Editing What Telescope (section)

== What Telescope Should I Get? ==
<blockquote>'''''DISCLAIMER: Prices for astrophotography gear, and astronomy gear in general, are increasing due to world events, as we are sure you are aware. The prices indicated here might not be accurate.'''''</blockquote>The question of “what telescope do I need for astrophotography” is definitely one that gets asked a lot on this subreddit. This guide is aimed to help you decide. The equipment on this list is based on current market prices, however you can easily find a lot of whats listed here used on various classifieds websites. It's recommended that you do your own research and take these products as suggestions.

If you have any questions on alternative setups you can ask on our weekly "WAAT" ask-anything thread which can be found stickied on the subreddit, or on our sister subreddit /r/AskAstrophotography.

Remember - it's better to save up for a few months and buy something good than to make an impulse purchase right now. There are many many people who buy things on a whim, discover they aren't as good as they thought they would be and either spend much more in the future trying to fix the problems they're having or get put off astrophotography entirely. If your setup is working well this hobby can be incredibly rewarding and you too can be posting the astounding images which grace our subreddit every day.

With that in mind, this is a rough guide of what to expect at certain price points. I'd recommend browsing the subreddit for a few weeks, see what everybody else is using, research around and see if you can find anything different. It's possible to find better gear for similar prices as listed here online, the prices vary a lot - it's often very beneficial to buy second-hand equipment. It's cheaper, and often works just as good as new gear, especially mounts.

This article will be divided into several price increments based on what I've managed to find online that might be suitable for imaging with. As mentioned, it's possible to find lower prices, so shop around. We hope this guide is of use to you, if you have any further questions feel free to ask in our [https://discordapp.com/invite/WPD7Jn2 Discord].

There are a lot of different factors in what makes a telescope good for astrophotography – before settling on an OTA or a mount you need to know what to expect and decide what your goals are. A planetary setup may be completely different from a DSO setup and vice-versa, indeed a lot of us have a scope for each. Planets benefit from larger apertures but can be done with almost any telescope to some extent, DSOs benefit from fast focal ratios and require accurate tracking due to their faintness and subsequently longer exposure times. It can be difficult to find an entry-level setup that can do both well.
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