Seestar S30 Smart Telescope Review

The Seestar S30 is a budget-friendly smart telescope that is packed with many features. The S30 includes a standard UV/IR cut filter, light pollution filter, magnetic solar filter for viewing the Sun, and an integrated dark filter for applying calibration frames to the images. The S30 comes standard with tripod, carrying case, filters (mentioned above), a built-in wide angle lens, and a simple to use app that doesn't require a paid subscription.
The telescope itself has a 30mm aperture (where the name S30 comes from), and a 150mm focal length giving it a focal ratio of f/5. The app controls all aspects of the telescope, finding objects, and imaging them for you. It is a system that is great for beginners and experts alike.
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[@AstroBlender]

One note about the Seestar mosaic feature: The mosaic mode requires a lot of in-app processing, which greatly decreases the amount of time you get imaging each panel throughout the night. The signal-to-noise ratio while using the mosaic mode is substantially lower than a single image, and it can be a bit challenging to stack the images yourself. Hopefully this mode will see improvement in the future, but the Seestar S30 is definitely a better choice for wide-field imaging than using the S50 in mosaic mode.

[@richardlin1322]

Thanks for your honest review. Dont listen to the others. I always look for your reviews, input and guidance when I make any purchase.

[@AstroBlender]

Thank you, I’m glad you find them helpful!

[@ochoax8]

I suffered a lot to learn with your videos!! Now I'm listening to it in another language, well done!!

[@neilwendt1268]

Great, honest review! Astrophotography has taken its biggest leap with smart telescopes.

[@Mr.Minecraftgaming]

Thanks for posting this review!!! I have a seestar S50 on order!!!👍🤠 Super excited to use it once it arrives🤠

[@briankotak403]

Thanks Cody. I’ve always appreciated your unbiased reviews. Both of these little beasts would be great for outreach. Still love my bigger rigs, but these definitely fill a void! Happy New Year to you and your family! Dr B from Manitoba, Canada 🇨🇦

[@davestory6123]

Learnt alot from you ,keep it up .

[@Ando22RE]

New to Astro and looking to get my 1st telescope! I really hope new software lets us shoot longer exposures with the wide angle! I want to take star trails and Milky Way shots so bad!

[@AstroBlender]

Same here. I saw recently ZWO is testing a new planning feature which is badly needed on the Seestar, so hopefully next on the list is exposure control in scenic mode.

[@dashilharryben6869]

Your review is so good It's the first time I have come across your page I have a question How is the image quality and what kind of print size can you get from this?

[@AstroBlender]

Thanks! The Sony IMX662 sensor this telescope comes with is only 2 megapixels. So I probably wouldn’t print anything larger than like 8x12 or 11x14 as the dots per inch value will really start to degrade the print quality above that size.

[@russellking6490]

Very good video and informative Thank you

[@AstroBlender]

Thanks, I’m glad you enjoyed it.

[@esrider7765]

Interesting. I ordered the s30 2 weeks ago, then realised shipping was going to take a while as ordered direct. The S50 had a special price over Christmas so I was able to cancel and ordered instead the S50, dont know exactly when it will ship yet but hoping in about 1 weeks time.

[@siccoharing5858]

omggg i need this!!!

[@shanedwyermusic]

I’m gonna sound really dumb here but can you look through the S30 and S50 like you would with a typical telescope and lens? Or is it used for mainly astrophotography? Thanks.

[@AstroBlender]

You cannot, the lens focuses onto a camera sensor that is located inside the body. It is for astroimaging only.

[@shanedwyermusic]

@ Ah ok. Thanks for the reply!

[@georgephillips7956]

Coby when you had the Orgin did you happen to try it out on planets? If so how did it do?

[@AstroBlender]

No, the Origin isn’t designed for the planets, way too wide field for anything besides the moon.

[@danielarreola3703]

Good morning, I hope you can help me with the following question: Can the Seestar S50 tripod be used on the Seestar S30? Thank you

[@AstroBlender]

Yes, the S50 tripod will work with the S30. :)

[@danielarreola3703]

@ Thank you brother, have a happy and successful 2025

[@AstroBlender]

You’re welcome. Thanks and you too!

[@1968yg]

Thanks for the review! Can you use the S50 and the S30 at the same time with the same phone?

[@porkchopexpress19]

From other videos I have watched, you can.

[@selfworthy]

Great, now i want one, a year after dropping 5k on an edge8hd setup.

[@AstroBlender]

The S30 is a great complement to bigger telescope rigs, so I wouldn’t feel too bad about it. ;) It also costs less than most accessories!

[@pdub422]

Do bigger telescopes actually get loud enough to bother your neighbors? I assumed all telescopes were quiet enough to not bother neighbors lol

[@AstroBlender]

No, not for me. However, I’ve heard many stories about fun neighbors.

[@pdub422]

@@AstroBlender interesting, well I guess if nothing else the seestar is so small no one will notice it lol

[@AstroBlender]

Yeah, especially the S30.

[@215cyclone]

Does the S50 have a few heater ?

[@AstroBlender]

Yep!

[@215cyclone]

@ “dew” heater. thanks

[@philipduggan60]

excellent video ... still undecided !!!..... can I confirm that the 30 needs no levelling and the 50 always does thanks Cody !

[@AstroBlender]

You can level the S30, but the base of the tripod is so small it usually doesn’t need to be leveled. I don’t find leveling the S50 to be a problem though if you use an aftermarket leveler it’s really fast.

[@briankotak403]

Thanks Cody. I’ve always appreciated your unbiased reviews. Both of these little beasts would be great for outreach. Still love my bigger rigs, but these definitely fill a void! Happy New Year to you and your family! Dr B from Manitoba, Canada 🇨🇦

[@AstroBlender]

That’s how I feel exactly. If I’m feeling lazy, these smart scopes are still a blast, but I’ll always defer to my larger rigs. Thanks for the support.