"Affordable" Telescope For Imaging Planets Suggestion

I'd like to have some ideas or options for a telescope or telescope kit that I can use my 5D4 with T adapter to get images of the planets, mostly Jupiter and Saturn but hopefully maybe a little more detail than just a blob for Mars. I'm hoping under $300 if possible. I got a cheapo $80 Amazon kit and after fiddling with the 3x barlow I can get a visual of Jupiter and a few layers of the clouds, plus 4 of the moons. When I try to use my camera with it, it becomes a chore to use. Any suggestions for something more user friendly? I'll probably save the cheapo for my kid to use.

Please and Thanks

Heya,

The telescope part is easy.

The hard part is keeping it pointed at a planet while you image.

You need a tracking mount that can handle the telescope and your camera.

Imaging planets is not a still-image affair, you will use video with your camera at whatever has the highest FPS value on your camera to lucky image (take hundreds or thousands of video frames).

For your budget, nothing will come close to a 150mm F6 newtonian's value:

https://agenaastro.com …tonian-reflector-ota.html

But you still need a tracking mount to keep this pointed at a planet. The bare minimum would be something like a Celestron CG-4 class mount with a RA motorized drive.

Very best,

Thanks for the advice. I assume the video shooting would be to get the lucky shot with a moment of atmospheric clarity where there is no heat waves creating extra blur?

kawi_200 wrote in post #19104995
Thanks for the advice. I assume the video shooting would be to get the lucky shot with a moment of atmospheric clarity where there is no heat waves creating extra blur?

Precisely that.

You could attempt to let the planet transit your aperture without a tracking mount, but you'll be limited in frame time to the total time you see the planet in the FOV. Adjust. Do it again. Stack all the videos. Then stack the stills from reach video. Otherwise, you need a tracking mount to allow yourself time to get a few hundred or few thousand frames.

Very best,