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Hi Shaun,
I don't have either a 12" or 16" dob, but two other members of the club (Western Sydney Amateur Astronomy Group) do have 12" dobs. One has a Meade Lightbridge 12", one has a Skywatcher 12" Goto. I was interested in either a Orion 12" goto dob or the massive 16" got dob.
The gentleman with the Skywatcher said it was as heavy as he ever wanted to cart around. He said that any bigger would not get used. Just too cumbersome, too heavy, and you need a stepladder to get to the eyepiece at zenith targets.
The gentleman with the Meade said it was a good scope for him (no goto, very light, easy to setup and pack). He did not want to go any bigger either.
The club has access to a 30" dob (yes, 750mm of goodness), and we have looked at Jupiter and Saturn (and lots of other stuff too). While it **is** bright, the view is really astounding.
I think that for astounding improvements, the jump has to be something like this - from 12" to 30" or thereabouts. The difference between a view in the 12" and a view in the 16" will not be astounding. It will be a bit brighter, a bit better (depending on local factors) but it will not be astoundingly better.
So I would suggest that you might wish to drop in with a 12" dob rather than the 16", and save your pennies for a Massive Scope later on.
As always, feel free to take any advice as you wish.
Regards,
Tony Barry
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