[Hagar (Doug)]

If you ask a hundred people in here which scope to buy you will probably recieve a hundred differing answers.

First you have to decide what you want to use the scope for. If you want to use it for photography, the most important part of the purchase would have to be the mount. You realy need an equatorial mount with at least an RA drive motor to allow you to track images well. This type of mount will take some setting up each time but the benefits far outway the learning curve required. The scope for this type of mount will then be a matter of budget. A small ED refractor say 80mm will give some great results with a camera attached as will an eight inch newtonian.

If you require basic photography and tracking for visual use a fork mount SCT of eight inches will be great and will also give you a goto feature. Be aware that a SCT will probably require a focal reducer to get reasonable DSO photography.

All in all your budget will dictate the scope you eventually purchase. Just remember a Dob will give great visuals but will not allow photography without modification and an equatorial platform of some kind.

PHOTOGRAPHY REQUIRES AN EQ BASE OF REASONABLE QUALITY.