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ac
Unclear from your post whether or not you realize this, but in case you're confused, the DiMAGE A200 is not a DSLR, it's just a big point & shoot. I used to have one. It wasn't bad, but I sold it as soon as I got a real DSLR. The fact that my Rebel XTi's ISO800 noise level is about the same as the A200's ISO100 noise level made me go "You know, I'm never going to use my A200 again..."
The DSLRs in your price range are basically: 1. Something old and used 2. A new Canon EOS Rebel XT or Nikon D40
I can't speak for Nikon lenses, but you can get the cheapest of Canon's 75-300 zooms for about $160 from Adorama. So, Rebel XT + kit lens + 75-300 is about $755. You can shave about a hundred off of that by skipping the kit lens, but that means you basically can't use the camera for anything *but* astrophotography, since 75-300mm is some pretty serious telephoto on a 1.6x crop. That'll give you a 120-480mm equivalent lens range, which pwn3s the A200 (which maxes out at a 200mm equivalent, and can never be changed). And if you really want to push things, you can get a third-party 2x telephoto extender widget for another $100 or so, which'll give you an equivalent of a 960mm lens. And a shitty, barely usable maximum aperture of about f/11. :)
You can also shave a lot off of that price by going used. Adorama.com has a good selection of used equipment, and there's always eBay if you're feeling lucky.
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