Dealer hat off for a bit...
What many people don't get is: with any engineering, the first 80% is pretty easy.
For example, GSO make a fine product as it represents great bang for buck, but frankly they are not an RCOS or AP.
Think of audiophile systems (I rather like JBL or Klipsch monitors)...or cars (I have a penchant for stuff from Stuttgart and Prancing horses
)
The reality is most Hi-Fi's give you a good sound, or cars a comfortable ride from A to B
But it you want flat line 20-20KHz audio, or 0-100km in under 4 seconds....it *costs*
Why is it a revelation that with optics *you also get what you pay for*?
Sure, with anything that lends itself to *consistent* mass production quality can go up for a lower cost...but machines can only do so much.
You might buy a Casio watch that is good to 1 second per month. Yet the next one of the shelf is only good to 2 minutes....the question is: is it reasonable to expect 1 second accuracy? A Breitling is guaranteed to give you that 1 second, plus a really snazzy case, and then some...but costs 10-50x more.
The GSO RC10" scope will not be unlike the current RC8", but with a bit more aperture and FL, and I'm sure for many will fill that "sweet spot" of price/performance .
But if you want that last 2%.... just move along
So endeth the lesson.