[mbo (Pat and Kirk)]

The focal length thing has me a bit confused. This is what I gather so far, please correct any misconceptions.

Short F leads to shorter, more manageable tubes.
Short F gives greater 'Fully illuminated field' at the eyepiece (good for photography)
Long F gives greater magnification / narrower FOV for a given eyepiece
Long F tends to hide edge field flaws in eyepieces.
Long F mirrors are a bit easier / cheaper to make

Some things I don't get:
Does F value influence Apparent Field of view (or is this just the eyepiece)
Why don't I see many F8 or bigger 16" scopes? I realise they would be essentially untransportable, but they would seem pretty good for a home observatory.