Ben, Along with the good advice given already, may I suggest you consider joining one of the local clubs. A side benefit of membership is that, after a month or so, you can borrow various club scopes for free. Then you can take your time about buying, and see which equipment will meet the needs of the way you enjoy viewing. We've all discovered that the equipment that works best for one persons style is often totally wrong for what a different person enjoys. (And then there are the real sicko's among us who seem to be well on their way to collecting one of everything, .....but enough about my husband....:)) The Salt Lake club website is at the URL below. It has links to the other clubs on the Wasatch front. Private and public star parties are great, and we all enjoy sharing the view with others. http://www.slas.ws/ Jo Grahn