When is bigger better?

Hi

As a newbie with an interest in photography looking for a first scope, I'm most inclined to get a refractor. My budget will hopefully stretch to cover something like the Skyview Pro 100ED on its driven mount or the smaller Borg 77ED on its own lightweight non driven mount. Again for the same sort of price I could get a second hand Meade 6" Achromatic refractor on the LXD55 GOTO mount. They're about the same price here in the UK. I suspect I'd be disappointed with the image quality in an achromatic refractor and portability could be an issue. All advice gratefully accepted.

Tim :S

Hi

Pricing is a big problem over here. Often there is a 1:1 dollar to pound conversion after import costs and duties/taxes have been paid. That makes things almost 30% more expensive for us.

Usually I like to buy really high quality optical goods but my dilemma here is that on my budget, the best quality refractor I could afford would be 3", medium quality 4" and the achromatic is 6" for the same price.

Maybe I'll move to the US!

Tim

Thanks for the advice Mark. I'll check out those scopes you recommend.