I own both the S50 and first version of Vespera. Last night I used the Vespera with the Light Pollution filter. I beleive the image was better with the LP filter than the DB filter. I purchased these smart scopes for my wife to give her instant gratification of the night sky. There are plus and minus issues with each, but both are fun. These are not toys as many would argue. Anything that advances this educational hobby is fine with me.
@@Wgiarc1 I bought the S50 as a supplementary scope. Also for solar (was a cheap way to find out if it's for me) and as a grab and go. Have clouds so limited playtime. But the scenery mode has been fun.
I have a CPC 1100 HD and SeeStar S50. I will use the S50 more now because it’s light and easy to setup. Only people who call it a toy are old astrophotographers scared that computers have made astrophotography available to the masses.
Awesome video. For the price Seestar is the winner without a doubt. A software update to the Seestar giving it the ability to do mosaic shots, will make a Vespera killer overnight. But, if they good old market strategy remains the same, then ZWO will not do release that update, but instead reserve it for the next upcoming model, such as Seestar S50 Pro or maybe an S80 with bigger sensor with a slightly higher price tag. Regardless, I still hope ZWO releases an update to have the mosaic feature to the S50.
Just a tip, the Vespera 2 25gb storage with the 8mpx sensor is probably better used without capturing Fits files, just use the final Tiff stack, unless you are really keen on manually stacking Fits files. That way you won't run out of space quickly.
Great review! The Seestar got me back into the hobby with it’s compact size/weight and ease of use. But it turned out to be a gateway drug for me and I now have a larger rig. So now the Seestar is useful to “go exploring” while taking long stacks with my larger scope. It is also useful as a grab and go scope when there is a break in the weather since I can be stacking in 5 minutes. I would love a $1,000 to $1,500 60-75 mm Seastar Pro with EQ mount or wedge capable, 12mp, filter drawer, and rotatable field. A bonus would be an upgradeable camera module.
Great job. Awesome reviews but the elephant in the room is you are comparing a $499 telescope to a $1,700 telescope. Its amazing to me that the ZWO equals or beats the Vespra in some areas. A better comparison is the Heista to the ZWO S50. This is the under $500 scope comparison. At $1,700 there are other ZWO options. ZWO certainly is packed with value for the money. Thoughts?
I hope ZWO does a S50 Pro using the 585 sensor. If that was the only change, the price should be about $600 since the price difference between the 462 and 585 is $100. This should but it even closer to the Vaspera 2 for less than half the price.
I have the S50 and I'm very happy with it for the price. I have seen rumours online that a mosaic mode will be coming in a future firmware update which will make it even better value.
@@xBRProductionsx Not that I know, but I've not used the scope for a few months due to the long days. Also, I've not seen any videos posted about recent firmware updates?
@@xBRProductionsx Not yet but the devs mentioned they're trying to get it out in the 2nd half of this year so unless it is delayed, it should be out soon
Great video. ZWO already confirmed, that they are working on the mosaic mode for the Seestar. The Vespera II is too expensive and you have to pay extra for all accessories. They don't even include a simple USB-C cable. The dual band filter costs 399 euros and if you want to use Vespera's internal dew heater ( there's already one integrated), you'll have to buy the moisture sensor for 119 euros, or it won't work. All this is not really customer friendly. With the Seestar, you'll get much more for only a third of the price.
@@adventurerofthethirdplanet, field size is not a huge issue when considering most objects are less than 1/2 the frame size of the S50. With upcoming mosaic mode the differences on that side will become even fewer. The image quality is a wash since both are similar pixel scale. You are certainly wrong in getting much less in the S50 since it comes with more internal drive space, more battery life, a solar filter and USB-C charge/data cable and internal LP filter, tripod. Those are real $$$ costs from Vaonis to the tune of the price of the S50 alone! Down the line Vaonis will have to decide whether the Apple-esque business model is going to work for them. I suspect they will have to realign their focus to a high-end system especially once Celestron ships Origin.
If the SeeStar S50 has a mosaic mode that allows it to stitch pictures together, it could indeed achieve comparable resolutions to the Vaonis Vespera II, albeit through a different method. By combining multiple images, the SeeStar could effectively increase its field of view and detail capture, potentially matching the higher single-shot resolution of the Vespera II. This technique is particularly useful for covering larger sky areas or improving image detail by stitching together several high-resolution captures.
Based on this review, I would say the Vespera has a slight edge, but only from a technical/performance point of view (larger sensor/mosaic mode). However, I don't believe it warrants the 3x price tag over the S50, especially considering you also have to purchase extra gear/pieces and it's lack of storage capacity and battery life. Given those things, I'd say, at best, the Vespera warrants maybe a $900-ish price tag.
Very nice review and comparison, I own the vespera classic and a dwarf, the main thing that makes Vaonis scopes do wonderful is CovalENS, it’s such a great tool to not have to worry about field rotation and be able to frame and orient your target, that feature alone is worth the price premium regardless of whether it’s v1, v2 or the upcoming pro
Hi Wido. Moon shot was toss up. I liked the Orion colors better on the s50, but I guess that can be dealt with in processing for the V2. Great options on the V2 but lack of storage space hurts it. All in all I think you get more bang for your buck on the s50 with everything included. I was going to say why not leave them plugged in to get a full night, but you answered that with the v2 Thanks Wido, always enjoy your vids. Clear skies my friend.
Great review! This is likely the start of a hardware and more importantly software race that will improve I suspect quite rapidly from here. A mosiac mode is reportedly being developed for the seestar as a firmware update. No doubt there would be a another version of the seestar in development. As would the other manufacturers. Its only going to grow the interest in the educational hobby.
ZWO confirmed in the forums that the S50 will get mosaic function in a firmware update very soon. There's no date, but their answer to the mosaic question was "We are developing the mosaic function and believe it will be available online soon."
Vespera 2 owner here. I think the next iteration of seestar with a better camera sensor and mosaic mode will throw vespera out of the park. Love the size, inbuilt filters, the app and above all, the price of seestar.
So you have the Vespera II and would still recommend the S50 if I'm right? I have the S50 but am still in the return period and when I see the Vespera II, the larger camera sensor seems worth the more expensive cost of the Vespera II. So I'm stuck with my choice. keep the s50 and make the most of it or pay twice as much for the vespera ii and the larger sensor. Help...
@@SyroBTK actually you'll be paying 4x as much for the V2(after buying accessories included in the S50) only to get a somewhat larger FOV for how many targets. This is where it really matters. If you want wider FOV don't wast time with either of these. A star tracker externally controlled by a device(ASIAIR or similar) with a dedicated camera and changeable lens can be put together for the cost of the V2 bare bones.
@@mycarolinaskies No, I know. I didn't buy the vaonis vespera 2, it felt like a rip-off... Way too expensive with everything included. And if the tripod isn't already included...
The only glaring issue with the Seestar compared to the Vespera is the lack of a mosaic mode. If the Seestar adds that feature, which is rumoured to be in the works, then it's the clear winner at 1/3rd the price.
Wido. This truly is a very good review which I thoroughly enjoyed watching. Your command of the English language is excellent and very clear! As you went through the comparisons I picked the Vaonis Vespera II each time and since my main interest these days is deep space, it definitely has the advantage with its better sensor. The added FOV is also a plus. Here is my dilemma - I’m looking for a nice portable grab and go system that I can take with me on trips. I do get to go to some fantastic dark locations occasionally and having a scope to capture images would be nice. Three scopes come to mind: A) Dwarf II B) Seestar S50 C) Vaonis Vespera II I see many pros and cons of each. The Dwarf is by far the most portable but has the smallest lens and as far as I’ve seen, inferior quality images compared to the other two. The Seestar S50 looks fairly portable and is complete and ready to use. It does have limitations for Astro though. The Vespera is much more expensive, does not come with tripod or other things needed. It’s bigger and less portable. So there’s my dilemma!! Clear skies and keep up the great work!!
Hey Martyn, thanks! Yes, I think you understand the pros and cons for each of these smart telescopes pretty well. I made a best buy guide with a table to compare these (and other) telescopes. Perhaps useful: astroforumspace.com/smart-telescopes-best-buy-guide-2024/
All right. Just ordered the SeeStar S50. Including leveler, tax, it's 1/3 the price of the Vespera. I will see how much I use it. I'm a night person, so it should be fun.
Crazy price difference. I really love the s50 and Dwarf, I think they really hit the market sweet spot of decent quality and affordability. The higher end smart scopes really dont do it for me as you can build a rig for less that will outperform them, the only saving grace would be a bit less of a learning curve. Excellent video!👍🏻
Great review! I only discovered the S50 today in a review of the Unistellar imager. The S50 is clearly superior to the Unistellar in price and an amazing instrument. I then found your comparison of the S50 and the Vespera II. Wow, both are nice imagers. I generally liked the S50 image quality better than the Vespera, but your mosaicked Rosette image is clearly superior to the former. Reading fellow commenters comments suggesting the S50 will eventually have a mosaic mode places it at the head of the pack. Thank you!
Dont see a night and day difference apart from Field of view, the Vaspera 2 costing far more is not worth the price for the little gain you get over Seestar. Now in Beta Seestar has a mosaic mode now
Awesome video. For the price Seestar is the winner without a doubt. A software update to the Seestar giving it the ability to do mosaic shots, will make a Vespera killer overnight. But, if they good old market strategy remains the same, then ZWO will not do release that update, but instead reserve it for the next upcoming model, such as Seestar S50 Pro or maybe an S80 with bigger sensor with a slightly higher price tag. Regardless, I still hope ZWO releases an update to have the mosaic feature to the S50.
@@AstroForumSpaceDo you mean that ZWO will release a new Seestar hardware variant with a 585 sensor? Maybe like a Seestar S50 Pro? If you have any sights on this, then please share 😊. I'm actually pretty sure, that they will release some new variants in the future. Otherwise they wouldn't have already called this one "S50" 😄.
ZWO confirmed in the forums that the S50 will get mosaic function in a firmware update very soon. There's no date, but their answer to the mosaic question was "We are developing the mosaic function and believe it will be available online soon."
I like the colors from the Seestar S50 more, but it really needs that mosaic mode. S50 has a ton of gear lash which messes with tracking any time you come at a target from left to right and then start tracking (looking south while in northern hemisphere), which may be why they haven't implemented mosaic mode yet. I can think of a software solution through where one could skew both directions with unidirectional drive (just stop tracking for a while between frames to let target move right in frame, and speed up to move targets left in frame). I very much like that I can find the moon before the stars are visible, and even switch between moon/sun/planet modes on the fly and it'll keep tracking. ZWO seems pretty responsive and appear to be very committed to adding more useful features, particularly for the upcoming solar eclipse.
I have the S50 and it is a great value for the money ! The Vespera while seems good is on the expensive side especially compared to what you are getting with the S50 at 1/4th of the price.
I am quite interested in these...but not just yet. I'd like the Seestar software (with mosaic added) with the Vespera 2 sensor. Future looks fun, I hope.
I've have a Seestar for 6 months. I added an adapter to install the filters of my choice. I use it for EAA while I'm doing visuals with another telescope. When I saw the pre-sale price I couldn't resist. The price is much lower than the sum of the parts purchased separately and one-quarter of Vespera price. These telescopes have attracted a lot of people to astronomy because you can easily get great result without any skills.
I glued a pill bottle lid (after I cut the center) to a 52-48mm Step-Down Ring and it's hold to the Seestar. I can fix any 48mm or 52mm filter (narrowband, OIII, polarized...) in front of the s-50. It's possible to buy adaptors to add filters to s-50 on ebay but I'd already made mine. A version of Seestar with a chip without bayermatrix would be really interesting but we have to wait for Zwo to release it.@@absinth2k1
Great video man! I have the vaonis vespera classic with dual band and cla filter’s. Gonna save up for the vaonis vespera pro or the celestron origin. My two favorite objects to capture at night are the Orion Nebula and horsehead nebula with the dual band filter. Wish I would have waiting a little longer for the vespera 2 to come out but oh well.
I'm thinking the same thing, and I live in "sunny" Southern California. But we often get clouds rolling in at night here in the desert, as well as gusts that turns my 8" Dob into a giant windsock. I was leaning towards the V2, but I think the Seestar has everything I need, especially with rumors of a mosaic function.
From this review, pretty much the only thing that the Vespera2 had over the Seestar was the wider field of view, which for 3x the cost is not enough. And if and when the Seestar gets mosaic mode, it will be able to do wider field of view shots, even if it would be slower due to the smaller sensor. (And of course you can already do mosaics in post processing). So I ‘m very happy with my Seestar, had it less than 2 weeks and had cloud for almost all of that! Now if someone could just invent a telescope that can see through clouds….!
James Webb space telescope can pear through dust clouds in the infrared:-). Cheers. The bigger sensor size matters when imaging large nebulae, like demonstrated in the video. Have a great day.
I’m trying to decide between these models, but the 25GB of memory for the Verspera Ii is less than the SeeStar, although it has great resolution. Was this a concern?
I own the Stellina and recently picked up the SeeStar S50. I can choose which one I want based on the need as one is much heavier and larger than the other. With upcoming knee surgery the S50 will be great though.
Hello everybody! I hope somebody can help me out there. I own both a Seestar S50 and the Vespera Pro. I had tried to do some post processing on an Apple iPad Pro, but it does not cut it at all. So I have to invest in a PC, but I have no room for PC so most likely I’m going with a laptop. Anybody out there that does use a laptop I would like to know how you have it set up as far as CPU size, memory amount, and storage capacity. I’ve made comments on other sites and group chats, but nobody’s really come back with anything. So for you professionals out there if you can help me at all something set up that would be comfortable for you as if you were using it. The cost doesn’t worry me, but just making sure that I can get the quality that I would like on my pictures. Any and all input is welcome. Thank you.
Excellent comparison! Both scopes have their good and bad points, but both are amazing instruments! What tripod did you use for the Seestar? It looks perfect!
If only the seestar had a mosaic mode. Then for me the choice was a no brainer. And... O yes: please include a derotator in seestar version 2. If it would just rotate a bit every 1 - 2 minutes in between exposures while keeping the 10 seconds exposure length, you would be able to gather a lot more data without affecting the edges ...
Price is going to be the deciding factor for most people here. Although the Vespera has some unique features, the image quality is similar to the S50. Also, the colour range seems richer on the S50. I'd love to see an EQ mode added to the S50 for use on a wedge. It would go well on my Skywatcher wedged mount.
Ohio doesn't have near enough clear nights to make the Vespera's considerable price premium worthwhile, for me. Anyone who lives in the Midwest knows exactly what I mean. The calculus is very different in the Southwest desert with 330 clear nights a year. Digging the SeeStar for the $450 it costs.
only downfall of the Vespara I see it the lack of storage space. I mean come on, memory is cheap. For the price it should have a minimum of 64gb, if not 128gb
Thanks so much for this awesome review. I'm trying to choose between both devices. of the two, which app would you say is the most user friendly for a beginning astrophotographer? Is there an app you thought was better overall?
Excellent Video. I love my Vespera 1, looking forward for my Vespera Pro that should arrive "soon". But that S50 did a better job on the moon, I think Vaonis could improve that part. Now if only we didnt have 95% of couldy nights :)
Question: do either of these productions have Polaris as a target? I ask because I shoot astro star trails centered on Polaris (using a Sony mirrorless camera), and the polar alignment is never quite 100%.
I've owned one of these brilliant Seestar s50 for about six months now and have been taking photo/video of the many visible Sunspots. On 30.07.2024 I took a two minute video that not only shows the sunspots, but also showed three separate small objects slowly cross over the surface of the Sun,(approx 8 sec) all of which moved in odd ways. One object changed direction after appearing to glance off a line of sunspots before skimming passed the sunspot on the top left, another travelled from the bottom of Sun up towards a Sunspot on the top left, went around it and left at the top.The third appeared from the top left travelled half way down the left side, stopped turned around and travelled up agin towards the Sunspot on the top left,.unfortunately I stopped the recording at this point as I couldn't see them at the time. Although these objects appear to be small they must be extremely large. All my photos/videos are unedited.
I just finished watching the comparison of the Seestar S5 and the Vespera 2. The photographs were great! But my question is this, were the photos from both the Seestar s50 and the vespera 2 straight from the telescope or were the photos processed first then shown? Also saw advertisement about the new Celestron origin that is just coming out. Would like to see a comparison about the vespera 2 pro and the Celestron origin soon. My decision for these scopes depends on a comparison of all three. These days the prices are just crazy for scopes. I trust your judgment. You get down to the point of the pros and cons of each. Much appreciated.😀 23:16
Even in a large optical telescope, you will not see the objects of the distant universe in color and clarity, they only look like a faintly glowing fog. It is caused by the physiology of the eye, which has two types of cells on the retina: rods and cones. The cones allow color vision, but in low light they are disabled, so in the dark you see everything without color, which is exactly what looking through the eyepiece of a telescope is like. All beautiful photos of galaxies and nebulae always come from either color film or an electronic sensor where light accumulates over time, whereas the eye has no accumulation of light.
Hey Wido I appreciated your shootout! For me the S50 images feel more representative while the V2 feels more push processed out of the unit. The V2 'advantage' really is only in mosaic and initial FOV but with most targets being smaller than either's FOV in the long run it's only advantageous when wanting to highlight what amount to a narrow gallery of targets. In fact this is where the Dwarf 2 would be a better choice for those wanting the 'wide' views to stitch their own sky map. Or better, invest in a dedicated tracker and CMOS camera with swappable camera lens and controlled by something like the ASIAIR. For $500 it's amazing what ZWO provides by comparison, I can only estimate they are making peanuts on each unit but probably have sold many more S50s than Vaonis has all of their various units in a matter of less than 5 months.
Seestar just seems like a better deal. The very slightly better looking picture (could be much more noticeable in person) to me isnt worth it after passing on the whole package of the S50. That being said I've heard of people modding the S50 and putting a better sensor in it. Have you heard anything of this?
Thanks for another great review. Nice information about both telescopes. I bought the S50 and am happy with my choice for the price. I see celestron brought out the smart RASA recently. Maybe you can get that one for a review from someone?
The biggest thrill I get with my seastar is the live view real time As soon as you power it up. It could be cloudy for days and there'll be a break just enough to get a moon or Jupiter shot in to check its moons out. The seastar is a discovery machine, exploration machine and so easy to use
Bonjour monsieur; je suis le vespera II depuis sa commercialisation mais j'ai le plus grand mal a trouver des tests complets qui pourraient me donner une idée plus complète de ses capacités. Pourriez vous faire une vidéo spécialement dédiée au vespera 2 s'il vous plaît ? Je suis vraiment curieux de voir le capteur 585 starvis2 (donc sans amp Glow) en action.... Bien cordialement Mr Anthony scanu
Hi. I just got an explore scientific go to mount and it came with a handbox controller. On startup it asks for lat and longitude along with time zone - default being E08. What should i enter in this. My time zone being UTC+ 5:30
Here's a site where you can search for your lat/long and search for your timezone; theskylive.com/locationpicker?back_url=https%3A%2F%2Ftheskylive.com%2Flocationpicker%3Fback_url%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Ftheskylive.com%252Flocationpicker%253Fback_url%253Dhttps%25253A%25252F%25252Ftheskylive.com%25252F
Hi, I enjoyed your videos about the fancy digital telescopes and like the seestar photos best. I enjoy photography and own some nice Olympus and Fuji cameras and as much as I would like to get one of these digital telescopes Could you advise on a telescope get started and try out astronomy, thanks.
Hi Steven, sorry for the late reply. The review was meant to take care of your question, lol. I guess it depends on what you're looking for and your budget. I have a blogpost here that may help you in your decision: astroforumspace.com/smart-telescopes-best-buy-guide-2024/
I thought there was already a review on this channel of these two smartscopes? I’ve looked at the website article over the last two weeks prior to ordering my Seestar. The price and the larger storage space is why I decide on the Seestar. I hope it come before I leave next week. I’m excited to try it out.
Hi Jack, I reviewed the seestar s50 and classic verspera, but not the Vespera 2. It has a newer, bigger sensor as demonstrated in the video. I received it two weeks ago from Vaonis. Hope you'll enjoy the seestar!
What about transient objects like comets? Can the seestar easily track those types of objects? Can I attach my PC to either scope and use Stellarium with it?
Yes, it can find comets. The database is updated regularly and you can use ra and dec coordinates. Why on earth would you want ro use a pc when you can finally do everything wireless from your smart device?
By smart device do you mean iphone or android? Because a PC is still more versatile and powerful than a phone. I can run photoshop on a pc for example. Perhaps a smart device is great for the country but if the scope is in my backyard ill be inside in my office. Also Im sure their software is nice but not as nice as stellarium.
Great review. I've taken photos/video of sun spots, but wondered if there's another filter available that would allow the Seestar to safely record solar flares?
I don't think so. You’ll need something like a daystar quark and a good telescope, check:ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-SMKXqFGSLUU.htmlsi=ONM8WuVCYWZ_65Yu
That's very disappointing about planetary viewing with both of these. That would be what I'd want to do the most. Is there a smart scope out there with the proper specifications to get decent planet pictures? Other than that, I definitely like the Vespera better! The deep sky pictures are amazing, whereas the Seestar seems fuzzier and more washed out.
Here's a link to order it directly from ZWO. You will need to pay about 25% import tax, so total cost is €610. And any issues you’ll need to take up directly with ZWO. They do have support. bit.ly/3FdRcRh
I'm getting a bit tired of these questions. It's a real telescope with a real camera. It takes real pictures of the night sky. If you don't believe that, then don't buy it.
Not impressed by either of these smart telescopes. I purchased a dwarf2 recently and could customize it to a large extent by adding filters 1.25” and memory cards up to 512 gb cheaply. Dwarf2 is much smaller and has a bigger FoV so you do not need mosaic. Finally it can be easily placed into an EQ mount to avoid field rotation. The picture i get from dwarf2 are now much improved by latest app version enabling bin1 and full resolution. Thanks for your tutorial at least i know i spent well my money
The Dwarf 2 has the least quality sensor and optical train, what are you talking about? In every comparison video the Seestar S50 largely surpass the Dwarf 2...
