Deep Sky Photography
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The keys to success are a good properly aligned solid mount, good optics, excellent tracking, and an excellent camera or good photographic skills when doing it "old school" style.
The mount you select is a function of the optics and camera. Generally you want a mount that can carry the weight with ease and that sports fine motors to drive each axis. The equatorial motor needs to be as error-free as possible and variable speed. Using a computer based tracking system is great (you will need a second camera and a computer for that) or it can be done with the eye (you will want an illuminated recticle eyepiece with cross hairs).
Photographic times will vary depending on the size of the telescope you are using and the object being photographed. The camera setup will also influence the exposure. Modern digital cameras, dedicated astro imaging cameras, and film cameras are each different in how well they will function and the type of exposure needed.
Deep sky objects vary in size with some being very tiny and others being several lunar diameters across. That means that one telescope and camera size will not fit all. In some cases the object will be dispersed across the field of view while in others it will be a tiny dot.
Ted's Rig - 11" Telescope with CCD guiding and imaging
Visit Ted's Page about CCD imaging