All of the pictures on this page except the Solar ones were taken with conventional 35mm film. The Solar images were taken with a modified Quickcam Express webcam. I use SLR cameras (Single Lens Reflex) because I can remove the lens easily. My particular models are an Exa II, a Pentax K1000, and a Zenit. The Exa's are no longer made but are still around. A good yet inexpensive alternate choice would be a Zenit. These cameras have just enough capability (both are SLR's), yet are simple and inexpensive.

Probably the best place to track down an inexpensive, used or even new SLR is eBay Stores . Don't over do it, an inexpensive SLR is perfectly adequate for astrophotography. You just need through the lens focusing, removable lens, and a reasonable range of shutter speeds.

For piggyback photography (camera with telephoto mounted aside telescope) any camera would do, but SLR's make it easy to substitute a telephoto lens for the regular one. A time exposure with a guided camera without a telephoto will record stars well below what you can see, but it will also show a very large field, even in excess of entire constellations.

Check out how to make a simple piggyback mount at Piggyback Mount.

The photographs of the Moon and planets on this page were done by replacing the lens with an adaptor that is just a 1.25" snout. This snout fits into a standard 1.25" focuser, making mounting of the camera easy.

The books I'm familiar with on this subject are Skyshooting by the R. Newton and Margaret Mayall, and George T. Keene's Star Gazing with Telescope and Camera. Neither are new, but both describe well how to use conventional film cameras to get great photographs.