Meade 8105020 Telescope

Now there are a lot of decisions to make when buying a telescope. I will outline here why I chose this scope over all others and how accurate my judgments were or were not.
Firstly the LX200 8 inch is the most practical of the LX200 family. Personally I had trouble lifting the 10inch, while the 12 needs 3 people. Its not that the 10 is heavy, it is just awkward. The handles or grip positions of the LX series are in a really off balance at times SCARY position. You don't want to be struggling and stumbling in the dark with an awkward expensive optical system falling from grasp. Secondly you need to consider where your going to house the scope. The 10ich is significantly larger that the 8 and I would have struggled to carry it down the hallway or squeeze through doors. Thirdly a wise man once told me that "the best telescope is the one you will use most", aperture fever can often restrict you to purchasing something that is too large and a hassle to set up.
The 8 ich is thus the perfect size for me, and I'd say most people. It is still small enough to put in the back of a smallish car for transportation to darker sky sites.

Next why get the LX200 and not the LX90. This depends on two things. Firstly if your serious about astrophotography the LX200 allows you to easily add CCD autoguiders, is more accurate and smoother in operation. If your not interested in long exposure photography I'd probably recommend getting the LX90. For a far smaller price tag you get the same optical system, you just need to put up with a slightly and I mean slightly more complicated alignment procedure. You may actually have to know some star constellations. (joke)
Secondly the LX200 gives you several features that just make observing a little bit more enjoyable. The focusing system and mirror lock are excellent features, once again for photographic reasons, and the extra large data base of observable objects just adds to the massive number of things to explore.

You will need to consider buying a few things with this scope. You will need a Dew cap or Zapper in winter as you will become a watcher not an observer really quick. you will need a regulated power supply, batteries are useless and expensive. You will need oculars and filters depending on what your observing and where you are observing from.

In this scope you will see heaps of detail in nearly every object category available. Saturn resolves with multiple rings, jupiter swirls and festoons, the moon spectacular riles and mountain ranges. Deep space is were big aperture comes into its own. In brighter nebulea, swirls and details are easily resolved, the sombrero galaxy actually looks like the Mexican hat. This is the perfect size scope to explore the heavens in endless detail. Without killing yourself lifting it.
If your not an astrophotographer this scope is overkill. Get an LX90. If you are then you have the portable large aperture companion of a life time and beyond.