Wow, thanks for the great advice and ideas... you guys rock!
From the sounds of it, my suspicions may be on track - I'll enjoy astronomy a lot more by focusing on visual observing for the time being, and keeping a healthy bank account.
In case anyone's shopping for potential Christmas presents, I'll probably be doing a sale for Dec 11th - i.e. the day after the next lunar eclipse
In response to questions:
* My main camera is a Canon 5DmkII which I'll definitely be keeping for afocal imaging and terrestrial photography.
* I'm pretty sure I'll be happy with manual tracking for planetary imaging... I'm impressed with von Tom's efforts and would be happy to produce similar results.
* I'll be studying MBBS at the University of Queensland (UQ and I know each other rather well... that's where I did my undergrad engineering and PhD). In the future, I'd like to specialise in anaesthesia. I spent several months camped out in an OR for research and think I'd really enjoy it. I've seen first-hand the hours/workload of vocational training (it sucks) but it's a sacrifice I'm willing to make. I did heaps of travel during my research degree, so I'm quite happy to stay put for a few years!
* I like the "go-for-broke" approach (e.g. trade up to a Tak+PME
) but unfortunately I have too many hobbies - tennis, surfing, piano, photography, etc. I'm aiming for maximum efficiency between all hobbies
Thanks again for all of your thoughts... it's very much appreciated!