Hi Drew, I don't know anything about the QHY range, so I can't help you there. If I was in the same position as you and looking to start out, I would buy a second hand Canon DSLR off ebay (there are a couple of used 550D cameras here in Melbourne for less than $150
here and
here), grab a Bintel branded 3x or 5x Barlow lens for $60/70 (or get a Teleview one if you can afford them), purchase
Backyard EOS from O'Telescope for about $50, watch
these videos, read
this information and
this guide, and just get out there! For the next 6 months, the planets are going to be in the best positions for a while and the Canon DSLR is a great system in low wind.
The DSLR will also let you image the moon, nebulae, galaxies etc using the same equipment and software. If you later decide you have caught the bug and want to specialise, then you can buy higher quality, more expensive stuff at that time and you will have more experience to know what you want. The other thing is that if you decide this isn't for you, then you are not too much out of pocket and the 2nd hand stuff you did buy can go back onto eBay and you haven't lost too much.
Hope this helps,
Andrew
P.S. You can see some of my astro images
here, the solar system folder tracks my progress from my first image taken of Jupiter with a Canon DSLR and 6" SCT through to my latest with a 9.25" SCT and ASI224MC.