I was gonna get the s50 once the new year started but looking at what the s30 Pro offers its a no brainer to get the s30 Pro right? Especially for just $50 more, it seems like it would get cleaner and higher resolution shots than the s50

Hey everyone! I’m new to astrophotography and interested in picking up a”smart scope” to get started. I’m trying to decide between the Seestar S30 Pro or the S50. I’m primarily interested in deep sky stuff.

I’m a molecular biologist with considerable experience in microscopy, so I’m pretty comfortable with image processing, and that’s honestly a big part of what draws me to this hobby. I’d love to get a feel for the workflow and eventually work my way up to a full rig when my budget allows. But for now, I want something that’s easy to use and still gives me solid results while I’m learning.

I’ve read some specs and reviews of both of these Seestar models, but it’s still hard to tell what actually matters in practice when you’re starting out. So, for those who’ve used one or both:

Any noticeable differences in image quality, noise, ease of use, etc.? Anything I should know about accessories, software quirks, or post-processing differences? I will also add that I live in an area with significant light pollution (Bortle 9.0, lol), so pursuing this hobby will likely involve weekend camping trips to nearby areas, etc.

Appreciate any insight or personal experience you can share, especially if you’ve made this same decision recently. Thanks!

Just wanted to share some of my anecdotal experience.

I bought my S50 about a year ago, this is my first time with a telescope of any kind. I've basically been using it every night when I'm home and weather allows.

Overall, I'm STILL super impressed given the size and price. However, like many others, I struggled with high rejection rate with 10 second exposures, when I first got my S50, EQ mode was not officially supported yet. Once EQ mode was supported I bought a wedge and tried it immediately, while it did improve rejection rate, as soon as I stepped up to 20 second exposures in EQ mode...my average rejection rate was typically between 40%-60% depending on the object I was trying to shoot.

It's been discussed in this sub several times - *some* S50s seem to have poorer manufacturing quality than others. A few people in this community ran 2-3 S50s together and noticed a difference with just their own S50s. There was a post where they took their S50s apart to try and find the issue - best working theory so far is that with some S50s, there's too much backlash in the worm gear that causes excessive movement when the telescope is tracking. Too much movement = frame rejection.

I was hesitant to buy another Seestar until reviews all reported that the S30 Pro had significantly improved tracking...I decided to just order it while it was "discounted" for preorders.

I received my S30 Pro on Monday, last night the weather cooperated and I got some first light through my new telescope - I immediately set exposure time to 60 seconds...of course it's M42...I don't make the rules that you MUST shoot this as your first target! (/s) Wouldn't you know it - rejection rate stayed at around 20% over 3-4 hours. Shooting M42 with my S50 with the same mount, same tripod, same location...my rejection rate with 20 second exposure was as high as 60% most of the time.

This all but proves that there's something wrong with some S50s...it's frustrating that ZWO refuses to acknowledge this.

As a side note - I also bought the Dwarf Mini when it was also on sale around the holidays - the tracking on that thing is SOLID...I've had some sessions with 60 second exposures where it dropped ZERO frames. I tried a few sessions with 120 second exposures it rejection rate was probably 10%-20%... I really wish ZWO would work on improving tracking.

And FYI - overall, I don't think one of necessarily better than the other. There are some things about the Dwarf Mini and Dwarf Labs app that I love and hate. Same with Seestars and Seestar app...some things are better and some worse. The biggest difference to me is that with the Dwarf Mini - you can use the wide angle lens while shooting, something you can't do with the S30 Pro. More useful than you'd think...you can take a peak and see clouds and easily be able to see if the view is about to be obstructed by a roof or trees.

If you're still reading, thank you for staying until the end.