ZWO upgrades flagship Seestar smart telescope, adding new optics and twin 4K sensors
More powerful optics, dual 4K cameras, a new sensor and a wider field of view are the highlights of ZWO’s Seestar S50 Pro
ZWO has unveiled the Seestar S50 Pro, an upgraded version of its flagship Seestar S50 smart telescope. Although maintaining its 50mm apochromatic refractor design, the new model boasts a four-element apochromatic lens with extra-low dispersion (ED) glass, enhancing star sharpness and reducing chromatic aberration. The telescope's focal length has been increased to 260mm (f/5.2) from its predecessor's 220mm (f/5.5).
A key hardware upgrade is the replacement of the original Seestar S50's native 1/2.8-inch Sony IMX462 CMOS sensor with a 1/1.2-inch CMOS sensor, boosting resolution to 3840×2160 pixels (4K) from the previous HD resolution of 1920x1080 pixels. The field of view has expanded to 2.8 degrees, compared to the S50's 1.46 degrees, and finished images now measure 8.29 megapixels.
The Seestar S50 Pro also includes a wide-angle lens with 4K quality and a 63-degree field of view, enabling users to capture nightscape, star-trail, timelapse, and constellation images. Additional hardware improvements include a larger 10,000mAh battery, a 67% increase from the S50's 6,000mAh, and doubled onboard storage of 128 GB.
The telescope can now connect to the internet, with the app offering new built-in image processing tools, including UV/IR cut, dual narrowband light-pollution filters, and a dark-frame filter. ZWO's Seestar S50 Pro arrives as rival Vaonis releases its Vespera 3 and Vespera Pro 2 smart telescopes.
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