ZWO Seestar S30

S Starvest Starvest · reviewer

The short version: the S30 is the most portable, most forgiving smart telescope ZWO makes, and for a lot of first-time buyers it is the more sensible pick. The S50 still wins on fine detail, but the S30 wins on the two things that actually get a telescope used: it is smaller and it frames wide targets better. Here is what that trade-off looks like in practice.

D Damon Scotting Damon Scotting · 292K subscribers · Nov 2024

They are both very nice images of the Orion Nebula, but could do with a quick bit of processing to clean them up. If you're interested in learning how to make a fast and free edit to your sea star images like this, then I'd recommend watching my most recent video. The link is in the description below.

🔭The ZWO Seestar S30 Smart Telescope is an all-in-one astrophotography telescope designed for space lovers, stargazers, and photographers alike. Whether you’re a beginner exploring the night sky or a professional astrophotographer capturing galaxies and nebulae, the Seestar S30 makes space photography simple and spectacular.

D Damon Scotting Damon Scotting · 292K subscribers · Dec 2025

>> Oh yeah, >> it is pound-for-pound the best telescope on the entire planet right now. And that's thanks to its new improved design. This is the older version, the Sea Star S30, and it has now been superseded by the very similar looking Sea Star S30 Pro.

A astrobiscuit Article · Mar 2026

The Seestar S30 and S30 Pro are both pretty good. I believe the mechanics of them are identical. BTW when shooting Andromeda which is high in the sky the tracking of the Seestar S30 was at about 80%. I would expect all three smartscopes to perform significantly better when their targets are far from the celestial equator.

N Nightscape Images Nightscape Images · 89.5K subscribers · Apr 2026

It's a telescope in a box and this thing is quite amazing. Now I'll tell you right now that one of the barriers for me for shooting deep sky astrophotography has been the amount of gear that you need to carry, the the length of time it takes to set up, the length of time it takes to edit these pictures and all the gadgetry you've got to have to make the images really stand out.

A Astronomy Magazine Phil Harrington · reviewer · Oct 2025

I was very impressed with images of several showpiece galaxies, including the pair Bode’s Galaxy (M81) and the Cigar Galaxy (M82), the Whirlpool Galaxy (M51), the Needle Galaxy (NGC 4565), and the Southern Pinwheel Galaxy (M83). Each revealed a level of detail that belied the 30-mm aperture.

C Cuiv, The Lazy Geek Cuiv, The Lazy Geek · 79K subscribers · Dec 2025

So, I was really happy to see that when it occurred. And in terms of the form factor, it feels exactly the same as the old Seestar S30. It's nice, small, compact and weighs roughly 1.7 kg on my kitchen scale. But it is true that if you compare it to this gray thing here, which is another smart telescope with similar capabilities from Dwarf Lab that I did a review of recently, the Dwarf Lab Dwarf M

With the ZWO Seestar S30 Pro, you just tap a target on your phone, and the smart telescope does all the work for you. See the Andromeda Galaxy or the Orion Nebula appear right on your screen. Astrophotography really is for everyone!

W Wido's AstroForum Wido's AstroForum · 57.2K subscribers · Jan 2026

The S30 Pro delivers a field of view of 2.24x3.99 degrees in portrait mode, making it well suited for large nebula and wide field deep sky objects. The resulting image scale is 3.74 arcsec pixel, which means you sacrifice some fine detail compared to the larger aperture and longer focal length telescopes, but you'll gain a wider view of the night sky.

H High Point Scientific Teagan Grable · reviewer · Dec 2025

The combination of fast optics and a highly sensitive 4K sensor which has grown in popularity within the astronomy community gives the Seestar S30 Pro a level of performance that far exceeded our expectations!

W Wido's AstroForum Wido's AstroForum · 57.2K subscribers · Jan 2026

The S30 Pro delivers a field of view of 2.24x3.99 degrees in portrait mode, making it well suited for large nebula and wide field deep sky objects. The resulting image scale is 3.74 arcsec pixel, which means you sacrifice some fine detail compared to the larger aperture and longer focal length telescopes, but you'll gain a wider view of the night sky.

Really impressed with the performance of this little device. I can see a clear improvement in the quality of the lenses, the mechanical design and the sensor vs. the Seestar S50.

W Wido's AstroForum Wido's AstroForum · 57.2K subscribers · Sept 2025

The Sea Star S30 is great for some casual astrophotography, whereas I can go into full nerd mode with my dedicated astrophotography setup. In some ways, these two telescopes are more alike than you think. Both are apocromatic refractors, but the Sea Star S30 is much smaller with just a 30 mm aperture and a 150 mm focal length. giving it a fast f5 ratio.

The ZWO SeeStar S30 is a great choice for anyone who’s new to astronomy because it removes so many of the traditional barriers that can make the hobby feel overwhelming at first.

H High Point Scientific High Point Scientific · 46.2K subscribers · Dec 2025

This little device right here removes the hurdles that those who are interested in photographing the night sky face like fast wide field lenses, a camera, a sky tracker, a wedge, a ball head adapter, an intervvelometer, and a list of accessories. And that doesn't include the time it takes to edit your photos and the knowledge to know how to do so.

S Space Article · Feb 2024

 ZWO SeeStar S30 Pro: A compact smart telescope with exceptional optical quality that allows for beautiful deep-sky imagery wherever you are.

A Agena Astro Agena Astro · 23.7K subscribers · Jun 2026

For a telescope this small and easy to use, the result is seriously impressive. And if you want to get more advanced, there's even an equatorial mode that allows you to take longer exposures up to 90 seconds when placed on an optional wedge.

Indeed it is. For the price it’s a steal tbh. I have the S50 and as of yesterday the S30 Pro, but the S30 is a very potent device.

A Astronomy Tips & Reviews with Curtis Astronomy Tips & Reviews with Curtis · 12.6K subscribers · Jul 2026

As you can clearly see, it is lightweight and compact. It's also very easy to use. You can simply set it on the ground with its included mini tripod. Power it on. Connect to it with the app on your phone or tablet. Select the object you're interested in imaging.

G'day from downunder, I have had my Seestar S30 now for 1 week and each night I have taken it out I have loved it more and more.

O Outten Astrophotography Outten Astrophotography · 5.3K subscribers · Feb 2026

er some of the internal upgrades with the brand new Pro version over the original first generation, >> and we get to look at a little bit of some images that I've taken with this telescope, and let me tell you, it is extremely impressive what this little guy can do. Now, luckily over the past couple of nights, I actually got to have a little bit of some clear skies even dealing with the extr

B BBC Sky at Night Magazine Article · Jul 2026

The stars were well resolved, with natural colours and great clarity, showing impressive detail within a short imaging time.

O Outten Astrophotography Outten Astrophotography · 5.3K subscribers · Jan 2026

This has been probably my favorite smart telescope that I've used this entire year. I own both the S30 and the S50, but I've always found myself going to the S30 more than anything because one has a little bit of a better camera and it has a much wider field of view since I love to do nebula.

S Skiesandscopes Article

Choose the S30 if budget and portability come first and you want the gentlest possible entry point.

D Deep SkyLab Deep SkyLab · 4.4K subscribers · Jan 2026

>> Had an amazing time. Bought Sea Star 30 along. >> Yeah. Oh, that's when that would have been a demo. >> Yeah. And but this year of course we got Nissar 30 Pro which is some improvements. So that's really why we're we're here. But actually it's amazing how many astrophotographers actually we've come across at the show here. So we've got some other gear here as well.

S Skiesandscopes Article

Choose the S30 Pro if you are starting out and want the most telescope for the money.

H Handyman At Home Handyman At Home · 3.7K subscribers · Aug 2026

It's an all-in-one smart telescope that cramps an observatory's worth of power into a travel-friendly, lightweight package. Suitable for complete beginners through to seasoned astrophotographers, it's claimed to be able to capture stunning, professional-grade deep space photographs right from your smartphone with zero technical telescope expertise. So, right up my street, then.

Amazing little machine. Definitely not good for planets but very good for nebulae.

R Rooftop Astronomy Rooftop Astronomy · 3.7K subscribers · Jan 2026

Honestly, this is the best wide-angle lens you can find on a smart telescope right now. No competition. The telephoto is equivalent to 520 mm. 520 mm may sound short compared to other smart telescopes, but don't jump to conclusions.

O Outer Space Trip Rob Crotzer · reviewer · Aug 2026

For a true first smart telescope, the Seestar S30 is the easier recommendation.

S SparkTech SparkTech · 2.3K subscribers · Feb 2026

Because this tiny smart telescope is producing 4K galaxy images that genuinely look like they came from a full-sized astro rig. And that's not an exaggeration, because the Sea Star S30 Pro is doing something that feels slightly absurd the first time you see it. It unfolds, connects to your phone, slew to a galaxy, autofocuses, and starts stacking images automatically.

Yes! Better value, same resolution as s30 pro and wide enough field of view.

A Anthony Robinson | Skies & Scopes Anthony Robinson | Skies & Scopes · 2.3K subscribers · Jan 2026

The second difference, and it's a fairly big one, is a much improved main camera. So, the original S30 had a 2 megapixel resolution camera. The S30 Pro has an 8.3 megapixel camera. So, this is pretty high in terms of smart telescopes. Even some of the premium models are not as high as that. The third main difference is a much improved secondary wide angle camera.

A AstroBackyard Trevor Jones · reviewer · Jan 2026

It automatically finds the object, focuses, and begins capturing images.

M Murray Fox Photography Murray Fox Photography · 1.4K subscribers · Jun 2026

I have just purchased a Seestar S30 Pro, fantastic smart telescope, the latest from Seestar. And tonight, we've got a clear night. We do have a full moon, very bright moon, but I'm going to shoot away from it as much as I can.

A AstroSimo AstroSimo · 1.3K subscribers · Jan 2026

The Cy S30 is already a very capable telescope, especially considering its price.

A AstroSimo AstroSimo · 1.3K subscribers · Jan 2026

So, theoretically, the sister S30 is great for quick sessions, straightforward, really beginner-friendly. It's super accessible and gets you sky images fast. On the other hand, the Dwarf 3 brings more resolution, more storage, more battery, and even wide-angle sky shots, possibly Milky Way style, and that's exciting for astrophotography lovers.

A AstroSimo AstroSimo · 1.3K subscribers · Feb 2026

The sharpness is amazing for such a small lens. It's a huge step up from what I expected. So, it was a great start, but the real challenge here is the deep sky. If you like my videos and if you like smart telescope, please consider subscribing to my channel. I love these smart telescopes and I will do lots more video about them. And I'm waiting for my second CR S30 Pro and also for the dwarf mini.

V Vibe Vibe · 1.2K subscribers · Jul 2026

The image quality is honestly impressive considering the size of this telescope. It uses a four-element apochromatic lens that helps keep stars sharp across the frame while reducing color fringing. During long exposures, the telescope automatically tracks the sky, stacks multiple images together, reduces noise, and processes everything for you.

N NicolasJaegergaard NicolasJaegergaard · 801 subscribers · Jun 2026

One of the thing I like the most is that you don't need any real astro experience to get started. The S30 Pro can automatically find objects and track them, and it can even process the image for you. So, instead of spending your evening figuring out complicated settings, you can spend more time actually exploring the night sky.

A AstroEdit AstroEdit · 389 subscribers · Apr 2026

And I always keep this on, mainly because I tend to keep my exposur

T TechNest TechNest · 165 subscribers · Jul 2026

Combining a 30 mm apochromatic objective lens, >> a 150 mm focal length, a Sony IMX662 CMOS sensor, >> automatic go-to tracking, AI-powered object recognition, Wi-Fi app control, and an integrated rechargeable battery, the Seestar S30 packs an entire smart observatory into a device weighing only about 1.65 kg or 3.6 lb.

L lukomatico lukomatico · channel · Dec 2025

I've used a few smart telescopes now and this is head and shoulders above all of them. It genuinely has been a lot of fun to use and I'm going to continue using it regularly. It's It's a potent device. But anyway, let's take things from the start and settle in. I think it's going to be a fairly long video. I hope you enjoy it.

T Telescopic Watch Price Less · reviewer · Apr 2026

ZWO's budget smart telescope, the SeeStar S30, is nice but doesn't offer a whole lot in the way of performance. The S30 Pro has a much better sensor, and we'd recommend spending a bit more to get that instead. Lately, S30 is also hard to find in the United States with the introduction of S30 Pro.

J Just Another Amateur Astronomer Just Another Amateur Astronomer · 1.2K subscribers · Jan 2026

doesn't do well with most galaxies. Uh Messier 33 triangulum is pretty close. It comes out kind of big. Uh Messier 31 in Andromeda comes out real big because it's real close. It's the closest large galaxy to this one. Most galaxies, however, are 20, 30, 40, 50, 100 million light years away. And since you have a broad field of view, they look small.

S Space Article · Oct 2022

❌ You are a planetary enthusiast: Whilst great for deep-sky imaging of galaxies, star clusters and nebulas, planetary imaging on the S30 Pro is basic at best and will likely disappoint people wanting detailed and sharp shots of planets.

G Galaxy Art Media Galaxy Art Media · channel · Aug 2026

On this target, the difference is much smaller than I expected. But Andromeda tells a different story. This comparison matters, but it is only one part of the review. After several months with the S30 Pro, testing multiple firmware versions and using the updated Seestar app, this became the biggest the bigger question.

C Californiaskys Article

All-in-all I can highly recommend the Seestar S50 to anyone wanting an almost fool proof tool to capture dramatic images of what the universe has to offer.

D Digital Camera World Article · Sept 2022

Reasons to buy + Fits in most camera bags + Dual-lens for day and night use + User-friendly app

S Skiesandscopes Article

The pros of the ZWO Seestar S30 Pro are:

A Anthony Lynch Anthony Lynch · 924 subscribers · Nov 2025

It's called the S30, but it's equivalent to 150 mm lens. And to be honest, I don't know how good or how bright the comet is cuz I haven't checked in a while whether 150 mil is going to be good enough or not. But >> I thought something had gone wrong there because it should be facing out there to the right now where you can see on camera and I can actually see the stars moving live on my phon