[Profiler (Profiler)]

Hi Ross

I can give you some limited advice but with all things astronomy there are compromises which have to be taken into consideration so although something may seem initially good there are some catches.

Advantages
Firstly, I do not have a WO132 although I have looked through one a few times and it is an excellent refractor (or at least the one I looked through was) and in my view will certainly outperform an 8' reflector (excuse the general statements). Additionally, WO is one of the few manufacturers who sells direct to the public via WO online and you can get some remarkable deals through them - better even than what some local vendors may offer - worth checking out. Moreoever, due to the exchange rates the prices of astronomy equipment have come down remarkably everywhere and so things are only getting cheaper so now is a good time to buy - btw I have no connection with WO

Disadvantage
There is only one real disadvantage and it is not the price because for the performance I think the WO132 is a fantastic OTA. The one catch is that not only is the WO132 a great refractor it is also getting to be on the 'big' side of things so don't have any illusions of grab and go or 5-10 minute set up. It is not immovable etc - but is certainly a noticeable step up in size from your average M110, M120 or FLT110 etc. You can certainly carry it around - but you will probably carry it slowly.