A couple of refractors.

[Shiggy]

I have had my eye on an Astro Tech AT111EDT (http://www.astronomics.com/main/product.asp/catalog_name/Astronomics/category_name/K56U1T2Q7KWF8GDVGLKVBN1PL3/product_id/AT111EDT) triplet refractor for a while and have recently come across the Explore Scientific ES102 (http://www.astronomics.com/main/product.asp/catalog_name/Astronomics/category_name/X7NGE9TGLGNG8MC3LRLTD7TDR7/product_id/ES102) triplet.
The explore scientific is on special for $1000 USD (usually $1399) and comes with rings, finder, diagonal etc.
The astro tech is $1595 USD + $100 for rings. It also has a pretty robust rotatable imaging focuser.
In either case I will want a field flattener too for imaging. Something like AT2FF for $150.

The main differences seem (to my very amateur knowledge) to be:
Aperture 111 vs 102
Glass, ohara vs hoya (not sure how different they are)

What do you think? :thanx:

[Nico13]

Don't know about Ohara but Hoya have been around for a very long time and make very fine glass, been buying Hoya filters for my camera passion for around 30 years.
They both look to have pretty good build quality I guess someone will know more about them.

[fornax]

as far as I know, the Explore Scientific triplet is the same as the Meade & Celestron ones and are HiOptic-based. Matthew Lovell can sell you one from his Adelaide distribution and would probably be cheaper then importing from the US

[anj026]

I have no direct experience of either of these scopes but if it was me I would choose the AT111 for the following reasons.

The lens was designed by Thomas Back. See this review. http://www.cloudynights.com/item.php?item_id=1890

Joe Nastasi of Parallax Instruments owned one and commented favourably.

:)