That's what I keep trying to tell people. Its hard to beat a 8 inch or bigger Newt at F5 or so. Just on Focal ratio alone you're sucking down light twice as fast as the average Refractor, then there's the resolution and light gathering power from the aperture.
Not everyone can afford a beautiful imaging refractor.....
Fair enough you have balance, cajole, coma correct, collimate, avoid wind,etc - but hey, astrophotography is a challenge anyway....!
