GOTO is very handy - but not a must. With a bit of experience one can find something in the sky by eye. Also, programs like freeware Stellarium can be of help. Tracking is a must when taking long series of shots - so a motorized equatorial mount is on agenda for deep sky astrophotography. It's complex to use - but is the only stable base for camera, as the camera may follow the sky quite precisely - thus minimizing motion blur and allowing for longer exposures. But for wide-field shots with relatively short exposure (5-10 sec) a good tripod will do.
Now to the camera. As I have said - any camera will produce some result. Have a look at a photo taken with Canon IXUS 115:
Not the best you saw, but mind it - that's just a point-and shooter laying lens up on a table.
For something to give you more, it better be DSLR. Here's the photo taken with Canon EOS 10D. Old camera, but seriously good one. Just snapped Southern Cross from a tripod (single shot).
Both images were developed later in a photo editor - but it's a software side of astrophoto, and is beyond the topic of this thread.