Okay some basics first: I do not yet have a digital camera - but am planning to shortly get a 5d mkII. I also do not have a telescope or tripod yet.

So my first question is in regards to a lens I have. It is a Leica R 400mm f6.8. Does this 'translate' to a kind of telescope? i.e. is the lens usable as a 400mm telescope (with camera)? I realize how silly a question this may sound.

Next is tripods. For long exposure shots one would need a stable tripod and a smooth, accurate motor drive. Is there a general rule here in regards to type of tripod (wood vs aluminum) and motor drive? i.e. do i need to spend 2k on a motor unit or....?

And then we come to the scope part of it. I would prefer the largest scope on the planet. But let's assume my budget is for... well 1k. For specifically astrophotography is there a 'best' type of scope for this?

I hate to admit it but I've never owned a telescope and have been putting it off until I could do photos with it.

__________________
---"Why do things have to suck so bad?" a friend once asked me.
"Because space is a vacuum and that's a lot of suck." I replied.
(Actual quote)---

You have a ton of things to learn. First it doesn't appear you are very knowledgeable about astronomy in general or you'd know the answer to some of these questions. You need a good year of solid basic amateur work in general. The learning curve is steep, the learning curve for astrophotography is far steeper even after a good introduction to amateur astronomy.

The place to start is with the Rochester astronomy club. They can give you the hands on help you need. Also you can attend their star parties (next one is mid November though they meet weekly at a local planetarium to give patrons a view through their telescopes. At these events you will be able to see what it takes to do what you want and be able to get hands on experience, yes they will let you do this and likely encourage it. There webpage is http://www.rochesterastronomy.org/

Also you need to get a good beginners book such as Covington's "Astrophotography for the Amateur". Most book stores can get it or you can order it from on line book stores.

Digital cameras must be modified if you expect to image emission nebula. Their IR filter blocks HII light which is by far the major emission line of such nebula. Without modification it is fine for most other objects. Usually it is best to buy the camera already modified so you don't screw up the warranty. Though if you don't want to image most emission nebula for a while then you can wait until it is out of warranty to do the modification. Though a 400mm lens with that size chip would be best suited for emission nebula. So you'd be greatly reducing you choice of objects without the modification.

Since you are looking at a DSLR after you understand everything in the book I recommended you will want to pick up one that is especially written for DSL astrophotography. There are several and likely more by the time you are ready so I'll not go into that for now.

Canon does make some excellent lenses for astrophotography. It also makes some poor ones I've been told. Since this isn't my area I can't comment except to say zoom lenses are usually not as good for this as fixed lenses. Also expect to stop them down a stop or two for best star images in the corners.

Your budget is a bit thin for this but it can be done with some resourcefulness. Some of their older cameras do excellent work in this field so you could save a lot by starting with one of those for instance.

There are many DSL image forums on the net. You will want to lurk at these to see what is going on and which cameras they are using. Most do use Canon. Yahoo groups and CloudyNights would be good places to start.

Still the club has imagers that would be able to give you hands on help which easily outweighs anything you can get on the net.

Rick