Retired-Not-Dead

As mentioned above, the best ways to eliminate as much shake as possible are to set the delay timer on the camera, use mirror lock-up, and shoot remotely - all of which help to decrease the shake. Having said that, you can also shorten the length of the tripod legs to give it a more stable platform. If needed, you can also add a counterweight to the tripod to reduce the wind movement.

While not the postman, the UPS fairy just dropped these off... Tomorrow promises to be a fun day.

Same is true (at least for Celestron) in North America - I parted my old (8" SCT / Advanced VX) out on E-Bay and got more for it used than I paid for it new. Currently waiting on a CPC 1100 HD due to be delivered Wed. Found it at Hight Point Scientific by pure blind luck. Hopefully, the market improves and you are back to seeing through new glass before too much longer.

I have a Nikon w/ 150-600mm lens mounted to the Advanced VX via the len's quick release plate. It mounts to the AVX the same as the dovetail on the OTA. I guide it with a tablet attached to the AVX and use QDSLR app to live view the photo.

I am retired military and under (pandemic) house arrest so I decided to move my photography from wildlife to astrophotography. I have followed (AKA: Stalked) the forum for a while to pick up some tips on the gear needed and to get a perspective on what is possible in the way of astrophotography. I don't expect to have my pictures on the cover of a magazine, but would like to have something more than a bunch of glowing lights in the night sky. At the very least, I will be able to piggy-back my camera (Nikon D810 or D5300 full conversion) on top of the telescope to take some long exposure night shots.