Clipped/noisy subs - Possible FITS pedestal/black-level regression: Page 4

Clipped/noisy subs - Possible FITS pedestal/black-level regression

Flipside

No replies from ZWO on this makes me want to cancel my S30 pro pre-order. Might as well go for a dwarf.

wvreeven

@Tech@ZWO Support@Seestar Can you please comment on this discussion? Is ZWO investigating this?

Support@Seestar

wvreeven We have analyzed this internally. The behavior you observed is due to the images being dark-frame subtracted. When external factors such as ambient light changes or thin clouds partially obscure the target, the histogram may appear “clipped” or cut. This is normal behavior and does not indicate a malfunction.

manu.iorio

@"Support@Seestar"

Support@Seestar Sorry, but we're all having the same problem here, which appeared after the latest update. I personally use the Seestar app for staking and processing, and even the resulting images from the app itself are much noisier than before, despite the shooting location, target, and weather conditions remaining unchanged.

6gYT4MFO

Support@Seestar I tested it several nights and on different objects, absolute clear sky. After the update 3.0.0 the issues appear.
Its definitely the update...

BiF

Support@Seestar

This is normal behavior and does not indicate a malfunction.

No, this is not normal and it means there is a fault!
Before the update, no one had any problems, but now several users are experiencing issues.

I have also reported another problem after the update—before the update, I had no problems with 60-second exposures, but after the update, I can only do 20-second exposures at most. Can you please fix this?

zjW8Hx8Y

Support@Seestar
This is simply unheard of. As a result of the “normal behavior” after your update, I can no longer process images in Siril the way I did before. Yet the response is “everything is fine, it’s just clouds.”
Did you actually believe that yourselves?

GIVE ME THE ABILITY TO ROLL BACK THE FIRMWARE AND BLOCK UPDATES!

wVU1j6V6

Support@Seestar This is outrageous.

1) The scope behavior CHANGED. Precisely after 3.0.0 app/firmware update.
2) You've started clipping data from the image, 50 to 60% of pixels are completely black instead of faint nebulosity. This is completely destroying the whole purpose of collecting data and stacking it later.
3) You have all the needed examples, your developers need to go through their SVN and review changes in settings or code which introduced severe pixel clipping and revert it.

Will this proceed just like with mosaic framing tilt and GOTO setting issue where you told me "not a bug and desinged in such way" and somehow you fixed that after 4 months like a bug in 3.0.1?
Let me remind you,

wVU1j6V6Aug 28, 2025
This is not an isolated issue. Yesterday I've tried the approach I was suggested at Reddit forums: to enable "Execute enhancement after GOTO" option and try again. This time mosaic was consistent with chosen framing, see how it perfecty worked around the whole frame.

Support@Seestar
Aug 28, 2025
wVU1j6V6
This is not a bug, it's just that we didn't design it this way. We have put forward the requirement, but it is still under evaluation. I hope you can understand.

Jan 5
What's new

Fixed a framing angle deviation issue when "Execute enhancement after GOTO" is turned off

Can we get a person here which understands the issue and fixes that, like, is it possible to escalate to some tech or second line of support?

zjW8Hx8Y

Support@Seestar
I don’t know whether you deliberately limited older S30/S50 devices, or whether it is just a “coincidence” that they started performing worse right after the release of the S30 Pro. But I’ll put it more clearly:

if you do not acknowledge that you messed up and fix this issue as soon as possible, I promise that I will:
• not buy the S50P in the future
• spread this information across all social networks, thereby causing you damage comparable to what you caused me by turning my $500 S50 into trash

Enyaalex

I have the same problems after the update: more noise in photos and a large number of discarded frames. This was the first time when, instead of enjoying night photography, I got negative emotions.

mbits

Just to confirm I checked in Siril and I have fits from Dec 12th with no black clipping and everything since 19th has what I assume is no data black pixels :-(

manu.iorio

I know there are other posts like this, but check and share pls we need other users see this

https://www.reddit.com/r/seestar/s/lrjJ1yxl2A

Tim1343

I have this evening compared some subs I captured earlier in 2025, with those after the latest update of the same target. I can see a definite grid like pattern appearing on the latest subs that is completely absent prior. Is someone able to give a basic explanation of how to use Siril to confirm clipping is occurring? Or is it just a case of stretching until it completely blows out and then zooming right in looking for black pixels?
I would like to know for certain if I have the same issues as others are experiencing.

I have to add, I am really disappointed and feel the frustration of those in this thread regards the initial lack of any response from ZWO, and then the lacklustre engagement when there was an eventual response. I personally feel this is unacceptable and has the potential to ruin the brand if this is the way ZWO are choosing to engage with their customers. They need to up their game by a considerable margin or they are playing a dangerous game with their future.

Support@Seestar

We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience caused. Our team will conduct a thorough re-analysis of the issue and provide a confirmed response to everyone as soon as possible. Please rest assured that we are not avoiding responsibility or delaying the matter intentionally.

Tim1343

Support@Seestar I am glad that you are now re investigating this reported issue. I can now confirm that I too am seeing a similar issue when comparing subs before and after the latest update. I have black pixels scattered across subs that are fine prior to the latest update. Looking forward to you working out why this is happening and rectifying it asap. Thank you.

Umbra

Support@Seestar
I just ordered a seestar scope. Please, do not make me regret the purchase. Fix the issue, keep us updated. It is VERY obviously not a bug when there is this much data to back it up, and to help diagnose it. I have a few friends who are also interested in the scope, and I will not hesitate giving an honest review, either good or bad, depending on how bugfixing is handled.

wVU1j6V6

I have a feeling ZWO broke not only black level, but white level too or something. Pixels of 65535 value are clipped too. There are no such pixels in my images now. Every star is looking weird. RAW stretched examples below, Support@Seestar please investigate this too.

Prior:

After:

Every star started to have a darker dot in it where the brightest pixel should be present. I noticed this in my stacks recently and examined bayered raw fits - every star has a dark spot in it.
Image calibration is completely broken after 3.0.0.

mbits

Also to clarify for me its every single session since the update. It's both new since update and always, as far as I can see.

Rob603

All my Seestar S50 sub exposures are showing clipped data since the 3.0.0 update. This is plainly evident in the histograms and also the file stats from Siril. My guess is that something is wrong with the dark frame calibration? This problem seriously degrades the image quality and I hope ZWO can fix this soon.

Seestar_S50

Good luck in ZWO fixing that issue along with all the others that have appeared since the latest update, they have made the Seestar virtually useless adding all the unnecessary extras. It has become more complicated to use, now with adverts. We will probably have to pay for the app soon!!!!

6gYT4MFO

Seestar_S50 Many Bugs are annoying, but this one makes the scope unuseable 🙁

wVU1j6V6

wVU1j6V6
This is what I get when I debayer and stack in Siril.
Every star is broken now. Data from the app is completely unusable now. The only way to use the scope is with ASCOM and N.I.N.A. I completely lost any ability to use it in AltAz mode for now (N.I.N.A. doesn't support anything except EQ) without severely impairing data quality with the Seestar phone app.

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