What to upgrade...beginners dilemma

[beckemd]

Very new to astrophotography. Current system: Astromaster 70mm with altz mount (non computerized), Celestron eye piece bundle (moon filter/6-32mm plossi's/ 2x barlow), T-ring adaptor with celestron telescope adaptor for my nikon D7000 camera. Could see Jupiter (white blob with 4 moons), venus/mars are "glorified stars" in this scope. What should I upgrade first? Mount/scope? I'd like to eventually take some pics of nearby galaxies.

Lastly, 6 or 8 inch celestron nextstar SCT in terms of portability? Or a nice refractor? And can you take good pics on these systems? I don't believe they are german EQ mounts...as I recall. TY

Dave in Chicago.

[DOBBY]

The mount... always start with the mount...as sturdy as you can afford (with tracking)

for long-exposure you will need an EQ (equatorial) mount..not Alt/Az.

an HEQ5 Pro or equivalent is considered to be a starting point...NEQ6 would be better...you need to allow for extra weight in the future...weight of camera...guide 'scope etc. A good read before starting to part with your hard-earned is 'Making Every Photon Count'