Greg:
I have a Coolpix 4500 which is the last of series which included the 995 and the 950 and maybe someothers. The 4500 has a Magnesium body, 4 megapixels and a 4x zoom...
Anyway, I have taken quite a few photos, mostly birds but some on a driven mount and many with a DOB.
I think the biggest issues are focus and vibration. Getting a good sharp focus is a real problem because of the small screen. For both the night sky and birding, the technique that I have found works the best is to focus the telescope without the camera in position using my long distance glasses. I then shoot with the camera either in autofocus or set to infinity depending on the target.
With a bird or DOB, time is of the essence so I hand hold the camera up to a Celestron 32mm Plossl and zoom in with the camera. Hand-holding has the added advantage that if done properly, I am not touching the telescope with the camera, so the vibrations are not transferred from the camera to telescope. The long focal length of the scope amplifies any vibration, I think of it as taking a close up image of the eyepiece. As long as the scope is perfectly steady, the camera isn't a problem.
With a driven mount, I use an Orion Steady-Pix along with a remote, this is normally for long exposures.
I think the key to getting good shots is experimentation, take lots of shots, and develop your own technique.
The photo I posted here previously shows what can be done handholding the 4500 to a DOB and a target like the moon.
http://www.astromart.com/common/image_popup.asp?image=/images/forums/499000-499999/499937.jpg
The photo below is of the Wild duck and I believe I took it with a 130mm F/5 Newtonian with a Paracorr on an EQ-3 mount.
Jon
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