Hi John,
Isn't it great when weather allows to explore wonders of the night sky?
As for the images, DSOs are relatively faint and when imaged without tracking, photons (information) from the target, instead of hitting the same pixels, are spread over several pixels lowering DSO's overall brightness (and contrast) in the photo and thus making it difficult to capture detail. Perhaps iOptron's SkyTracker or Skywatcher's Sky Adventurer could provide decent tracking at low magnifications and at a reasonable price?
Clear skies
Slawomir