Hey Shane,
Mate, don't despair. There are many ways that scopes can be used to give great images, and they don't need to be expensive. Even a dob can be used to create fantastic photos of the Moon and planets. There's a couple of great articles written on this very topic in the "Projects and Articles" heading in the left margin. You can then start with just a modest dob, and as your experience, confidence and bank balance grows you can decide if you pursue further the astro photography part, or keep things as they are.
Not sure what scope to get? I suggest you go to a local astro club or other star party and see what these things look like, how they work, how simple or complicated they are, and what they cost. There is no single perfect all round scope. Every scope is a compromise somewhere, and other aspects are a trade-off. Astro clubs are listed under the "Our Community" heading in the left margin. Other star parties and informal gatherings are noted in the Star Parties forum. Two popular monthly informal gatherings around Sydney happen at the Pony Club at Mangrove Mountain, north of Sydney, and at Katoomba Airfield, west of Sydney. Both are noted in the Star Parties forum.
I have some 6 different scopes. Each does a particular thing well, and I use them like wise. While my niche within astro is visual and sketching, the only "imaging" I do is with an astronomy video camera plugged into a cheap little Newtonian, and show galaxies to folks under urban skies. It's a simple rig, and all I need from imaging. Otherwise its all pencil and paper stuff for me,
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Mental.
