Help picking a scope

[JasonRussell]

Well my 5 year old son is starting to look up and showing alot of interest in the stars.

This got me thinking about pictures of the night sky. Is there a good beginner scope that I would be able to attach my camera to and still be able to use it with an eye piece?

Im not trying to break the bank on this being so close to christmas but I thought it might be a cool gift for him this year. I was thinking around $300-$350 if possible.

Im sure this has been asked before but Im just beginning my search now :)

TIA
~Jason.

[renderwerks]

There are a few good threads here about this subject; here are a couple:

ASTRONOMY TELESCOPE HELP (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=589093)

New to photo-astronomy need advice on equipment (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=603141)

[JasonRussell]

Thanks Rick. I read through those threads too while looking for info.

I decided to go with a iOptron SmartStar E R80.

http://www.telescopes.com/telescopes/go-to-telescopes/ioptronsmartstarer80gotorefractortelescope.cfm

Even if it turns out that its no good for photography it looks like it will be pretty good for my son and I to use to explore the sky.

[Adrena1in]

Looks pretty good for an entry-level scope Jason. Can't tell if it's an Achromat or Apochromat, but at the moment that doesn't really matter. It certainly says "Yes" next to "Good for astrophotography", so that's a good sign. It's a pretty fast scope at f/5, which is good.

Looks like it's a 1.25" focusser, so all you'll need to attach a DSLR is a T-Ring specific to your camera, and a T-Adapter. Around $30 to $40 for the pair I would guess.

Something like these;
http://www.telescopes.com/telescope-accessories/photographic/cameratring2.cfm
http://www.telescopes.com/telescope-accessories/photographic/celestrontadapteruniversal114inch.cfm

Don't expect to be able to do particularly long exposure photographs though...Alt-Azimuth mounts are not really any good for this - because of the way they track you get field-rotation in long exposures...all the stars in the image appear to rotate around the one in the middle.

I believe a "wedge" gets around this, but I've no experience of those...I've just heard about them.

Clear skies though, I'm sure you and you son'll catch the bug.

[JasonRussell]

Thanks alot. I cant do to long of a exposure anyway right now because I only have a 1D and they arent very good at long exposures. I guess I should be looking for a 20D here soon haha