Now I know this image is not that flash but I hope it may inspire others who are thinking about astro photography and looking for a way to have a go without spending a fortune...that comes latter
So this image arose from realising the BWM (an EQ mount I use exclusively for widefield photos) was not working...so it would not track stars which is what you need...
So it became in effect a static tripod...so I pointedthe camera at one of my fav regions (contains Lagoon Trifid Swan and Eagle nebs to mention but a few) of the Milky Way and took 2 second exposures.... to minimise the stars trailing because the mount was not moving.... I shot 48 at 6400 iso so total exposure was under two minutes..stacked in Deep Sky Stacker..(a free program if you are thinking of having a go)...A little processing and I get a pretty photo ...the problem was the 50 mm lens just will not focus...however I hope you get the idea...so if you have a DSLR and a tripod there is no need to wait to get an EQ mount..just use your tripod, short exposures and high ISO.
alex