Telescopes for Astrophotography?
I really wanna start getting into Astrophotography and i was wondering if there's anyone that can recommended any telescopes that are good for i don't know around 100-250 if there even is any. I will be using my Nikon D3100 to take pics with it, i know ill need a T adapter but ill be thankful if someone could give me some suggestions.
This answer may be a bit longer than you were hoping for, but be patient: I think you'll like my last couple of sentences.
Your best bet is to visit a shop specializing in high-quality telescopes, such as those made by Meade and Celestron. Unfortunately, what's in your stated price range just won't cut it. They're far too unstable - astrophotography demands time exposures - some lasting a quarter of an hour or more - and very high-quality optics. The upside is, you can do a lot of good stargazing with the cheaper 'scopes while learning more about astronomy and astrophotography - and earning and saving the money for a really good 'scope. There are some small, but extremely stable 'scopes suitable for astrophotography starting at around eight hundred to a thousand bucks.
Here's a hint: there are stargazing clubs in many communities that periodically hold "star parties" to which the public is invited. These guys and gals sometimes bring out and set up telescopes costing thousands - honkin' big things that'll bring the rings of Saturn so close you'd think you could reach out and touch 'em! Yes, they'll let you look, touch and ask all sorts of questions - and I guarantee you THEY AIN'T NO STUPID QUESTIONS as far as these folks are concerned. After all, none of us is born knowing all there's to know about astronomy. Some of 'em are no older than you are. AND! They can sometimes tell ya where to find a good used 'scope that's a heck of a lot closer to what you can afford to pay!
It's not just a telescope you're going to need -- it's a tracking mount. And you're not going to get anything decent for $100-250.
You *can* get a decent reflector telescope for that much (probably a 4.5" or 6" scope). The advantages of a reflector are no chromatic aberration, and a lot more aperture for your dollar. The disadvantages are coma (aberration at the edges of the image) at fast apertures, and bigger size and weight. Refractors (lens-based telescopes) in that price range will have pretty severe chromatic aberrations (color fringing or "false color") -- you need to get up into the $600 range for even a 60mm apochromatic refractor, and a good 90mm APO refractor will run you at least $900 or so.
Then there's the mount… A decent German equatorial that can hold a small scope and have a decent tracking motor will run you at least $600 or so. Even at that price, there will probably still be a good deal of periodic error, so you'll need to guide the mount either manually or with an electronic guider to get decent long-exposure results.
I'm not trying to discourage you from starting out -- just being realistic. I started out with a $400 telescope and $800 mount, and though I managed to get some decent results, I didn't get *good* results until I had a $2500 mount and a couple of $2000 telescopes. Now I've got probably $20, 000 invested in my mount (Astro-Physics AP900) and telescopes (a home-built 10" f/4.5 Newtonian reflector with coma corrector, a few Takahashi and TeleVue APO refractors from 90mm to 120mm).
You can get started for $600 or so… With a decent scope and decent mount. But be prepared to be frustrated, and ready to trade up to better equipment if you catch the astrophotography bug.
Check out the astrophotography section at Orion telescopes.