Smart Telescopes
Premium · ~$500–1,200
Best for Beginners
ZWO Seestar S50 Smart Telescope
The product that changed the hobby — app-controlled astrophotography with zero setup.
Specifications
- Aperture
- 50 mm apochromatic
- Focal length
- 250 mm (f/5)
- Optical design
- All-in-one smart telescope + camera
- Mount
- Built-in motorized alt-az, app-controlled
- Weight
- ~6 lb / 2.7 kg
What's good
- +Photographs galaxies and nebulae from a phone — no eyepiece, no PC
- +Sets up and aligns itself in minutes
- +Works from light-polluted backyards via stacking
What to watch
- –It's a camera, not an eyepiece scope — no live visual observing
- –Small aperture limits planetary detail
- –You're tied to the app ecosystem
Our verdict
The Seestar is the single most important product in amateur astronomy right now, and it sells like it. It collapses the entire intimidating astrophotography pipeline — mount, camera, guiding, stacking software — into a tap on your phone. From a city balcony it will stack a recognizable photo of the Andromeda Galaxy in minutes. Purists note it's imaging, not visual, but for sheer 'I took that' magic per dollar, nothing else is close.