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Hi Brad,
I love my Skywatcher Black Diamond BD200N 8" reflector on the HEQ5Pro. Perfect trade off between visual and Astrophotography. Big enough aperture for visual from my light polluted back yard and decent enough mount to cope with guiding and gathering photos.
Here is what I reckon you do.
1) BD200N on HEQ5 Pro = $1599 at Andrews Comms
2) Orion 50mm miniguide scope from Bintel = $119
3) Philips toucam for guiding/planetary = $60 - $100 here on IceTrade
4) Assuming you have a DSLR, a T-ring to connect the camera to the scope = $35
All up, this will set you back $1599+$119+$60+35 = $1813, assuming you get a $60 toucam from somewhere.
this will get you started and will be a great visual scope with some AP capability. I havent included power as you can probably find a 12V / 1A plug pack somewhere laying around or in a bargain bin at a computer shop, to power the scope. You also may need a USB/serial to control the mount using a PC and PHD to guide with, but this can come later.
In it's basic form, with power, a nice(ish) polar alignment, a DSLR on the T ring, you can capture astrophotos of 30 seconds and stack them together to get going with AP.
I am rapt with this set up and probably won't upgrade for a looooong time yet. Not until I run out of things to image with this one.
Worth considering as a bang for your buck set up.
Cheers
Chris
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