I think I have my firearm wants covered now (I know, I know.....crazy talk, but just roll with it). I am going down to SW Texas in late May and plan on trying some astrophotography. I thought I might get a telescope as well.

Anyone care to recommend a decent entry- to mid-level telescope (preferably a reflector or compound) that would be good for an amateur? Especially one that I might be able to use my D3300 with? Say a budget of under $1K.

well, lots of things to consider, but first is your goal casual observing or specifically astrophotography?

if you're just interested in using your camera to take guided photos you can get a tripod adapter that actually has a small tracking clock built in which will allow you to do timed exposures with your camera

I would say 'both', I guess.

I would advise against a large Dobs. They are good but take up a lot of space and are a pain to transport.

Dobsonians are the reflector type, correct? Compound are.....Schmidt-Cassegrain or something like that.

I was looking at a Celestron NexStar 6E. I understand you can get a couple of adapters to fit a DSLR to. And that one of the key components is the eyepieces (which I haven't gotten a real grip on).

Not an expert here ...

In High School, was amazed at how inexpensive and cool a 6" Newtonian reflector was - yes, it' long/larg and I bet an 8" was even better. But not much $$$.

I imagine a Cassegrain has some great design advantages, but note sometimes the glass in Celestron is not so good (I have 100"mm spotting scope which is OK, not nearly as good as HD glass in smaller platforms)

Celestron and Orion are names I know of.

I've had a Celestron in the past.
Had a Barlow lens.

Don't remember the aperture -maybe 125mm? - or focal length.

But it was real good for those clear starry nights. never did use it for astrophotography but the idea does come to mind.

No suggestions on your original question but if you are going to be in the area you might check out McDonald Observatory just north of Fort Davis. They have live solar viewing and tours during the day and a "star party" at night https://mcdonaldobservatory.or...itors/programs/tours

I did the day tour yesterday and it's a good program, the 107 inch telescope is quite impressive.

It's on the list.

A 8" Schmidt-Cassegrain with a tracking motor. Celestron or Meade should work fine but I'll warn you, telescopes can be as addictive as firearms. If the had it to do over again I would have started with an 8" SCT.

Go to starrynights.com, an online forum for amateur astronomers. Last I saw on there, recommendation was for a relatively small refractor, but more important for a good equatorial mount.
I've been reading about this stuff for about two years, and I'm still not decided on how best to do it.
Astrophotography is daunting to me. Too much to learn to do it in short order I think.
My suggestion is to buy this:

Multimedia CD on beginning DSLR astrophotography

Highly recommended on cloudynights.com.

Don't we have a Doctor who is really into astrophotography on the forum?
"Duck" something or other.

Moving back to Illinois a couple of years back killed my stargazing hobby.

But, I got interested in start gazing back when I lived by the desert in California back in the 1990s The recommendation I received back then was not to go out and get a scope till you are good and ready.

Start by attending some local star parties, talk to people about what it takes to get proficient with a scope, get a decent pair of binocs, start learning the night sky, etc.

Take the time to decide whether amateur astronomy is a hobby you want to pursue before you spend hundreds of dollars on a scope.

Dobsonian mounts don't work for photography.

You need an equitorial mount.

Refractors can make fine photos of the moon and planets, but are expensive.

So you probably want a Schmidt-Cassegrain. Eight inches is a good starter size.

I have had good results with the Orions.

Should think about selling my 6" though. I don't get a chance to use it anymore and it's just taking up space.

I just got an Orion 6 inch. Still in the process of learning how to make it go. Some other guys talking about it mentioned if your going reflector insist on a mirror that has the parabolic mirror. Photographers don't like the spherical mirrors. Don't know why personally but something to research.

You don't just "get into" astrophotography, it takes time and money to get good at it. Check out some of the astronomy forums to get a good idea - it seems that most people take long sets of digital photographs over the course of an evening, then 'stack' the photos to get some of the wonderful ones you see online of the planets, etc.

I have a 127MM Mak by Orion with a goto mount which is great for my needs, but I'm only a visual guy, no photography - too many trees and a decent amount of light pollution where I'm at. Often times I don't even align the mount, I just point and manually track for short session, since the trees on my property make the alignment process painful to find stars you can see. But when it gets aligned, it's awful nice to tell it to go to something and it's in the eyepiece in 30 seconds and tracking along, maybe needing just a slight refinement to center up.

astrophotography through a telescope is not a trivial exercise

most photos are electronic stacks of dozens, and sometimes hundreds of exposures of the same image

an astro CCD set up can run you $1000 just for camera, software and the guidescope and camera

I would suggest a good pair of binoculars for casual observing and with your existing camera, explore piggyback photography using an equatorial mount - your maximum exposure is going to be measured in terms of a few minutes of open shutter before you start to get into unguided territory

Yes, I'm into it as well !

Clearly, that's not with a telescope, and probably not a crazy long exposure. Care to share the details on that pic? It's very nice!