Scott
I have the 12" GSO (the same as the Bintel 12" solid tube) which has the same optices as the Meade you are looking at. I would echo the comments regarding Bobs Knobs. The optics are fine for the price. As far as I know the secondary is identical in both scopes and mine is fine. Personally I prefer the GSO/Bintel alt movement to the Meade one as it is more adjustable, but may just be me!
Good to see you getting into star hopping, get some quality charts and guides!
You are right, dobs are very limited for imaging. A solid tube can be mounted later onto an EQ mount, but truss tubes would need some major re-engineering to do that.
Oh! and welcome to IIS!!
Malcolm