{"id":57790,"date":"2024-04-19T09:45:10","date_gmt":"2024-04-19T09:45:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/0b6668a9-8456-4511-9071-43c8406735c5"},"modified":"2024-04-19T10:08:27","modified_gmt":"2024-04-19T10:08:27","slug":"the-seestar-s50-is-among-the-cheapest-smart-telescopes-available-but-is-it-any-good-we-put-it-to-the-test","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/rss_feed\/the-seestar-s50-is-among-the-cheapest-smart-telescopes-available-but-is-it-any-good-we-put-it-to-the-test\/","title":{"rendered":"The Seestar S50 is among the cheapest smart telescopes available. But is it any good? We put it to the test"},"content":{"rendered":"

ZWO Seestar 50 smart telescope is an enjoyable budget all-in-one. But does it truly deliver on its do-it-all promises? <\/p>

By Sarah Peasgood\n <\/p>

Published: Friday, 19 April 2024 at 09:45 AM<\/p>

\n\n

The ZWO Seestar S50 is a compact smart telescope with a 50mm apochromatic refractor with a focal length of 250mm (f\/5) at its heart.<\/p>

In an expanding market, it\u2019s the S50\u2019s low price that sets it apart from many of its competitors.<\/p>

The S50 comes neatly packed in a shockproof carry case with a tripod, USB-C charging cable, solar filter and user\/safety guides included.<\/p>

<\/div><\/div><\/div>

There is no lens cap, but the S50\u2019s objective lens is protected when the telescope automatically returns to its parked, off position.<\/p>

The lightweight, compact design lends itself well to portability.<\/p>

Fully charged it has a stated battery life of six hours, although this is likely to be less under cold conditions or when the scope\u2019s internal dew heater is turned on.<\/p>

Connecting it to a USB power bank gave us power to spare over a long night.<\/p>

The ZWO Seestar S50 is operated via a smartphone or tablet and requires the installation of the designated Seestar iOS or Android app to work.<\/p>

Connecting our phone to the S50 was nice and straightforward, thanks to the easy-to-follow instructions.<\/p>

We did discover that connecting to the Seestar\u2019s own Wi-Fi hotspot prevented internet access from our phone.<\/p>

However, there\u2019s a Station Mode option that connected everything to our home Wi-Fi network, so internet access was restored.<\/p>

\"Seestar<\/figure>

Getting started<\/strong><\/h2>

The ZWO Seestar S50 has an internal dual-band (OIII and H-alpha) light-pollution filter for imaging emission nebulae<\/a>. <\/p>

This worked well even from heavily light-polluted sites \u2013 an attractive feature for city users.<\/p>

The Seestar app automatically selects the light-pollution filter<\/a> for certain targets, but you can override this if you want to.<\/p>

ZWO seems responsive to user issues and updates the app and firmware frequently; recent updates include enhanced image stacking.<\/p>

Once we had situated the S50 outside, the app\u2019s voice prompt requested us to level the unit. This displayed two circles and a digit value on our phone.<\/p>

The tripod legs can then be adjusted so that the circles overlap and turn green, and the digit value reduces to as close to zero as possible.<\/p>

\"Seestar<\/figure>

How the ZWO Seestar S50 works<\/strong><\/h2>

Targets can be selected from the Seestar app\u2019s recommendations or via a planetarium-style interface.<\/p>

Once selected, the S50 moves to its target automatically, mirroring this on the app\u2019s planetarium display.<\/p>

A few positional tweaks are normally all it takes to successfully centre its target, then \u2018Goto success\u2019 is displayed in the app to show it\u2019s ready to start taking pictures.<\/p>

Exposure lengths of 10, 20 or 30 seconds are available, but we found 10 seconds quite adequate.<\/p>

The S50 live-stacks each exposure, with the result gradually appearing on our phone, which was thrilling to see.<\/p>

We took sequences for various targets, ranging from 20 minutes to an hour of total integration time.<\/p>

Potential problems<\/strong><\/h2>

One potential disadvantage is the ZWO Seestar S50 narrow field of view compared to some competitors.<\/p>

It\u2019s also worth noting that because the sensor is in portrait (as opposed to landscape) orientation, larger targets are sometimes truncated or less than optimally framed.<\/p>

Another thing we noted is that the S50 is altaz-mounted but emulates equatorial motion via software and stepper motors.<\/p>

The downside of this is field rotation, resulting in noisy corner regions of stacked<\/a> images captured over long integration times.<\/p>

However, these are easily cropped off and reduced by stacking sessions taken over several nights.<\/p>

\"Seestar<\/figure>

Astrophotography<\/strong><\/h2>

The S50\u2019s short focal length doesn\u2019t allow detailed images of planets, rendering only a small, basic view of Jupiter and its two main belts.<\/p>

However, we found it good for overview shots of the Moon and Sun. Using the solar filter, we grabbed some great images of sunspot<\/a> groups.<\/p>

There\u2019s a handy on-screen brightness adjustment to help improve lunar and solar views.<\/p>

If we wanted to tweak a preset Go-To pointing position, we could manually adjust this via the app. We found this challenging at first and recommend the \u2018slow\u2019 speed for precision centring.<\/p>

In summary, the Seestar S50 offers a fast set-up for beginners and professionals, enabling reasonable-quality imaging of deep-sky and larger Solar System objects at a very competitive price point.<\/p>

Even better, it\u2019s a lot of fun to use.\u00a0<\/p>

\"Seestar<\/figure>

Portability<\/strong><\/h2>

As an all-in-one 50mm refractor with integrated astro camera, the Seestar S50 arrives ready for action.<\/p>

The sleek, compact and lightweight design is a winning feature: it\u2019s so easy to pack up and pick up that you can be outside and imaging in a short time, grabbing any gaps in the weather.<\/p>

The fact that it\u2019s so easy to move and set up makes it fantastic for travel, but equally\u00a0 convenient for use at home.<\/p>

The integrated design is well thought-out, with the internal light-pollution filter providing access to faint objects such as the Horsehead Nebula<\/a> from polluted sites.\u00a0<\/p>

Once locked on to our target, we could retire indoors and disconnect our phone from the S50, reconnecting occasionally to check on progress.<\/p>

When we were happy we\u2019d spent enough time on one subject, we could simply slew to the next target from the comfort of our sofa.<\/p>

Despite the automation, the ease of target access is great for evoking genuine excitement about what this instrument can grab next.<\/p>

Images captured with the ZWO Seestar S50<\/strong><\/h2>
\"Image
Image of the Whirlpool Galaxy captured with the ZWO SeeStar 50 smart telescope. Compiled from 408x 10\u201d frames. Credit: Sarah Peasgood<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div>
\"Image
Image of the Orion Nebula captured with the ZWO SeeStar 50 smart telescope. Processed from FITS files, 120x 10\u201d frames. Credit: Sarah Peasgood<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div>
\"Image
Image of the Moon captured with the ZWO SeeStar 50 smart telescope. Raw video stacked with AutoStakkert! Credit: Sarah Peasgood<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div>
\"Image
Image of the Comet 12P\/Pons-Brooks captured with the ZWO SeeStar 50 smart telescope. 66x 10\u201d frames. Credit: Sarah Peasgood<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div><\/div>