Orion XT8 vs. off-brand 10"

I am looking for a good first telescope for my self (30 years old). I've read a bunch of articles and many posts on this board. Many people lke this scope, but for about $80 more I can get a 10" off-brand from a website listed in a post by one of you guys last month. Looks to be a similar scope. What do you think? Another question, is the XT8 a good scope for astrophotography? Thanks in advance for the input!

tc

re photography: no. I have the XT8, and a very fine scope it is, but all by itself it's not for astrophotos unless you're like me and are endlessly in love with the moon. (see my page at http://home.attbi.com/%7Edarkhop/astro.htm for what you can do with a handheld digital camera.) But even then, the lack of tracking -- or any motor at all -- makes for sometimes frenzied shot-taking. Dobs generally need a lot of modification for general astrophotography use.