With 2K image quality, a light pollution filter and a user-friendly interface, it's a smart telescope that anyone can enjoy, regardless of your experience level, and regardless of whether you're shooting from your city balcony or a dark sky site. Like the other models, it uses dual cameras to capture a wide range of subjects, including deep-sky objects with the telephoto camera, and constellations, star trails and the Milky Way with the wide-angle camera. It's lightweight and easy to travel with, and it even comes with a separate solar filter for solar imaging and eclipse time-lapses.
The S30 Plus looks indentical to the S30 Pro, aside from the branding.Kimberley LaneIt features a power button and a USB-C port.Kimberley LaneThe red LED lights on the front indicate the battery level.Kimberley LaneQuick and easy set-upComes with carry case, tripod and solar filterLightweight and easy to transport
The Seestar S30 Plus is one of the smallest, most compact smart telescopes on the market, weighing just 3.63 pounds (1.65 kg) and measuring 8.3 x 5.5 x 3.2 inches (210 x 140 x 80 mm). Its sleek, matte white design looks identical to the other Seestar models (we compared it to our S30 Pro), except for the branding on the unit itself.
On the unit itself, you'll find just one button, which powers it on, plus the USB-C port on the side. Super simple, although we'd have liked the USB-C port to be covered to prevent moisture or dust from getting in.
It comes with a carry case, strap, USB-C cable and solar filter. (Image credit: Kimberley Lane)It also features an anti-dew heater, which we've found works quite well in mild to moderate humidity. On a couple of our shoots, we noticed a tiny bit of condensation forming on the unit when the humidity was higher, so we wouldn't feel confident leaving it unsupervised for long periods on a particularly dewy evening. (We used the Clear Outside app to monitor the humidity levels.)
The Seestar App
The Stargazing page in the Seestar app.ZWOYou can browse through objects and see Tonight's Best.ZWOWhen you click on an object, you'll see information and coordinates.ZWOYou can also choose objects in the solar system.ZWOYou can image constellations with the wide-angle camera, too.ZWOUser-friendly and easy to navigateA good amount of image editing controls, but we'd like a few moreEducational and shows what's in the sky for your time and locationThe Stargazing section is where you can select or search for the subject you want to shoot. You can use the search function to find a specific target or browse Tonight's Best, and you can also search through different types of subjects like galaxies, nebulas, clusters and more. From here, you can also select planets, track comets and photograph constellations using the wide camera.
It's easy to connect your phone to the app.ZWOThe telescope will show you what it's doing at any given point.ZWO
There's very little to complain about when it comes to using the app. It has lots of information for beginners, so you don't need a ton of knowledge about the night sky, and everything is fairly self-explanatory. There were a couple of occasions when it failed to calibrate itself (for example, when we tried to locate the Pleiades, which had just risen above a tree), and other times when we chose a new target and it slewed the long way round instead of only having to move slightly. But otherwise, the app worked well.
160mm focal length perfectly suits larger apparent subjectsBuilt-in filters to bring out colorsModest image resolution, but still pretty good
We had about 10 days to test our review unit before its release, so we could only capture as much as the weather permitted in that time. We'll add more images to this review over the coming weeks. All our tests were conducted from our backyard in a Bortle 4 region, and captured before moonrise to eliminate as much light pollution as possible. Due to these time constraints, we aimed to capture our images for a total of 60 minutes each, although we'd have ideally aimed for longer in some cases.
For this review, we aimed to capture as many different types of objects as possible. All our images were edited in the Seestar app with, in some cases, a few minor tweaks in Lightroom. You also have the option to download the individual files to your computer to process them yourself in dedicated astrophotography software, which is advantageous if you're a more experienced user.
Final M45 images after 60 minutes of integration, with edits in the Seestar app and minor tweaks in Lightroom mobile.App: ZWO Seestar, Image: Kimberley Lane/FutureFinal M45 images after 60 minutes of integration, edited solely in the Seestar app.App: ZWO Seestar, Image: Kimberley Lane/FutureM45 after 15 minutes of integration.App: ZWO Seestar, Image: Kimberley Lane/FutureM45 after 30 minutes of integration.App: ZWO Seestar, Image: Kimberley Lane/FutureM45 after 60 minutes of integration, as seen in the app with no edits.App: ZWO Seestar, Image: Kimberley Lane/FutureThe star reduction slider in the Seestar app is a useful feature for seeing the faint nebulosity you've captured.App: ZWO Seestar, Image: Kimberley Lane/Future
Galaxies
M31 after 57 minutes of integration, edited in the Seestar app and minor tweaks in Lightoom mobile.App: ZWO Seestar, Image: Kimberley Lane/FutureM31 after 57 minutes of integration, edited in the Seestar app.App: ZWO Seestar, Image: Kimberley Lane/FutureM31 after 15 minutes of integration.App: ZWO Seestar, Image: Kimberley Lane/FutureM31 after 30 minutes of integration.App: ZWO Seestar, Image: Kimberley Lane/FutureM31 after 57 minutes of integration, before any editing.App: ZWO Seestar, Image: Kimberley Lane/FutureM31 with star reduction.App: ZWO Seestar, Image: Kimberley Lane/FutureThe Andromeda Galaxy is a perfect target for the Seestar S30 Plus. It takes up a large portion of the frame, and with long integration times, it can reveal beautiful details in the faint outer arms. We shot for around an hour in our tests due to weather and time constraints, but we still got an impressive image. As we approached 60 minutes, there was a lot of cloud cover, and we noticed it struggling to stack images toward the end of the session, so we stopped the integration at 57 minutes.
North America Nebula after 60 minutes of integration, edited in the Seestar app.App: ZWO Seestar, Image: Kimberley Lane/FutureNorth America Nebula after 15 minutes of integrationApp: ZWO Seestar, Image: Kimberley Lane/FutureNorth America Nebula after 30 minutes of integrationApp: ZWO Seestar, Image: Kimberley Lane/FutureNorth America Nebula after 60 minutes of integration, before any editing.App: ZWO Seestar, Image: Kimberley Lane/Future
Large emission nebulas are where the Seestar S30 Plus thrives, and the North America Nebula is a great target. It covers the whole field of view, and the red hydrogen gas easily comes to the forefront of the image.
The Eastern Veil Nebula after 61 minutes of integration, after editing in the Seestar app.App: ZWO Seestar, Image: Kimberley Lane/FutureThe Eastern Veil Nebula after 15 minutes of integration.App: ZWO Seestar, Image: Kimberley Lane/FutureThe Eastern Veil Nebula after 30 minutes of integration.App: ZWO Seestar, Image: Kimberley Lane/FutureThe Eastern Veil Nebula after 60 minutes of integration, before editing.App: ZWO Seestar, Image: Kimberley Lane/FuturePlanetary nebula
Helix Nebula after 27 minutes of integration, edited in the Seestar app.App: ZWO Seestar, Image: Kimberley Lane/FutureHelix Nebula after 15 minutes of integration.App: ZWO Seestar, Image: Kimberley Lane/FutureHelix Nebula after 27 minutes of integration, before editing.App: ZWO Seestar, Image: Kimberley Lane/FuturePlanetary nebulas are where you will see the limitations of the Seestar's 160mm focal length. Most planetary nebulas have a very small apparent size — we've previously captured the Dumbbell Nebula and Cocoon Nebula with our S30 Pro, and they were a tiny dot in the middle of the screen. We tried the Helix Nebula, and even though it's one of the largest apparent planetary nebulas, it's still fairly small on the Seestar S30 Plus. You can still get a decent image of it, but if you want to focus on imaging planetary nebulas, you'll need a bigger scope. Because it was very low in the sky and there was some interfering cloud, we stopped integration at 27 minutes.
Should you buy the Seestar S30 Plus?
Kimberley LaneKimberley LaneStill, for under $500, we can't complain. Not only is the Seestar S30 Plus easy to navigate and use, but it teaches you about space in a fun and interactive way, and you don't need to spend hours stacking individual frames on your computer to process — although you still can do that if you want more control over your editing.
If the Seestar S30 Plus isn't for you
ZWO Seestar S30 Pro
If you can stretch your budget, the S30 Pro is a worthy upgrade. It produces 4K images and offers more pro-level features.
If you want a longer focal length
ZWO Seestar S50 ProTo see deeper into space, the Seestar S50 Pro has a longer focal length of 260mm and a larger 50mm aperture, making it better for smaller apparent objects.
If you want a more traditional telescope
Celestron StarSense Explorer LT 70AZIf the imaging aspect doesn't interest you, the Celestron StarSense Explorer range of telescopes connects to your phone to guide you around the sky, but you observe the cosmos through an eyepiece instead of capturing it on your phone.
Read our full Celestron StarSense Explorer LT 70AZ review
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