What it shows
There is no eyepiece to look through: this family puts an image on a screen, built from minutes of stacked exposures. What that image shows depends on exposure time and processing, not on a view the simulator could draw honestly.
What it is for, goal by goal
Every score with the sentence behind it, highest first.
- Photo4/5 GoodThe shortest path from nothing to a recognisable image of a nebula.
- With a child4/5 GoodA picture on a phone holds attention that a grey smudge in an eyepiece does not.
- Travel4/5 GoodSmall, self-contained, battery powered.
- Sun3/5 FairIn white light: the larger sunspots and their groups. Dawes' limit on the Sun: 3.9″ (116 ÷ 30 mm, arithmetic). Some models in this family come with the maker's solar filter, not all. Each model's page says whether its box has one. Every time: certified filter over the front · finder capped · never an eyepiece filter · an adult with children · never without the filter.
- Deep sky2/5 WeakIt shows you deep sky, but not by eye. Score depends entirely on whether that distinction matters to you.
- Moon & planets2/5 WeakSmall aperture and short focal length. The Moon works; the planets are underwhelming.
Not scored: Learn the sky, Serious photo.
What it does well
- Shows colour and structure in nebulae that no eyepiece at this aperture ever will
- Works under a city sky far better than visual observing does
- Set up in minutes, operated from indoors if it is cold
What it costs you
- There is nothing to look through. If the appeal is photons hitting your own retina, this is the wrong category
- The image is the instrument's, not yours — limited control over how it is made
- A fast-moving product category; anything written about it dates within a year
The Sun, safely
The Sun with this family
Some models in this family come with the maker's solar filter, not all. Each model's page says whether its box has one.
In white light: the larger sunspots and their groups. Dawes' limit on the Sun: 3.9″ (116 ÷ 30 mm, arithmetic).
Every time
- A certified solar filter over the FRONT of the instrument, fastened so it cannot slip or blow off.
- Cap or remove the finder. It is a second telescope, and it has no filter.
- Never a filter at the eyepiece end: the concentrated sunlight there can crack it in an instant.
- With children, an adult is there every time.
- Never look, or point, without the filter on. Check it before each use; a scratched or torn filter goes in the bin.
Sources for the Sun
- American Astronomical Society — How to View a Solar Eclipse Safely — filters on optics go on the front; eclipse glasses never with optics; children supervised
- American Astronomical Society — Solar Filters for Optics — eyepiece filters are dangerous; the finder capped, removed or filtered; the filter attached securely
- American Astronomical Society — About the ISO 12312-2 Standard — EN ISO 12312-2:2015 covers naked-eye viewers only; no international standard covers filters on telescopes, binoculars or lenses
- Société astronomique de France — Guide des observations solaires — a filter at the front, never one screwed into the eyepiece, the finder capped
- NASA — Keep Your Eclipse Glasses to See the Sun's ‘Freckles’ — a large enough sunspot shows through eclipse glasses
- AAVSO — Le Guide d'Observation Solaire de l'AAVSO, v1.1 (2017), p. 6 — archived copy — “Les ouvertures plus grandes que 100 à 125 mm sont généralement limitées par les effets de turbulence atmosphérique”; 50 to 80 mm is enough to count sunspots
Next to it
Smaller
Star tracker with a camera and lens- −5 mm
- +1 kg
- −€150 at entry level
Bigger
Equatorial GoTo mount with a small imaging refractor- +26 mm
- +19 kg
- +€1,350 at entry level
The models
Each price is the cheapest one observed, with its date. Links marked paid link earn us a commission and cost you nothing extra; the list is ordered by price, then by name — never by what pays. How this site is funded
| Model | Aperture | Focal length | Weight | Eyepieces supplied | Cheapest observed | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 ZWO Seestar S30 | 30 mm | 150 mm | 1.8 kg | — | €479seen 7 Oct 2026 at Astroshop | At Astroshoppaid link4 other sellers
|
 DwarfLab Dwarf 3 | 35 mm | 150 mm | 1.4 kg | — | €529seen 7 Oct 2026 at Astroshop | At Astroshoppaid link4 other sellers
|
| ZWO Seestar S50 | 50 mm | 250 mm | 3 kg | — | €560indicative, seen 17 Aug 2026 | No observed price, so no button.4 other sellers
|
 ZWO Seestar S30 Pro | 30 mm | 160 mm | 1.7 kg | — | €699seen 7 Oct 2026 at Astroshop | At Astroshoppaid link4 other sellers
|
 ZWO Seestar S50 Pro | 50 mm | 260 mm | 2.8 kg | — | €999seen 7 Oct 2026 at Astroshop | At Astroshoppaid link4 other sellers
|
 Vaonis Vespera II | 50 mm | 250 mm | 5 kg | — | €1,577seen 7 Oct 2026 at Astroshop | At Astroshoppaid link4 other sellers
|
Questions people ask
Do you look through a smart telescope?
No. There is no eyepiece: a camera replaces the eye and the image appears on your phone after a few minutes of stacked exposures. If the appeal is seeing the light with your own eyes, this is the wrong family.
30 or 50 mm?
A 50 mm gathers (50 ÷ 30)² ≈ 2.8 times the light and, with its longer focal length, shows small galaxies larger. A 30 mm frames wider — big nebulae whole — and weighs less. For a first all-rounder, the 50 mm.
Does it work in a city?
Far better than observing by eye: stacking and, on several models, a built-in light-pollution filter pull nebulae out of an orange sky. Faint galaxies stay hard.
Will it still be useful in five years?
The optics, yes. The rest depends on the maker: the device only works with its own app. The category changes every year; anything written about it dates fast, this included.
Read next
- Seestar, Dwarf or a real telescope?Two activities, not two levels: which one is yours, before the box decides.Updated 24 Sept 2026
- Which telescope should a beginner buy?The short answer, the three things the box does not say, then the detail by budget and by situation.Updated 24 Sept 2026
- Giving a telescopeWhich one to give to whom, at what price, and when the best present is not a telescope.Updated 29 Sept 2026