What is a decent starter scope for Astrophotography?

Hi, I'm looking into this hobby with my Nikon D3100 DSLR. This is mainly for my own satisfaction, and I was wondering what a good scope would be to start with. I would like to have tracking on it for long exposures of distant objects. I'm currently researching building a "barn door" for wide angle shots, but would also like to go a little deeper.

I'm also in the process of learning the sky, and hope to get started with wide angle soon, but thought I would have a scope in mind for when I'm ready to move up. Sadly, with the current economy I only have a budget of about $350 for the telescope alone, which is fine since I would like to just look through it before I get all the equipment necessary to piggy-back my Nikon.

I know this isn't a large budget, but I'm sometimes confused by the terms on sites. I have heard Orion is good and to avoid "high levels of magnification" to start.

Any help would be greatly welcomed. And Thank you.

Added (1). Thank you Geoff. Of course I do not plan on jumping straight in, but getting into it over time. I'm looking to start with the moon, and wide-angle astrophotography (constellations and full sky using a round reflective object) before getting into deep space objects and planets. Again, thank you!

Added (2). Thank you Geoff. Of course I do not plan on jumping straight in, but getting into it over time, and having a scope to learn where to find things. I guess simply I would need an entry level scope available around that price that is the best, to get quality viewing and increase my intrest. I'm looking to start with the moon, and wide-angle astrophotography (constellations and full sky using a round reflective object) before getting into deep space objects and planets. Again, thank you!

I recommend reading the chapters on astrophotography in The Backyard Astronomer's Guide by Dickinson and Dyer. They have good solid advice on the basic equipment needed for astrophotography, and it runs a lot more than $350.In fact you can't get a serious equatorial mount for at least twice that. I'd recommend getting a serious visual scope for starters, say an 8-inch Dobsonian. Anything smaller and you won't be able to see anything. In a year or so, look into a good equatorial mount and a small apochromatic refractor, which is what a lot of the serious imaging is done with nowadays.

Geoff's got this nailed straight on. I would add that if you have the money handy, buying a very sturdy tripod for your camera is an excellent investment for astrophotography. Then, get on the bandwagon of getting one of these babies when they come out.http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1530895202/astro-time-lapse-motion-control. That should allow nice long exposures and smooth tracking.