What kind of camera is best for taking detailed pictures of the moon?

It's not the camera–it's the lens. You don't have to buy the most expensive camera body. I own a Nikon D40 which costs under $500 and I get great pictures (and it comes with a standard zoom lens to use for everyday pictures). If you're getting your first SLR, get the Nikon D40. I've had mine for two and a half years now and it's never let me down.

You'd need a big zoom lens to get details of the moon. If you don't understand millimeters (mm) and aperture, you should not invest in an expensive lens. You might realize later down the line that you bought the wrong thing.

But, for pictures of the moon, you could try a Nikon Zoom Telephoto lens that goes from 70 mm to 300 mm for around $550. I haven't tried it, but I think it's what you need for moon pictures.

For night photography, you definitely need a tripod, no question about it. You can get a good tripod for around $100.

This puts you at your limit. I hope this helps!

you could hand carry the digital camera and purpose it by using a telescope eyepiece, that works good for finished-moons by fact the shutter speed will do away with digital camera shake. A moon in a telescope is a similar exposure as a daylite shot. i've got achieved sharp photos of the eclipses with an trouble-free Canon A-sequence.

$1200 is not going to get you far..

I'll give you a rundown of equipment used for this shot and price (B&H price)..

Canon 50D = $1149

Canon 500mm f/4 IS = $5600

Two Canon 1.4x Teleconverters = $600

Total = $7349

(and that doesn't even include the cost of the tripod)

Exposure:1/125 at f/8

ISO speed:ISO 200

Here's the image (click on it to zoom in a little)..

http://i.pbase.com/o2/51/687951/1/106893813.ZpsiOf...

I understand that budget is an issue, but you can look at maybe getting a Canon 20Da (specially made for astrophotography)

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/specs/Canon/canon_...

It has been discontinued for a while but they crop up on eBay once in a while.

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You do need a good camera, but more important for taking pictures of the moon would be a really good lens, which can run you over what you said your bubget is. Goos lenses arent cheap.

How about a cheaper camera and a 600mm mirror lens? It would be a great moon lens but would have limited use otherwise - and they are fairly inexpensive.

They need a specific camera mount.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?ci...

This photo was taken with 35mm, hand held, through the eyepiece of my 8 inch reflector.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2458/3599907357_486...