The ZWO Seestar S50, is it worth it? UK Review

This product was purchased by Tom and is NOT sponsored. We have been provided an affiliate link:

The ZWO Seestar S50 is a Smart Telescope, designed to give more people access to Astrophotography and the night sky. I am not an expert in such things but instead, wanted to demonstrate what the average Joe can do with this device. Don't expect in-depth analysis! I will say this: I LOVE THIS!

You can find out more details including technical specifications here:

Chapters
00:00:00 - Intro
00:00:10 - Unboxing
00:00:45 - Who is it for and quick breakdown
00:05:04 - Real time setup to see the Sun
00:10:54 - Imaging and Images of the Sun
00:12:48 - Night Time shots and the weather strikes
00:15:29 - Using the App and Stargazing
00:23:45 - Unedited, real examples from my Telescope
00:25:05 - Conclusion

Social Details
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Music / Image Rights

Images from:

The Annoying Hash Tags
#Seestar #SeestarS50 #ZWOSeestarS50 #Smarttelescope #Telescope #nightsky #astrophotography #photography #review #ZWO #S50 #Nebula #Space #Astronomy

[ChannelVarietyShow]

Thank you to ZWO who have since watched the review and given me an affiliate link. Any purchases here will give me 6% commission which is being put back in to the Podcast and Studio:Channel84 network. Thank you in advance!

[johndaley]

I'm retired, have some mobility issues and I needed a hobby. After months of research I stumbled onto the Seestar and bought mine in Jan. In 6 months I have well over 100 saved images. It's light, easy to set up and really a lot of fun. I find myself checking the weather every day. Last night (finished at 4AM) I captured a galaxy that's 32M ly away and has almost 1 billion stars. I'm still smiling today on that one. Being able to share with friends and family is also a big plus. I love it and am so glad I found it. To the naysayers, embrace the technology.

[GenuineUFOs]

I bought my Seestar direct from ZWO in NOV 2023 and have had no proplems. It's a fantastic little machine that takes images of the Sun moon and our night sky that appear within seconds before your very eyes.The universe at your fingertips. If your not into post processing, the images are amazing without editing.

[williemacdonald]

I got one of these back in March and love it, it's an easy bit of kit to set up and capture photons while I swear at my big rig.

[bamsemh]

The weather forecast could be better than just UK! But ok, the Faroe Islands are just in the end of weather map.

[deanblackwell]

The issue that all new telescope buyers face is expectations - even with expensive kit many people end up dissapointed. As for me I already had a telescope. I know how hard it is to get good images and to even see things like galaxies so the SeeStar actually exceeded my expectations. To capture an image of Jupiter showing the bands was a surprise from this little scope

[bobcarn]

I have one and love it. Oddly, it has more trouble finding the Sun or Moon than it does night objects like nebulas, stars, planets, and galaxies. I think with those objects, it can use other stars to know where it's pointing, but with the Sun, it doesn't have anything else to go by with the narrow field of view. Calibrating the compass and making sure it's very level helps a LOT. As for night viewing.... I live in a city that has a lot of light pollution. I have street lights shining down on me no matter where I place it. Still, it lets me see so many things, it's amazing! I can't believe it does all that it does for so little money. And they don't even charge shipping! I can't wait to see what their next version will be like.

[BigBadLoneWolf]

Many members of my Astronomy society, have bought the seestar. easy to set up, and have been the star of outreach events. as for needing a van, I drive a citroen c1 and and it carries my tripod OTA camera and accessories no problem.

[Survivalguy]

Mine is on the way! I can't wait!!!! Where I bought my land is so remote that it should be a requirement to own a telescope, lol. Nearest city is 2 hours away. I am higher in elevation and have a full view of the sky. I go out every night and look up as long as my messed up neck will let me, which is not very long. This way I can relax and view through my tablet. This plant, as beautiful as it is, is full of tragedy and misery. Up there in deep space, is like seeing heaven. If heaven were a real thing. Either way what's out there is pure and real and untainted by humans. It is important to realize we are nothing.

[shaunmk]

had mine from almost day one...had previous smart scope<equinox> the seestar is amazing, so quick and easy to use...i have the dwarf 2 as well...ive noticed the seestar has dropped in price by a lot..i wonder if mark 2 is on the way...

[codrinseth]

I got one as well and it has its limitations but for the price it is a kicker. Also, if you're like me and work 12-14h days, rigging up a big telescope only to find some clouds moved in is really discouraging in even trying the hobby. With the SeeStar i can have it set up and running in 2 minutes. Yeah, it doesn't have the best sensor, nor the best optics, no EQ mount but for what it is intended, it delivers. And boy, with a few post processing tricks in Siril or PI you can get some stunning images. A few things I wished ZWO did with it is have a bigger sensor and work on their app more to have the mosaic mode as well. There are several targets in the night sky larger than its field of view and you have to be really creative in stitching everything together in PS.

[rambosupreme]

I hope ZWO comes out with a newer version. Seestar S50 is nice but compared to the sample pictures from Dwarf 3, the S50 is few generations behind.

Maybe the Dwarf 3 is too good to be true.

[Between_Scylla_and_Kharybdis]

When it comes to light polluted areas, The Lazy Geek did several videos about the S50 in Tokyo. You can't go much more light polluted than that

[hedleywrightphotography]

Quick tip - don’t try to image anything straight up, tracking anything above around 60 degrees elevation becomes harder for a scope of this type. Thanks for the video 👍

[hairychin]

The sun is a mass of incandescent gas, a gigantic nuclear furnace...