Hi Jeff,
Welcome to IceInSpace
Looks like a nice choice of scope. It looks very sturdy on the HEQ5 mount. I assume you are getting it with the HEQ5. It does look portable.
To be honest, if you are spending that much, I'd be tempted to get at least 8" apeture. I've had the Celestron C8 for 10 years and am still very happy. It is a great all-rounder that is very portable and particularly good for planetary work. At F/10, pretty slow for deep space imaging though. I've got the F/6.3 focal reducer which helps but still not that fast.
With a focal ratio of F/12 it will be very slow for deep space imaging. The 6" apeture will not allow spectular planetary images either.
If you are interested in imaging, have a look at the equipment people are using for imaging on this site. The equipment you need depends on the type of images you want to take and the type of results you expect.
The most important thing for your first decent scope is to get one you will be able to use frequently. If it is too complicated to setup you will lose interest.
You could always get an 8" GSO Dob from Andrews Communications in Sydney for $299 to get a feel for what you can see with 8" apeture. Not as portable but really cheap and easy to set up. Would require you to purchase a collimation tool as well though.
If you wanted to do imaging, you could then mount the tube on a beefy mount like the EQ6 at a later time.
Hope this helps.
Have fun,
Doug
to IceInSpace!
