But then question one once again boils down to the as yet unresolved how to you assign budget between size of aperature and quality and even type of mount? Once again it is what is better for backyard use where astrophotography might eventually be desired, a:
1. Meade 12" LX90 $5,700
2. Celestron 11" CPC $5,500
3. Meade 10" LX200(R) $5,300 ($6,350)
all of which are fork mounted and costing all up around the $5,500 +/- $200 mark. Else you buy a OTA for say $2,100 for a Meade 10" or $3,750 for a Meade 12" and mount it to a GE say either a Vixen Sphinx for $2,500 up to a Losmandy G11 for $5,000.
So again a myriad of options and prices between low $5,000 to $5,500 for mounted to $4,600 to $8,750 GE mounted on a pretty good rig.
Wonder why folk find this confusing... What is the decision matrix to sort through all of this please! Do I go larger aperature or better quality mount if its most of the time going to be in my backyard? Do I go Meade or Celestron? Do I go fork or equatorial mount? Do I go sturdy tripod or pier?
Please help end this dilemma!
PS
Looking at the Meade 10" LX200R for $6,350 at BinTel which in USD is
http://www.meade.com/lx200r/index.html $3,399 (At AUD about $4,850 + postage) don't you ponder where the extra $1,500 in value is comming from that Australian dealers are taking when they pass the price onto us? (Yes I know you have taxes and foreign insurance and freight, plus VAR profits - but 1/3 of your price in pure overheads is a bit much!)