so I'm looking at entry level telescopes...

[Sniper X]

For of course light imaging mostly of the moon for now. I have been looking at the local Craigslist. I found a few in the 200 dollar range all of which have available mounts for my cameras. What type is best for a starter telescope?  I found a nice Meade etx90 for under 200.....

[CraigT82]

For imaging the moon pretty much any scope will be fine... the only ones i'd steer clear of are cheap, fast achromatic refractors (<f6) as the will show a good dollop chromatic aberration (a purple/blue fringe around the moon and any other bright object).

That etx90 would be ideal and sounds an absolute steal at under 200 bucks... does it come with the mount and tripod?  The etx90 is a maksutov cassegrain which are great for planetary and lunar viewing.  If you have a DSLR you just need a T-ring and nosepiece and you're away.  If you don't have one you can still take pretty decent snaps with a smartphone with a bit of practice.

If you're buying off craigslist be sure to go and see the scope and make sure it's fully functional before you part with your hard earned. The etx90 has some electronics in the mount so they'll need to work properly or else it will be an expensive ornament.

Good luck!

[Alien 13]

I use a 90mm mak for lunar and it gives superb results with a DSLR or a cheap webcam

Alan

[ronin]

If the moon and only the moon then a decent lens on the camera will do it, if you want it all in one image and not just say the Archimedes crater alone. The moon is bright enough to get an image of in with normal DSLR and lens. If available try (manually set and on a tripod) 200mm, f/6, 1/100 sec, ISO 100 use manual focus although a center spot autofocus could work. Only say this as I was helping someone about 8 months back shhot the moon with similar. To reduce shake use a remote release or use the timer which is 2 or 3 seconds before it goes off.

If you want a piece only of the moon then the ETX-90 should be OK (likely with a 2x barlow) but you use a webcam not a DSLR. Get a 90 second video, stack in Registax or Astrokaart. A DSLR on the rear of the ETX will be a bit on the heavy side.

The ETX is not suitable for DSO imaging so if that is the idea to move to later then maybe reconsider. If you decide on the ETX then get a 40mm plossl and a bubble level. They need a bit extra care for aligning as the field of view is relatively small. Going from Level and North to the first star needs as wide a view as you can get, and the more Level and North it starts out the greater the chance of anything being in view for the first star.