Hong Kong-based Dwarflab has unveiled Draco, a new smart telescope that aims to push automated astrophotography beyond what’s currently possible with today’s compact all-in-one instruments.
A direct rival to the Seestar S50 Pro that was announced recently, Draco is built around a fast 90mm (3.5-inch) f/3.8 optical system — significantly larger than the 50mm-class (2-inch) smart telescopes that have become popular over the last few years — and introduces several features more commonly associated with dedicated astrophotography setups.
Like all smart telescopes, Draco automates virtually the entire imaging process through the Dwarflab app. After you select a target, the telescope automatically focuses, calibrates, tracks, captures images, and stacks them live, while Pro Mode gives experienced users manual control over exposure, gain and filter selection.
The telescope’s optics use a folded optical design that packs a 90mm aperture and 340mm focal length, while the fast f/3.8 focal ratio gathers more light faster. That should reduce the time needed to image faint objects. While most smart telescopes rely on stacking many shorter exposures, the Draco combines built-in autoguiding with a rotating CMOS sensor that physically compensates for field rotation, allowing much longer exposures while operating in its standard alt-azimuth mode. According to Dwarflab, users won’t need a separate guide scope, equatorial mount or even polar alignment to achieve long-exposure images of up to five minutes. Images can be exported as FITS files as well as JPG, PNG and TIFF images.
Another major upgrade is the imaging sensor. Draco uses a 1/1.3-inch, 50-megapixel CMOS sensor that operates in two modes. For deep-sky objects such as nebulae and galaxies, it bins pixels together to produce approximately 12-megapixel images with improved sensitivity. For the moon and planets, it switches to the sensor’s full 50MP resolution to capture finer detail.
Draco comes in two versions. The Standard Edition (US$1,299 / £1,199 / AU$2,199) includes an internal dual-band H-alpha/OIII filter for nebula imaging and an integrated solar filter that automatically moves into place for solar observations.
A second SHO Edition (US$1,499 / £1,349 / AU$2,499) replaces the internal solar filter with an additional sulfur filter, allowing automated capture of the three narrowband wavelengths used to create classic Hubble Palette images. Instead, it includes an external solar filter.
Both versions weigh around 5.5kg and include a built-in battery that can power up to five hours of observing.
The launch comes as competition in the rapidly growing smart telescope market intensifies. In recent months, ZWO introduced its Seestar S50 Pro with upgraded optics and a larger sensor, while Vaonis expanded its range with the Vespera 3 and Vespera Pro 2.
