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Starting out in astrophotography and like nebulas? You are basically the perfect match for an 80mm refractor!
ED80 type scopes are affordable, there are loads to choose from, easy to setup and use, are nice and light, help avoid some of the more painful astronomy experiences (collimation...), and thanks to their short focal length are easy on guiding. That short focal length also means you'll get nice wide shots of all the big and beautiful nebula that grace our southern skies. Damn near impossible to go wrong with one.
An ED80 + HEQ5/EQ6 is a pretty tried and true new-astrophotographer setup, and would come in way under your budget. You could use the spare cash on handy accessories (eg. get straight into auto-guiding) or buy a beefier mount from the get go.
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