: I am an advanced-amateur photographer and would like to get into astrophotography. I am a bit confused by the selection out there. I do know what I want though:

: The ability to take long exposure deep space pictures : Something with a "Go To" function for finding objects : Spend under $1000

: After looking around just on Meade's site, I'm thinking maybe I can't find anything under $1000. I thought the ETX-90EC looked good, but then it didn't look like it had ability to track. I am also confused by the mirror or refractory types. Meade pumps up their Mirror line, but in my experience in regular photography, mirror lenses are usually cheap and don't have good resoving power. : Is there any hope on finding what I am looking for, or should I go save a lot of money for something that will do the job?

Two-cents-worth - Just bought a Meade ETX-90EC for photos. This scope with a Meade #497 Auto Star controller tracks and locates appx 12000 sky objects automatically. Go to Meade page and read description of this device. It is actually a handheld computer - controller. It tracks planets, stars, etc. It has many other functions to numerous to mention. I have a Minolta 7000 autofocus and T adapter for this scope and was looking on this page for info on film selection and other photo hints. Total inventment for scope, field tripod, autostar and a few lenses was less than 1500. I think it is important to get a remote shutter release to get good results. My wife got a deal on the scope which saved appx $200. Hope this info is useful :-)