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Hi and welcome to Oz!
Personally I would look at the heavier mounts (EQ5) with a bit more aperture for general viewing, although I wonder how well the EQ5 would handle an 8" OTA for photography. (You don't want to go any heavier than 50% of the rated capacity of a mount if you want to image with it, and I think the EQ5 is a bit light.) You would certainly need to get a drive if you want to image- but you will need to make sure you can run it from a computer for guiding. If you are going to spend a couple of hundred more for a drive anyway, can you stretch your budget and go for the "go-to" version at Andrews?
In terms of the actual viewing experience: the 8" f5 would probably be the best all-rounder. f4 is very fast, and cheaper eyepieces may struggle to give you a good image away from the centre of the field.
The 6" SCT is very forgiving of eyepiece quality because of its long FL, but gives a much narrower FOV. It is a tried and true OTA though and should give you good images- my concern is the light mount.
Regarding Andrews: they have always done the right thing by me, and are very good with their service.
Good luck!
- Dean
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