onesmallstep

Hi The Skyliner 200P is a great scope for several reasons including the ease of use, image quality, price vs aperture, and all-round performance. There is an SGL sub-forum covering scope reviews. Either look there or use the search facility by using 'Skyliner 200P reviews' or similar as the search string.

The Alpha Persei Association also looks good in bins / scopes. Link: Alpha Persei - Star Clusters - Digital Images of the Sky

Hi I have advised other SGL users to go for the 8115 as it's the one I own so have experience of. The weight isn't that much of an issue. It is very stable at all heights and the bracing bar helps in that respect. I bought the tripod at Astrofest a few years ago and have used small scopes and big bins including the 15x70s on them with no problems.

Now you know why scopes are nicknamed cloud magnets!!!

Any decision on the scope?

Your choice of scope will depend on your observing prefs. There is no hard and fast rule but the received wisdom is that the Newtonian is good for general viewing and the Mak-Cass is designed for higher power viewing of the Moon, planets and stars. They are also a good choice for astro imaging. As a visual observer my own preference would be for the 130. This was my first scope when I started in astronomy as a hobby and although the scope itself was fine I had trouble getting used to the GoTo set up and ended up changing it for an AltAz mount. Hope this helps.