Seestar S50’s Free Update Unlocks 2x Bigger Night Sky Views! | Smart Telescope NEW Mosaic Mode

The ZWO Seestar S50 took the astrophotography world by storm in 2023 as one of the most affordable all-in-one smart telescopes. Its one major drawback was its 2MP sensor, which provided users with a rather narrow view of the night sky. But now, ZWO introduced a new feature called "Framing", which allows you to frame objects the way you want and capture a bigger part of the night sky. Is this really a game-changer, and how does it stack up against the competition? Let’s find out!

Smart Telescopes vs higher-end traditional telescope setups:

I'm producing FREE content about astrophotography and space. Any SUPPORT is greatly appreciated! You can support me as follows:

3) Join the channel for $2.99 to buy me a monthly cup of coffee
6) Use one of my affiliate links below to buy your Astrogear at your preferred shop. I get a small percentage to keep my YT channel and website going, and you pay the same price.

Any support you can give is highly appreciated, thanks!

Follow me on:

[raykrva]

I've only had my S50 for less then 6 weeks and only had clear skies for 3 days. Never had the money or time before to buy and learn astrophotography before. The Framing mode was great for me when shooting Orion. I loved watching the image develop on the phone screen. I got 46 minutes of images in a little over 2 hours. I was happy with that. With the price drop to $450 bucks, it's a great buy for the Noobs like me. I sit in the house while the S50 does it's thing. Plus the updates have been great.

[rustynailz]

Update was a game changer for me that narrow fov was the scopes only weakness being able to frame a full m31 is sweet!! IMO you cant beat the Seestar s50 for the price and it is the best product for new astronomers .The fact that it does so much and is so cheap makes it better than a visual scope of the same price that will only frustrate and not impress a new astronomer, the Seestar has ease of use and the wow factor. 👍

[MichaHo]

Definitly a gamechanger. With the 2 MPixel Sensor, I can now capture 8 MPixel pictures with increasing the field of view. Thats great. 😊

[frederickroberts]

I appreciate the review. The new framing and intelligent denoising features represent significant advancements. Given that most observed objects are small, such as galaxies and clusters, the availability of the framing feature for larger subjects enhances the instrument's versatility beyond the camera. An S50 has been donated to my local university in place of an old visual telescope to promote astronomy in my area for use in their community outreach program.

[perry]

Game changer. I was unaware that the update also included intelligent noise reduction. Of course with any new equipment or upgrade, the clouds roll in.
Thanks Wido.

[AstroCHARLY]

This new update really takes the Seastar capabilities to the next level. Now we just need a scheduling mode to be able to take shots at different times at night without having to be there. Have you any leaked information about this?

[briankotak]

Sitting on the fence still waiting to buy a smart telescope for public outreach work. Would love it if ZWO put a larger sensor and EQ ability into the S50. That would make me buy it. Until then, I’ll stick with my standard mount/scopes and astro cameras for imaging. Great review Wido. Dr. B from Manitoba, Canada 🇨🇦

[johndaley]

I've had my S50 since Jan. Wasn't sure how much I would appreciate/use mosaic however, when I saw the rotation/framing capability, my initial impression was WOW. I do have to rely on guys like you to compare these systems but it seems to me, more light(larger aperture) can outweigh camera quality up to a point. Are you looking at denoising feature? Kinda cool.

[sillonbono]

We need a Seestar S55 or a S60 where we have a 4 megapixel sensor.

[nicholasseidel]

yeah it's a game changer. The only issue I've had with it was when m31 went to the zenith late in the imaging session and it started dropping every frame. Other than that its been great.

[polacofederos]

the problem with mosaic, is that you need many more exposure hours and not sure if in the same session, does it have a pause option to continue in the next night? also stacking them and stiching them manually is quite complex. Nowdays i would buy Dwarf3, I own S50. Also you need to consider that S50 has field rotation issues wheter Dwarf3 does not, and that is not a minor issue either.

[porscheguy]

Framing has been an awesome upgrade to the Seestar firmware; but the new intelligent noise reduction is also really nice. I suspect that it is taking dark frames during shooting - as you can only use noise reduction while taking an image and not on images that you've already stored... but the results are very good. It's just another feature that really helps.

[marinabrennecke]

I have tried the new update. For M 31 you need a lot of time. After 45 minutes I stopped because 2 corners are still black and nothing happens. The picture looks great.

[batsonelectronics]

I think it looks pretty good now. I have a 150mm goto reflector ( F5 at 750mm ) with mid tier EPs. ( Celestron x-Cel ) I like the goto for looking and maybe this updated S50 for imaging. The idea of having me and my iPad Air inside while the s50 is outside working is a nice thought.

[toddchamberlain]

Mosaic mode is a Game Changer! The sensor now in effect captures up to an 8MP image with an effective field of view of 2.6º x 1.5º, plus Mosaic mode also helps compensate for field rotation as well. I also have larger gear (a Celestron 9.25") but Mosaic mode is a total game changer for sure!

[iritantNL]

Where can I get it the cheapest? Because it's way more 3xpensive at resellers then zwo

[luishecheverym]

Thank you very much for sharing your knowledge. I am following it. I find it very educational to explain the operation of telescopes, especially the Start s50, now recharged with that mosaic function.

[bigstreetguns]

Honestly I would love for ZWO to include EQ mode and if possible combine it with mosaic. That would increase image quality by a LOT.

[jackg]

I was hoping this was about the update that came out a few days ago but it was about the mosaic update that’s been out for a month? I too, like someone else commented had some problems with dropping connections since the update I did last night. I do like the mosaic feature, now if the could change to an eq method .

[Martinko_Pcik]

The new mosaic mode solves the alt-az field rotation and it is not needed to use it in equatorial mode.