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There are a number of reasons why I consider an EQ mount to be not the best choice for a beginner.
1. Has to be polar aligned at least roughly. As we in the south have no significant Pole Star, that means using a compass, knowing the magnetic declination for your area, being able to set the altitude, levelling the tripod and doing all that in the dark. By comparison you take a dob base outdoors, find a moderately level bit of ground and put it down.
2. You have to reasonably accurately balance the mount. With a dob, see above.
3. The eyepiece can end up in all sorts of odd positions if using a Newtonian. This is not an issue for refractors with a diagonal, but they cost a lot more. I can remember trying for M15 with my EQ2 mounted newt and kneeling on wet grass looking vertically upwards in the EP. Of course you can loosen the tube rings and rotate the OTA, but then the balance you set earlier (see point 2) is probably thrown out as the tube has slipped. With a Dob, the eyepiece just moves up or down. Sometime when observing low down objects, a chair can help.
4. Price. Even the cheapest woddletronic EQ mounts are still more expensive than a dob mount. Dobs allow you to get more aperture. And I cannot stress enough, with scopes for visual observing aperture always wins.
5. With an EQ mount you have to find knobs in the dark. With a dob, you grab it and move it.
6. Navigating with an EQ mount sounds really simple on paper, try doing it in the dark for the first time. With a dob, see point 5.
Anyways, all the above is my opinion. It is based on experience having owned a 130mm EQ2 mounted scope that has hardly been used, as well as an 8" dob that got used a lot and now a 12" that gets used heaps. This is NOT to say that eq mounts do not have a very important role to play, for some people who like them, go ahead. Also they are great for imaging (remembering that imaging mounts are not cheap and the EQ mounts sold with cheaper scopes are next to useless for imaging, unless you are keen on hand guiding!).
Malcolm
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