I would appreciate some general gear advice from experienced people... - Forums

Hey all, firstly this community seems excellent. A lot of people and a lot of knowledge. So, I was hoping I could get some general advice here.

I’ve been very interested in space since I was a kid. The subject of Astrophotography always seemed too out of reach for numerous reasons. Well, a while back I decided to get a tripod and mess around with my phone. That only piqued my interest, and even then, just seeing that purple glow of M42 for the first time, GOT ME! Since then I have been doing what I can.

I have a Nikon D5600, with a cheap/junky tripod. If you look at my first (And only!) picture, I got that image of M42 with about 300 lights. No EQ, so after about every 50 shots or so, I had to re adjust to keep M42 back into view, as it would drift across my view. I messed around and followed a tutorial in Siril, and that was my first image. I am so proud of that image, and I gaze at it in wonder daily (Knowing it is very, VERY amateur!) But it was so satisfying. The whole process.

Now, to my question that I would like to get some input on. The way I see it, I can go one of two routes to improve my imaging:

1 - Slowly improve my current set up. From my very inexperienced view, I would think the next upgrades would be an EQ Mount, good Tripod, then later on a better scope etc etc etc.

2 - I am very tempted to pre-order the new SeeStar S30 Pro. I realize many will boo hoo this. And believe it or not, I can understand why. Even just using my Nikon and crappy tripod, it was fun trying to figure things out and I felt I really earned that image and was proud!

That said, I also believe there is nothing wrong with using new technology to enjoy a hobby or field of interest, and the S30 Pro would certainly give me many nights of awe and wonder at the images of distant worlds I love to think about and ponder before bed. Not to mention enhance my knowledge of the night sky.

Any thoughts or recommendations, throw them at me. I am open and am willing to learn.

So, to wrap it up, I think if I went with #2, after a while I would hit a ceiling and, knowing me, will want to tinker more and will eventually build a rig anyway. But it does seem like a great tool for a beginner, and one that would compliment my set up even later if I build a rig as something I can just grab n go without much fuss.

If you read this far, thank you for taking the time and I wish you clear skies!

John

If you go the SeeStar route you’ll learn a lot about processing but not much about the hardware side.

If you add a decent GoTo eq mount and shoot with your DSLR and present lenses you’ll learn a lot about both hardware and processing. My advice would be to go that way. I would also consider getting a better mount than you need as by the time you upgrade to a real telescope, you’ll be very familiar with basic operations and pretty much ready to go. I know spending $2000.00 or more at this point might seem like overkill but it will be totally worth it in the long run.

Tony Gondola · Jan 26, 2026, 10:51 PM
If you go the SeeStar route you’ll learn a lot about processing but not much about the hardware side.
If you add a decent GoTo eq mount and shoot with your DSLR and present lenses you’ll learn a lot about both hardware and processing. My advice would be to go that way. I would also consider getting a better mount than you need as by the time you upgrade to a real telescope, you’ll be very familiar with basic operations and pretty much ready to go. I know spending $2000.00 or more at this point might seem like overkill but it will be totally worth it in the long run.

Thanks Tony. And that makes a lot of sense to me about what I would learn with each that I have not thought of in that respect.

I think that is the thing that is pushing me away right now, the initial high cost like you mentioned for a good mount + tripod.

You could go with a lower tier mount if you have to, just make sure it has full GoTo capability so you can control it with NINA. You’ll learn a ton doing that.

Get the Seestar if that’s what makes the hobby more accessible to you. You can always save up for the less automated stuff later.

The Seestar is a fantastic way to get into astrophotography with far less frustration at the beginning and a lot more fun.
Compared to the cost and complexity of a full astrophotography setup, the Seestar is almost a joke in terms of price — but not in terms of what it can deliver.

It lets beginners focus on enjoying the sky instead of fighting gear, polar alignment, cables, software, and endless settings. You can start capturing real deep-sky objects right away, learn the basics, and build confidence.

If the passion really takes hold, you can always upgrade later to a “classic” setup — but the Seestar is a perfect gateway.
I recently got myself a Seestar S50 and I actually love using it alongside my main rig, while the primary equipment is busy with long integrations. It’s simple, efficient, and just pure fun.

Clear skies!

JohnnyAstro · Jan 26, 2026, 10:58 PM
I think that is the thing that is pushing me away right now, the initial high cost like you mentioned for a good mount + tripod.

If you are based in the US, there are lots of classified ads with good mounts for a fraction of the price of a new equivalent. One of the most popular and capable mounts is the Skywatcher EQ6-r Pro, and brand new, this might be $2000+, but there are frequently used ones that pop up for under $1200 (sometimes as low as $1000) on this website, as well as on Astromart or Cloudy Nights. A Celestron AVX mount is also popular and reasonably capable for lighter setups and can often be found for $500-700.

But I agree with other folks. Your next step would be a tracking mount of some capacity, so you can take longer exposures. After that, see if you can find a mini PC like the melee quieter 4c to run NINA, or, I always like to recommend the ASIAir system, as it’s easier to get up and running if you’re new to the hobby. You could use an old laptop too if you have one and don’t mind leaving it outside for awhile.

Once you have a computer to control the mount, autoguiding might be the next step, which would require a guide camera and guide scope (unless you opt to purchase one the the ZWO 585 or 2600 Air cameras, which have the ASIAir, guide sensor, and imaging sensor all built into one unit and make it nice and simple!)

Tony Gondola · Jan 26, 2026, 11:14 PM
You could go with a lower tier mount if you have to, just make sure it has full GoTo capability so you can control it with NINA. You’ll learn a ton doing that.

If I would go this route first, I think it would have to be a lower tier mount. Maybe one of the lower SkyWatchers.

David Foust · Jan 27, 2026, 12:39 AM
JohnnyAstro · Jan 26, 2026, 10:58 PM
I think that is the thing that is pushing me away right now, the initial high cost like you mentioned for a good mount + tripod.
If you are based in the US, there are lots of classified ads with good mounts for a fraction of the price of a new equivalent. One of the most popular and capable mounts is the Skywatcher EQ6-r Pro, and brand new, this might be $2000+, but there are frequently used ones that pop up for under $1200 (sometimes as low as $1000) on this website, as well as on Astromart or Cloudy Nights. A Celestron AVX mount is also popular and reasonably capable for lighter setups and can often be found for $500-700.
But I agree with other folks. Your next step would be a tracking mount of some capacity, so you can take longer exposures. After that, see if you can find a mini PC like the melee quieter 4c to run NINA, or, I always like to recommend the ASIAir system, as it’s easier to get up and running if you’re new to the hobby. You could use an old laptop too if you have one and don’t mind leaving it outside for awhile.
Once you have a computer to control the mount, autoguiding might be the next step, which would require a guide camera and guide scope (unless you opt to purchase one the the ZWO 585 or 2600 Air cameras, which have the ASIAir, guide sensor, and imaging sensor all built into one unit and make it nice and simple!)

Thanks for the reply David!

The mount is my first obstacle… I did not think of the used route. And I would imagine most people into this take good care of their gear. Thanks for the suggestion.

As for the rest… I think that is pretty far in my future unfortunately, but I am dreaming!

Maybe it’ll turn out to be sooner than later!

Lazo Filiposki · Jan 26, 2026, 11:37 PM
The Seestar is a fantastic way to get into astrophotography with far less frustration at the beginning and a lot more fun.
Compared to the cost and complexity of a full astrophotography setup, the Seestar is almost a joke in terms of price — but not in terms of what it can deliver.
It lets beginners focus on enjoying the sky instead of fighting gear, polar alignment, cables, software, and endless settings. You can start capturing real deep-sky objects right away, learn the basics, and build confidence.
If the passion really takes hold, you can always upgrade later to a “classic” setup — but the Seestar is a perfect gateway.
I recently got myself a Seestar S50 and I actually love using it alongside my main rig, while the primary equipment is busy with long integrations. It’s simple, efficient, and just pure fun.
Clear skies!

That is kind of where I see it. It just seems like an affordable entry for a beginner. But I really do enjoy using my Nikon and I will continue to do so regardless of if I get the SeeStar or not.

That may be the ticket for me currently, and then slowly build up a rig as time goes on.

Thanks!

Seestars are nothing more than expensive toys, made for the ‘quick hit on Instagram’ folks. You’d be better off going with your option 1 and learning the sky.

You seem genuinely interested in astronomy, so because you already have the camera, I’d go for an ioptron skyguider or similar. This will allow you to get started with long exposure photography and to learn processing with nice data.

These aren’t too expensive and will allow you to take beautiful widefield images, and save for an AM3 and telescope in the mid to long term.

My suggestion would be to first invest in a good and decent Mount. This is the most basic requirement for any Astrophotography. Other items can be added later as your wallet permits

Your current gear of a Nikon DSLR will deliver better results with a proper Mount. There are now a host of good quality Harmonic Equatorial Mounts available. You can consider ZWO AM3 or Juwei 17 or even the recently launched SAL 33 . All are around the USD 1000-1500 range and have shown good results.

Investing in Seestar is a good alternative. I myself have a Seestar S 50 since last 2 years and am very happy. But the pleasure of a dedicated rig and the effort to get it setup and work is very different than a Seestar.

Hope this helps and all the very best !

Aloke

I think you’ll be more proud of the photos you take with your actual camera than with the seestar. If you just want to explore the nightsky and nothing more, the seestar can get you there.

I bought the skywatcher star adventurer GTI and it’s a great entry for getting into the hobby.
One of the best upgrades you can do if you’re just starting out.

Then I’d recommend going step by step. first learn what the mount can do. get some shots with it. after a while you’ll hit a ceiling and upgrade the things that hold you back.
Personally I think that is the best way to learn each and every part of your rig and you don’t spend a lot of money on gear you might not even need.

Just remember that nearly everything that you upgrade mostly comes with a rat tail of things you also need.

it can get expensive quite quickly but with the GTi mount you don’t need anything extra except maybe a good tripod. ( I got a EQ5 tripod with an adapter. it works really well)

I would say it really depends on your budget and goals. The Seestar will give you better quick results than you are getting now but is limited and really very hands off. This is great for some who do not enjoy the learning curve of putting together and running a traditional rig. What it will give you is some source data to hone post-processing skills.

I am a total beginner and also use a DSLR with a Star Adventurer 2i mount (none goto) and i’m loving the process of learning of setup and capture. I use NINA for the capture. As a technical person (retired software developer) its in my nature to tackle this kind of approach and slowly improve.

So if that resonates with you i would choose a cheapish mount to start with, maybe the Star Adventurer Gti, that is what i would have bought if i was starting now (it didn’t exist when i bought my 2i). A cheap mount will have its own limitations in stability, tracking accuracy, payload but you will learn so much without much outlay.

If you have more budget (£1K+) then go for better mount (EQ6-r Pro, HEQ5, AM5N etc) or look in the second hand market

If you want quick results go the Seestar, i think its portability and quick setup definitely has its place. But if you stick with hobby you will outgrow it quickly in my opinion.

JohnnyAstro · Jan 26, 2026, 10:42 PM
Hey all, firstly this community seems excellent. A lot of people and a lot of knowledge. So, I was hoping I could get some general advice here.
I’ve been very interested in space since I was a kid. The subject of Astrophotography always seemed too out of reach for numerous reasons. Well, a while back I decided to get a tripod and mess around with my phone. That only piqued my interest, and even then, just seeing that purple glow of M42 for the first time, GOT ME! Since then I have been doing what I can.
I have a Nikon D5600, with a cheap/junky tripod. If you look at my first (And only!) picture, I got that image of M42 with about 300 lights. No EQ, so after about every 50 shots or so, I had to re adjust to keep M42 back into view, as it would drift across my view. I messed around and followed a tutorial in Siril, and that was my first image. I am so proud of that image, and I gaze at it in wonder daily (Knowing it is very, VERY amateur!) But it was so satisfying. The whole process.
Now, to my question that I would like to get some input on. The way I see it, I can go one of two routes to improve my imaging:
1 - Slowly improve my current set up. From my very inexperienced view, I would think the next upgrades would be an EQ Mount, good Tripod, then later on a better scope etc etc etc.
2 - I am very tempted to pre-order the new SeeStar S30 Pro. I realize many will boo hoo this. And believe it or not, I can understand why. Even just using my Nikon and crappy tripod, it was fun trying to figure things out and I felt I really earned that image and was proud!
That said, I also believe there is nothing wrong with using new technology to enjoy a hobby or field of interest, and the S30 Pro would certainly give me many nights of awe and wonder at the images of distant worlds I love to think about and ponder before bed. Not to mention enhance my knowledge of the night sky.
Any thoughts or recommendations, throw them at me. I am open and am willing to learn.
So, to wrap it up, I think if I went with #2, after a while I would hit a ceiling and, knowing me, will want to tinker more and will eventually build a rig anyway. But it does seem like a great tool for a beginner, and one that would compliment my set up even later if I build a rig as something I can just grab n go without much fuss.
If you read this far, thank you for taking the time and I wish you clear skies!
John

Hi Johnny,

My advice is to invest your money wisely. That means first figuring out what your photography will be like: backyard/observatory or nomadic.

If it's the latter, definitely go for an OSC (I've done both), and I started with a color camera. Once I could capture more hours, I switched to a monochrome one. That said, if you're unsure, the Seestar isn't a bad idea, but since you seem to like it, it'll be too small for you very soon. These days there are harmonic mounts that are lightweight and very efficient, which you can transport and polar align quickly, and they support different types of telescopes, giving you more options for objects (shorter or longer focal lengths).

So, based on my experience and to avoid complications: a color camera, an AM3-type mount, and telescopes that are suitable for the objects you want to photograph.

CS,

Jaume

I started with a seestar and am now developing a cheap visual setup which also allows planetary photography and a degree of learning to navigate the sky manually. Seems to be a good mix and doesn't break the bank.

I got a second hand skymax 127mm with autoguider mount. Now improving my camera.

Lazo Filiposki · Jan 26, 2026, 11:37 PM
It lets beginners focus on enjoying the sky instead of fighting gear, polar alignment, cables, software, and endless settings. You can start capturing real deep-sky objects right away, learn the basics, and build confidence.

This. The amount of nights I lost just because I couldn’t get my stuff to work is something I won’t remember in a positive way.

A Seestar would provide a very easy entry into deep sky astrophotography with deep(er) integrations. You can prestack your images in the seestar or use freeware like siril to do it yourself. Like this, you can fully concentrate on the processing part and see how far you can go with the SeeStar data. There are people on astrobin that do ultra deep integrations with the seestar and honestly those images are crazy good.

Second, it gives you more time saving money if you want to acquire bigger gear later on. You can save and keep an eye on the used market for good deals. There are always beginners jumping over to bigger gear, so you will get your chance buying a used mount for little money.

When I began doing astro, I didn’t have the chance to start the hobby with a Seestar, so I had to pay the high initial cost for a used mount and other stuff and get it to work somehow.

If you want to skip the Seestar, I can also recommend starting off without a laptop. I started with a used Celestron AVX, Canon DSLR, Small Newton and MGEN with Guidescope.

You can control your mount with the handcontroller and the MGEN takes care of your DSLR and guiding. With the MGEN you can do Polar Alignment and Guiding, which are two important aspects of astrophotography. I think in its current development it can even platesolve and much more. It is like having a small pc without it being a complete pc with all the overwhelming settings.

JohnnyAstro · Jan 26, 2026 at 10:42 PM
1 - Slowly improve my current set up. From my very inexperienced view, I would think the next upgrades would be an EQ Mount, good Tripod, then later on a better scope etc etc etc.
2 - I am very tempted to pre-order the new SeeStar S30 Pro. I realize many will boo hoo this. And believe it or not, I can understand why. Even just using my Nikon and crappy tripod, it was fun trying to figure things out and I felt I really earned that image and was proud!

Take the following as something coming from someone who also joined the hobby relatively recently (1.5 years now) and therefore while not that experienced, had a fresh feeling of how much you can end up spending these days if you don’t plan your purchases carefully.

For disclosure, I own an S50 and what I can say about it is that it’s great to get a good grasp of the processing fundamentals, albeit with mediocre results overall. I’m sure the much better sensor of the S30 Pro can lead to much better images, but soon you’ll feel the need to use it with an equatorial wedge to avoid field rotation and take longer exposures.
Similarly, if you continue with the DSLR, you’ll need a decent tracking equatorial mount.

So my first suggestion (that’s at least what I did with good satisfaction with my D5300) is to purchase a relatively inexpensive, second hand light EQ mount, with its tripod. Something like a second-hand Star Adventurer GTi. That will satisfy both short-term needs (you can just remove the actual mount and use just tripod and wedge with the S30), and you can also start playing with autoguiding to move to the next step.

But don’t overspend on it: if you decide you want to move to a longer focal length (say: >300mm) you’ll need something capable of carrying more weight. That can easily get very expensive, and the more capable you want it the more expensive it’s going to be (read: easily more expensive than the DSLR, the S30Pro and the Star Adventurer combined).

Lots of good advice here and I hesitate to add mine to the pile so as not to overwhelm and repeat. So I’ll try to go a little deeper.

I’m on the side of the Seestar S50, not the S30 Pro. You ought to be able to find a used one if price is an issue. Make sure you get one with all the original accessories (tripod, solar filter, power cable, and case).

I disagree that the Seestars are “just toys”. They’re in a rare category where what they are is a very inexpensive version of stuff that normally costs about 5x as much. They introduce you to a lot of concepts you’ll take with you as you move forward in the hobby, including these:

Alt-az (default) vs. eq mounts. You’ll figure out by experience why eq gives you better results. But first you’ll have a very easy-to-setup and easy-to-use alt-az system, and you’ll get some excellent results if you shoot for 4-6 hours of integration on targets like emission nebulae.
While your first images will doubtless be the jpegs that the Seestar creates for you, you’ll learn about saving the individual frames and uploading them to your PC or Mac where you can stack them with ASI Deep Stack, Siril, Astro Pixel Processor, PixInsight, and other apps. This process and these apps will become indispensable as you move further into the hobby. In fact I purchased Astro Pixel Processor shortly after getting my S50 because it did such a great job on Seestar mosaics when other apps were struggling. It’s still great for panel-based mosaics now that I’ve moved up.
You’ll learn when and how to use your dew heater, how to do polar alignment, when to use your dual narrowband filter (what the Seestar calls a “light pollution” filter) to improve capture of emission nebulae, basic concepts of mosaics (though Seestar mosaics are a little unique), how increased integration time improves signal-to-noise ratio and overall image quality, and more. As you look around at other systems you’ll learn to compare both field of view and pixel scale, and the effect aperture has on limiting pixel scale. You’ll learn how to set up a plan for shooting multiple targets throughout the night.
By the time you’re ready to move up, you will have been using an apochromatic triplet (or quadruplet in the case of the S30 Pro) refractor and will have some knowledge of those as you look at others.

And you will have done all this for a very minimal investment. You’ll either keep the Seestar after you upgrade and use it for travel or quick backyard shooting, or you’ll get most of your money back when you sell it.

One of the things you’ll figure out is that it costs about 5x the cost of the Seestar S50 to build one from components, yet you get 100% of the experience of astrophotography. I can’t recommend it as an entry point highly enough.

And if you really want to accelerate your skills, consider deploying your Seestar at Starfront Observatories, where you’ll join about 100 other Seestar owners who operate their scopes remotely under clear, Bortle 1 skies. Talk about gaining experience quickly. :-)

2 years into this inexpensive, very straight forward and simple hobby, I can give beginner advice

I start two years ago with a cannon 600d and kit lens and £5 boot fair tripod, on Orion

Now I'm taking bad pictures of relatively small galaxies

The mount / tripod is vital. I got a sky watcher GTi and tripod pier, with the intention of learning all the grown up stuff. I really, highly recommend this approach.

If you're certain this hobby is for you already, I would suggest spending the cash on a beefier mount and tripod now.

My photos on here are from early on after I got my GTi. They suck except possibly the Cygnus wall.
I have much more recent images on telescopius which are bad, but I mostly like them

All with £1000 mount, £300 second hand C6 and a £400 svbony 533 colour camera.
That gear is still far better than my current skills, but I've managed to take reasonable images of small galaxies from a bortle 6 garden and sunny British weather

Jaume Zapata · Jan 27, 2026, 11:48 AM
My advice is to invest your money wisely.

A little bit off topic.

How many of us do have 15% of our spent money laying around as paperweights? 🤣 I do…

Spending money wisely is all what we want to achieve but have we achieved it?

I dare to say it is a learning process which develops automatically after we get a bit smarter everyday but one important thing we should not forget…

Get a wife or girlfriend who understands our hobby …. 😘 or stay single and you will not have this problem 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

I would like to make it short - out of my personal experience:

1. Don´t go for a smallish mount system, take one which is sturdy and reliable and precise
2. Don´t go for a cheap telescope - I mean cheap, not inexpensive. Some of the recently launched telescopes are very good and still affordable
3. If avoidable, don´t mix brands of equipment too much
4. Don´t give up if you run into disappointing results - everyone of us has experienced this and most of us are still experiencing times of frustration
5. Keep learning from others, even if you rate yourself as an expert - you still can benefit from the knowledge or the mistakes of others
6. Enjoy your hobby and keep your expenses under control - astrophotography has the potential to make you poor :-)

Cheers

Georg

Thank you to everyone who responded to me. I started individually responding, but to be honest I felt a bit out of depth already in responding to some of them.

I have taken note of the equipment mentioned. I am still on the fence, as finances are the main mode of thought right now, and I don’t want to get in too deep without knowing more. I play it maybe even a bit too safe at times before I pull the trigger.

After this, I think I can say now with certainty, that a rig will be my end result.

If I stick to upgrading what I have now, great. If I do get a SeeStar, I am certain down the road when I feel more comfortable I will upgrade my DSLR setup and go deep with that. And, I do not think I would stop using the DSLR if I did get a SeeStar. There was too much satisfaction out of using it.

Anyway, thank you again everyone who responded. I’ll continue learning and just enjoy the ride, regardless of what I am currently using!

Cheers

Georg N. Nyman · Jan 27, 2026, 09:26 PM
I would like to make it short - out of my personal experience:

1. Don´t go for a smallish mount system, take one which is sturdy and reliable and precise
2. Don´t go for a cheap telescope - I mean cheap, not inexpensive. Some of the recently launched telescopes are very good and still affordable
3. If avoidable, don´t mix brands of equipment too much
4. Don´t give up if you run into disappointing results - everyone of us has experienced this and most of us are still experiencing times of frustration
5. Keep learning from others, even if you rate yourself as an expert - you still can benefit from the knowledge or the mistakes of others
6. Enjoy your hobby and keep your expenses under control - astrophotography has the potential to make you poor :-)
Cheers
Georg

5 - Is the main reason I am here!

Thank you for the detailed and pointed response. I can tell that this is a field that skimping on quality equip hurts later. I will tread carefully but just try to enjoy the process and learning.

Craig Rairdin · Jan 27, 2026, 03:31 PM
Lots of good advice here and I hesitate to add mine to the pile so as not to overwhelm and repeat. So I’ll try to go a little deeper.
I’m on the side of the Seestar S50, not the S30 Pro. You ought to be able to find a used one if price is an issue. Make sure you get one with all the original accessories (tripod, solar filter, power cable, and case).
I disagree that the Seestars are “just toys”. They’re in a rare category where what they are is a very inexpensive version of stuff that normally costs about 5x as much. They introduce you to a lot of concepts you’ll take with you as you move forward in the hobby, including these:
Alt-az (default) vs. eq mounts. You’ll figure out by experience why eq gives you better results. But first you’ll have a very easy-to-setup and easy-to-use alt-az system, and you’ll get some excellent results if you shoot for 4-6 hours of integration on targets like emission nebulae.
While your first images will doubtless be the jpegs that the Seestar creates for you, you’ll learn about saving the individual frames and uploading them to your PC or Mac where you can stack them with ASI Deep Stack, Siril, Astro Pixel Processor, PixInsight, and other apps. This process and these apps will become indispensable as you move further into the hobby. In fact I purchased Astro Pixel Processor shortly after getting my S50 because it did such a great job on Seestar mosaics when other apps were struggling. It’s still great for panel-based mosaics now that I’ve moved up.
You’ll learn when and how to use your dew heater, how to do polar alignment, when to use your dual narrowband filter (what the Seestar calls a “light pollution” filter) to improve capture of emission nebulae, basic concepts of mosaics (though Seestar mosaics are a little unique), how increased integration time improves signal-to-noise ratio and overall image quality, and more. As you look around at other systems you’ll learn to compare both field of view and pixel scale, and the effect aperture has on limiting pixel scale. You’ll learn how to set up a plan for shooting multiple targets throughout the night.
By the time you’re ready to move up, you will have been using an apochromatic triplet (or quadruplet in the case of the S30 Pro) refractor and will have some knowledge of those as you look at others.
And you will have done all this for a very minimal investment. You’ll either keep the Seestar after you upgrade and use it for travel or quick backyard shooting, or you’ll get most of your money back when you sell it.
One of the things you’ll figure out is that it costs about 5x the cost of the Seestar S50 to build one from components, yet you get 100% of the experience of astrophotography. I can’t recommend it as an entry point highly enough.
And if you really want to accelerate your skills, consider deploying your Seestar at Starfront Observatories, where you’ll join about 100 other Seestar owners who operate their scopes remotely under clear, Bortle 1 skies. Talk about gaining experience quickly. :-)

My extremely limited, newbie opinion, this is more how I see it. It feels like an ideal gateway to learn a bit and get my feet wet. I have a lot to learn. The more I dive into this, the more complex I can see it is.

I think a SeeStar would suffice for a while. But I can see hitting a ceiling and being like ok… what more can I do here?

Either way I go now, I think I will end up with a rig, or a rig and a SeeStar on the side! One of the two.