Hi smenkhare & All,
Quote:
Originally Posted by smenkhare
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No. Those smaller "more expensive" telescopes you are probably talking about are apochromatic refractors that are wonderful instruments but very expensive per cm of aperture.
It is a good idea to shop around to get the best combination of price and after sales service that suits your needs. I'm not particularly savvy when it comes to pricing of SCTs but as an alternative, you could buy a Synta EQ6 mount plus an 8" or even 10" Newtonian OTA for that mount for pretty much the same price as the one you are looking at. Neither (SCT or Newt) could be described as "high-end" imaging scopes but are both pretty decent all the same.
In the end as to which route you go down, it will depend largely on the factors I've already outlined as they touch on focal length. If you are going to do imaging as a beginner, you may well find the longer native fl of the SCT will make the learning curve very steep and difficult -- but you can also buy a focal reducer for about $2-300 that could help with that but also introduces other "difficulties".
Even at 1000-1200mm fl (like an 8" f/5 or f/6) it will be demanding. Many will advise beginning imagers to try a truly short fl to start with (like say and ED80 telescope on an EQ6 for example that has about 700mm-odd) to help you learn the ropes and get the basics nailed down before progressing to other 'scopes with narrower fields and longer focal lengths when the exposures will be longer and the "error bar" involved in taking a good image much, much smaller and "twitchier".
As for purely visual use, see my previous post.
Good luck with your choice. Before you outlay, talk to as many different people as possible in the hope of getting a good variety of opinion and then work out what is best for you.
Best,
Les D