[tu plang (Ben)]

Hi All,

I've had a search around the equipment forum and found some great info but I was hoping for some more specific answers to my current deliberations.

I'm looking at getting an APO refractor to get in to some astrophotography (I have a 50D which i'll use for imaging and some reasonable photographic (but not astro) knowledge). So with no further ado, my n00b questions (which as a seasoned member of other hobby-orientated websites, I'm sure you've answered a million times - I'm happy enough to be directed to other relevant threads):

I've narrowed my searches to a few scopes which cover a bit of a range of price and spec:

WO Megrez 90 Doublet - $1200 from Andrewscomm
Stellarvue SV90T and SV80ST Triplets - $1700 and $1300 US + shipping
TMB 80 ST - $1000 US + shipping from astronmics
TMB 90 ST light - $1500 US + shipping

So first question and I suspect this may be the age old question with no clear answer but given the trade off between a good 90 mm doublet (say WO Megrez 90) and a good 80 mm triplet (TMB 80 or even Meade 5000 80 mm) what is the way to go? By my reckoning, less light gathering ability can be compensated by longer exposure time but poor colour correction is what it is.

Secondly, are there any Australian dealers of Stellarvue? I havent been able to find any and the prospect of expensive shipping plus running the customs gauntlet is a bit of a barrier for me. Same goes for the TMBs.

Thirdly, I've seen a few examples of people using finderscopes with CCD tracking cams (like the orion cam). I know ideally you want a second guide scope but is this a workable solution (rather than buying a second OTA straight off the bat - albeit a smaller, cheaper one)

Next up, are there any other scopes in this sort of price/quality range I should consider?

How flexible are some of the US retailers with their disclosure of item value? In my experience in other industries, some are willing to bend the rules and some aren't (apologies if this question breaks any rules)

My plan is to get a scope, wack it on my Manfrotto photo tripod for a bit and search the skies for a while and then a bit down the track drop the money on a goto mount, maybe an EQ6 or similar and a guide cam. If I buy all at once i tend to end up with lower quality stuff that I grow out of so I prefer to be patient and build up a reasonable kit slowly (based on how my other hobbies have panned out anyway heh).

If you read all of that, you have my vast appreciation already.