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Well, I popped into BinTel (Melbourne) this morning, and as people here have said, the staff are very knowledgeable and helpful. They recommended - as a beginner scope - a 6" dob (about $350 I think it was); very straightforward, superb value for money, easily transportable. Basically you just bung it down and away you go. Then there's an 8" dob for about $200 more, which is not much less transportable. And as the bloke said, if my budget is $1000, I can spend the rest on some nice eyepieces or filters. (And on their $90 laser collimating tool.)
That's advice I've seen all over the Internet - everybody's advice for the starting backyard astronomer is a dob.
However, I was very taken with a 6" SkyWatcher reflector on an eq3 mount ($729); an 8" reflector on an eq5 mount is about $995. And I do like the idea of an equatorial mount for the occasional photograph.
Portability is a must. Any scope will probably sit in our backyard shed when not in use, either boxed or setup; then it will be dragged about for viewing. Probably into our street, where even with the street light it's possible to get some good viewing (as I've seen through my neighbour's 8" motorized and expensive SCT.) And occasionally down to the coast, away from city lights.
What I really need to do is have a look through other people's scopes to get an idea of what they are actually like. Where's a good place to do that?
Choices... choices...
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