Mick_1960

I'm approximately 45 minutes from Northumberland so can easily get to dark skies and I spend my holidays on Mull. My town has replaced all of the street lighting and I can see a lot more sky now than I ever could before the change. My full frame camera is a Canon 1DX mk 2 which I use for wildlife photography and I've been thinking about getting either a mk 3 or a R6 which both have reasonable video capability.

Thanks for the replies so far, I appreciate it that people are taking their time to help and I've already been given something to think about regarding going for a better mount than might come with a kit.

My kids are grown up and at least one would want to come out so will be able to help setting it up and carrying weight. My storage space will not be a problem and neither is my car which is a 4x4.

I would like to be able to see close planets with some detail and galaxies. Am I asking too much?

I've just read your thread, take a bow. That is a work of art.

I had thought about possibly getting a Celestron Advanced VX 8” Edge HD but I'm concerned about making mistakes.

I am looking to take up astronomy after viewing and photographing NEOWISE with my DSLR earlier this year. My budget is up to £5k although I would like to pay less but buying something once is more important than upgrading in the very near future. I am starting with nothing other than a beginners interest in astronomy. What do I want to get out of what I hope is my new hobby? Ideally I would like a kit which I can take with me when I go on local drives into dark skies as well as using in my back garden. I would ideally prefer to purchase a kit which works out of the box. The kit doesn't have to be from one manufacturer but I would like to get it from one supplier and preferably mail order because of current and future Covid restrictions. It will be great if I can use my laptop to see what the telescope is seeing rather than looking through an eyepiece but I would like the option of the eyepiece. The laptop will just make it easier if I take the family out. I would also like to attach my Canon cameras to the telescope, both full frame and crop sensor cameras. I intend to purchase books and have already started watching videos on youtube to gain a good starting position before going out. Any help will be appreciated.