ZWO Seestar S30 Pro Smart Telescope | Full Review

By combining optics, camera, mount, and software into a single, portable system, smart telescopes remove many of the traditional barriers that have historically kept people from photographing the night sky. From cost and complexity to setup time and post-processing, smart telescopes are redefining what’s possible for beginners and experienced amateur astronomers alike.

With the Seestar S30 Pro, ZWO continues that momentum, delivering a compact, all-in-one imaging system that captures galaxies, nebulae, star clusters, the Sun, the Moon, and even daytime landscapes with minimal effort and know-how on your part. In this review, we’ll take a closer look at the Seestar S30 Pro’s design, specifications, and real-world performance.

At the heart of the S30 Pro is a quadruplet apochromatic lens, which delivers sharp, well-corrected stars across the entire field of view with excellent color correction. The f/5.3 focal ratio gives you a bit more reach that the previous generation of Seestar S30 while still remaining fast. With a dew heater built-in, your optics will stay clear, even in tough viewing conditions. Throw in the auto-focus from the original S30, and you have a recipe for a successful imaging session with the S30 Pro.

To complete the set, ZWO has included a secondary optic that is noticeably wider than the previous generation, giving you a stark difference between the two Seestar S30 Pro optics. This secondary optics is great for Milky Way and star trail composites. ZWO truly upped their smart telescope game when they provided this secondary optic with auto-focus as well, meaning you can nail down the perfect focus through the super fast f/1.75 optics!

With a pair of Sony sensors, the Seestar S30 Pro sets you up for stellar shots regardless of which set of optics you use! Behind the main quad APO optic is the Sony IMX585, a renowned STARVIS 2 sensor that has even earned it's place in ZWO's standalone Pro camera line and cementing this successor's title. While compact, this sensor still take a step up from the prior generation, and provides 4K resolution, superb full well depth, excellent peak QE performance, and punchy dynamic range. The secondary sensor is no slouch, featuring Sony's IMX586. This stacked CMOS design sensor is providing a 4K frame as well for sharp images of star trails, deep sky objects, and the Milky Way. These 8.29 MP sensors give you 4x the resolution of the original for both perspectives, ensuring your images will shine on today's UHD screens!

The Seestar S30 Pro features a sleek, modern design that feels purpose-built for portability and ease of use. Everything is integrated into a single compact housing, making it a true grab-and-go imaging solution that fits easily into a backpack or included carrying case. Even with the increase in performance, ZWO has kept the same compact design, measuring in at the same 8.3" x 5.5" x 3.1" and 3.64 lbs. weight as the original Seestar S30 smart telescope. This simple-to-use and portably powerhouse is ready to go with you on any adventure, whether it be just to your backyard or beyond! Included is a tripod that will enable you to use the Seestar S30 Pro in a variety of different locations, and the 3/8"x16 mounting stud, means that you can bring your own tripod to the party, if you need to add more versatility because of uneven ground or if you need more height added. The internal 6000 mAh battery pack will provide you with six hours of imaging. When it's time to charge your Seestar S30 Pro, ZWO has included a handy USB-C recharging cable.

ZWO has packed in plenty of additional Pro level functionality. Mosaic Mode can expand your deep sky or milky way shots to create large 8K images or panoramas. Three filters have been built into an internal filter wheel for Broadband, Light Pollution Filter (a Ha/OIII duo-band with a 20 nm and 30 nm bandpass respectively), and a dark filter (for capturing Dark Frames, a type of calibration frame). EQ mode (wedge or pan-tilt tripod required, not included) allows you to push exposure times and counteract field rotation. RAW files can be downloaded off the device for both the main and secondary optic for some of the deep sky modes (not Star Trail mode), allowing advanced users to process with programs like PixInsight and Siril. This is also open to the ASCOM Alpaca protocol, allowing users to bypass the app and exert ultimate control through compatible astrophotography software suites.

Control of the Seestar S30 Pro is straight forward, with the Seestar app and multiple wireless control methods supported. New to the S30 platform is NFC, which allows compatible devices to connect by simply tapping the space above Seestar's battery indicator lights when the device is on, with unsupported devices still able to connect by searching for Seestar's Bluetooth or WiFi signal from within the app. WiFi 2.4 Ghz, 5Ghz, and Bluetooth allow you to select the wireless protocol best suited to your situation, be that maximum range, maximum connection speed, or maintaining an existing WiFi connection for controlling the S30 Pro without disconnecting from the internet.

Solar imaging is equally impressive. With the included solar filter properly installed, the Seestar automatically locates and tracks the Sun, producing detailed images of the solar surface with minimal effort. This level of automation makes solar photography far more approachable than traditional setups.