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Old 07-04-2020, 10:52 AM
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Outcast (Carlton)
Always gonna be a NOOB...

Outcast is offline
 
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Cairns, Qld
Posts: 1,285
Hi Sara,

Welcome to the forum;

To be honest, whilst you could use a few of the scopes on that list you linked to, those at the cheaper end would be next to useless & those at the slightly higher end on Alt/Az mounts would be limited to very short exposures.

If you are absolutely limited to a budget of $1K then the best advice given below is that of the Star Adventurer bundle & a DSLR (assuming you already have one).

The other option to explore is the classified ads on this forum & potentially this site: https://www.astrobuysell.com/au/

However, some caution is required when buying secondhand.

Unfortunately, Astrophotography is not really a budget friendly hobby & going too cheap, particularly on a mount will largely end in complete & utter frustration.

A small SCT on an Alt/Az goto / tracking mount will absolutely get you into planetary & lunar imaging, 30 second videos stacked in Autostakkert & sharpened in Registax will render you some excellent images but, when you look to capture Nebula or Galaxies, you will be limited to 10 sec exposures to avoid star trails & the resultant images will be somewhat soft with, bloated stars. Doesn't mean you can't do it just means you have to be realistic with your expectations.

In all cases, the mount you use is paramount to getting good results; even with an Az/alt mount it needs to be sturdy & largely vibration free...

My advice is think hard about what you want to achieve both now & into the future & then purchase equipment that will meet your needs reasonably well into the future otherwise, you will actually spend more money than you ever planned to as you chase the next step...

The star adventurer is a great starting point... beyond that, I would personally be looking at a HEQ5 Pro (or equivalent) as a bare minimum to achieve reasonable results coupled with either a 6" Newtonian or 80 - 100mm ED refractor (although an ED refractor will explode your budget).

My 2 cents worth... enjoy the journey

Cheers
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