Seestar s50 or dwarf 3 any other options?

[stafford_stargazer]

Looking at some basic astrophotography, sort of a quick fix while away In UK on breaks with wife.

These seem interesting. 

Do you need to edit afterwards or do they come out fine from the actual unit?

Any hints tips help and advice taken on board.

 

Thanks Gary 

[Elp]

The software will do basic stacking and preview adjustments, but as with any AP, the "good stuff" usually needs post processing adjustments.

[Elp]

The two mentioned are the cheapest cost of entry, I believe in terms of recent innovation (timescale) the Unistellar evscope was one of the first, this was before the Seestar or Dwarf was even in the ideas stage of their respective companies.

[stafford_stargazer]

2 minutes ago, Elp said:

The software will do basic stacking and preview adjustments, but as with any AP, the "good stuff" usually needs post processing adjustments.

Thanks Elp.

That's fine as long as I know, appreciate the reply.

Gary 👍

[Elp]

Note, you still have to spend time "revealing" targets depending on their magnitude/brightness, more time, more detail, less noise. When I saw a friend's Vaonis in action, it wasn't uncommon to spend 30-45 mins on one target at a time, and that was from a dark site.

[stafford_stargazer]

Thanks for the extra info.. 😁 

Do you know if it zooms or is it fixed focal length?

[Elp]

The Seestar is a fixed FL, the Dwarf has two lenses so you have a choice of very wide (as in landscapes wide) to telephoto. I'd have a look within these forums regarding images people are taking with both (the Dwarf2 anyway as the 3 is so new).

[stafford_stargazer]

Appreciated thanks 👍

[PeterC65]

I've just seen a post from ZWO on Facebook announcing that a new version of Seestar is coming soon. No details I'm afraid.

 

[Elp]

25 minutes ago, PeterC65 said:

I've just seen a post from ZWO on Facebook announcing that a new version of Seestar is coming soon. No details I'm afraid.

 

They pretty much confirmed it at NEAF earlier this year.

[stafford_stargazer]

Intersting, thanks, might be worth holding off then.. cheers 👍

[Ratlet]

38 minutes ago, stafford_stargazer said:

Intersting, thanks, might be worth holding off then.. cheers 👍

If not for the new mount then for all the s50s going cheap as people look to upgrade.

[Elp]

32 minutes ago, Ratlet said:

If not for the new mount then for all the s50s going cheap as people look to upgrade.

Maybe then it'll be worth having a farm of them for faster data capture...

[Geoff Lister]

Dwarf 2s are now also available at a discount, and I often use mine as a substitute for binoculars/spotting scope for birding.

[stafford_stargazer]

Was actually thinking of that use too, as I'm a border too, wonder what it works like for birds at distance.

Thanks any examples?

[Coco]

The new Seestar will be 60 or 70mm and EQ mode ... Hope so  

[Geoff Lister]

6 hours ago, stafford_stargazer said:

Thanks any examples?

From the RSPB hide at Bowling Green Marsh, Topsham, Devon

Geoff

[stafford_stargazer]

Geoff.

That's not bad mate, how far were they away? I bet the videos good don't it?

Thanks for that 

Gary 

[Tomatobro]

According to various sources a version two SeeStar is going to be released probably in time for xmas. A picture shows what appears to be a second lens mounted above the 50mm lens.

 

[stafford_stargazer]

Oooooh nice ...Xmas pressie

[Geoff Lister]

13 hours ago, stafford_stargazer said:

how far were they away? I bet the videos good don't it?

The heron was about 150 metres away and the others, behind, about another 10 to 50 metres. For videos, there is a tracking mode that works well, provided that the bird does not pass behind undergrowth for more than a couple of seconds; and I also found that it was confused where I was following a flock of swans on the lake, and it would sometimes change lock onto, and then track, a close-passing neighbour.

When I was in the hide, there were several other birders, with their DSLR cameras and long lenses, or decent spotting scopes, and they asked lots of questions about my setup, including model details and price. For me, viewing on a tablet's screen is much more comfortable than keeping my eye glued to a viewfinder or eyepiece.

For general daytime photography and holiday astronomy, I tend to use my Dwarf 2, but at home, for DSOs and comets, I prefer my Seestar S50.

With both, and my advancing years, I can "see" faint objects slowly build up on the screen; in conditions where I would not be able to spot them with my 10" Dobsonian.

Geoff

[paulastro]

On 24/09/2024 at 18:07, stafford_stargazer said:

Looking at some basic astrophotography, sort of a quick fix while away In UK on breaks with wife.

These seem interesting. 

Do you need to edit afterwards or do they come out fine from the actual unit?

Any hints tips help and advice taken on board.

 

Thanks Gary 

Gary.  Regarding editing pics with  the Seestar S50.  Some pics are ok without, but most will beneifit with a little editing.

I only use the built in software that came with my Samsung Galaxy provided for use with the phone's camera. Also I never spend more than five minutes editing one picture.  It's quick, simple and intuitive to use.  

I'm very pleased, after several months use, with the results, much better than I expected.  Of course traditional imaging will produce better results, but will cost you at least  several times more than the Seestar, a steep learning curve and much more time processing.

Below are a few pics I took one night last week as examples.  

 

Edited Tuesday at 02:50 by paulastro

[Jules Tohpipi]

On 24/09/2024 at 18:07, stafford_stargazer said:

Looking at some basic astrophotography, sort of a quick fix while away In UK on breaks with wife.

These seem interesting. 

Do you need to edit afterwards or do they come out fine from the actual unit?

Any hints tips help and advice taken on board.

 

Thanks Gary 

There's a YouTube channel called 'Pompey Observatory' where a guy runs nightly Live Streams where he's doing live-stacking - often with stacks from multiple telescopes on view simultaneously. Frequently with the SeeStar S50 and Dwarf 2 & Dwarf 3. Sometimes some bigger scopes. He's even named his Dwarves i.e. Happy and Grumpy.

https://www.youtube.com/@PompeyObservatory

You can see his targets being live stacked in real time to get an idea of what's possible. Sometimes he'll give a brief commentary and has a dry wit. Or look at past live streams and move the time sliders back and forth to speed things up. He's in America so there's a time difference.

Below is a past live stream from a couple of days a go - using the the two Dwarfs simultaneously. Plenty more where he's using SeeStar and Dwarf and sometimes a Stelina. With his bigger scopes he's often using SharpCap.

 

Below have found one where he's running Seestar and Dwarf 2 together - changing targets through the session.

 

 

 

 

Edited Tuesday at 14:56 by Jules Tohpipi

[Geoff Lister]

15 hours ago, Jules Tohpipi said:

He's even named his Dwarves i.e. Happy and Grumpy.

I don't normally give my telescopes names, but when my wife asked if my Dwarf 2 had a name, I decided the most suitable was "Doc". My Seestar S50, when it arrived, soon became "Big Doc".

On 01/10/2024 at 03:41, paulastro said:

Regarding editing pics with  the Seestar S50.  Some pics are ok without, but most will beneifit with a little editing.

I only use the built in software that came with my Samsung Galaxy provided for use with the phone's camera. Also I never spend more than five minutes editing one picture.  It's quick, simple and intuitive to use.

Most of the time I just record the images as they are downloaded from the 'scope's internal album to the memory of my tablet. Sometimes I use the tablet's own photo editing tools for a slight tweek. I always record the RAW FIT files in the 'scope's memory, and when the memory gets full, transfer them, via my laptop, to a redundant pair of 4TB portable USB hard drives (just in case 1 fails for any reason). Should I feel the need to enhance the final image, I can use Siril with the FIT images.

Geoff