Titan,
I have not used the 102 however as a comparison in your suggested budget range, I have used the 130 SLT and the older Nexstar 4 GT, both performed well. Both are easy to setup and are good for planetary viewing. The 4GT replacement has better performance on the goto mount.
I dabbled with astrophotography on the 130SLT and had fun, during which I found a good review (
http://www.jb.man.ac.uk/public/im/cel130SLT.html)
As per
Domol, I use the the CG-5 mount and find it is easy to use and move around in smaller parts.
My suggestion, spend plenty of time reviewing this site, there are some good posts on DSO and astro imaging, the members here helped me with my next choice, also if you have not looked yet, check out Andrews (
http://www.andrewscom.com.au), he has plenty to choose from in your budget range.
BTW
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