I'm looking to try my hand at astrophotography and am hoping to get some advice on a simple starter telescope. Ive scoured the web for some advice on the matter, but everything I seem to find recommends $700-1000 scopes and tracking mounts that cost at least that much more, which is far more than I want to spent to essentially explore a new type of photography (besides, if I had that kind of money free, Id be buying the 150-450 lens that I'm lusting after).

My goal is (as a beginner) to be able to be able to capture some better images than I'm getting with my 20 year old Quantaray (Sigma DL Super) 70-300mm lens. In order to get any decently sharp images with that lens, I need to use f/8 - f/11 and that makes things rather difficult. Id like to be able to obtain decent workable captures of several of the easier to see planets (Jupiter) and nebulae (such as those in the constellation Orion). I'm able to see and capture those through my 70-300 lens, but the result is never anything even worth keeping and only taken to prove that I could actually see the subject I was shooting.

My current gear includes a K-5 and a O-GPS using for tracking. Ive used the O-GPS unit for tracking taking sample shots of M42 before, but feel that the tiny aperture of my 70-300 was the biggest hindrance - hence the desire for a telescope. Ive played around a bit in DSS, and have used Registax for stacking images of the moon.

Ive looked at a number of beginning scopes such as:

Orion CT80 ED - Orion CT80 EQ 80mm Compact Equatorial Refractor Telescope

Orion BX90 ED - Orion BX90 EQ 90mm Equatorial Refractor Telescope

On the surface, both seem like decent beginner setups - but I clearly am inexperienced in this sort of thing. For $60 more a motorized tracker can be added to the mount. While a setup like this wont even complete with the images captured by users like VoiceOfReason or Pete_XL (seriously astounding), I want something to start with and learn on and can upgrade/replace to something much more serious if I really get hooked. Additionally, a starter scope setup like this can provide some good viewing fun with my nieces and nephews (and can be passed on to them if I get hooked and upgrade to more expensive gear).

Are setups like this worth the small investment to explore with?
Are there any other starter setups under say $300 that would be a better investment?
While the O-GPS does have its limitations, will it continue to provide even a small benefit to use on starter kits like the ones Ive looked at?

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated!

I would avoid the above combos for astrophotography because they will bring nothing but frustration. First the telescope is an achromat, so you will get color fringing on anything very bright and your stars will be bloated with a blue halo, and second when imaging you need fairly precise tracking.

If you're on a budget then this will work with your lenses. I use it with both my 65mm quadruplet refractor (found here new SharpStar 65Q ED REFRACTOR 65MM/420MM/f/6.5-in Level Measuring Instruments from Tools on Aliexpress.com | Alibaba Group) and my DFA 150-450. It will work with your current lenses iOptron SmartEQ Pro Equatorial Mount Kit with Hard Case 3200-HC

Later if you decide you like it you can move on to bigger and better things.

@PentaxScott, I totally agree about avoiding an achromat. You'll need something like an ED apochromat (APO) at the very least or a triplet APO (probably out of your budget). The SharpStar 65Q looks like a nice scope for capturing the larger nebula [e.g., M42, Horsehead and Flame nebulae region, M31, NGC 7000 (North America nebula) & "Pelican" nebula, NGC 1499 (California nebula)]. You'll need about twice that focal length or longer to get some of the smaller nebula and galaxies (the angular sizes of which vary greatly) but that can wait until you can afford a larger set-up and decide what interests you the most. Planets as well will require longer focal lengths: 420mm won't cut it, even for Jupiter. All IMO, of course.

Have you considered buying used? Amateur astronomers are famous for keeping their scopes in very good condition so I would not hesitate to buy used. In fact, my three largest scopes were bought used and all were received in excellent condition. Buying used you will be able to afford a much larger aperture or faster focal ratio and/or better image quality than buying new.

According to more than one post I've seen here and elsewhere, 420mm isn't out of line for Astrotracer. With some luck you may be able to get some good subs (say, 30 to 60 seconds). Enough of those and you're talking real exposure time.

So you might be able to put off buying an equatorial (EQ) mount until your funds have built up enough again to buy something decent. You would still have to buy some mounting rings for that 65Q and something that would allow the scope with rings to be mounted on your photo tripod; I hope it's a beefy one!

The mount sold with those Orion packages is TOTALLY inadequate for astrophotography (AP). Heck, I wouldn't even use that for visual. Don't skimp on the mount. It's even more important than the telescope for AP. If you want to get one now the iOptron unit suggested looks decent enough for a starter but later on you will probably want to trade up to something with higher weight capacity and or better tracking.

BTW, just to give some perspective that I hope is useful, I have five scopes (a very modest collection compared to many amateur astronomers; I'm hardly bragging): a couple of 80mm achromats (one used as a guidescope, the other mostly for birdwatching), two Meade 6-inch Schmidt-Newtonians (S-N's) and a Celestron C8 optical tube assembly (OTA). I don't yet have an APO but one is undoubtedly in my near future. Only the two achromats have not proven useful for AP. I mount one of the S-N's or the C8 on a EQ mount that cost more than twice what the C8 OTA cost me (both purchased used).

Here's how I do the star party. The AT65Q (it comes with rings, but that isn't shown in the Ali Express link) on the iOptron SmartEQ Pro, TPO 8RC on the iOptron zeq25 (has been replaced by the CEM25P now), and the Meade SN10 on the iOptron IEQ45 are all tracking stuff. There is also a friend's ioptron Skytracker Pro in there. There are also 2x K1, a K3, a K01, a 645z, and a small Oly m43.

@VoiceOfReason Nice collection of scopes, mounts and cameras. And you are REALLY a Pentax guy (the Olympus notwithstanding).

I will be one soon. A K-3ii (with the kit 18-135 just for regular walking-around casual snaps) is on order. For me it was the best option from what Pentax currently offers. I will definitely post here when I get something decent from it.

PS. Now that I ordered what is, I have heard, a discontinued model (so I will be getting old stock), I'll bet a true successor to the K-3ii (the KP wasn't that) will finally appear. Such is my power over the physical Universe. ;->

PPS. Re the mounting rings, I should have scrolled down the aliExpress page - the pictures showing the rings and the tripod mounting block are there. Looks like a decent package for the money - I just might get one myself. Or maybe a somewhat larger model.

This was taken using that refractor. It actually does a better job on DSOs than my DFA 150-450.



Also, one of the K1s and the 645z (along with the Oly) belong to a coworker. We both do astro stuff! He was using lenses, I was using telescopes. I do borrow his 645z on occasion though, and he borrows my DFA 150-450 on occasion. Ohh, the DA 1.4 does work well with the AT65Q.

Nice.

There's another nice shot on the SharpStar Optics 65Q page: 65Q ED - Q Series - Telescopes - Products - Sharpstar optics website

Given that the scope apparently includes a built-in field flattener, it does seem very good for AP.

I appreciate the feedback. It pretty much mirrors what Ive seen doing other online research, so I'm not exactly sure what to do at this point. I'm not quite prepared to spend the recommended minimum $500-700 for an ED/APO scope (and/or simple mount).

Then look for a scope like that, or maybe a "lesser" 80mm f/7.5 ED scope (bigger aperture but a little less well-corrected) on the used market. Plenty of those 80mm ED scopes out there since every telescope manufacturer has sold them. (The actual place of manufacture is always, of course, in China.) Attach a (used) focal reducer/field-flattener to it to get the focal length down to around 400mm or so at about f/5 for the larger nebula I listed (and others). I've seen plenty of examples of that working marvellously (do searches).

Use the scope on a tripod with Astrotracer until you save more for a decent EQ mount. Here's some talk about that (seven posts down): Pentax Astrotracer shots: Astrophotography Talk Forum Forum: Digital Photography Review

If you buy what you found at Orion you will be very disappointed and you will have wasted your money. But we can only advise. It's your choice and your money.

If you want to get into AP, you have to think about getting a suitable mount before you spend money on an OTA. You can bump up your tracking capability with a Sky Watcher Star Adventurer for ~$300US which I believe you will always appreciate for wide field photography. You can buy a good mount (HEQ5) for a good size telescope (80-130mm refractor) for about $600US, that will keep you happy for a long time and capable of deep sky photography. If you are bent on getting a scope, and you don't want to be disappointed, you need to get a ED APO triplet - you will probably have to add a flattener or you can get an Astro-graph (APO quadruplet).

The SharpStar 65Q (a clone of the AT65Q - heck, could be exactly the same given the source country) _is_an APO quadruplet from what I can tell. It apparently uses an ED doublet in front and an ED doublet in the rear, the latter also performing field flattening. But he has indicated he can't afford that scope new so I'm suggesting he buy used or if he can't find that another used alternative that can still give decent results (I have seen some fine examples I'm sure he would be happy achieving).

Re the mount, the Star Adventurer is within his budget (just a little outside) but AFAIK it has no motorized declination correction so you can only take it so far. It's a nice little portable EQ for the money but it's not a complete EQ mount for prime-focus AP in my opinion. Beside which, if he buys a mount first it sounds like he will have nothing usable at moderate focal length (300mm+) to put on it unless he buys something new (scope or new telephoto), which he won't have any money left to buy. (I get it - f/8 is no fun for DSO's.)

It's a tough nut to crack with only $300 in the kitty.

There is no better DSLR to own than Pentax, if one wants to get started in astrophotography on a budget. People automatically think "I need a telescope" but you don't. And, unfortunately, you can't get great answers from people who think you have to. Maybe they didn't start where you are starting, or maybe they just forgot what it is like to get started on a shoestring budget.

I recommend using prime lenses and the Astrotrack feature to get started (whether that be built-in, as with the K-3ii or K-1/K-1ii, or by getting an O-GPS1 for a compatible). You can do a lot of great stuff with that (stacking images). I got an image of the Andromeda galaxy stacking just a handful of images, taken with a A135 f2.8 on a K-5 with O-GPS1. Later, I used a 90mm f2.5 macro (Tokina AT-X) to get (my favorite image ever) of Comet Lovejoy passing by the Pleiades. This could probably have been done with an O-GPS1, but I had moved on and did it with a Vixen Polarie tracker.

With longer telephotos you can have fun shooting sunspots (with a home made solar filter) or the moon. You can also get great wide field Milky Way shots, with or without horizon/foreground.

Planets are a little different beast. You will probably want a telescope for those, but it could be a dob if you shoot video of the planet as it crosses the field of video and then stack the video frames. See "Webcam Astrophotography Tutorial for Planets" and/or google "astrophotography with a dob".

To make the jump to a DSLR or CCD mounted on a telescope and a good telescope mount will take some cash. Probably more like $1500-2000. But I would start with prime lenses and AstroTrack or other tracker to see if it is something you really want to pursue to that extent. You can have a lot of fun for a lot less. People on a real budget should look up barndoor trackers or scotch mounts. You can do some nice work with those also. My FIRST long exposure astrophotography experience was with one I made with a hand-driven screw (1/4 turn every 15 seconds for a 1 RPM) on a primitive barndoor drive and I was able to do 5 minute exposures of Comet Hyakutake (on film) back in 1996.

My point is, don't let your budget stop you. Get started doing what you can do with the equipment you have now, or can get inexpensively. Then judiciously upgrade as you learn about the requirements for the things you are interested in doing.

Agree with cheekygeek, you can go far with the built in astrotracer feature, that's what I've been doing the last year (using old Prime lenses), f.ex the Whirlpool Galaxy with an old M 200mm F4 lens and the O-GPS1 on my K-70 - very low cost set-up, 20-30sec exposure depending on what you are 'shooting'. I have just bought a Super Takumar SMC 200mm lens including the leather case and a Hoya filter (should be better than the M 200mm) cost me 56$ - mint condition.
But your post, and VoiceOfReasons answer, made me check the iOptron SmartEQ Pro, I've put it in a webshop basket, but they can't tell when it can be delivered - it turns out that it has been discontinued.
Instead I have the Bresser Messier EXOS-2 EQ GoTo Mount in another webshop basket ready to press the ok button. It's a bit more expensive, it can handle up to 13kg instead of the iOptrons 5kg.
If your budget is 300$ I would go for the Super Takumar SMC 200mm lens with your current setup.

18x50sec, M200mm F4 lens, Whirlpool Galaxy:



13x50sec, M200mm F4, Andromeda:

Whirlpool... whoo! Nice for such modest equipment!

Interesting article to support a couple of Pentax lens options: The Best Telephoto Lenses for Astrophotography - Articles - Articles - Articles - Cloudy Nights

A lot of people don't know that the SMC 135mm f2.5 that he talks about is the same lens and coatings as the Super-Multi-Coated Takumar 135mm f2.5 VERSION 2. (Version 2 has "43812" stamped in the A/M switch). Only the mount is different from the SMC K version. Both were made in 1976.. (As he says, though, don't be confused by the later cheap K-Mount "Takumar" 135mm f2.5 ... you don't want that one for astrophotography). If you have a high megapixel camera, you might prefer to crop in and gain the extra stop+ of the f2.5 vs an f4 lens.

And adding more exposure time will only improve it, Check Peters Orion And Horsehead Nebula, he used the A200mm lens.
Nebulas in Orion Constellation | Orion, Running Man, Horsehe? | Flickr