Celestron Origin Mark II announced! What we know

Celestron has announced an update to their Origin smart telescope, introducing a new camera with higher resolution and improved sensitivity. The original Origin redefined what it meant to have a telescope at home, it wasn’t just an optical tube on a mount, it was a self-contained observatory designed to make deep space imaging possible for anyone with a smartphone and a bit of curiosity. With the new Origin Mark II, Celestron has refined that same concept, keeping the familiar design but giving it sharper eyes and greater capability for exploring the night sky. 

The name does sound familiar - “Mark II” could easily be mistaken for a Canon DSLR instead of a smart telescope. For reference, here’s the roll call of Canon’s Mark models: Canon 5D Mark I, Mark II, Mark III, Mark IV, Canon 6D Mark II, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon 1D Mark II, Mark III, Mark IV, and Mark V.

If Celestron keeps it up, we’ll be waiting for the Celestron Origin Mark IV with Eye AF and dual pixel tracking.

What’s New in the Celestron Origin Mark II

At first glance, the new Origin looks familiar. It carries forward the same RASA optical tube and NexStar Evolution Alt-Az mount that made the original model so reliable. That combination remains one of the most practical setups in consumer astrophotography, balancing portability, precision, and ease of use. What really sets the Mark II apart, though, is what’s tucked behind the glass.

The new Celestron Mark II is priced at $4299

The original Origin was equipped with Sony’s IMX178 color sensor, a sensitive 6.4-megapixel camera that delivered crisp results and worked beautifully with the RASA design. The Mark II now upgrades that component to the IMX678, Sony’s new Starvis II IMX-LK series sensor, bumping resolution up to 8.4 megapixels. With 2.0-micron pixels and a finer sampling rate of 1.2 arcseconds per pixel, the camera can pull more detail from the same patch of sky. It’s the kind of incremental improvement that matters, especially for faint nebulae and distant galaxies where every photon counts.

Performance and Practicality

The rest of the system remains familiar for good reason. The Evolution mount is still one of the best in its class, known for its solid tracking and internal battery that can power a long observing session. The app interface still offers the same smooth experience, from alignment to live stacking, and makes it possible for anyone to capture and share deep space images in minutes. What the new sensor brings is better efficiency and detail without changing the workflow that users already love.

In short, the Origin Mark II doesn’t reinvent the wheel - it just makes it rounder, sort of. After all, an 8-megapixel sensor isn’t exactly breaking new ground. To put that in perspective, 8MP cameras first started showing up in smartphones around 2008, with models like the Nokia N86 and iPhone 4S a few years later bringing that resolution into the mainstream ( I know - sensor size..)

But keep in mind, the Drawf3 smart scope also has the IMX678 sensor, and it was announced in May of 2024. While it's no RASA telescope, the price is just $540 bucks. But to compare apples to apples, the $2800 Vaonis Vespera pro has the IMX676 onboard.

Meanwhile, today’s astrophotography cameras from brands like ZWO, QHY, and Player One are pushing far beyond that, offering sensors in the 20 - 60 megapixel range with large pixel wells, higher quantum efficiency, and cooling systems built to minimize noise over long exposures. Compared to those, Celestron’s approach here isn’t about competing pixel-for-pixel. It’s about making imaging easy and reliable—less about spec sheets and more about delivering consistent results for people who just want to see something beautiful in the night sky without wrestling with a laptop and a tangle of cables.

Upgrading from the Original Origin

Celestron has confirmed that current Origin owners aren’t left behind. The company plans to make the new camera available as an upgrade for existing systems. That means if you already own the original Origin, you’ll be able to retrofit it with the new Starvis II sensor and enjoy the same imaging improvements without replacing the entire telescope. It’s a rare move in a market where upgrades often mean starting over.

If the first Origin was about proving that a fully integrated smart observatory could work, the Mark II shows that the idea has staying power. It’s not about chasing gimmicks or adding unnecessary complexity. It’s about refining the experience, improving what already works, and keeping the focus on what matters most—spending more time under the stars and less time fighting with cables and settings.

When we get our hands on the Origin Mark II, we’ll have more to say about how the new sensor performs in real-world imaging. For now, what’s clear is that Celestron is continuing to bridge the gap between advanced astrophotography and accessibility. The sky hasn’t changed, but the tools we use to explore it certainly have.

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