Any thoughts on the SeeStar?

[wavelandscott]

Appreciate any thoughts on the SeeStar…https://www.seestar.com/

For the price of an eyepiece it might be fun to play with…I was thinking about using it as a supplement in outreach.

Cheers!

[AstroViking]

I've never really looked at these auto-telescopes because I feel them to be 'cheating' when it comes to taking astro images. (Something about artists suffering for their art... :P )

When you think of using them for outreach and introducing people to what's out there in the night skies, then they become a lot more interesting.

Everyone has their phone with them now, so having a visitor able to see what the scope is seeing, in real-time, could be a great step forward. Rather than queuing and waiting to peer through an eyepiece and see a fuzzy grey blob (if they're lucky), they can see a colour image straight away.

That's assuming that the SeeStar doesn't require an app on the phone/tablet to see it's output. If it's output could be streamed to a large-screen TV, that might be really interesting to see. (I'll leave the logistics of using a large TV at a star party as an exercise to the reader. :D)

Cheers,
V.

[bojan]

Some of my astro-friends are using Dwarf-2.. very happy with that.

This thing (https://astronomy-imaging-camera.com/product/zwo-seestar/)has 50 mm aperture and 250 mm FL (vs Dwarf 24mm 100 mm FL).. so it must be better as far as resolution is concerned.
And it is cheaper that Dwarf2 (in EU..). It seems the sensor can be upgraded by user...

Must be great for patrolling the sky (for transients..).. but not really wide FOV..

[wavelandscott]

I did “pre-order” one…I figure it is worth a punt. If it helps with outreach I will be happy with it.

I have wasted more money on dumber things before…and likely will again.

I do struggle with the idea of “cheating” however, if this technology helps get young folks connected to the night sky, I think I can get past my struggle

[Nikolas]

It would be great for outreach and.... um outreach?

[ChrisV]

While I'm not interested in this unit, I agree with and am a bit over comments about 'cheating' and others like 'lazy astronomy' (the latter being comment about EAA a while ago). As far as I'm concerned, if it works and you get enjoyment out of it, GREAT!!

Edit: I'm just grumpy today ...

[toc]

Sounds like fun. Give it a go and report back to us :)

[The_bluester]

Personally I think that if they make astronomy accessible to more people, they are probably a good thing, as commented above, outreach probably being their real forte. But if they are simple enough to set up and use that people with zero experience really can get them going and use them then that is a plus.

Like Scott, I have certainly wasted more money on less useful things in the past.

[sharkbite]

Yep - if every technological advance was considered 'Lazy' we'd still be living in caves eating a Paleo diet the 'hard way'....

The seastar has the same sensor and focal length that i would typically use for astrophotography, and would spare me the hassle of setting up.
(which is the only thing stopping me from being out there more often)

I dont know what kind of quality i can expect - its cheaper to
buy than just my current lens is on the 2nd hand market,
let alone the camera and mount....

I'm going to wait and see what the images look like from the early adopters, and then you might see my current stuff in the classifieds!

[JA]

What a clever all in one device. It even performs its own polar alignment, sky alignment / plate solving and calibration. It also is listed as incorporating a built in (software controllable ???> On or Off) Dual band filter, albeit not super narrow at 20 to 30nm.

It would be good if it had a front filter thread as it might tolerate an auxiliary tele lens. Not sure that it does, even though there's also a front mounted solar filter (looks like a clip in).

Oh .... AND Autofocus of some sort!

Best
JA

[AvalonDunk]

I think it would be a fun device to take camping - or have in the car on a road trip.

ZWO are going to sell loads of them...

[seeker372011]

I have ordered one - ostensibly for my wife so
She can sit in the car and image away with the minimum of effort… while I
muck around outside in the cold at club observing nights and star parties

It’s altaz and as of now limited to 10 sec subs.. you can save individual subs as FITS as well as the live stack. There is no limit to the number of subs you can take


There are images available taken by beta testers on line
from different Bortle locations

To my eye it’s a tad noisy but if one could be bothered to run NoiseXterminator on the stack it may clean up really well. In practice I doubt there will be much post processing- can’t see my wife wanting to do any of that- she does
like the idea of watching an image slowly appear as you watch as it live stacks

Comes with a dark, Uv/IR and not terribly narrowband duo filter (20 nm Ha and 30 nm OIII) and an external solar filter. Moon and sun images look
quite respectable

It’s an apochromat. Built in dew heaters. The app for iOS was released yesterday still waiting for the Android app

The Zwo people have said it’s been a massive success and they are swamped by preorders

Expect lengthy delay in order fulfilment …
Shipping to start end August for preorders
-been delayed a couple of months but in that time features have been added in response to customer feedback so it probably made the wait worthwhile

Will be interesting to see what it does in real life!

[wavelandscott]

I also have one on order…hopefully the wait is not too long. I will give it a whirl and am hopeful that at least solar and or moon shots will be respectable.

I might even give some solar imaging a go with the upcoming eclipse’s…

At worst I have done my part to keep the Astro economy moving along and at best will capture a few images that inspire and enthuse

[entr0py]

Keen to see some examples of the capability this device has and not the promo shots. Are there any shots being shared already on IIS?

As for 'lazy astronomy' - this hobby is complex, time intensive and has a huge learning curve. IMO, Anything that helps people bridge/shorten this gap and/or innovate in this space is an improvement.

[kris85au]

It looks like a Tesla of AP. It does not even have any door handles. But if one wants to go from point A to point B while browsing social media, then it will do. Different priorities for different people, I guess.

[AvalonDunk]

Cuiv just posted a review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nt29_kHV1Fg

[Nikolas]

It will be an expensive paperweight if the electronics fizzle out. In three years the next latest and greatest comes around, better optics, better stability, better imagery then you fork out more, much like an iphone.
Great concept but if it's not upgradeable and modular it's not a good investment.

[wavelandscott]

Thanks for posting this, it was very informative! I am more optimistic now with this product.

[JA]

^ I have to agree Scott (and thanks Duncan for the link) - great video outlining the features of this incredible product. It really makes you want to go out and get one. :thumbsup:

Best
JA

[AstroViking]

I watched Cuiv's video as well. It looks like a very user-friendly setup, aimed at people who (for whatever reason) don't want a full astrophotography setup.

It will never replace a full astro-rig, the same as the camera in a phone will never replace a DSLR/Mirrorless setup, and for exactly the same reasoning. Those of us with full astro-rigs (and/or DSLRs) want the modularity, expandability and flexibility these systems provide.

If you could somehow transmit the output from the SeeStar or the phone app to a large screen, it would be a winner for out-reach sessions.

Cheers,
V.

(I see that ZL4PLM here has just posted a video about the SeeStar, too.)

[BlackNebula]

I have one on order as well, looking forward to having a play with it. It will never replace my imaging rig nor take its place.

I thought it would be good for those nights after work for a bit of EAA and just messing about and then when we have family or friends over, no fuss. When having a BBQ at our place I’m always asked to set-up my gear as they want a quick view through the eyepiece. Not that easy when you are around the fire and having a few drinks etc and then have to pack up afterwards, this will make it easy and anyone can control the scope and having a wander around the sky, kinda like outreach, LoL.

Never serious but it looks pretty awesome for the price, I just as impressed with Cuiv’s review!

[dugnsuz]

Thanks for the heads up re Seestar Scott - I’ve seen these kind of things online and always regarded them as an expensive toy, but your post piqued my interest and I thought I’d dig a little deeper.

They actually look like they might be the go for what I’ve been after - my wife wants to travel/caravan more and I’ve been toying with the Star adventurer type of rig but not really committing as I knew we’d probably be set up in brightly lit campsites- but the Seestar might be nice for the times that’s not the case…compact, portable and semi serious fun by the looks of it. Enough to keep my Astro-imaging whistle wet when away from the big guns!?
Doug

[wavelandscott]

Like many, I am patiently waiting for my order to be fulfilled…sounds like it may be November. I am hoping to have it for the 2024 eclipse….so no stress just yet.

[TrevorW]

I ordered mine in April and as at the end of August I never got an update as to when I would receive it, so I cancelled the order, no more than a useful toy in my opinion handy for those that want a portable no fuss unit for quickie wide field snaps, not for the serious astro photographer :)

[InquisiNate]

Any tool that helps people enter the hobby I am all for!

[mickr]

I have had a Seestar 50 for about 10 days and I am seriously impressed by this bit of gear.

As I am no longer capable of routinely hauling heavy gear from my shed I am appreciating the ease and comfort of arm chair astronomy with this very portable device.

The images of nebulae and globular clusters generated are incredible, even in a Bortle 7 environment (and even at full moon) with even relatively short exposures (less than 10 minutes). It does struggle with galaxies at these short exposures but I expect taking it to rural skies with longer exposures may do the trick.

Having the ability to acquire images on your phone or tablet inside , away from the elements and mossies does spoil you.

I will still take out the heavier gear for visual planetary observations as the short focal length of the Seestar is not appropriate. However it does perform adequately for the moon and more than adequately for solar imaging.

What really amazes me is the price! I paid an intriductory price of $750 for a f/5, 50 mm aperture apochromatic scope with robotic altaz mount and also includes a dual band LP/H-alpha/OIII filter and solar filter. The Apple and Android software works very well. My only complaint is that it works too well with its goto, autofocus and autostacking. It does take some of the standard challenges away but I guess one should always have to have something to complain about.

Even though the Seestar is only in its infancy and many are still impatiently waiting for their scopes there is a rapidly expanding group of enthusiasts on Facebook and other social media. I think images shown there are impressive.

[sharkbite]

Hi Mick..seeing this is your first post , welcome to iceinspace!

You lucky bugger to have gotten one before anyone else!
And to have had the time to use it !

Thanks for your review....could you post some photos here for all to see?

Cheers

[seeker372011]

I am seeing some really fine images posted on Facebook, especially where people have processed the stack in PI and or Photoshop.

Still waiting for mine- really bought for my wife, so I can’t see her processing anything but I just think it will be terrific for outreach especially once ZWO enables sharing the images on more than one device. ( you can already do that by sharing your password but that allows anyone with the password to have control which is not a great ideA

Expect my order to be delivered late October early November. Bought directly from ZWO

[wavelandscott]

Appreciate the update and glad to hear you are enjoying….I believe I will be waiting for another month or so as I was a little slow to order and gain the discount.

Have you tried solar?

[Hemi]

well without any forewarning, mine arrived a few days ago. Unboxed it yesterday and had a play indoors. Unfortunately cloudy so no ability to test outdoors.

A lot like other ZWO products the build quality and operation appears very good. The documentation not so much (as expected). The app (like the ASIAir) also seems very polished.

I will post some images when (IF!!) the clouds go away...

[kencas]

If it will help this is the first image I took on the first night I had it out. The app makes it easy to find the best target observable at that time.
This is an image of The Helix Nebula (NGC 7293 or Caldwell 63).
Bortle 6 backyard
LP filter engaged
1 hour acquisition
Single stacked FITS file (I didn't know then how to capture unstacked FITS)
Processed in Siril and PixInsight
50% crop.

[wavelandscott]

Still waiting on mine but am encouraged to hear of other’s receiving theirs and their early efforts!

[wavelandscott]

Just got my order confirmation and the shipping tracking number…should be in my hands mid next week…just in time for the Thanksgiving Holiday.

[netwolf]

Tempted to get, so much more affordable now then in the past. But I do like how EVscope from Unistellar offer a Citizen Science community to collaborate and contribute to.
https://www.unistellar.com/citizen-science/

Wish there was something similar for Dwarf and Seestar.

Also like the details reviewers on youtube are extracting with post processing in pixinsight.

[Andy01]

There was one in use at VicSouth. Watching the unit's output via a tablet, go-to & capture the Cat's Paw nebula, then stack in real-time in just minutes, was very cool. A great outreach tool indeed! :D

[Jooster]

Have been using it for a few weeks now, and the pictures are outstanding. Takes minutes to setup.

[Jooster]

A few more pics-

[netwolf]

Are folks buying it locally or direct from seestar? any ideas on current wait times?

[Hemi]

I got mine direct from ZWO, but ordered at near enough the begining. im not sure what the current wait times are...

[wavelandscott]

Ordered mine from a local dealer here in the USA (where I am now located) July 30…it arrived yesterday afternoon. Will need to wait a few days for weather to improve here before giving it a go. Current temp here is -2 C…winter is coming…

[The_bluester]

I was also at VicSouth, I did not see it in operation at night but it was interesting to watch in solar mode, with a proper solar filter (I believe the addition of that might have been one cause of shipping delay) and a "No alignment" solar mode where it simply panned and tilted around until it found the sun, producing about as good a natural colour image as you could ask for.

[chrisp9au]

I am stunned! :eyepop:

Ordered my ZWO Seestar S50 from Testar in Sydney on 17/11.

Advised today 23/11, by Australia Post that it is on it's way!

Good on you Testar! Note, they still have a couple in stock!

Happy Christmas! :D

[netwolf]

Chris I had put an advise stock alert on Testar earlier this week. Got a sms on Thursday 23rd put the order in and it shipped Friday 24th. I called them to confirm and they said they just had a small batch come in and lucky few who had orders got them. So glad I followed this thread and put a stock alert with Testar. It’s bit more expensive than direct but given wait times worth it.

[Sunnynstrings]

It’s not the best for serious Astrophotography.

[floyd_2]

I ended up buying one for EAA. There have been too many nights previously where I have set up, cooled down, run cables, focussed, polar aligned, framed and then the clouds have rolled in for the evening. When I'm suspicious of a poor night, I plonk the Seestar down about an hour before it gets dark, go about my business, and turn it on after dark. If the clouds roll in, I've lost about 2 minutes.

I guess you have to use it within its capabilities and not expect the results that you might otherwise get from a decent setup. You can't avoid field rotation, it's a small uncooled camera and small objective. That being said though, it's a pretty capable unit for what its worth. Setup is a breeze, you can post process should you prefer to, and it's good to sit inside with those who would never venture out to the obsie and share the night's viewing. It's definitely easy to throw into the car if I'm going anywhere. My other rigs don't travel.

I guess it's horses for courses, but I'm really happy with it. It's just a matter of having the right expectation of what it can do. There are plenty of targets that it's capable of reaching with good results. I doubt that I'll be hanging a photo from the Seestar on my wall, but that's not why I bought it.

I've post processed a few objects in Siril (my post processing skills are poor) and the shots definitely come up better than without. Being colourblind doesn't help lol but I know others here face the same issue. The shots look ok to me, and then my wife will say, "Is that meant to be orange?" lol I've included a couple of lightly post processed shots just to show what it can bring out of B6 skies with about 2 minutes effort in Siril. Framing could be better but I'll get there. Sorry to everyone here who is a skilled astrophotographer - you may want to look away at this point lol.

The Rosette was shot a first quarter (that's my excuse). The Horsehead wasn't, so I'm still coming up with an excuse there - especially for the massive blowout on Alnitak and dodgy framing :) Anyway, I guess it gives an idea of what you could reasonably expect from the unit if your post processing skills are below average and you don't have dark skies. Rosette was a 30 minute stack, Horsehead was only 12 minutes and had quite a bit more noise to deal with as a result. Rosette was stacked in Siril, and Horsehead was stacked in the Seastar and the final stack tidied up in Siril. Having noted that, the in-camera real time stacks were decent too, and certainly fine for a night of EAA.

[JA]

HATs OFF Dean -given the quality of the images with a Bortle 6 sky, 50mm aperture, 250mm focal length, 2 megapixel ~6mm diagonal sensor and quick setup- there's no other possible conclusion except, EXCELLENT :thumbsup: :party2: :thumbsup:

Just imagine a Bortle 1 or 2 version!

Best
JA

P.S: they only missed one thing with this unit: a filter thread mount at the front optic to allow the use of auxiliary lenses. It would also need some firmware mods to ensure it doesn't try to park itself into the closed position with the front optic mounted. perhaps there's already such a setting in the user configuration.

[floyd_2]

Thanks very much - really nice of you. The Seestar definitely exceeded my expectations. I've only been to the SPSP once in my life and the skies there were just amazing. I'd love to get back under dark skies again and cut it loose.

There are a lot of 3rd party addons for 2" filters, light shrouds etc on the Seestar. I've ordered a set in from the UK that I'm keen to try. This set allows you to use both the light shroud and a 2" filter concurrently. No doubt there'll be a small loss in aperture but I'll just have to see how it goes.

There's a setting in the Seestar to stop it from powering off when not in use, but I'm still suspicious that it'll power off if it manages to get to 15% battery regardless. For an all-nighter (probably zero possibility for me) you'd have to hook up to a phone charger / external battery to be sure.

[dugnsuz]

Enjoying mine, looking forward to travelling with it.

[floyd_2]

Great shots Doug. It's a fun little scope isn't it? My Seestar lens cap, 2" filter holder, flocked dew shield, bahtinov mask etc kit arrived from Oak Astro in the UK. It came within about a week which was pretty good.

The filter holder is threaded for 2" filters. I didn't trust using threaded plastic for any length of time so I added a spare 3mm M48 spacer to it permanently so my filters have a decent metal thread to screw into. Hopefully the slight drop in aperture isn't going to be noticeable.

The Oak Astro kit is quite a well considered setup as it allows you to optionally use a filter, light / dew shield and bahtinov mask concurrently rather than one at a time. I'm not sure about the mask as the auto focus mostly seems to be spot on for me. I guess I'll be able to see if it's REALLY spot on now :)

It's been cloudy since this little kit arrived, so I'm keen to finally see how I go being able to block off-axis light. I'm also keen to give my Antlia Triband filter a go under my B6 skies to see if it makes a worthwhile difference.

I've already disabled the Auto-Power Off function in Advanced Settings on the Seestar to make sure that it never self-destructs by powering off with an attachment on the front.

[dugnsuz]

Cheers Dean - seen loads of 3rd party 3D printed stuff on ETSY and EBay - will check out the Oaks accessories you mentioned.

I’d be very interested to hear about your experiences putting that Tri-Band filter into the mix

Cheers
Doug

[floyd_2]

Hi Doug,
my first clear night since my previous post was last night. It's all about patience these days isn't it? I used the triband filter with the Oak Astro attachment and hood last night on IC434 to compare to the internal filter in the Seestar. The moon was threatening to rise but didn't pop up during this stack.

It's not really like-for-like but I guess it's close enough. This one is the stack straight out of the Seestar with NoiseXterminator and darkened up a bit in Photoshop. It was about 30 seconds of post processing and not stacked externally in Siril etc. I'll do that over the weekend probably. It had about 30 minutes of acquisition according to the Seestar.

Interestingly, the stars don't look to be as blown out as my original post. I'm not sure if the colour is better or worse as I'm colourblind but the results seem good for what it is. I'm not sure that the results are THAT different from the original to warrant the Oak Astro kit to use my Triband. It's hard to say. Also, I didn't notice any vignetting to speak of, which was a surprise. See what you think anyway.

I'll need to give it a go on other objects to be sure. I'm thinking the Triband is going to help me with galaxies / clusters etc in my B6 skies.

Dean

[dugnsuz]

Thanks for posting Dean - looks like a little detail is lost in the filter image compared with the internal Seestar filters as evidenced in the nebulosity around the star under the HH.


Early days playing with this scope for all of us and it'll be fun experimenting to extract the most from it.


I've attached my latest starless Tarantula - 1hr exposure, just the single 404k image played around with in PI/PS



Cheers
Doug

[floyd_2]

Great tarantula field mate. When you consider the cost of the Seestar vs the glass, the camera, internal computer, included filter etc - it gets decent results for what it is. There's certainly extra detail that can be teased out of the shots too. As an EAA scope it's great. No doubt there will be more improvements made by ZWO as time goes on. I'm hoping for a mosaic feature to battle field rotation. The downside of that will be longer integration times so it'll be a slower process, but hopefully the results will be worth it. No easy thing to implement though when you consider trying to remove / match panel gradients etc during stitching.

IMO it gives pretty decent results from the internal stack too. It'll never compete with the big rigs but it's not meant to either. As far as bang for buck goes though, it's great. It complements my bigger setup well.

Keep sharing your pics - I love to see what people are doing with the Seestar!

[wavelandscott]

After too many weeks of cloud, work and a too busy life, I was able to give my SeeStar a whirl…as is right out of the device. I am pretty happy…the PHD (Push Here Dummy) ease of use of the device and “success” in my first session gives me some confidence to try it under the night sky.

[goober]

I haven’t posted here in about five years, but I did treat myself to a SeeStar as a retirement gift to myself. Ordered yesterday, arrived today, and wow … just so much fun. Just plonked it on my Gibraltar and spun it up.

Despite the fires west of Melbourne and the filthy weather today, I took it out tonight and imaged 47 Tuc for two minutes and I’m just thrilled.

I’m hoping the clouds will clear and I’ll try it on a few targets in Centaurus / Crux later this evening.

[dugnsuz]

Enjoying my new ‘toy’ immensely- great fun and very easy to jump from object to object using the sky atlas. It’s helping me to find objects to image with my big rig that I might have never considered.

Attached an image of (old fave) the Rosette nebula I took with the Seestar recently- pushed the subs a bit 522x10secs

[Chetankumar]

Was thinking to buy one in Australia,
How much is the price and performance.

[goober]

Finally some clear skies and free time so I tested it on the Sun, and about two minutes last Thursday (arrival day) on 47 Tuc. I’ll try and target a few things later tonight as the sky appears to be finally clearing.

[gaseous]

Doug (dugnsuz), that's a seriously impressive shot. Dean, too, has some terrific photos. Oooh, I'm starting to think there may be a purchase in my immediate future. Thanks for sharing these.

[floyd_2]

Hi Patrick,
for the price you can't really go wrong. It'll never come close to the rigs that the guys here use to take (and process) their amazing shots with. However, that's not really what it's about anyway. When you think that you can grab a Vaonis Vespera II for 3-4x the price for what really is still a limited alt/az setup, it's cheap. Then, when you consider what Celestron has come out with for $6k or more and it's STILL limited it makes the Seestar even more of a bargain by comparison. Here's some other shots that I've taken with the Seestar. I'm a bit of a chicken putting my shots up here because I know that they can't possibly ever compare to the amazingly detailed shots that I drool over from the other guys here . Still, for what it's worth, here's some more examples of what you could get out of your Seestar when you buy it :)

[gaseous]

Yes I saw an online comparison between the Vespera II and the Seestar. While the Vespera II certainly appeared to show slightly better work on DSO's, I'm not sure I could convince myself it was worth the price difference. I'm an absolute gumby when it comes to processing (I sold my ZWO 224 as it was too much stuffing about), so the amount of effort involved in setting up and processing with the Seestar seems right up my alley. Your shots are great regardless, but even moreso considering they're taken on something less expensive than the cost of a quality visual eyepiece.

[dugnsuz]

Fantastic S50 gallery there :thumbsup:

[floyd_2]

Thanks mate. I'm looking forward to ZWO introducing the mosaic feature to reduce the loss of real estate due to field rotation. It's not going to help acquisition times at all but the final results should be worth it. :prey:

[gb44]

I recently watched a youtube where the SeeStar sourced many hours of data that enabled the detection and measurement of the variable light curve of a few asteroids.

Cool scope!

GlennB

[skysurfer]

For me as a traveling observer and astrophotographer it would be nice. Right now I am in South Africa and using my heavy rig (110mm ED and Canon EOS R6) with pleasure. So a Seestar is tempting. Lightweight.
But there are some disadvantages.
* I'd rather wait for a Seestar without the scope, I mean a kind of camera + plate solver built in a device which can be popped into any telescope making a smart scope of it. Obviously, it has to have an EQ mount but I want to forgo the Goto for a far more flexible approach.

[gaseous]

Not gonna call you Nostradamus, but I just ordered one..... :)

[floyd_2]

Welcome aboard!!! I'll look forward to seeing your first images Patrick :)

[gaseous]

Cheers. I have no idea what (free) processing software would be best, but I'll just try to get a few images straight off the device before I try to get clever.

[floyd_2]

For freebies, you could try grabbing Siril to see if it's any good for you mate. It's not the most intuitive software, but there are lots of tutorials on Youtube to help you along. Grab Starnet2 while you're at it as it works with Siril. You might want to get GraXpert 2.2.2 as well. It's incorporated into Siril, but I've found that the standalone version is better. Those might be good apps for starters anyway.

[AG Hybrid]

I've put a deposit down for one of these. Really excited!

[gaseous]

Cheers Dean, I meant to thank you earlier for this info.

[floyd_2]

My pleasure mate! How did you go getting / installing those apps?

I had a vaguely successful Seestar imaging night the other night. None of my results were much to write home about. I'm colour blind, and my chief-colour-engineer went to bed before I could get any QA done lol.

I managed to nab M104 low in the sky, NGC3201 (interesting because of its association with black holes) and NGC3247 with IC2581. Avert your eyes if the colours are odd :) My colour engineer will be back on the job for my next run!

[gaseous]

Those colours look fine to this untrained eye. I haven't tried those apps yet, I'll probably look at them over the weekend. I assume you download the images from the seestar/phone/tablet to your pc to use them? I dare say I'll work it out after a bit of faffing about.

[floyd_2]

You can hook your Seestar up to your PC via the USB connection, and turn the Seestar on to transfer files. You can also do it over WiFi but USB might be the most direct way for you to transfer files and probably the fastest.

If you're set up in Station mode, and can hook up to a 5Ghz link on your network you could transfer at decent rates over WiFi too. You just need to grab your Seestar IP address from the RTSP Address GET button under Advance Feature. You can then remote mount the Seestar as a network drive.

Don't forget to go into Advanced Feature and turn on Save Each Frame In Enhancing so that the Seestar collects individual frames.

[Satchmo]

These images aren't straight out of the box though . I'm getting much more bloated star images . What is your most common workflow ?

[floyd_2]

I tried my first 2-panel mosaic last night on IC2944 just to see if it was possible or if I would end up in trouble. I think it's probably turned out OK. It needed double the acquisition time of course, and double the processing but it gets around the problem of the narrow format of the Seestar for larger objects.

Having never imaged this object before, I wasn't sure if the stitching was actually correct so I uploaded the finished file to Astrometry to see if the plate solve would work. To my amazement, it solved.

[gaseous]

That's a great shot. If I can get anything remotely like that I'll be very pleased (and surprised).

[floyd_2]

That's true. I'm navigating the long and winding path of post processing. Still very new to it though. This is what I've been doing to date. It's pretty basic but it's where I'm at. I'm not sure that I really want to do much more with a Seestar shot:


Move the lights (fits format) into a subdir hanging off the directory I've set up for the object (eg. .../NGC3199/lights)
Open Siril
Click the Home icon in the tool bar and set the home directory to the root directory for the object (eg. .../NGC3199)
Run the script called OSC_PREPROCESSING_WITHOUT_DBF (as the darks have been applied by the Seestar and there are no bias or flat calibration files to use)
Open the result.fit file in the home directory
Click on Autostretch, and the Unlink button next to it to do a screen stretch
Perform a background extraction if you're not using GraXpert. Whether you do it here or later depends on how your noise reduction will handle an extracted source. Seems to depend on the subject for me. Galaxies always seem to be a lot more difficult.
Remove green noise
Perform deconvolution
Perform photometric colour calibration
Save where you're up to under a new name
Jump into linear mode
Perform Starnet star removal
Perform Generalised Hyperbolic Stretch on foreground, and background. More than once if it's a delicate subject, working on it incrementally
Save the Without Stars version under a new name for later
Load the Starmask file and work on saturation to try to get the star colours right
Save the Starmask off under a new name
Go into Star Recomposition
Load the Without stars version, and the Starmask version and blend to taste
Save the final file as FITS and also PNG
Open the PNG in photoshop and work on file with NoiseXTerminator
Adjust curves and balance image as required
Save as PNG
If you didn't do a background extraction earlier, you can move to GraXpert and do it now. It's unusual for me to do this step last, but I get pretty bad banding with some Seestar shots and extracting the background early on gives me useless results with NoiseXTerminator.


I've seen another fellow on YouTube splitting the colours, and recombining them using RGB Image Compositing. He dumped the blue (I think) and substituted the Red channel into both Red and Blue, and also into Luminance and converted it to a CIE L*a*b Composition. His results were OK, but when I did it I wasn't happy. It may be a much better way to go but I haven't done much with it.

Anyway, take a crack at this simple workflow to see if you can make any progress with it in Siril.

[kon1966]

Took the plunge and bought one. A big change in carting around 30 kg.

[floyd_2]

Yes! Another one joins the gang! Welcome aboard Kon :) My poor C9.25 rig and my refractor rig are getting very jealous of the sky time my Seestar is getting.

[floyd_2]

Just an FYI for those following this thread. ZWO have noted that they'll be releasing a software / firmware update to include mosaic functionality to the Seestar shortly.

[gaseous]

Thanks Dean, mine arrived yesterday - looking forward to some semi-clear skies!

[AG Hybrid]

Hey.

Has anyone tried out the new "horizontal calibration" feature? I believe it works by doing a 3 star plate solving routine to correct its horizontal leveling and then it automatically adjusts tracking for the difference.

I'm reading from user groups that it allows you to polar align the Seestar and effectively remove star trails.

[floyd_2]

Hi Adrian,
I've been using it. The Seestar does a horizontal calibration before the first image. It takes between 1 and 2 minutes. Mind you, I also level my tripod and do a compass calibration (where you spin the Seestar around) before each session too. I've actually marked where my tripod legs need to be and set up the same way each time, so the tripod is generally level anyway.

The only time the horizontal calibration seems to have come unstuck is when it was having problems seeing enough stars. It's not a bad idea to do your calibration and autofocus routine on a busy area of sky with some mid brightness stars. It seems to help, especially if you're using filters. Remember that horizontal calibration isn't going to polar align your scope as it's an alt/az setup, but it does help with tracking and finding objects more accurately. I've found that it helps with those pesky trashed shots discarded due to trailing. I get very few of them unless my target starts getting obscured by my neighbour's windbreak trees :(

[AG Hybrid]

Well Well, speak of the devil.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QlLiK-wcLqk

[seeker372011]

Cuiv the lazy geek just released a video on EQ mounting the S50 (which some people have been doing for a long time)

There is a Facebook group called the Smart Telescope Underworld where these and other innovations are discussed.

The ultra stack project- see my Seestar ultra stack project thread here on IIS, originated here at this Facebook Group

Worth checking out if you have a S50

[gaseous]

Finally got a clear hour or so to try out my new toy last night, and I must say, I think I'm hooked.The setup is very straight forward and within 5 minutes I was off. I of course forgot all the good advice provided by you peeps, but still seemed to get things working OK. My attempts at M42 are below/attached. One was 15 minutes with no filter, one was 7 minutes with the inbuilt filter. I know that one has twice as many frames as the other, but apart from a slight colour difference and minor tightening of the stars, there doesn't appear to be a massive difference between them - perhaps some skilled processing (which I don't possess) would bring out more detail in the filtered image. Both images are straight off the device with no processing of any kind. The third image is with some fairly heavy-handed messing about with the LightRoom app on my phone. I did notice that with the filter engaged, it took quite a bit longer to "enhance" each frame, and for some reason I got quite a few messages to the effect that there were star trails and the frame couldn't be kept. I noticed this particularly when trying for NGC 2244 (I was aiming for the rosette nebula but centred on the associated OC). In the space of 15 minutes, I reckon every third frame failed, and it was taking 20-30 seconds for the timer to clock up every 10 second frame. Weird.

[astronut]

Does anyone know if they're going to fix the frame rejection, and compass and level sensor? :):)

[floyd_2]

That's great news Patrick - and well done on your first pics! They're pretty clean for such short integration times. Your skies must be well darker than mine lol. I think the internal filter would come into its own if you have a lot of light pollution. It certainly helps where I am. With regard to the Seestar dropping subs due to trailing, I originally had the same problem. What fixed it for me was to do a compass calibration at the start of the night for each session (where you slowly spin the unit until the compass is calibrated). It's in the Advanced settings. Doing the compass calibration also helped me with the problem of horizontal calibration failing to complete. This might be the fix you're looking for - fingers crossed.

Make sure that your tripod is level before you start as well. I set up in the exact same spot every time so don't level very often. I'm not sure that it's particularly important given that the unit does a horizontal calibration anyway, but just in case.

[gaseous]

Thanks Dean, I did the compass calibration and tried to level the tripod before starting, although if your base is slightly out, then the compass calibration sort of throws out the leveling and you need to do the digital leveling in the app. The horizontal calibration completed OK. I'm in Bortle 5 skies, so overall pretty happy with the maiden voyage.

[floyd_2]

Just wondering if anyone has done the Seestar software / firmware update that was released a couple of days back as yet...

[Satchmo]

Wow thanks mate thanks for taking the effort to explain your workflow -Ïve printed it out for reference .

[gaseous]

Just doing it now. Hoping it will sort out my extremely long stacking times - sometimes it's 10-11 seconds, plus a 15-20 second stack for every 5th frame, then other times it's like 20-22 seconds per frame for minutes at a time, plus all the alleged star trails....

[AG Hybrid]

Well got mine. I have to say this is the most excited I've been to use astro equipment in a few years. 1 night and I'm hooked. I cant believe the images I am getting straight out of the thing from a bortle 7 sky with a full moon.

Just put it down, do a little calibration and away you go. Its a fantastic bit of kit and a game changer.

I took my first picture of the Sun on the weekend. Turned out great and If I never got a Seestar I would have never taken a image of the sun. Maybe ever. Cant wait to see what it can do from Bortle 1/2 skies.

[Orion31]

Hi all,

My wife is pretty keen on the Seestar S50. We have been watching a lot of Seastar S50 VS Dwarf 3 Youtubes and sort of up in the air over which one to get. Now that you have all had your Seastar S50s for some time, would you do it again and are you still happy with it?

Christiaan

[gaseous]

I've had mine for nearly a year now, and still look forward to getting it out every clear night. I came in from a purely visual background with no other astrophotography skills or experience with which to compare it, other than knowing the images it produces don't really compete with those produced from fully fledged AP rigs, but for $800-$900 it's a great way to dip your toe in the water. Having said that, I've seen some truly terrific images, but I think you'd probably need to shell out some serious coin for Pixinsight and some other plugins to really upgrade your imaging results. I use Siril and Graxpert (both free) and am happy with the results for a total noob, but if you want to, you can really dive down the imaging/processing rabbit hole.
It's a great astronomy fix for when you don't feel like lugging a dob out into the yard - you can literally carry everything you need in one trip and be up and running in 5 minutes. It can get a little frustrating when it drops frames for no apparent reason, but overall it's just good fun, and actually helps teach/reinforce where things are in the sky and imprint their catalogue numbers into your brain.

[wavelandscott]

Yes, I am happy with my SeeStar. It has been a boon for outreach and a lot of fun (and relatively easy) to use. While it is possible to download the data and manipulate it with software, I do not do anything with respect to post capture processing and am happy enough with the results.

I am perfectly happy with pictures from my phone (point and shoot)…the SeeStar does that and more. So yes, I am still happy with it.

[EpickCrom]

Great thread with a lot of good information!

I think the Seestar is great for visual observers such as myself who would like to try astrophotography but without all the other strings attached that come with traditional astrophotography. Just turn it on and start taking images, once it's done the image gets sent straight to your phone! Wonderful.

I'll definitely buy one eventually, once I've finished buying all the visual gear I still need..

[sharkbite]

I love mine...

it addresses a lot of issues i had with my old lx90 setup...

here's a list of whats better:

- Easy to set up
- very light
- Easy to use
- tracks really well
- plate solves to find targets, so no need for a fully 'open' sky
- Fits images are easily compatible with graxpert/dss
- mosaic mode
- wifi connection means i can set it up in the backyard and let it rip while doing something else.
- driven from a tablet
- can do solar imaging "out of the box"
- runs all night on one charge


Here's whats not:

- Not suitable for planetary imaging

The only reason i would part with it is as a trade in
If they start making one with bigger aperture....

[JohnA]

Mine did the latest update last night, both software and firmware, and now EQ mode has been added, so i ordered the star adventurer ball adapter, so i can mount the seestar onto my wave 150 mount. I will most likely order the skywatcher star adventurer wedge also, so i can use it along side the main setup. Look forward to testing it out once the part arrives

[sharkbite]

Saw this and immediately ordered a wedge!

(now its going to rain for a week)

[JohnA]

always the way :lol:

[JohnA]

i did mine tonight, tried in in the front yerd, but for some reason it just wouldnt polar align, was going to give up, then took it out the back, re did it and got it working. Currently imaging NGC4945 doing 20 second exposures

But i dont have much time tonight, so wont get much data, but still nice to know it was simple enough to do

Also note the power ligh on the S50 is a different colour, so this was planned from the get go i would say

[JohnA]

got a chance to test EQ mode tonight. 80 min of 20 second exposures, This is uncropped and just as stacked by seestars own software

Ill play with it in siril tomorrow and will also like to try 30 second exposures

[sharkbite]

Nice one John...

Did you notice a reduction in the number of rejected images at all?

I'd run the .fit file through graxpert as well...it seems to work will with the raw output from the seestar...

[JohnA]

Yes much fewer rejected image, all in all very happy with the eq update and so far has been a since to polar align.
I had it on the skywatcher star adventurer wedge last night, so can confirm that works a treat.

Ill do graxpert with the .fit file also, thanks for the tip