http://s700.photobucket.com/albums/w...reecluster.png
http://s700.photobucket.com/albums/w...laHQmk2net.png
http://s700.photobucket.com/albums/w...lteredcopy.jpg
http://s700.photobucket.com/albums/w...omplex-3mb.jpg
these 4 photos have all been taken in wind that exceeded 30km/h average windspeed with gusts upto 56km/h (lambda centurai neb) No wind protection using the 9x50 finder modified to accept a CCD camera as a guide scope
EQ6pro
ED 80 Goldtube
Canon 40d (modified)
DSI 2 guide cam
Modified Finder
10 min subs @ ISO 800
UNBEATABLE for an all condition portable astrophotography rig!
as for a general forumula for spending your dollars. there really isn't a formula.! for a start your going to get the biggest mount you can justify! untill you know this is where your passion rests, theres no point spending 5 or 6k on a losmandy G11 or equivelent. If i had my time again i would have saved for the G11 or AP mount straight up beacause aperature rules even in astrophotography. sure you can take a pretty picture with a ed80 or something like that, but once you have used a telescope that has a good whack of aperature.... using a 80mm refractor is dissapointing. What you use to catch in 1min with the aperature, takes you 2 min. what does this equate to? longer subs gives a greater time for things to go wrong! which inturn gives you less useable subs. less useable subs means less data, and a waste of your time!
My reccomendation for anybody just starting in the astrophotography arena, go with a short focal length refractor, a one shot colour CCD, and a nice little mount. once you figure out if you like taking photos of galaxies/neb/PN's ect ect, then taylor your needs to suit!