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OK let me make your mind up for you Marcel.
1) I dont think a 12" or 10" solid will be for "life". From what I have seen and heard here in the last 18 months, one telescope is never enough and the first one either stays with you and gets added to, or "upgraded" by selling it to IIS members and buying the next best thing in your life at the time.
2) For $599 for a 10 inch collapsible (not $799 like I thought), the price of the 10 inch is A STEAL!, saves you $600!!!!!! over a 12 inch scope and as I said, its more portable, takes up slightly less space in the car and isn't too far behind the gathering capacity of the 12" version.
3) You mentioned an observatory perhaps in the future. When that is built you will probably want an EQ mount that stays set up, aligned and ready to go instantly when the need arises. A 10" or 12" dob taking pride of place in an observatory (to me) seems a bit silly.
In summary: Save some money now while the prices are rock bottom on the 10" collapsible at $599. Buy one, take it camping, use it as often as you want, chuck it in the car, let the kids use it (IF THEY CAN GET YOU OFF IT) and keep the $600 difference for the 12-24 months away when you decide to UPGRADE.
Seriously, by the time you get sick of it, or run out of things to look at, you will have been secretly putting aside savings to purchase the "next best thing" on the horizon to slot into the observatory.
One thing I have learnt here is: There is always something else that you want to buy.
After all, we are "only" talking about $600! Nifty Kev hopefully should be funding it?
Cheers for now
Chris
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