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Old 03-08-2009, 11:39 PM
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renormalised (Carl)
No More Infinities

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Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Townsville
Posts: 9,698
$2000 would be pushing our luck...simply because a good mount is going to cost you at least that. So let's look at $5000.

OK

If all you want to take is lunar/planetary and a few of the brighter DSO's (little or no guiding), and you just want to get your feet wet, you have plenty to choose from... These are from Bintel

Meade ETX LS ACF 6"...$2599
Meade LX90/200 ACF 8-10"...$3500-$4700 (LX90), $4800 (8" ACF LX200)

Celestron CPC800 XLT $3999

All you need to add to them is a Meade LPI or Celestron NexImage. The LightSwitches (LS scopes) have their own inbuilt camera.

Numerous packages over at Andrews Communications

However, if you're looking at getting right into it, for $5000 you could get most of a reasonable package, but it'd be one you would have to add onto later.

Let's just pick one out of a infinite number of possibilities.... (from Andrews)

EQ6Pro mount....$1999
GSO RC 8"...$2199 or Skywatcher BD ED 100mm Apo...$1499
WO Zenithstar 70mm Apo guidescope...$549
QHY 5 autoguider....$350

That's nearly or just a bit over $5000...now you need an imaging device, laptop (to control it all), imaging filters, filter wheel/selector and a host of other bits and pieces. So the expenses start to creep up!!!!

If you don't mind lugging around a great hulk of a piece of kit, you could go the Newtonian reflector way and by something like a Skywatcher or GSO newt (8-12") with an EQ6Pro mount for between $2500-$3700 and then add cameras, etc, to that. It's up to you.
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