I don't know why people on many comment sections compare the S50 and other small app driven scopes to a regular astrophotography set-up. They are completely different approaches. There are a lot of gatekeepers out there that don't want people to produce any results unless they are spending 100s of hours learning, getting frustrated and then finally after years and £1000s getting the results they want. If the S50 brings people into astrophotography, or even a desire to look at the nights sky then I'm all for it! It's a fantastic bit of kit and these will only get better. I'm scared to get one as I suspect I would end up using it more than the Tele-Vue setup that cost me ... well .. a lot. On a separate subject, love the videos Mark, hope the channel grows exponentially. Cheers.
I know what you mean. I too spent $$$ on an astrophotography rig which I rarely used because it was just too much work to setup and image, it felt like work instead of an joyful hobby. But I sold all that and now i've built a small astro rig for myself using a Skywatcher 50ED (perhaps the same one used in the seestar) a skywatcher az-gti mount on a light video tripod and a ZWO asi585mc. I've got enough fov to cover me the whole of carina nebula (not just the keyhole part shown in this video) its simple to setup (on az mode) and it gives me great pics doing EAA on sharpcap. I can then use APP to get nicer and cleaner images.
Cheers monolith. I agree with you - especially when compared to the department store scopes that normally kill any interest in astronomy. Thanks also for your feedback - really appreciated.
I bought one recently, its a lot easier to set up than the 16" dob and I got a great picture of M42 last week. I look forward to setting it up on the lawn and being able to sit in the house in the warm watching the faint fuzzies come to life, seeing colours is a bonus too. The main advantage to me now is that it enables me to carry on with my hobby for a lot longer than would have been possible otherwise.🙂
That sounds lovely David. Gosh if you’re enjoying it more than the 16” dob it must be quite something. Do you not miss being out under the stars? I suppose you could do both - set the SeeStar going while you look through the dob?
@@RefreshingViews Thanks for the comment. I am hoping to get the Dob working on an equatorial platform which will make it easier for me to observe. I like the fact that when you steer or focus the See Star from the ipad you don't inadvertantly jolt it. The portability of it compared to what I have been used to in the past is very acceptable. I am hosting a small get together with friends sometime soon on a clear Spring evening so we can see how the home made 16" performs, along with See Stars and other telescopes. I hope to have some pics of the event. Clear skies (ps I am a tech gadget freak, but I do like being out there with my home made scopes (the other side of the coin?) not a great fan of freezing though.🙂
I’m more of a Stargazer and mostly use Binoculars from 2x42 to 25x100. Telescopes usually end up in frustration. This is was I’m looking for and can’t wait to use it this summer.
So glad you like it Dave. I really enjoyed my loan SeeStar and can't wait for them to produce a bigger model. Let me know if you need any pointers when it arrives.
Hi, I was curious if you are setting up a patreon business, send a coffee etc As in video (EAA) with a DSLR, you seem pretty much against the idea? Your content is very good and guess some help with funding from subscribers may be worth considering. Wish you well, Best regards.. Tom.
Why bother doing it at all then? I can just download hubble pictures and voila. So what is your point? .. or are you another gatekeeper to the hobby? Also interesting that you have used a downloaded image as your avatar rather than one of your own ... hmmmm
I must admit I find it quite an intriguing product. It’s certainly far, far more preferable than the hobby-killer department store scopes offering x600 with 50mm plastic lens. To be honest, I’m sure it will do very well for those looking to enter the hobby in an affordable way and have a fantastic result with very little learning. Whether that is “proper” astronomy is entirely subjective.
Amazingly good for steady shooting during the day - but the calibration, levelling, anti fogging routine to get the most mediocre picture of something you can’t / barely see with the naked eye conjoined with the image processing required to get a half decent image is a total put off - your better off Googling whatever you want to see and looking at someone else’s ’professional’ pictures that will be 100% better than you will ever achieve !!
Let’s add to this… I have a full Astro rig-. Need to put scope outside for the mirror to acclimate, then collimate the mirror, then setup the auto guider and electronics, make sure power tank is fully charged, find object, adjust filter wheel and the auto guide then photograph for hours then do all post processing. This little scope is a great point and shoot. I have taken some great pictures of deep sky without all the hassle. If this gets more people interested in science and the night sky it’s a no brainer. Sure you can google images but where’s the fun in that
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I don't know why people on many comment sections compare the S50 and other small app driven scopes to a regular astrophotography set-up. They are completely different approaches. There are a lot of gatekeepers out there that don't want people to produce any results unless they are spending 100s of hours learning, getting frustrated and then finally after years and £1000s getting the results they want.
If the S50 brings people into astrophotography, or even a desire to look at the nights sky then I'm all for it! It's a fantastic bit of kit and these will only get better.
I'm scared to get one as I suspect I would end up using it more than the Tele-Vue setup that cost me ... well .. a lot.
On a separate subject, love the videos Mark, hope the channel grows exponentially. Cheers.
I know what you mean. I too spent $$$ on an astrophotography rig which I rarely used because it was just too much work to setup and image, it felt like work instead of an joyful hobby. But I sold all that and now i've built a small astro rig for myself using a Skywatcher 50ED (perhaps the same one used in the seestar) a skywatcher az-gti mount on a light video tripod and a ZWO asi585mc. I've got enough fov to cover me the whole of carina nebula (not just the keyhole part shown in this video) its simple to setup (on az mode) and it gives me great pics doing EAA on sharpcap. I can then use APP to get nicer and cleaner images.
Cheers monolith. I agree with you - especially when compared to the department store scopes that normally kill any interest in astronomy. Thanks also for your feedback - really appreciated.
I bought one recently, its a lot easier to set up than the 16" dob and I got a great picture of M42 last week. I look forward to setting it up on the lawn and being able to sit in the house in the warm watching the faint fuzzies come to life, seeing colours is a bonus too. The main advantage to me now is that it enables me to carry on with my hobby for a lot longer than would have been possible otherwise.🙂
That sounds lovely David. Gosh if you’re enjoying it more than the 16” dob it must be quite something. Do you not miss being out under the stars? I suppose you could do both - set the SeeStar going while you look through the dob?
@@RefreshingViews Thanks for the comment. I am hoping to get the Dob working on an equatorial platform which will make it easier for me to observe. I like the fact that when you steer or focus the See Star from the ipad you don't inadvertantly jolt it. The portability of it compared to what I have been used to in the past is very acceptable. I am hosting a small get together with friends sometime soon on a clear Spring evening so we can see how the home made 16" performs, along with See Stars and other telescopes. I hope to have some pics of the event. Clear skies (ps I am a tech gadget freak, but I do like being out there with my home made scopes (the other side of the coin?) not a great fan of freezing though.🙂
I’m more of a Stargazer and mostly use Binoculars from 2x42 to 25x100. Telescopes usually end up in frustration. This is was I’m looking for and can’t wait to use it this summer.
Fantastic! Let us know how you get on.
Great review Mark! I've just bought one for me and the kiddo's :D
So glad you like it Dave. I really enjoyed my loan SeeStar and can't wait for them to produce a bigger model. Let me know if you need any pointers when it arrives.
A very good piece of equipment to own, very simple to use and gives excellent pictures.
I am really impressed with the results that you and others are getting with these scopes, Peter.
Nice video, sun spots look great through that. I'd definitely get the seestar as a gift for my nephew, if I could find one :D
A seestar or a nephew? Plenty of both in the UK 🤣
You should, Ziggy. I was quite impressed with the results it produces without the steep learning curve.
Nice for bird watching 😊
very very nice device I have one and it is unbelievable what it can do even at bortle 8.6.
Glad you are enjoying yours. They do seem to be quite the instrument.
Hi, I was curious if you are setting up a patreon business, send a coffee etc As in video (EAA) with a DSLR, you seem pretty much against the idea? Your content is very good and guess some help with funding from subscribers may be worth considering. Wish you well, Best regards.. Tom.
Thank you for your kind words, Tom. I have just set up a patreon: www.patreon.com/RefreshingViews.
Cheers again!
Interesting device. So is Alexa, who can download celestial photos for me.
Why bother doing it at all then? I can just download hubble pictures and voila. So what is your point? .. or are you another gatekeeper to the hobby? Also interesting that you have used a downloaded image as your avatar rather than one of your own ... hmmmm
@@phoenixdundee shots fired! :-D 😉
@@ziggyfrnds Well, sarcastic plonkers get my back up 🤣
I must admit I find it quite an intriguing product. It’s certainly far, far more preferable than the hobby-killer department store scopes offering x600 with 50mm plastic lens. To be honest, I’m sure it will do very well for those looking to enter the hobby in an affordable way and have a fantastic result with very little learning. Whether that is “proper” astronomy is entirely subjective.
Amazingly good for steady shooting during the day - but the calibration, levelling, anti fogging routine to get the most mediocre picture of something you can’t / barely see with the naked eye conjoined with the image processing required to get a half decent image is a total put off - your better off Googling whatever you want to see and looking at someone else’s ’professional’ pictures that will be 100% better than you will ever achieve !!
I thought the point was that all this faff was taken care of inside the SeeStar? If you follow that argument, we would not do anything in this world.
Let’s add to this… I have a full Astro rig-. Need to put scope outside for the mirror to acclimate, then collimate the mirror, then setup the auto guider and electronics, make sure power tank is fully charged, find object, adjust filter wheel and the auto guide then photograph for hours then do all post processing. This little scope is a great point and shoot. I have taken some great pictures of deep sky without all the hassle. If this gets more people interested in science and the night sky it’s a no brainer. Sure you can google images but where’s the fun in that