Hi George,
Welcome to IIS.
Take a gander at post number 3 in this
thread for what I described can be done with a reasonable telescope. There are 3 pics there of nebulae and a globular cluster that I took with my scope and a $550 Canon 1000D.
My scope combo is currently $1399 for the 8" tube and the HEQ5 pro and while I havent had much time outside since I bought it, the pics I took were on my second night. (although there has been much research and help from IIS along the way.)
I agree that to get you started, your best bet is an 8" dobsonian reflector which looks like a cannon. Extremely easy to use and great fun for all the family. Check out the Ice In Space Classifieds here for some on sale now, some of them are going for $350-$500 for an 8"!!!!!
As a beginner astrophotography package, my 8" on HEQ5 pro for $1400 (plus camera $550, adaptors etc of around $300) means one of the first steps to Astrophotographs will set you back around $2200......not for the faint hearted....however, there is a lot of potential for this equipment.
Best idea is to try and get a cheaper second hand dob if you can, then when you feel like (and can afford) the step up to a equatorial mount and refractor or reflector, you can either sell the dob or convert it's tube to ride on the HEQ5 mount....
If you do jump in and have problems, a LOT of people here have experience with the HEQ5 pro so you wont be left scratching your head and getting frustrated, hopefully. Just watch out for how slippery the slope becomes, you will always be buying "just one more thing" to progress....like autoguider, guidescope, filters, better AP camera, laptop, dew heater, coma corrector, etc etc etc etc etc.
So, by all means, go nuts with the questions, the longer you ponder, the better the solution and hopefully the less money you will waste if you decide its not your cup of tea after all...
I have attached my photos from that thread here, to show you (while not perfect) what can be expected from a rig like mine with minimal exposures (all shots less than 10 x 30 sec).....there is also a shot of the scope in case you were wondering what it looks like....
My scope has a focal length of 1000mm and with my 3x barlow (magnifier) and a 10mm eyepiece (300x magnification) I can see the bands of Jupiter in colour, details in the rings of Saturn, Mars, Uranus, Neptune, Venus and LOTS of craters and details on the moon. With my webcam, I can even watch the planets on my PC and record them to video. You will see lots of Youtube videos of planets through a telescope and that will give you sort of an idea of what I mean.
Certainly, this scope is a good starting point for all round enjoyment, however, to minimise the risk, (and the $$$) a dobsonian 8" can't really be beaten for ease of use and bang for your buck.....
I just remembered, check out my post on my recommended beginner's packages in the beginner's equipment discussions,
here, these include pretty much all you need to get going and a kick arse collapsible dobsonian with or without goto control as well....
I hope this helps
Cheers
Chris