Smart Telescopes (An Introduction)

The world of amateur astronomy is changing. In fact, there just might be a revolution going on. We might be at a watershed moment! The era of the smart telescopes has arrived!

These are fully automated telescopes that connect through your smart phone or tablet. They have all the information necessary to find objects in the night sky. And … they take images! Yes, no more squinting through a small eyepiece. You can now sit back and see the cosmos in full living color! Note, however, that these telescopes are not good for imaging the planets. Their focus is on deep-sky objects such as nebulae and galaxies, as well as the Sun (with an appropriate filter), and the Moon. The most popular at the moment seem to be the ZWO Seestar S30 Pro and the Dwarf Labs Dwarf Mini.

Many of these telescopes and accessories can be purchased directly from the manufacturer (e.g. ZWO and Dwarf Labs) or from other suppliers of astronomical equipment such as High Point Scientific, Agena Astro, and Astronomics.

The Basics
A Starting Point
The Process (Your workflow)
Sample Images
References and Reviews

More Options
Build Your Own “Smart Telescope”
Additional Options and A Comparison of Smart Telescopes
More from FAS

A Starting Point

You might start with one of the several small and compact smart telescopes that are priced in the $400 to $700 range.

ZWO SeeStar

Several FAS members now have the ZWO Seestar S50. FAS also owns the smaller and more compact ZWO Seestar S30. The ZWO Seestar S30 Pro, with enhanced optics, is now available as well (see our recent post for more information).

We are hearing that the Seestar S50 will be discontinued and replaced by a Seestar S50 Pro in the near future.

For more about the Seestar S50 and S30 smart telescopes, including detailed purchasing and usage information, see ZWO Seestar Smart Telescopes.

Dwarf Labs

Dwarf labs has their Dwarf 3, which replaced the Dwarf 2 and is an alternative to the Seestar. Also, the Dwarf Mini, a smaller and less expensive version of the Dwarf 3, is now available (see our recent post for more information).

By default, both the Seestar and Dwarf telescopes operate in alt/az mode. However, they now can be operated in EQ mode as well. To facilitate this, ZWO supplies an HT fluid tripod head, while Dwarf Labs offers a mini tripod with hydraulic head. Some folks prefer 3rd party heads such as the Sky-Watcher base.

ZWO now has improved Post Processing tools (such as AI Enhance) that gives you much more control over processing your images (including resizing and cropping as needed). Dwarf Labs has an online Stellar Studio, with many tools, that will also give you control over your image processing.

Note that these smart telescopes have different sensors and provide a widely different fields of view. The wider the field of view, the more of the sky can be captured, but objects will appear smaller. You can sometimes crop and resize an image to make objects appear larger (e.g., cropped S30 Pro images appear the same size as S30 images). This is usually done during post-processing (see below). For some examples, see our note on Telescope Fields of View.

The Process (Your Workflow)

Imaging with a smart telescope is relatively easy, but not just a single click and go.

You first have to balance the telescope (alt/az mode) or align it to celestial north (EQ mode). You will then take multiple 10 second to 1 minute images as the telescope tracks your target across the sky. Most telescopes will slowly stack the images to give you a live look at your composite result and you will be able to save the final image to your phone or tablet.

However, you can also go back and review your individual frames (subs) for defects, re-stack your raw images, and post-process the result using tools and techniques available on the smart telescope’s app (e.g. ZWO Post Processing or Dwarf Labs Stellar Studio) or with 3rd party software such as Siril or PixInsight (once you have more experience with all this). This can usually significantly improve your final image.

Sample Images

Seestar S50 images. Processed within the Seestar app. Credit: Bruce Gavett

Seestar S30 Images (after post-processing). Credit: Joe Haberthier (Telescopius License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)

Seestar S30 Pro images. Post processed using different tools including the Seestar app (left) and Siril (right). Credit: Bruce Gavett

Seestar S30 Pro images. Post processed using Seestar’s AI Enhance process. Credit: Bruce Gavett

Dwarf 2 & Dwarf Mini images. Credit: Sean Wood

References and Reviews of Smart Telescopes in General

Build Your Own “Smart Telescope”

Another interesting approach is found in a YouTube video by The Space Koala (Build Your Own Smart Scope! Easy as a SeeStar, Pro results!). It utilizes a smart camera from ZWO, a mount also from ZWO, and the Askar V telescope. Below is a list of the hardware discussed in the video (along with a few other choices).

The Askar V might be hard to find, however, it is still available at High Point Scientific as of January 2026. There are several other options for the telescope. Askar has a couple alternatives (SQA55 and SQA70). You could also go with a ZWO telescope (FS65, FS80, FS107, FS130). A third option are the Redcat telescopes from Williams Optics (CAT 51, CAT 61, CAT 71, CAT 91). See telescopes for astrophotography for more suggestions.

Additional Options and Comparisons of Smart Telescopes

In addition to the relatively inexpensive smart telescopes offered by ZWO and Dwarf Labs, there are several more sophisticated and expensive smart telescopes on the market to choose from. At the top of the price range ($4,300) is the Celestron Origin Mark II. Other smart telescopes can be purchased from Vaonis and Unistellar. See below for more information on all models.

  • Dwarf Labs.
    • Dwarf Mini (Dwarf Labs). At around 1.8 lb., this new offering, priced at $400, is advertised as the first pocket smart telescope.
    • Dwarf III (Dwarf Labs). At just under 3 lb., this is a low priced ($550) alternative to the ZWO Seestar with a 35 mm aperture, 150 mm focal length, and 8.3 MP (2 um pixel size) camera.
  • ZWO.
    • Seestar S30 (ZWO). At around 3.5 lb., this is a smaller alternative to the ZWO Seestar S50 and the Dwarf 3.
    • Seestar S50 (ZWO). It is around 5 1/2 lb., priced at $550 with a 2 MP camera, 50 mm aperture, and 250 mm focal length.
    • Seestar S30 Pro (ZWO). Just launched (January 2026) with quadruplet optics, enhanced 8 mp sensor, and nightscape mode. For more on this, see our recent post about the Seestar S30 Pro.
  • Spectrum Optical Instruments: SPi53 Smart Telescope. More to come …
  • Vaonis options are around 11 lb. with a 50 mm aperture and a 245 mm focal length.
    • Vespera II has a 8.3 MP camera, optional tripod, and is priced around $1,600.
    • Vespera III has an 8.3 MP camera, aluminum tripod, and is priced around $2,500.
    • Vespera Pro 2 has a 12.5 MP camera, high carbon tripod, and is priced at $3,000.
  • Unistellar.
    • Odyssey It is 8.8 lb. with a 5 hour battery life, an 85 mm (3 1/3”) aperture, 320 mm focal length, and 3.4 & 4.1 MP (1.45 um pixel size) camera. It has an autofocus and does not require collimation.
      • Odyssey Base model comes without an eyepiece and is priced at $2,300.
      • Odyssey Pro model comes with an eyepiece and is priced at $4,000.
    • Expert Range. It is 15.5 lb. with a 114 mm (4 1/2”) aperture, 450 mm focal length, 2.9 um pixel size camera. It has a manual focus and does require collimation.
      • eQuinox 2 comes without an eyepiece, 6.2 MP camera, 11 hour battery life, and is priced at $2,500.
      • eVscope 2 comes with an eyepiece, 7.7 MP camera, 9 hour battery life, and is priced at $4,900.
  • Celestron: Origin Intelligent Home Observatory Mark II. This is Celestron’s high end 6” smart telescope. The total system weighs over 41 lb. It has a 152 mm aperture, 335 mm focal length, 6.4 MP (2.4 um pixel size) camera, and is priced around $4,300.
TelescopeWeightPriceAperture (mm)Focal RatioFocal Length (mm)Camera (MP)Note
Dwarf Mini1.85 lb.$40030 (1.2”)1502.1
Dwarf III3 lb.$55035 (1.4”)f/4.291508.3Telephoto & wide angle lenses
ZWO Seestar S303.5 lb.$40030 (1.2”)f/5150IMX662 (2.1)Telephoto & wide angle lenses. Now with EQ mode.
ZWO Seestar S505.5 lb.$55050 (2”)f/5250IMX462 (2.1)Portrait mode – now with a Mosaic option & EQ mode. DISCONTINUED
ZWO Seestar S30 Pro 3.5 lb.$70030 (1.2”)f/5.3160 (Equivalent 520)IMX585 (8.3) with 1/1.2” format.Wider field of view with a better sensor and improved optics. Nightscape mode.
ZWO Seestar S50 Pro5.5 lb.50 (2”)250Coming soon?
SPi53 Smart Telescope6.1 lb.$700More to come …
Vaonis Vespera II11 lb.$1,70050 (2”)f/5250IMX585 (8.3) with 1/1.2” format.Optional tripod, 28G storage & 4hr battery.
Vaonis Vespera III11 lb.$2,50050 (2”)f/4.9245IMX585 (8.3) with 1/1.2” format.Aluminum tripod, 128G storage, & 11 hr battery.
Vaonis Vespera Pro 211 lb.$3,00050 (2”)f/4.9245IMX676 (12.5) with 1/1.6” format.High carbon tripod, 256 G storage, & 11 hr battery.
Unistellar Odyssey Base 8.8 lb.$2,30085 (3.3″)f/3.763203.4Auto focusing.
Unistellar Odyssey Pro8.8 lb$4,00085 (3.3″)f/3.763204.1Auto focusing. Eyepiece.
Unistellar eQuinox 215.5 lb.$2,500114 (4.5”)f/3.954506.2Manual focusing & collimation.
Unistellar eVscope 215.5 lb.$4,900114 (4.5”)f/3.954507.7Manual focusing & collimation. Eyepiece.
Celestron Origin Mark II~ 40 lb.$4,300152 (6”)f/2.23356.4
Information above initially as of August 2024 and updated periodically. Please refer to the manufacture or supplier for the latest specs and prices.

References and Reviews of Specific Models

More from FAS

Traditional Telescopes
Telescopes for Astrophotography
Astrophotography Basics
Deep-Sky Objects
ZWO Seestar Smart Telescopes
(A Much Deeper Dive)
Astrophotography
(A Much Deeper Dive)

Please note that FAS does not officially endorse or recommend these or any other telescopes, accessories, or suppliers. We simply provide information that might be interesting and useful for the public.

Posted

by

Bruce Gavett

on

in

,

Tags:

, , , ,