Great video. I discovered that you can use the little hole on the solar filter tab to line up the sun. Just make sure that the tab it pointing straight up when you install the filter and when you are sleuthing for the sun watch for the light to appear like a little dot on top of the arm just behind the filter.
Thanks for all the brilliant tips. I also don't exceed 30mins per session, prefer to take multiple sessions and stack the RAWs in Siril, it works a treat, with minimal noise at the edges😊
@@ColleenVR thanks! I don’t like it when I push it just a little too far and then the edge noise becomes awful! 😂 Around 30 minutes does seem to be the “sweet spot”.
I agree with limiting the tracking on a target to maximize the small amount of resolution this has. I just started using the Siril software this week after seeing a RUclips video for the S50 script and it makes a world of difference. I recommend it to everyone to at least try it out. It isn’t difficult, just have to remember the steps … it is worth it. Regarding the leveller, since (at this time) I only use the included tripod, I just pull the legs closer to centre to level the S50 (when on relatively level ground, if ground is sloped then I’ll use the tripod turn collars to get close). I level to be 0.5 or less, but I stop as soon as hit 0.5 as a max, as I see no improvement in tracking or image quality when getting to 0.0. There is also a half sleeve dew shield design for 3D printing out there. The dew shield sleeve slides on the end of the telescope arm and not in the lens hole, so as the arm closes it gentle slides off the arm and falls … no resistance.
@@zalllon I saw that dew shield. It’s a smart design. Yep, the in house stacking on the Seestar is pretty good, but processing in Siril produces much better results. All the images at the end of this video came straight out of the Seestar. I think it does a great job for people with no experience in editing Astro photos, but they can be taken to another level with some post processing.
A couple tips regarding the Neewer leveler: 1) Cinch the locking knobs tight to the larger adjusting knobs so they turn as a single unit. There's no need to lock the adjustment- I've never experienced any drift of the leveler. 2) The Neewer leveler knobs turn exactly 4 rotations from upper limit to lower limit. Place a visible mark on the edge of each knob at the 2-rotation point, facing outward. After every session, I return the leveler to a condition where all the adjusting knobs are positioned at 2 rotations, or the middle of their travel limit, so in the field I never have to fiddle with running up against a stop limit (or losing a threaded bolt). 3) Setup your Seestar and leveler with a quick-release ARCA plate, and never thread the telescope again. It's way easier to thread the leveler on the tripod, do a rough level of the tripod using the bubbles, then snap the S50 into the ARCA plate on the leveler and do fine adjusting. The ARCA plate works perfectly with the rotating section on the bottom of the Seestar and doesn't interfere with tracking or stability. I use the Neewer ARCA plates, which work great.
@@tech4991 I got lucky when I found that screw in the grass! 😂 I now get my tripod as close to 0 as possible, and I just make tiny adjustments with the leveling base. When I first got it, I was cranking on it something fierce!
@@AstroDanno I use the K&F Concept LP-48 variant of the leveling base. Cannot say if exactly the same as the Neewer, but very similar. One thing I noticed is the pad for the spindle on the bottom of the Seestar is 35mm across, while the pad on the surface of the leveler has an inner cutout of 30mm across, leaving only about at 2.5mm ring to make contact with the Seestar. It works well enough, but for a slightly improved and more stable surface interaction, I 3D printed a very thin washer of sorts that fills in the cutout and overlays the leveler's pad, so the full surface of the Seestar's spindle makes contact.
@@DeadBen. I’m not familiar with that base. I think mine sits flush on the Neewer, and it seems pretty stable and rotates fine. Definitely speeds up the leveling process.
I do not know if the sea star has something tracking the weather as my sea star has shut down by itself twice with over 70 % power left So a 3d dew shield may cause problems If this happens. I bought some black Mat cardboard And cut it on a guillotine to 3 inches wide and rolled it up And taped it on the outside to stop it from unravelling This has been brilliant for me and I feel if it goes into automatic shutdown again this would just crumple and fall out
Mine and I guess others per the app has stopped tracking correctly. It just almost keeps up but not quite. Causing star trails and frustrations. Hopefully they fix that soon.
@@kyleb.8378 sometime the updates are wonky. I’m currently having issues with the last update on my ASIair plus. Hoping they get all of the bugs sorted and release another update soon.
Do you use a filter on your seestar? I'm in a bortle 8-9 and purchased the optolong L-quad, and just so you know it fits perfectly in the end but don't push it past the chrome indention or it's a nightmare to get out. The seestar has the zwo duo band inside of it but the quad lets 4 bands of light through while filtering more unwanted light noise. I'm able to get some decent images with it in a major city. Nothing as cool as bortle 4 or less. I need to do a comparison between the duo and the quad see if it's worth it for the pink and blue colors lol
Great video. I discovered that you can use the little hole on the solar filter tab to line up the sun. Just make sure that the tab it pointing straight up when you install the filter and when you are sleuthing for the sun watch for the light to appear like a little dot on top of the arm just behind the filter.
@@StarPicturesMiami my Seestar has always found the sun and moon. I know other people have had issues, mine usually goes right to it.
Can you set it up so it’s aligned with the earths axis and track that way? I think it’s called Polar alignment?
@@Jcom3030 you can do it, but it’s not designed for that.
Thanks for all the brilliant tips. I also don't exceed 30mins per session, prefer to take multiple sessions and stack the RAWs in Siril, it works a treat, with minimal noise at the edges😊
@@ColleenVR thanks! I don’t like it when I push it just a little too far and then the edge noise becomes awful! 😂 Around 30 minutes does seem to be the “sweet spot”.
I agree with limiting the tracking on a target to maximize the small amount of resolution this has. I just started using the Siril software this week after seeing a RUclips video for the S50 script and it makes a world of difference. I recommend it to everyone to at least try it out. It isn’t difficult, just have to remember the steps … it is worth it.
Regarding the leveller, since (at this time) I only use the included tripod, I just pull the legs closer to centre to level the S50 (when on relatively level ground, if ground is sloped then I’ll use the tripod turn collars to get close). I level to be 0.5 or less, but I stop as soon as hit 0.5 as a max, as I see no improvement in tracking or image quality when getting to 0.0.
There is also a half sleeve dew shield design for 3D printing out there. The dew shield sleeve slides on the end of the telescope arm and not in the lens hole, so as the arm closes it gentle slides off the arm and falls … no resistance.
@@zalllon I saw that dew shield. It’s a smart design. Yep, the in house stacking on the Seestar is pretty good, but processing in Siril produces much better results. All the images at the end of this video came straight out of the Seestar. I think it does a great job for people with no experience in editing Astro photos, but they can be taken to another level with some post processing.
Thanks. New user here and your presentation is excellent.
@@David12005 thanks! Hope you have a lot of fun with it and clear skies!
A couple tips regarding the Neewer leveler:
1) Cinch the locking knobs tight to the larger adjusting knobs so they turn as a single unit. There's no need to lock the adjustment- I've never experienced any drift of the leveler.
2) The Neewer leveler knobs turn exactly 4 rotations from upper limit to lower limit. Place a visible mark on the edge of each knob at the 2-rotation point, facing outward. After every session, I return the leveler to a condition where all the adjusting knobs are positioned at 2 rotations, or the middle of their travel limit, so in the field I never have to fiddle with running up against a stop limit (or losing a threaded bolt).
3) Setup your Seestar and leveler with a quick-release ARCA plate, and never thread the telescope again. It's way easier to thread the leveler on the tripod, do a rough level of the tripod using the bubbles, then snap the S50 into the ARCA plate on the leveler and do fine adjusting. The ARCA plate works perfectly with the rotating section on the bottom of the Seestar and doesn't interfere with tracking or stability. I use the Neewer ARCA plates, which work great.
@@tech4991 I got lucky when I found that screw in the grass! 😂
I now get my tripod as close to 0 as possible, and I just make tiny adjustments with the leveling base. When I first got it, I was cranking on it something fierce!
@@AstroDanno I use the K&F Concept LP-48 variant of the leveling base. Cannot say if exactly the same as the Neewer, but very similar. One thing I noticed is the pad for the spindle on the bottom of the Seestar is 35mm across, while the pad on the surface of the leveler has an inner cutout of 30mm across, leaving only about at 2.5mm ring to make contact with the Seestar. It works well enough, but for a slightly improved and more stable surface interaction, I 3D printed a very thin washer of sorts that fills in the cutout and overlays the leveler's pad, so the full surface of the Seestar's spindle makes contact.
@@DeadBen. I’m not familiar with that base. I think mine sits flush on the Neewer, and it seems pretty stable and rotates fine. Definitely speeds up the leveling process.
a bit of thread lock on the screws
@@ClassicTrialsChannel that’ll help too. I just make sure I don’t twist it too much now, and they’ve stayed in there.
I do not know if the sea star has something tracking the weather as my sea star has shut down by itself twice with over 70 % power left So a 3d dew shield may cause problems If this happens. I bought some black Mat cardboard And cut it on a guillotine to 3 inches wide and rolled it up And taped it on the outside to stop it from unravelling This has been brilliant for me and I feel if it goes into automatic shutdown again this would just crumple and fall out
@@pinkfloydvk I wonder why it is shutting down. Mine has never done that before. Is yours overheating or something?
Mine and I guess others per the app has stopped tracking correctly. It just almost keeps up but not quite. Causing star trails and frustrations. Hopefully they fix that soon.
@@kyleb.8378 sometime the updates are wonky. I’m currently having issues with the last update on my ASIair plus. Hoping they get all of the bugs sorted and release another update soon.
Do you use a filter on your seestar? I'm in a bortle 8-9 and purchased the optolong L-quad, and just so you know it fits perfectly in the end but don't push it past the chrome indention or it's a nightmare to get out. The seestar has the zwo duo band inside of it but the quad lets 4 bands of light through while filtering more unwanted light noise. I'm able to get some decent images with it in a major city. Nothing as cool as bortle 4 or less. I need to do a comparison between the duo and the quad see if it's worth it for the pink and blue colors lol
I ordered the 2 inch- optolong L-quad. In case someone wants to know which one fit in the end
Just use a little bit of loctite on the leveler.
@@josephtannenbaum8696 will that help the screw from backing out
@@AstroDanno Try some duck tape over the screws once tight..this will prevent them from falling out and getting lost
@petetee8519 good idea!
At least it's low pressure sodium.your neighbours LEDs are worse
@@Vic-pz5oh the neighborhood is slowly filling up with LEDs. It’s pretty bad.
@@AstroDannoI miss the orange glow which was easy to filter out😢
Too much of everything else than the camera
@@bamsemh1 I’m going to do a more detailed video when the weather gets better.