Hi Steve,
to Ice In Space....
Great idea getting a dob. It is probably THE best idea for someone starting out in this great hobby....
If you are limited in budget, then an 8" solid tube ($399) is a bargain. You won't need to make it collapsible as it is quite a portable size and fairly light, you should be able to move it around in one piece.
However, for that extra bang for buck (and if you can afford a bit more) I would recommend a 10" to start with. Still solid tube, or perhaps a collapsible if you can stretch the budget. One reason I recommend a 10" is because you said you wanted to do visual and the 10" grabs just that much more than an 8". Plus, the 10" versions are quite reasonable in price now. ($599 for a GSO from Andrews)
As for the brands, I prefer the Skywatcher due to the colour scheme and I am a fanboy of Skywatcher, however, the Saxon is the same scope as they are made by the same factory (Synta). Check out the Bintel scopes too, which are Guan Sheng rebadged versions, but as they come with more features than the Skywatchers and Saxons (such as a primary fan which helps with cooling the mirror, as well as better and more eyepieces and a better support structure from Bintel)....they are well worth the money.
Either way, a laser collimator is well worth it, as you can't really collimate in the dark (easily) without one. I have had a 12" collapsible and a solid tube 8" and neither had a problem holding collimation at all, regardless of travel in the car or shipping...
The collapsible is rather cool and reduces the tube by about 40% in length, but if you have a wagon, or a reasonable boot, the tube fits in easily.
Depending on your geek factor AND again, your budget, there is no looking back if you want to buy a GOTO 8" collapsible Skywatcher as it will make it SOOOOOO much easier to find cool things and keep on target for longer at high power. The reason I sold my 12" collapsible is because it didnt track and had no goto, so all I used to do was go to about 20-30 targets where I knew where they were and therefore never used it to its full potential for SUCH a large mirror. The longer it stays on a galaxy (which it will for AGES when it has been aligned) the more details you will see, EVEN with an 8" scope.
So, lots to process, but if you are on a budget, $399 for an 8" GSO dob from Andrews is a STEAL, for an excellent starter scope, but if you can afford it, or dont MIND spending close to a grand.....the 8" Goto collapsible Skywatcher is funky as......
Hope this helps
Cheers
Chris
