perspective, and I thank you for taking the time and effort to produce the video. In several of your prior videos you'd stated that the highest compliment you can offer a scope is when you forget you're reviewing it and just "have fun". That is what the S50 has consistently done for me and my kids. I really couldn't involve (hold their attention) them while setting up my refractor rig, but with the S50 we plop it down and off we go. Nebulas, star clusters, galaxies, we search, talk, image, and Have Fun. $500 that has paid for itself several times over.

[@HauntingHistoryStories]

Ed, I think you missed the point of this scope. It opened an entire avenue for enthusiasts, like myself. It packs a punch for 500 dollars.

[@dericcaselli3927]

FWIW, for the $399.00 USD cost. I am having a whole lot of fun with my Seestar S50. For ZWO, the Seestar S50 has become a world wide hit. I can't wait to see what ZWO has on the drawing room table. Perhaps a Super Seestar? With my experience with the present Seestar S50, I would order one in a heart beat.

[@mikuspo]

TBH, author totally misses the mark and ignores the true DNS of this product: the aim is to make astophotography easy - no polar aligment, no cable management, no geeky know-how, etc - just run’n’gun. Of course, any integrated device is a big set of compromises made - for S50, thats the focal length (no meaningfull planetary, except “I wanna shot Pluto” approach), the small sensor size and resolution, the field rotation, and, because of many factors - only 10s-20s-30s exposures. (anyone needs 5minute exposure at Bortle 7-8-9 location?) But, if we look form the POV of target auditory (people new to astrophotography, living mainly in heavy light-polluted areas), it is a great device enabling you shoot attractive DSO targets from your urban backyard or parking place, and get the things done, leaving additional headroom for those who are interested for forst steps in manual postprocessing workflow. For those, who (like me) have a bigger rig(s) as well, S50 is a good travel companion (solar eclipses anyone?), cabin friendly luggage, etc. Regarding the advice to wait for price: to put it straigth, it is idiotic - how low can be the price for 50mm f5 APO triplet at all? Yes, electronics becomes better and cheaper, but optic will allways take its price toll. So, in short - apples to cucumbers comparison.

[@TMS5100]

ed's video is a huge swing and a miss, and the comments show how badly he misjudged his audience.

[@MrSummitville]

​@@TMS5100Our club uses our (8) SeeStars more than any other telescope!

[@wasp2151]

This guy compared a $780-$1000 telescope just the scope not including auto tracker, camera or anything thats need to a $500 smart telescope. Not everyone has $1000 of dollars for a set up. Guys like this is the reason why other telescope manufacturers are disappearing they’re old dinosaurs just can’t get past. Just old gate keepers. He reminds me of the guys at my local camera store when I was first getting into digital photography. Saying ill never be a photographer shooting digital 🤦🏽‍♂️ that store shut down few years later.

[@terrybennett8692]

Spot on 👍

[@MikeLikesChannel]

Absolutely. Jokes on the old guard, my used 50R and you can't tell the Acros sim from Acros film, except one is at no additional cost 😀

[@beaudamien]

You really can't blame the scope. Maybe it's the operator who really doesn't know how to take pictures with these scopes.

[@deanblackwell2090]

the S50 is definately FAR better than any other scope I've had for deep sky objects. Far from perfect yes but its enabled me to see things that I just couldn't see before which is after all the main point. Would I buy another smart scope ? No this one works and is easy to use. If I really wanted to take photography seriously I'd get a proper astro rig and build it up round my SCT - a smart photography back for the SCT would definately be worth waiting for. And yes there are user replacable batteries inside the S50

[@stevenlarkin1706]

I know someone with a good AP rig. He needs a large SUV to transport all the pieces. He has wires all over the place and either a 4.5 reflector or 10” SCT. He has so many devices including a laptop that he needs a generator to power everything. Getting pictures and stacking them takes hours and all this equipment cost more than $10,000. Of course the final product is vastly superior to a Seestar. You get what you pay for. The Seestar is all in one and very portable. The longer people wait the more likely the price will go up not down. The Seestar is a good start. And way cheaper than a rig that requires trunk loads of equipment.

[@MrSummitville]

Exactly!!! And that is why our Astronomy Club owns eight (8) SeeStars.

[@ChessQuizToday]

The Seestar S50 is not a good $500 telescope. It is a great $399 telescope. Because that is what I just paid for my Seestar S50 on Amazon. It is the best $399 I have ever spent.

[@edting]

Good point!

[@the_astro_nerd]

In your comparison to the Tak, did you do post-processing with software on a computer? If so, then your comparison isn't a fair comparison as you CAN use the data that the S50 captures and post-process those on your computer. Yes, the S50 is a "budget-friendly" beginner type instrument that travels easily. I've been in astrophotography for 2 decades and I love the S50 for what is actually IS and what it costs. The Value is definitely there if you know what you are getting and can use the data that is captured and run through a typical post-processing workflow such as PixInsight.

[@cmahar3]

You're comparing apples and oranges, Ed, and it's not a fair or valid comparison. Seestar is amazing, especially for $500. Discouraging people from the hobby isn't attractive. 'If you wait they'll get better' is not a good or valid reason to not do the hobby. We do this b/c we enjoy it, and a lot of people are getting a lot of enjoyment using the S50. Don't minimize the 'I took this photo' value of the Seestar. You took this video with $30k in astronomy gear behind you, and that's is a tell. Seestar is amazing. If you aren't getting more than $500 worth of fun out of it, the problem is not with the telescope.

[@markbc1]

This! Clear, logical, open minded! 👍

[@Prometey77777]

I think review is little bit unfair in some moments, I feel like Ed doesn't like it for some reason, and was .too picky to the seestar. Just for example zoom "issue", who said there should be a zoom? try to zoom on your Takahashi. and the "market issue" things tend to be changing you never know for sure where market is going to go. so far I see people in my astronomy club enjoy it even guys with a lot of observation experience and giant dobs that you need ladder to get to the eyepiece were able to get their first astroimage ever right out of the box.

[@hedgehog3180]

Well Seestar said there should be a zoom when they designed this thing to be permanently zoomed in way too much.

[@StarPicturesMiami]

I love my Seestar. Takes great images and I can take it anywhere in my backpack.

[@rotwiler7674]

Love my seestar s50, easy, low price, not bad quality, photos turn out pretty good. I don't have time to setup a large multi $1,000 scope, I have one now, but takes too much time. In 10 minutes I can setup the s50 and go inside house and control scope.

[@MrSummitville]

Post Processing SeeStar files can improve final image quality dramatically.

[@sanjayajha362]

This "expert" completely misses the point. The reason why this scope has become the most impactful and revolutionary telescope to be produced in many many years is obvious to many including myself. Zwo has had a profound impact on astrophotography with it's dedicated astro cameras and ASIAIR. As someone who has purchased Zwo products over the years, there is no doubt that it it is a visionary company. The other astrophotographers/reviewers such as Cuiv, Rich at Deep Space Astro and the Ciril folks, and finally Kai Yung and others: all of them have understood what Seestar is doing and pushed it even further. Both beginners and seasoned astrophotographers are finding the Seestar to have a role in their exploration of the night sky. But Ed...please continue to enjoy your Takahashi...a scope that will never do anything for me!

[@megaseth419]

The question is 1. What is the price comparison between the seestar and your telescope? 2. What can the seestar do that your telescope can't? The answer to both is A LOT.

[@NigelMatthews-qq4ce]

I think you’re missing the whole point. The Seestar S50 is dead easy to use and is opening astrophotography up to a whole new audience who don’t have the time or money to build the kind of rig that you keep referring to. Also, a lot of your comments are ill-informed. For example, the battery is easily replaceable. I know this and I’m no astrophotography expert. Similarly, I’ve never had any issues with leveling and creating RAW videos for stacking is also dead easy - I haven’t had any issues with conflicting file types. I think you’re over complicating it … perhaps this demonstrates that the future is about putting this kind of device into the hands of the novice to explore, develop and simplify the experience rather than have to listen to so called experts trying to introduce unnecessary FUD.

[@marvinw.huddlestonfras5848]

Exactly. And someone does not have to pay thousands of dollars to get into astrophotography. What soccer mom wants to be told in answer to her question "What telescooe should I buy my 10 year old" just buy them a Takahashi, then get them a good digital imager for around several thousands of $, and add a myriad of other accessories and your child is good to go! $500, few parents will say no way.

[@brandonreich3572]

That was a very thorough review! Thank you! I think it's helpful that people know what they are getting in this scope. I use mine as sort of a visual bridge between a telescope and an astrophotography set up. I can see details in my Bortle Class 6 sky I couldn't otherwise see very easily (with a scope I can transport and afford): shapes and details of galaxies, colors and details in planetary nebula, colors of stars in clusters, etc. And I can view a new object every 10-20 minutes! I can't afford a full astrophotography setup (and don't want to spend hours processing an image the next day). For $500, less than the cost of a TeleVue eyepiece or an Asiair Mini + Field Flattener, I can see things I couldn't easily see otherwise! Plus I have images to share with people the next day and get them interested and excited in the hobby. These scopes will get better, and if we support the companies with their products now, the companies will be around to put out improved projects in the future!

[@JR-dn5cn]

Zwo Seestar S50 drawn so many people to Astronomy. I love it !!

[@travismays3906]

I love your videos, but I think these are perfect for beginners. Plus they're very portable and easy to use. The Seestar is allowing me to learn the basics of processing images without also throwing in the complications of getting a professional rig up and running. I will definitely upgrade at some point, but the Seestar allowed me to try out the hobby without breaking the bank. But I will say, I've already noticed the limitations with field rotation and how small the frame is. With that said, I will definitely keep it when I do eventually upgrade

[@AmatureAstronomer]

I just got into the hobby in August 2023. I am 73 years old, in poor health, feeble and am impoverished. I had a $300 budget. I wanted to do deep space astrophotography. Everyone said I must buy a Dobonian and aperture is king. So, I bought a 10" Dobsonian. Then found out it was too heavy for me to drag into the back garden and not well suited for photography. Then, I bought a 150mm Newtonian on a CG-4 mount. Still too heavy and no motor drive. Then, I bought a 130mm Newtonian on a EQ-3 motorized mount. Great! Not too heavy and could track. But, in my Bortle 6 sky, looking through my cataracts, I could not star hop. Then, I bought a Sky-Watcher AZ GTi mount and an 80mm ED refractor. Worked nicely. Started taking pictures. But, field rotation kept eating my photos. So, I recently purchased a Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer GTi equatorial mount, a 6" SCT, a x0.63 reducer and a Hyperstar 4 v6. When the weather clears, I hope to use this setup for most all photographical needs. Oh, and I am over budget. My hobby is the work involved. I do not want to say, "Alexa, take a photo for me."

[@BirdFinder]

I hope you love the c6 Hyperstar. I love mine. If you buy any filters, make sure they’re rated for f2.

[@lukasvanagas842]

Agreed! The best thing is the one you use! When I was searching where to start astro everybody said "buy dobsonian" but I ignored them because I have Multiple Sclerosis (Dobs are too heavy to me). Now I use SW EQM-35 mount with SW 130PDS. It is not too heavy, fits perfectly in a car, so I can travel with it

[@zorzevic]

6" SCT on a star adventurer????

[@RoofMonkey911]

IF you told people you wanted to take Astro photos and they still recommended a Dob… they obviously did NOT know what they were talking about.

[@sjpp71]

If someone is impoverished, with only 300$ budget, and wanting to start in astrophotography, I'd advise them to get a used dslr snd start shooting with the stock lens or "nifty fifty" lens.

[@EliGoldfine]

I understand your reservations... but I have a Seestar and it works well for outreach programs in light polluted areas, the light pollution filter I think is very good.

[@thewingedringer]

i dont think that the images not looking special is the point. you say with conventional astrophotography, but conventional astrophotography requires you about a dozen things to get started with, if you live in the city or suburbs and the sky is bad, you need a filter . then there is the whole business of taking flats, stacking which is not easy. the taking images part itself is pretty easy with software like NINA, which allows you to automatize everything. these are just fantastic for carrying it around when you're travelling and in very dark spots where it'll shine.