Thank you very much! You have provided excellent and easy to follow instructions. What I love most about this telescope is that it can be set up in a matter of minutes. I own other smart telescopes (Unistellar, Dwarf) and although each have their good features, the S50 is by far the easiest to use for me with better imaging quality.
Nice video! I’ve been looking forward to mosaic mode, can’t wait for the official release of mosaic mode! However, I would most strongly suggest to calibrate the compass first and then level the scope when it’s sure you’re not going to move the tripod again 😉
The solar filter has a small hole in the 'handle' or tab on one side. Another method is placing the filter on with that tab at the top, then hold a piece of paper up to it until you see a dot of light.
For $20USD I bought a dew shield tube that has a sun sight on it. At night, it's a dew shield. For solar imaging, it has two tabs on it. The far tab has a hole drilled in it to let the light through. The near tab has a target. Center the beam of light on that target and start imaging. The only caveat is to always remember to remove the dew shield before you push the button to close the arm.
Aren't 2x and 4x just digital magnifications (i.e., cropping the sensor)? If so, using them should't provide any more detail than if the same was done in post-production.
@@LarryTru you are correct. It’s not an optical Zoom, so just best to take the picture in the original crop format and then enhance it on a computer which can do a much better job at digitally zooming in.
Great video. Thank you for sharing. But just one issue. The compass calibration should be done before the levelling, especially if you are in the field on uneven ground. Even if not, in my opinion, it is more logical to do those two essential steps in that order. :)
Really good video, anxious to give Mosaic Mode a try............if I may though, I have been trying for quite a while now to get someone to explain the filters (not Solar) that are built into the Seestar S50. I have found this quote on the internet: "If you're shooting nebulae, Seestar will apply the dual band filter to emphasize Hydrogen alpha (Ha) and Oxygen three (O3) emissions. If you’re in a light-polluted area, you can enable the filter to minimize its impact on an image. It is not recommended for galaxies". And this from the ZWO manual for the scope: " Dual narrow-band filter: Considering that most users are in the light pollution area, we have added dual narrow-band light filter (bandwidth OIII 30nm/Ha 20nm) on the hardware, and users can manually switch to the light pollution filter in the App." Neither seem to make sense to me............does it mean that if you choose a nebula to shoot the scope automatically engages the HA/O3 filter, and that the filter control icon on the app screen is only for the light pollution filter? Does it mean that the light pollution filter should not be turned on when shooting galaxies? Is the HA/O3 filter and the light pollution filter one the same? Sorry for the long comment, but this confusion is giving me fits every time I go out to shoot..........turn on/or not turn on, auto applied or not auto applied..........your thoughts would be greatly appreciated!
In my experience, you often have to turn it on or off manually. You can't do this while it is enhancing, so pause enhancing immediately after it starts, turn filter on/off (tap the icon - it changes colour and you hear a little sound from inside the Seestar), and then start enhancing again (maybe retargeting/refocusing first just to be sure). Yes, the general guidance is for nebulae you should use the dual band filter, and for galaxies you should not. If you are imaging stars that have surrounding nebulosity (e.g. Pleiades), then choose according to what you are more interested in. The Seestar will often apply the right filter for each object, but I find this is only for the better-known ones, and when you are going precisely with its suggested framing. [If it doesn't "know" then it tends to leave it on whatever setting it has been on - so if you are imaging nebulae all night you probably won't have to keep changing it.] If I am fairly sure it will *not* choose the right one for the next object I am about to image, then I'll change the filter setting just after stopping the previous image. It's a wonderful device, but has its quirks! [I don't know what advice to give if you have heavy light pollution and want to shoot galaxies... maybe major on nebulae or the very brightest galaxies until you can make a trip out of town?]
Still imaging and learning..............if I may ask one more question: what is the difference between an Emission Nebula and an H2 nebula (region)......more specifically which of the two benefits from using a Dual Band filter (Ha/O3) like that on the Seestar S50 for imaging? When I am picking targets in Stellarium, some are listed as Emission Nebula and some as H2 region, while others are categorized as Super Nova remnants. Guess I could try doubling my sessions, one with and one without the filter, but seems there ought to be a simpler method for deciding when and when not to use. Many thanks for your patience!
Talked with ZWO yesterday.........it is still in Beta testing, and only those on their evaluator list have access right now.........they expect testing to be done soon and a general relesase it "coming soon". Ready to give it a go!
Hey Scott. Let's say I shoot a specific galaxy for 2 nights in a row. When I connect my SeeStar to my laptop, how would I combine those two files into 1? When I load an image on GraxPert, I understand I have to load the fit file from one of my stockings, but idk how to add more than 1 fit file or how to combine the two.
@AndreasDidion From what I've read it's only limited to certain people receiving this at the moment as it's in beta testing. Guess us normal people are not worthy yet 🤣
Yes, waist of time. I use a Celestron SE tripod and do a compass calibration first . Then I level the tripod. Then I level the see star with the triple leveler I added . Easy and fast.
How can they have a product out for a year already that still cannot locate a Sun ? How does it locate hard to see objects if it relies on the user to point to Sun ?
@@Martinko_Pcik Well at night it can always use the stars to check where it's pointing but during daytime it relies only on the digital compass for the azimuth position. Any metallic or magnetic objects will throw that off so it's just inherently difficult to do for the hardware that is present
I just got my Seestar today. When I look up an object and hit the find object button, once my Seestar locates the object it begins automatically taking the 10 second exposures without letting me first hit auto focus. I have to quickly tap the button to stop the photo stacking, hit the AF button, adjust to my liking, and then proceed to hit the start button again. I can’t seem to find out how to solve this..
The Seestar is a wonderful little device. I am sure it would exceed your expectations, and get used a lot more than your bigger telescopes. It's so easy just to leave it working for hours while you go and do something else! Hey, I bought a second one to make best use of those dark clear nights!
Do you have your Seestar mounted on the roof of your car or something? If you're going to demonstrate how to set the thing up at least choose a flat surface that doesn't noticeably wobble every time you touch the scope. And what a totally arcane method of finding the sun.
@@iansloman1434 My firmware showed as up to date with 2.95, but I went to the app store and searched for Seestar and tapped update and got the 3.31 version with Mosaic.
„How many scopes do u have?“
„One too little!“
Great tutorial. For the first time I fully understood the issue of field rotation near zenith.
Thank you very much! You have provided excellent and easy to follow instructions. What I love most about this telescope is that it can be set up in a matter of minutes. I own other smart telescopes (Unistellar, Dwarf) and although each have their good features, the S50 is by far the easiest to use for me with better imaging quality.
Nice video! I’ve been looking forward to mosaic mode, can’t wait for the official release of mosaic mode!
However, I would most strongly suggest to calibrate the compass first and then level the scope when it’s sure you’re not going to move the tripod again 😉
My Seestar is arriving this week. I've seen some of the images and videos a friend has produced and I'm excited to begin myself.😀
The solar filter has a small hole in the 'handle' or tab on one side. Another method is placing the filter on with that tab at the top, then hold a piece of paper up to it until you see a dot of light.
For $20USD I bought a dew shield tube that has a sun sight on it. At night, it's a dew shield. For solar imaging, it has two tabs on it. The far tab has a hole drilled in it to let the light through. The near tab has a target. Center the beam of light on that target and start imaging. The only caveat is to always remember to remove the dew shield before you push the button to close the arm.
Aren't 2x and 4x just digital magnifications (i.e., cropping the sensor)? If so, using them should't provide any more detail than if the same was done in post-production.
@@LarryTru you are correct. It’s not an optical Zoom, so just best to take the picture in the original crop format and then enhance it on a computer which can do a much better job at digitally zooming in.
Great video. Thank you for sharing. But just one issue. The compass calibration should be done before the levelling, especially if you are in the field on uneven ground. Even if not, in my opinion, it is more logical to do those two essential steps in that order. :)
You are correct, i realized that was a mistake after upload😂
Thank you. ZWO should hire you to do tutorials.
Trust me, if they offered me a job, I’d take it😂😂
Really good video, anxious to give Mosaic Mode a try............if I may though, I have been trying for quite a while now to get someone to explain the filters (not Solar) that are built into the Seestar S50. I have found this quote on the internet: "If you're shooting nebulae, Seestar will apply the dual band filter to emphasize Hydrogen alpha (Ha) and Oxygen three (O3) emissions. If you’re in a light-polluted area, you can enable the filter to minimize its impact on an image. It is not recommended for galaxies". And this from the ZWO manual for the scope: " Dual narrow-band filter: Considering that most users are in the light pollution area, we have added dual narrow-band light filter (bandwidth OIII 30nm/Ha 20nm) on the hardware, and users can manually switch to the light pollution filter in the App." Neither seem to make sense to me............does it mean that if you choose a nebula to shoot the scope automatically engages the HA/O3 filter, and that the filter control icon on the app screen is only for the light pollution filter? Does it mean that the light pollution filter should not be turned on when shooting galaxies? Is the HA/O3 filter and the light pollution filter one the same? Sorry for the long comment, but this confusion is giving me fits every time I go out to shoot..........turn on/or not turn on, auto applied or not auto applied..........your thoughts would be greatly appreciated!
In my experience, you often have to turn it on or off manually. You can't do this while it is enhancing, so pause enhancing immediately after it starts, turn filter on/off (tap the icon - it changes colour and you hear a little sound from inside the Seestar), and then start enhancing again (maybe retargeting/refocusing first just to be sure). Yes, the general guidance is for nebulae you should use the dual band filter, and for galaxies you should not. If you are imaging stars that have surrounding nebulosity (e.g. Pleiades), then choose according to what you are more interested in. The Seestar will often apply the right filter for each object, but I find this is only for the better-known ones, and when you are going precisely with its suggested framing. [If it doesn't "know" then it tends to leave it on whatever setting it has been on - so if you are imaging nebulae all night you probably won't have to keep changing it.] If I am fairly sure it will *not* choose the right one for the next object I am about to image, then I'll change the filter setting just after stopping the previous image. It's a wonderful device, but has its quirks! [I don't know what advice to give if you have heavy light pollution and want to shoot galaxies... maybe major on nebulae or the very brightest galaxies until you can make a trip out of town?]
Just to be clear, that is for _emission_ nebulae.
@@64gkb Got it, thanks..................
Still imaging and learning..............if I may ask one more question: what is the difference between an Emission Nebula and an H2 nebula (region)......more specifically which of the two benefits from using a Dual Band filter (Ha/O3) like that on the Seestar S50 for imaging? When I am picking targets in Stellarium, some are listed as Emission Nebula and some as H2 region, while others are categorized as Super Nova remnants. Guess I could try doubling my sessions, one with and one without the filter, but seems there ought to be a simpler method for deciding when and when not to use. Many thanks for your patience!
H2 nebula are considered emission nebula. So the dual band filter would work perfectly on that!
What is "EAA" ?? Newbe here, preordered the S30. Thanks and good job!
Just got my S50 a couple of weeks ago. Still in the learning mode. Hope ZWO comes out with a S150 a year from now. I'll be ready for it.
S30 is coming this November! But yes I think all of us wanted a higher focal length instead of
Hi! Could you please help me with accessing this mode, because my seestar doesn’t have this option.
Talked with ZWO yesterday.........it is still in Beta testing, and only those on their evaluator list have access right now.........they expect testing to be done soon and a general relesase it "coming soon". Ready to give it a go!
Wait!? What happened to stacked image of the Sun?
Very helpful as usual.
Thank you.
Hey Scott. Let's say I shoot a specific galaxy for 2 nights in a row. When I connect my SeeStar to my laptop, how would I combine those two files into 1? When I load an image on GraxPert, I understand I have to load the fit file from one of my stockings, but idk how to add more than 1 fit file or how to combine the two.
Hey there! Just add both files into siril and use the script preprocessing_withoutdbf to stack them together!
searched for the mosaic mode too.... big question will be, how to process within pixinside. i am waiting for the tutorial :)
Great video. Very informative.
The sun filter at the end I seen someone drill a hole in it so that the sun comes through it so u know u have it lined up
Your videos are always very interesting. Today I wonder which firmware you are using. I can't find the mosaic function on my s50.
I don't find it on mine also
@@peterrichardson4439 Somehow I feel reassured now, I thought I had overlooked something.
@AndreasDidion From what I've read it's only limited to certain people receiving this at the moment as it's in beta testing. Guess us normal people are not worthy yet 🤣
@@peterrichardson4439 The good thing is that the normal people are not beta testers, hopefully
thank you!
You're welcome!
Should you calibrate the compass before the leveling?
@@rauljimenez8132 *YES* my mistake
Yes, waist of time. I use a Celestron SE tripod and do a compass calibration first . Then I level the tripod. Then I level the see star with the triple leveler I added . Easy and fast.
can you give an estimate on how long it took you to do the mosaic on M31 with the framing you requested?
2 hours, give or take a few minutes
@@ScottCastrophotography Is that just the imaging or the stacking also?
@@JeffreyPadell both!
@@ScottCastrophotography That is doable!
How can they have a product out for a year already that still cannot locate a Sun ? How does it locate hard to see objects if it relies on the user to point to Sun ?
@@Martinko_Pcik Well at night it can always use the stars to check where it's pointing but during daytime it relies only on the digital compass for the azimuth position. Any metallic or magnetic objects will throw that off so it's just inherently difficult to do for the hardware that is present
I just got my Seestar today. When I look up an object and hit the find object button, once my Seestar locates the object it begins automatically taking the 10 second exposures without letting me first hit auto focus. I have to quickly tap the button to stop the photo stacking, hit the AF button, adjust to my liking, and then proceed to hit the start button again. I can’t seem to find out how to solve this..
@@dawsoncollins9368 I might have seen an option to turn that off in the advanced settings, worth a look
모자이크모드는 언제 업데이트됩니까?
Not sure, likely after we get more information on the s30, November 1st
@@ScottCastrophotography thankyou so mach
Almost bought one.. lol ( to many scopes)
😂😂 it’s an addiction
@@ScottCastrophotography my wife wants the Dwarf III instead. lol
@BrokenPik it works great too! I like both scopes, each has their own personal touch
I reserved the Dwarf 3 about 2 months ago and it seems like it won't arrive until December. I first bought the Seestar S50 an i love it👌
The Seestar is a wonderful little device. I am sure it would exceed your expectations, and get used a lot more than your bigger telescopes. It's so easy just to leave it working for hours while you go and do something else! Hey, I bought a second one to make best use of those dark clear nights!
Do you have your Seestar mounted on the roof of your car or something? If you're going to demonstrate how to set the thing up at least choose a flat surface that doesn't noticeably wobble every time you touch the scope. And what a totally arcane method of finding the sun.
You must be fun at parties.
Lizard on your left!
@@donaldbohn3183 timestamp?
@@ScottCastrophotography 15.00 - 17.26. Great tutorial btw.
@DjBamie HOW DID YOU SEE THAT😂😂😂
S30 auto leveling
How do you enable Mosaic feature please?
Don't seem to be on Seestar
I have the same problem. Was the Mosaic mode removed between firmware version 2.86 and 2.95?
Check now! 😆 New update out
@@iansloman1434 My firmware showed as up to date with 2.95, but I went to the app store and searched for Seestar and tapped update and got the 3.31 version with Mosaic.
@@victoriajeanPA How do you force a firmware update? In the Apple App Store all I only see app for the iPhone / iPad>
Thanks VictoriaJean, Got it.