Astronomy photography: Dwarflab announces new smart telescope named Draco

Visually, the new Draco telescope resembles the Dwarf Mini.

Manufacturer Dwarflab is expanding its portfolio of astronomical telescopes: Following the Dwarf 3 and the very compact Dwarf Mini, the next model is not the Dwarf 4 or Dwarf Maxi. It's Draco. The manufacturer itself describes it as “a portable observatory.”

Marc Zander (translated by Marc Zander), Published 09/09/2026 🇩🇪

Astronomy / Space Gadget

With the Draco, DWARFLAB will soon be launching a new smart telescope for observing and photographing the night sky and space. The system features a primary optical unit with a 90-millimeter aperture and a 340-millimeter focal length, and uses a 1/1.3-inch CMOS sensor. An integrated guide scope provides automatic tracking (autoguiding), which allows for long single exposures of up to 300 seconds—ideal for faint deep-sky objects such as galaxies or nebulae.

According to the manufacturer, a second camera with a 1/1.8-inch sensor functions as a wide-angle lens and simultaneously captures the entire Milky Way. This allows users to photograph two different perspectives at once after a single alignment. Active cooling is designed to keep sensor noise low during long exposure times and prevent the front lens from fogging up. The sensor can also be physically rotated.

Technical details of the Dwarflab Draco astronomy telescope:

Aperture: 90 mm (telephoto)/2.96 mm (wide-angle)
Focal length: 340 mm (telephoto)/5.56 mm (wide-angle)
Single exposures: up to 300 seconds
Battery: 10,000-mAh battery for approximately 5 hours of operation
Storage: 128 GB internal storage
Connectivity: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, NFC, and the PhotonLink remote service
Weight: approx. 5.5 kg (for comparison: DWARF Mini approx. 840 g, DWARF 3 approx. 1.35 kg)
Protection rating: IP56 for protection against the elements

Draco is set to be released in two versions: the standard version includes an astronomy filter, a dual narrowband filter (Hα and OIII), and an integrated solar filter (ND). The more expensive SHO version additionally offers a second narrowband filter (S-II and O-III) for nebula imaging in the colors of the well-known Hubble Telescope palette, as well as an external ND filter for solar imaging. Both versions are expected to include a tripod.

The official retail price in the Dwarflab online store is (reasonably priced for this segment) $1,399 for the standard version and $1,599 euros for the SHO version. Through September 14, pre-order customers will receive a $100 discount on each model (this is not intended as a recommendation to pre-order, as there is always some residual risk involved). The beginner-friendly and very easy-to-transport DWARF Mini astronomy telescope is currently available on Amazon for $419.

Delivery of the Draco is scheduled for November 2026. Overall, the Draco is a professional-grade competitor to the similar Seestar S50 Pro entry-level astronomy telescope and is more affordable than other premium telescopes such as the Vaonis Vespera Pro II (around $3,000, with a 50-mm aperture) and the Celestron Origin Mark II (approx. $4,300, featuring a 152-mm aperture).