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Originally Posted by Goro
Lots of good advice given. I guess I'm still leaning towards a dob despite a couple of convincing arguments for a refractor and now think that a 10" is the way to go, as it seems that my concern over collimation might exist just as easily with an 8" with little difference in the two. I'm sure I'll get the hang of it though....with practise! I still have a bit of time before I make up my mind - I tend to labour over purchases such as this for quite some time before I make a decision.
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It sounds like you've done plenty of reading and are aware of the various pros and cons of the different options.
That being so, then there's a lot to be said for just going with your heart. If the thought of wheeling out a 10" Dobsonian is what gets you feeling more enthusiastic than the other choices, then there's no particular reason not to trust your instincts. They're great value for the money.
You didn't mention whether you were considering a standard mount or a computer driven Goto? If you get a goto mount then of course navigation isn’t much of a problem!
But if you go for the standard mount then any accessories that help you find your way around will probably be money well spent, whether that’s a Telrad or a good low powered finder scope that shows a relatively more manageable chunk of sky.
I can’t speak for others, but the thing that I found most difficult when I started was simply finding my way around. It all looked fairly straightforward when I looked up at the sky, or checked out something like Stellarium, but once I looked through a good telescope I quickly found out how many millions of similar looking white dots there are up there, and what a very tiny piece of it I was seeing through the telescope. And the more powerful the scope the smaller the viewing window was, and the harder it was to navigate accurately.
It took quite a while to develop the skills to recognise patterns, pick out the key features, and move smoothly in the right direction (in fact I'm still a long way from being good at it). It felt a bit like going to a guitar forum and reading about “easy songs” and “easy” chords when for a beginner there’s no such thing. They’re all hard for the simple reason that it takes months of practice before your fingers will accurately form even the most basic chord pattern. And then once you get the knack you tend to forget how hard it was at the start.
So don’t be too worried if it seems hard to find your way around initially. It gets easier with practice. Honestly.