I really want this concept to succeed!

Wisdom of the crowd for an intriguing product idea

I was an early backer for the EduSnap 53ED 2-in-1 OSC smart telescope project. Astrophotography is one of my hobbies, and I hoped this project would help me transition from planetary to deep sky imaging. I received my scope late in the first tranche of US deliveries and dawdled in the dearth of how-to information to get started. Then I downloaded a more recent app, had some successful imaging sessions, and am now on my way to making sensible use of the scope.

This scope is neither a spotting scope nor a ubiquitous 70mm short scope with awful pointing. It is actually a good first implementation of a cheaper-targeted smart telescope designed primarily for deep sky astrophotography. This means it has plate-solving tracking like PHD2, live stacking like SharpCap, a celestial database and sky view like Stellarium, and the ability to actually turn out a decent entry-level expectation of a deep sky object. I mean, dayum... I'm hooked on this quirky thing.

Remember that this scope is mainly a very new product that is still in Backer level of support. A Kickstarter Backer puts up money for a chance at being an early adopter of a new potential product, basically more of a gambler than a consumer. We did not get fancy store-shelf boxes or well-tested manuals. The product developers are still working on fulfillment and support channels. Community sharing is how we help each other. If someone gets the urge to set up a community forum, I think we could quickly help the development team and new users get up to speed more quickly. I hope this product gets to the next level of use. I think it is packed with astounding automation and logic packed. But I also see it as a closed system in need of curious users to refine how it evolves. 

I am still taking in what this scope and its rocky journey mean for astrophotography. Damn, I want it to succeed, but geopolitics have really had bad timing for supply chain and costs.

Keep asking questions. I'll add what I know when I can get to it. This little "first steps" guide surely is missing something already. Good luck!