Hi,
Can I jump in?
BTW (by the way)
AP means astro photography
There are lots of these acronyms, which we have tackled (scroll to the end)
http://www.iceinspace.com.au/glossary.html
I've travelled this rocky road on IIS myself, and yes, it does depend on which way your fancy goes.
A dob reflector will definitely give you the most aperture for the money. If not a go-to mounting (where the handset guides you to a named object) then you will need to learn your constellations, which is not a bad thing really. Then you can push the scope (called star-hopping) to where you want. This method is more difficult in light-polluted skies though.
A dob however needs collimation (optical alignment) now and again for best viewing, and this extra task can be irritating, depending on how you feel. However there are many aids available for this task.
A refractor almost never needs collimation, but you get less aperture for the money, about half I suppose, but if it is a good brand, it will deliver excellent quality viewing. They can be very very pricey in top brands.
A Schmidt-Cassegrain (SCT) is a sort of midway design, aperture vs cash. It does not need nearly as much collimation, but you get a bit less aperture for the money, and it can suffer a bit on the viewing quality compared to a top refractor. However in a large size (say 8"-10") they are much more portable than a dob.
So you need to consider location, interests, portability, usage, and, AND, money. I have never bought a new scope. I depend on this great site for buying and selling scopes ( I am using now my fifth). I recommend it.
Cheers