Middle of the road scope?

[Kirscovitch]

What kind of scope should a guy look into for good middle of the road observing and AP?

If I wanted something good just for observing I would go for some sort of dob. Maybe an 8 or 10 inch.

But for good imaging a good refractor and a DSLR seem like the right path.

Any scopes that combine the 2? I know if I want to get into any sort of serious imaging that an EQ mount is the way to go. But what about the OTA? 

Is there a scope out there that I can setup one night just for pure DSO observing and get good views and the next night set up for AP and get a nice shot of Jupiter or Saturn and then get a nice image of M45?

Oh and price would have to be fairly affordable. Around $600. 

Is it possible????

[ronin]

Not sure if sold/available over where you are but how about something like the AP 102ED @ f/7.

Generally a little bit slow for AP purist but will do it, 102mm/4" for viewing.

It would be the sort that I would consider for the dual aspect you give.

Check if StellarVue or similar do anything, even look for AP (Astro Professional)

[MartinB]

An decent 8" newtonian would fit the bill.  Good aperture for visual and fast for imaging.  Not quite as simple as a refractor - collimation and also requires a coma corrector if using a DSLR but something like an ED120 refractor is outside your budget and in many respects won't perform as well as an 8" newt anyway.

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

I would tend to agree about a fast Newtonian on an EQ mount. If you stick to planetary imaging an SCT would work. With a reducer you can have a bash at deep sky imaging, but it is not the ideal scope for that. You could go the way of a Dall-Kirkham scope like the ODK12 or 16, but you could buy several nice scopes for that. I simply use my SCT as the main middle of the road scope, and plan to use my 80mm frac for DSO imaging in the future (apart from its use as wide-field instrument).

[Luke]

I got an 8 inch Newt as my first choice to try and combine imaging and visual. Good choice, though if I did it again, what I would do is figure out what is most important to me, visual or imaging.

If it was visual, I would get a dob first and later when funds are up to it get a refractor and EQ mount. Or vice versa if the imaging is more important.

That's just me, don't be put off if you want to go the single scope route, but I adore the simplicity of observing with a dob and the (relative) simplicity of imaging with a small refractor. You then also have the option to observe while you image, and a low-hassle dob is perfect for that and doesn't need to break the bank.

The small refractor can also act as a compact grab and go scope.

Edit: that would be assuming mostly DSO imaging. The small refractor would be great for DSO but much more limited on planets or high detail lunar shots. The Newt would have the advantage over the refractor that it has more aperture for planets and lunar imaging while still being good for DSO.

[Alien 13]

Its a very difficult question viewing normally requires large aperture  medium to long focal lengths the exact opposite to imaging (with a DSLR anyway) the easiest way to comine the two is a decent mount to carry a newt or a small mak/sct for planets and camera with 135mm of 200mm lens for deep sky.

[Kirscovitch]

Thanks so far guys. SGL amazes me at the knowledge everyone can provide! 

I tend to lean toward the observing side of things as even without a camera I know that I could see a lot of whats out there!

But I would like to be able to share my views with family and friends. The Orion Starshoot cam I have right now shows me pretty good lunar images but from what I've been reading it's not the best setup for a camera or imager on a dob?