Celestron Origin vs ZWO Seestar S50: Which Is Best For You?

Celestron Origin vs ZWO Seestar S50: 10 Second Summary

The Celestron Origin is the best smart telescope for astrophotography. It is effectively an advanced off-the-shelf imaging setup.
However, it is more expensive, much heavier, and less portable than the ZWO Seestar S50.
The ZWO Seestar S50 is compact and lightweight. It weighs just 2.5 kg, compared to the 19 kg of the Celestron Origin.
It has lower telescope and camera specs than the Celestron Origin, but is substantially cheaper.

Why choose the Celestron Origin over the ZWO Seestar S50?

The Celestron Origin is a premium smart telescope from renowned American astronomy manufacturer Celestron that was released in 2024.

The advantages over the ZWO Seestar S50 are:

The Celestron Origin has 6-inch aperture telescope which is far above the 2-inches of the ZWO Seestar S50 and it is a specialist astrophotography type called a Rowe-Ackermann Schmidt Astrograph (RASA) that is well-loved and proven by experienced astrophotographers.
The telescope also has a longer focal length and much faster focal ratio, which means it will gather the light and capture images much faster.
It also has the capacity for the mount and camera to be replaced and upgraded in the future, which no other smart telescope has.

In terms of downsides versus the ZWO Seestar S50:

It is much larger and heavier and so cannot compete in terms of the portability and ease of storage of the ZWO Seestar S50.
It is significantly more expensive.

Why choose the ZWO Seestar S50 over the Celestron Origin?

The Seestar S50 is a compact, budget smart telescope from Chinese manufacturer ZWO that was released in 2023.

There are two basic reasons to consider it over the Celestron Origin:

Size and weight – it is much more portable and easier to store.
Price – it is substantially cheaper. At retail price, you could buy eight Seestar S50s for one Celestron Origin.

The main downside is that with the lower capacity telescope and camera, it will struggle to capture the same standard of images of the Celestron Origin.

Whilst this is ZWO’s first smart telescope, they have been producing some of the best astrophotography cameras, mounts, telescopes and accessories for years and so are not newcomers to the field

Telescope Specifications

The Celestron Origin has:

152mm (6 inch) aperture
335mm focal length
f/2.2 focal ratio
1.27° x 0.85° field of view

The ZWO Seestar S50 has:

50mm (2 inch) aperture
250mm focal length
f/4.9 focal ratio
1.29° x 0.73° field of view

Camera Specifications

The Celestron Origin has a 6.4MP resolution camera of 3096 x 2080 size using a Sony IMX178 sensor and a pixel size of 2.4μm.

The ZWO Seestar S50 has a 2MP resolution camera of 1920 x 1080 size using a Sony IMX462 sensor and a pixel size of 2.9 µm.

Size and Weight

The Celestron Origin weighs 18.9kg (41.6 lb) and has dimensions of 122 x 66 x 61 ((H x W x L in cm).

The ZWO Seestar S50 weighs 2.5kg (5.5 lb) and has dimensions of 14 x 13 x 26 ((H x W x L in cm).

Price and Value for Money

The Celestron Origin costs $3,999, and the ZWO Seestar S50 costs $499.

Note, these may vary so check the links to compare retailers if thinking about buying.

Specifications

	Celestron Origin	ZWO Seestar S50
Year	2024	2023
Aperture	152mm (6 inch)	50mm (2 inch)
Focal Length	335mm	250mm
Focal Ratio	f/2.2	f/4.9
Limiting Magnitude	13.61	11.19
OTA type	Rowe-Ackermann Schmidt Astrograph	Refractor
Eyepiece	No	No
Field of View	1.27° x 0.85°	1.29º x 0.73º
Resolution	6.4MP	2MP
Sensor Size	3096 x 2080	1920 x 1080
Sensor	Sony IMX178	Sony IMX462
Pixel Size	2.4μm	2.9 µm
Image Formats	Raw	MP4/AVI/TIFF
Mosaic Mode	No	No
Size (H x W x L) cm	122 x 66 x 61	14 x 13 x 26
Weight	18.9kg (41.6 lb)	2.5kg (5.5 lb)
Mount	Included	Included
Tripod	Included	Included
Battery Life	6 hrs	6 hrs
Internal Storage	unknown	64GB
Dew Control	Built-in	Built-in
Retail Price*	$3,999	$499

*Price may be subject to change, so please use the links on this page to check at various retailers

ZWO Seestar S50 vs Celestron Origin Verdict

Overall, this is a straight up choice based on budget and size/weight/portability.

If you want the more advanced setup, have the budget, can handle the bigger size and don’t want to travel with it, then the Celestron Origin is for you.

If you have a lower budget and/or would prefer a smaller, more portable and easier to store option, then the Seestar S50 is for you.