basic astrophotography setup

[Guest twintin]

Hi Folks, I'm going to ask what is probably a really stupid question but here goes. I currently have an etx 90 and an spc900 which i like a lot but i'm getting an itch to do a bit of astrophotography, nothing serious to start with just budget stuff. What i'd like to know is:

A: can it be done on a budget? (have to get capex signed off by swmbo!)

B: as a basic set up what would be the minimum required? scope mount etc..

C:I've been pondering over an eq5, would a motorised setup suffice or would it need to be goto? would i get away with an eq3?

I dont mind buying 2nd hand, infact in some ways i prefer it and i don't mind buying bits seperately. Budget wise not sure but want to spend as little as poss at the minute. I do know that to get some of the great shots on here take some pretty good & expensive kit and i wont be aiming at anything like that for a long while yet. I'd just like to get started and work my way up.

Any help and advice appreciated and sorry if these are stupid questions.

Cheers

Mark

[oldfruit]

Hi Mark, if your etx 90 is motor driven you can use your spc900 to capture some pictures of the moon and planets.

[Guest twintin]

Ive done a few moon and planet shots which is why im thinking of giving it a bash, its quiet satisfying bringing an image to life with a bit of stacking and tweaking

[oldfruit]

I`m not an experienced imager, just started myself really but i would imagine you will be asked what sort of things do you want to make images of?

[Guest twintin]

I fancy a bit of nebulae but i think i'm dreaming there so if not some DSO would be nice witha bit of planetary thrown in?

[oldfruit]

For planetary imaging you sound like you are already sorted. If you want to get into imaging nebula and other dso`s then the popular route is usually a DSLR camera such as a Canon. Also you would need a scope on a motorised equatorial mount. Even a 6 inch reflector or a small short focal length refractor would give you some reasonable results.

If you check the dso imaging section on this forum the images usually list the equipment used, ie mount, scope, camera etc, so this should give you an idea of what results are acheivable with different sorts of equipment.