Should be fine Peter. All my deep sky stuff for first 4-5 years was F5 8" on HEQ5Pro. Yes, you do have to watch balance, yes, you are more susceptible to wind. Good guiding comes down to mix of persistence and luck at times on Chinese mounts.
Processing and colour on these old pics not to current tasts, but res and tracking was pretty good:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/MMWrskb49h8dR8yH9
https://photos.app.goo.gl/Vt5TuEqZpMhMFjau6
As Dunc said, no probs at all if doing fast frame planetary. Glad to hear you're still having astro fun
