A $5000 Smart Telescope?! - Testing the Celestron Origin against Seestar and Vespera
🔭 Testing the Celestron Origin Smart Telescope 🔭 In this video, I put the $5,000 Origin smart telescope to the test at the Athos Star Campus in La Palma. I'll cover it...
This review seems horribly bad. 86 minutes with Seestar, compared to 80 minutes on the Vaonis, then not even 20 minutes on the Origin..
that's just 1 out of the 4 images (Elephant's trunk). And it is still a valid comparison because this is exactly the amount of data I was able to get in the same amount of time, due to software issues on the Origin. If you watch further you'll see more comparisons with equivalent integration time between the images as well...
Amazing , how money buys quality with less AI hype. Vespera Pro , too much AI stuff, S50 , if the next version of Pro with a larger sensor would be very nice. But Origin beats them .. but its 5k hole in the pocket.
Thank you so much, I thought this would be an amazing product by the spec, just goes to show you, you've saved me a lot of money.
It would have been interesting to hear your perspectives on just building a rig around the Celestron 6-inch RASA OTA to compare the performance and cost versus the Origin.
Yes! When I did this video the rasa6 wasn’t out yet
@the_space_koala that's too bad.
Great review, thanks for posting it. I'm thinking about buying the Origin Mark II, and the reviews I've seen for it make it look like it would be a good choice for me. Then I came across this one, which has me pausing just a little bit... lol Given the number of firmware updates that surly have happened between when you made this video and now, along with the new image sensor, is there any chance you could do an updated review of the Mark II to see if it improves on the things that were causing you issues with this one?
yes it's in the plans - I already bought the Mark II camera and got the other accessories too (guider + equatorial wedge)
@the_space_koala Cool, glad to know that. I'll be eagerly awaiting that video! 👍 Thanks!
@the_space_koala Oh, one thing I'd be curious about, if you're willing to get and test it - I've seen information that says that the "Celestron EclipSmart Solar Filter for 6" SCT (Part #94243)" will work with this telescope to allow for solar imaging. Any chance you could include that in your review when you do it?
I don't have that filter. the size of the SCT tube is the same, but on the Origin you're required to have the dew shield on so the connection is likely different - you're probably better off just getting a regular solar filter aimed at this telescope size. Oh and at f/2 it's extremely concentrated, likely a "visual" solar filter is a better choice (they're darker than photography ones)
@the_space_koala Ah, ok, thanks for that info. Checking Celestron's site, they don't list that specifically as an accessory for the telescope, so it's probably just as well to avoid getting it and hoping - last thing I'd want to do is goof and burn out the camera sensor if I guess wrong. Hopefully, they'll eventually release a solar filter specifically for this scope (it's not a high priority for me anyway; just more of a "nice to have for the next time there's an eclipse" kind of thing).
Nice! I'll try and hold out for another year or two before upgrading, I think.
For 5k I can put together a very good custom telescope with GoTo tracking on a harmonic drive mount. I guess the only difference is the smart telescope automatically stacks and throws away bad images?
well nowadays you have software that will livestack for you and do all the same things
I enjoyed your video...even if I am a very beginner and also I have not the budget for an origin :) Good Job !
I don’t know if I like where telescopes are going. I know visual viewing is nowhere near what imaging can produce, but I still enjoy it so much more. I can always search for images on the phone or the computer and still view. All of the people are viewing without having to go through the hours of pain.
I enjoyed the review. I subscribed. I will look at your other videos.
Hello dear Mrs, At first it is nice see your interesting videos. So, I would like have some advice from you. At first, I'd like to capture a large area and merge the images into a single image. Do you think it's possible, and how can I do it? Is it possible to connect my Origin (EQ with Autoguider) to a computer and see what it shows me on my mobile, as when it acquires images? I saw that there is a LAN port, but I don't understand what it is for? May be using this I can connect my computer, but I need some sw, which ?
hey so I am not aware of a system that can control the Origin remotely, though this will hopefully come one day (similar to the Seestar ASCOM driver out there). However you could do this by manually setting up your panels (either one by one or as a plan for the night). Ensure there i plenty of overlap between the panels as you are doing it "by eye". Then you can join the panels on the computer afterwards
In summary celestron origin sucks
My concern with all of the RASA type telescopes is the huge central obstruction. My 16 inch Meade has a large secondary mirror but nothing close to the obstructions on these telescopes. Perhaps I need to worry less? Superb video as always, thank you.
the caveat is that people (and companies) put tiny sensors on these scopes which completely kills the advantage of the F2 system. I use my RASA8 with an IMX571 and it's unbeatable for wide angle. But put an IMX585 on it and you're throwing away light and making your own life difficult :D I made a calculator for this, comparing light gathering and FOV for different scopes, accounting for central obstruction, it's free on my website feel free to check it out
Thank you for your excellent review Lucia 👍 A lot of effort and I completely agree with your assessments of each scope. While you were kind to Celestron and Vespera, my 2-cents are Celestron should go all in with converting all of their mounts to strain Wave (the evolution one arm fork would be awesome with strain Wave gears!) And Vespera needs to seriously upgrade their hardware (optics, sensor) to justify their way overpriced smart scopes. ZWO and Dwarf have the winning strategy of value based smart scopes and with the recent SeeStar S30 Pro and Dwarf Mini and Dwarf 3, I would like to see Celestron and Vespera to admit they have been too slow and need to bring their A-game to give decent competition to the increasing and rapidly evolving Smart Scope market. Keep looking up and enjoying the journey ✨️ Cheers!
Excellent images! I would love video how this telescope deals with the horsehead nebula.
Super review, bravo
Excellent honest review
Thanks for your effort in comparing these smart telescopes. I suspect that Celestron didn't want to spend more development money on a new mount and a carbon tripod, so they re-used the Evolution mount/tripod combination. I feel that the larger Seestar (S70?) might strike the right balance between quality, portability and cost, will wait and see. Hauling a conventional mount, tripod and scope every night becomes quite tedious these days...
Awesome intro background with sliver of moon , like you just gorgeous.
I watched this again. I've thought about a seestar upgrade unfortunately I don't think this will be it, even with the new camera. You did a "build your own" a few months ago so if/when I do decide to pull the trigger, I'm sure a component build is the way to go. Especially with all the new ZWO wireless options. Thank you for keeping me focused in the right direction. Big Seestar update today.
oh yes I saw the big seestar update... unfortunately I'm traveling and I don't have mine with me so it will have to wait