Just to add my 2 cents for what it's worth.
I think you have to stop and ask what it is that you actually want to acheive from this "hobby". There are valid points with respect to just looking at APOD, this site Image section, Hubble, etc however there's something in the human makeup which likes to explore, which likes to do stuff for ourselves. You can apply this argument for a number of things: why spend $$$ travelling to different countries when I can just as well pick up a travel book or even a DVD and see it from the comfort of my lounge room withouth having to worry about various threats, the language barriers, beurocracy, etc, etc - because I want to experience it for myself, I want to taste, smell, touch, etc
So with astrophotography - sure there's lots of frustrations but it's a learning curve; I'm getting to tweak with the equipment, muck around with the processing and what a great sense of satisfaction when those pixels start to materialize into something recognizable
I'd be surprized if anyone here would actually push or strongly recomend someone into buying this that and the other when starting out on this journey, especially if it means forking out thousands of $$$ and involves a huge amount of technical nouse. From what I've read in various threads, the usual mantra is:
- start small, attend or join an astro club, get to a star party, ask lots of questions, etc
I know myself it can very tempting to go out and get all the you-beaut equipment involved in getting APOD style photos but the fact of the matter is I'd be faced with a divorce or worse
