Malco

Most DSLRs and camera lenses are not suitable for Astrophotography. Canon made a 20D for astrophotography I believe called a 20DA. If a person wants really good astro shots they would need a DSLR with the blocking filter removed. Also most camera lenses are not really good for astro shots. Camera lenses are corrected for other purposes.
A telescope is much better than a camera lens for this purpose. You could probably get a Chinese telescope with a mount for about $500. Some of these scopes are very good. Used astronomy equipment can be found on Astro-Mart and Cloudy nights.

blackest Loc: Ireland

The K5 can do similar if you buy the GPS module. Though to bee fair the k1 is a very good price for a full frame camera.

JimH123 Loc: Morgan Hill, CA

It all depends upon what he wants to image. The Milky Way is best with a camera and wide angle lens. At question would be what camera and what lens. And then something to track with such as iOptron SkyWatcher and similar products.

mbowman

Here is a sample of what I am getting with a D7200 and the kit 18-140 lens.

MauiMoto Loc: Hawaii

Refurbished Nikon D7500 for 599 is the best Nikon camera for astro under a thousand. Maybe a used 20mm f1.8, used on the crop body you don't get the coma but you would need to stitch to get more sky. Lots of people like the Tokinas or Rokinons also and they are under 500. The best looks like the Sigma 14mm f1.8 but that is way over budget. This is about all you get with 20mm on a crop sensor.