How much does it cost to get into astrophotography properly?

Well we have to define what 'properly' means and I think there is a lot of room for that.
Also imaging nebulae requires (or can require) different setups from imaging galaxies, or planets.
The cheapest I could think of and that I'd be happy (even though I'm still a beginner) is this:

Star Tracker (skywatcher, iOptron, other similar)
DSLR + astro mod
Samyang lens (14mm or 135mm f/2)
and a dark site!!

It might not give you the best Deeeep sky galaxies or planetary nebulae, but most people can
play with this rig and the night sky for years.

Hi Andy,

initial required budget obviously depends on personal preferences, ambitions, on how you define astrophotography (opening pandora's box ...) and whether you want to keep things simple for starters (which may imply spending money on an initial system you may partly dump later on) or jump right into a future proof but more complicated setup : (1) Astrophotography from $100 to $10,000 - YouTube

As pointed out in another thread there is a point for starting small and easy with just a tracker, a camera and a lens.

Clear skies
Wolfgang

well, no limits i say,im now saving  money for my own james web telescope…

John:
well, no limits i say,im now saving  money for my own james web telescope...

... or for the ultimate remote observatory: Lunar astronomy: A dual-camera system is headed to the Moon later this year: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

Basically, it's en expensive hobby, there is just no denying that. I mean, if I were to calculate the cost per image versus the investment into gear, it's not even funny…

How much you will have to put down is pretty hard to say… widefield is cheaper than high magnification galaxy work, etc. I think a pretty standard "entry level" kit to explore the milky way - i.e. once you have moved past the "star tracker and old DSLR" stage - would be:

Skywatcher 80mm ED Refractor (~700€)
Skywatcher HEQ5 or Celestron VX mount ~1200€)
Autoguider (e.g. ASI120 , ~200€) (
Guide scope (32 or 50mm aperture) (~100€)
…and a camera. ASI1600 was mentioned, although there are other options. (500-3000€)
A laptop or ZWO ASIair (if you get a ZWO camera)

The camera is probably the one thing where you can either spend tons of money (Mono CMOS with complete set of filters), or "not much" at all (mirror-less DSLR).

And of course, most of these things can be found on the secondary market, so there are more options to get down the price a bit.

Think i would also add mini-pc/laptop to the list for control of the whole setup.
Depending on where you are various dew prevention parts, which would also require a controller
As a personal preference I would also add a flatpanel to that list, just because it saves a lot of time and gives reliable repeatable flats.
Get as much mount as you feel comfortable with and thinking about what your future plans might be.


Also agree with @bobzeq25 getting started with a more forgiving setup to get the hang of good capture routines etc.

CS
Sean

I still consider myself a beginner so perhaps I could speak from my own experience and extend some of the best advice I've received. 

I think when answering this question, the answer really has nothing to do what what is or is not proper, because that is entirely subjective.  The advice I was given the best advice I've received and has made the biggest difference for me is instead figuring out what gear let's me do astrophotography at all, but most importantly, what will let me do astrophotography down the line when I get better.

Basically, money is going to need to be spent regardless, but only you know just how much you think you're going to invest in the hobby aside from money.  How much time and effort do you think you're willing to spend on it.  Are you the type that goes really hard on new hobby and burns out after a while or are you the type to stick with something even if you might not be immediately good at it?  Figuring those out for yourself will be the best place to start from because that will determine things beyond the outright cost.

Where I'm trying to go with this is to make the point that you ought to weight the cost-reward ratio between the cheapest-yet-viable astrophotography option vs. the higher-budget-but-room-to-grow option.

For me, personally, this advice was godsend because within just a few months I found myself itching to push my skills further, which I was thankfully able to do with the original set of equipment I had purchased and didn't need to suddenly drop 3x as much as I had originally paid just a matter of weeks earlier to upgrade.

The most important thing in this regard is the mount.  If you're going to splurge on anything make it the mount.

A solid mount to start could theoretically last you forever until it all but stops working.  If you find yourself with a beginner astrograph and immediately fall in love and want to upgrade, you're going to be SOL if your mount can't handle the upgraded payload.

The SkyWatcher EQ-6 R Pro is an extremely popular, worthwhile mount for the fact it's well known, proven, and can be a one and done mount for years to come.

As for astrographs, The William Optics Zenithstar61/SkyWatcher ED80 would be excellent places to start for fantastic value beginner optics.  I started with the SkyWatcher ED80.  Absolutely ridiculous quality for being a doublet and sub-1k.  The reducer for it makes it very flexible for various targets.

As for a camera, if you have an old DSLR laying around literally get the rest of the gear first and just mess around with the DSLR for a while just to learn basic skills.  If you really want a dedicated astronomy camera, the ASI294MC Pro seems to be the absolute king of entry level color CMOS cameras.  Amazing quality for the price.


So all that said, those would be products I would personally advocate for, but if you take anything from this let it be that the mount is worth spending more for.
Seriously, you will save yourself SO much money if you give yourself a mount you can grow into rather than having to drop another several thousand on top of any astrograph and camera upgrades you might want later.

Sorry this was so long winded.  Hopefully it will be of help.