Seestar S50 Update: massive change in time for the eclipse!

[@erewhon42]

Something to be aware of that I just ran across: the Seestar FAQ says in solar mode normal video is limited to 100 minutes, and RAW video is limited to 10 minutes. I did a 60 minute timelapse (with 1 second interval), but I haven't checked to see what its limits are.

[@wishmaker]

Forgive me for laughing on that intro, but you just got me subscribe to your channel. It gives me joy that I am not alone on not understanding how astrophotography works but I am slowly learning how the process works. Also, Thank you so much for that 2024 Solar Eclipse video, I was unsure what device is best suited for for taking photos / videos so I opted to buy a new phone instead (with attachments to a binnocular just to ensure i get a clearer image). Keep the videos comming and I hope the telescope isn't damaged. It gave me some laughter but it also convinced me to subscribe to your channel ^_^! and that I am not alone fumbling on such intimidating devices

[@erewhon42]

Thank you! It was unscripted, but I thought I'd leave it in. Heh. The telescope was fine, luckily. I ended up using it during the eclipse as a backup telescope and it worked great!

[@BrianKushner]

ZWO Has been fantastic adding features fast to the Seestar. Saw they mentioned coming soon was Mosaic Mode. I think that's gonna be a big feature as well.. Thanks for the video.

[@erewhon42]

Glad you liked it. Mosaic mode will be awesome! Can't wait! In the back of my head, I was hoping they would add manual exposure mode to the Seestar before the eclipse. And they didn't disappoint!

[@Wolfie6020]

Thanks for the video. This is a great update. The supplied solar filter works ok but if you use a proper glass solar filter the results are fantastic.

[@erewhon42]

Thanks! I'll have to check that out. I'm going to try out some solar film I have, and I've been meaning to try out some third party filters with the Seestar. Any specific ones you recommend?

[@Wolfie6020]

@@erewhon42 Try this one from Bay. MARUMI ND Filter DHG ND-100000 58mm For Solar Sun photography JAPAN

[@Wolfie6020]

@@erewhon42 I also posted a video link for you but it seems KZbin may have blocked it.

[@erewhon42]

@@Wolfie6020 Unfortunately I don't think there's a way to turn that off. If its a KZbin video, you could post the video ID and that would probably not get blocked.

[@AmeenKhwaja88]

What exposures and settings would you suggest? I am still new to Seestar and this solar eclipse being once in a life time, I do not want to mess it up

[@erewhon42]

Hi! I'm trying to finish up a video that (hopefully) covers that. If I don't get it out there this evening, I'll reply with more details later today.

[@erewhon42]

Unfortunately, I had an issue getting the video out. Hopefully tomorrow. But in the mean time: during partial phases, you can probably just have the solar filter on. You could just take photos at this point, or maybe do a timelapse. You can do RAW mode for the photos or timelapse. During partial phases, it might not buy you a lot. One thing I noticed is the focus drifted in the sun. (Probably due to the case expanding / contracting as it heated in the sun.). I ran an auto focus a few times while doing some tests. I wouldn't do it during totality, but during partial phases, something to consider if things start looking blurry. During the deeper partial phases, you might want to change from automatic exposure to manual exposure if things start looking overexposed. On my Seestar, with the solar filter on I had shutter at 1 millisecond and gain at 10. During totality, I'm going to _carefully_ try to remove the solar filter so I don't bump the telescope. The good news is the exposure for totality should be approximately the same as the filtered un-eclipsed sun. At least for capturing prominences and the inner corona. You might want to adjust the exposure a bit at this point. To get more Corona, you should probably change the shutter speed to a higher number or gain. But the lower numbers will probably give best results given the limited field of view of the Seestar. (i.e. you won't be able to capture more than a couple of solar radii of corona.) Keep an eye out for a video tomorrow if all goes well. I'll go into a little more detail with some other tests I've done. It should be a fairly short video.

[@danielfarrell-o9p]

Thanks for the video! Do you think that the autotracking will work during totality with the sun totally obscured (filter removed)? Will the tracking software work with the sun obscured?. I wonder if its best to use timelapse or video during the eclipse? What do you think? I'd sure like to see a proposed procedure for capturing eclipse artifacts with seestar S50!

[@erewhon42]

I am not sure, honestly. I do wonder if the auto tracking might get confused. On the other hand, I am thinking / hoping that if the telescope is properly leveled before things start that it will track the sun correctly even if it loses sight of it. I believe someone tested it by covering up the lens (without jostling it) for a few minutes and the sun was still centered. It would be worth testing out. (I'll plan on trying it once I actually have some clear skies.) Timelapse would be good for the partial phases. For totality, I plan on switching to video. I'm going to have other gear going, but I do plan on trying to get a good exposure and then just video through the end of totality.

[@erewhon42]

I did a 1 hour timelapse with the Seestar today. Seemed to work fine. But I ran across this (and put it in a pinned comment): The Seestar FAQ says in solar mode normal video is limited to 100 minutes, and RAW video is limited to 10 minutes. I did a 60 minute timelapse (with 1 second interval), but I haven't checked to see what its limits are. I'm going to do a follow up video in next day or so with some things I've noticed while playing around with solar mode for a couple of hours today. (Specifically focusing on longer duration videos.)

[@janmeetei9532]

After the update, I couldn't see nearby users and images posted in the community. It keeps loading with no results. Anyone facing the same problem?

[@erewhon42]

I got signed out of the app and hadn't logged back in yet. I just did and I do see some nearby users. I'm running the iOS version.

[@bonesshed.]

How will it capture inner corona and prominences? The filters required to show those do not exist in the SStar ?

[@erewhon42]

Sorry, this was in the context of the upcoming North American total solar eclipse. You're right: absent totality, there is no filter to see the corona and prominences with the Seestar! During totality, after (carefully) removing the solar filter, prominences and the inner corona should be more doable now with this update.

[@cdlp8131]

I would like very much that the developers of the SeesStar app add something for an easy access to the equatorial mount mode.

[@erewhon42]

I agree! That would be really nice. It seems like it would be a pretty easy feature to add. Just bundle together the existing steps people have to use, and maybe put it under some advanced screen or something....

[@CarloLibertini]

Does anyone know if the app can record in horizontal mode and not vertical. I haven’t picked one up yet, but this looks really interesting. Thank you.

[@erewhon42]

The photos are vertical as far as the default watermark goes. If you crop that out, or turn off the watermark, you can just rotate the images, which I've done. It is a nice little telescope. I've been very satisfied with mine.

[@XShadowAngel]

I'm going to have my seestar going through the whole eclipse, and using my nice mirrorless cam to get the good shots during totality.

[@erewhon42]

That sounds like a good plan! I think so long as you keep an eye on the Seestar (and its fully charged and cleared off beforehand), it should do really nicely during the eclipse. One thing to keep an eye on is the focus. I just noticed that yesterday. It looks like as it got warmer and expanded the focus might have shifted. I need to test it again, tho'.

[@XShadowAngel]

Good call, may be a good idea to run the autofocus routine every half hour or so.@@erewhon42

[@cdlp8131]

Te firmware will not be updated if the SeeStar app is not updated before! The last update is the 2.42.

[@erewhon42]

Yes, I usually update the app and then it does the firmware update. It would make sense especially in this case since there is new functionality in the app. I wasn't as precise in my description. I was kind of winging it. I wanted to bring it to people's attention though since it definitely has implications for the eclipse.

[@truefreedom3662]

Am I wrong to want the Timelapse interval to be variable or at least longer like 120 or 60 seconds or even 30 seconds for the eclipse….

[@erewhon42]

Nah, I agree. I was a little disappointed that the intervals didn't go higher. That said, if you're doing a timelapse video, a few seconds isn't too bad. I did 4 second intervals in October for the partial eclipse. 2 hours of timelapse at 30 fps resulted in a 1 minute video. Which isn't too bad. But it would be really nice to have minute intervals!

[@jackg7225]

Maybe the update has something to do with me not being able to publish my 1st Seestar photos. I was seeing the message that I needed to do an update but my phone (android )was telling me my firmware was up to date.

[@Sraddhabandhu]

Jup, Android. On iOS there is the newer App with which you can make the update.

[@erewhon42]

That's annoying. Someone mentioned earlier that they hadn't seen the update yet in Android. I wonder if it's still rolling out? (Waving hands... something something server....)

[@cdlp8131]

I tried to update the firmware in my SeeStar S50 but it is already "up to date" as version 2.30... why do you say that 1.16 is the last one?

[@erewhon42]

Sorry. That was the app version on iOS.

[@erewhon42]

And that was the version that forced the firmware update.

[@commandosolo_193]

ZWO found out that almost everyone is buying one of these for the eclipse, they are selling like hotcakes. Now they are fine tuning it for the eclipse. I am so happy. I was out for two hours yesterday playing with the new settings. Also, the up/down is smart because I wonder how many people bought the 'add-ons' and ended up screwing up their seestar. Now just hit up, put the mask or solar filter or any filter on it.

[@erewhon42]

Yeah, I imagine they're selling quite a few of them now! And good point: I was so focused on the solar angle, I wasn't even thinking about how handy that manual lift mode would be for other filters! It was possible before: just not as straightforward. Any observations about the new comments? Just after I show that footage of the sun through the clouds it started raining again. Might get another chance today or tomorrow, but I'm curious if anybody has noticed any quirks about it? The only thing I need to practice more is removing the solar filter with minimal jostling. I'm going to try it on the moon next time I get a chance. (Since removing the solar filter with full sun would be a bad idea. 😛)

[@commandosolo_193]

@@erewhon42 so i just have a 4x4 baader film and a piece of blue painters tape to hold it. it works great.I can pull it on and off with no issue. I do like I can move it up and down now. makes it so much easier. same with putting the light and dew shield on as well.

[@erewhon42]

@@commandosolo_193 Good idea with the Baader film + painters tape. How does it look? I imagine more white and less yellow? I was going to try using the stock filter. I think I'll experiment with maybe taping it in place, but for eclipse day itself, I might go with the film. I wonder if by making it easier to put on filters and dew shields if it will further encourage 3rd parties to make more things. That would be great!

[@commandosolo_193]

@@erewhon42yep, it's white

[@SciMajor1]

0:01 YIKES!!!!! LOL. Are you using an iPhone? The update doesn't seem to have hit Android yet.

[@erewhon42]

Re yikes: lol, yeah. Definitely not scripted. 🙂 Yes, I'm using an iPhone. I just noticed the update on my iPhone today, but I think it might have become available on Friday or Saturday. Hopefully it will land in the next day or two on Android. (Maybe the difference is because it came out going into the weekend?)

[@erewhon42]

The good thing is there's still 3 weeks until the eclipse...

[@mikemuha7537]

At totality, wouldn't you have to remove the sun filter?

[@erewhon42]

@@mikemuha7537 Yes, that's correct. I was pretty sure the Seestar sensor was more than capable of imaging the total eclipse, but I was concerned that the auto exposure would do something wonky. (Even with the limited brightness adjustment.) And really you need to be able to manually adjust the exposure during totality. This update unlocks that, which I think is great! This is one thing I believe the Dwarf II was able to do already.

[@fai4Lo]

Still wonder how to remove the filter, would I lose track of the sun. Thanks for this great update👍👍