Hi Peter,
I have an ETX 125 as well as my 16" Tridob. The Etx stays on it's tripod and I just pick the whole lot up and take outside at a moments notice to do quick observing at home. I don't think you could do that with a C8.
The optics are very, very sharp and is excellent on the Moon, planets and doubles. I also can see a surprising amount of detail in DSOs too.
Check out Weasner's ETX site:
http://www.weasner.com/etx/menu.html
There are also guides for observing with the scope as well:
http://www.weasner.com/etx/ref_guides/toc.html
Good Luck.