A 200mm telephoto lens on a DSLR/mirrorless on a tripod can take a passable photo of Andromeda from the bay area with a bit of technical technique (well perhaps

A 200mm telephoto lens on a DSLR/mirrorless on a tripod can take a passable photo of Andromeda from the bay area with a bit of technical technique (well perhaps not in the most light polluted parts,...). The key to doing it with nothing other than a tripod is merging a lot of relatively short exposures (e.g. a half second) to avoid blurring the image. Likewise, a fast telephoto w/ live view on a modern camera is an interesting alternative to binoculars-- especially because image stabilization is common on such devices while IS binoculars are a pretty niche thing. (Obviously binoculars are less expensive, but if you already have an expensive camera...)