What is the best telescope under $1000 USD?
Many people say that there is no "best" telescope, because everyone's needs are different. For example, some people would rather have an 8" scope on a tracking mount than a 10" scope that's a non-tracking dob. Some people have weight restrictions, since they can only lift a certain amount. Some people's cars are smaller than others. Some want a computer locator, some are into the thrill of the hunt.
My view is that $1000 doesn't buy you a bigger APO telescope for high contrast planet views than a Newtonian Dob with an offset mask for the same price. Offset masks are cheap. If you've got a 90 mm offset mask for a 250 mm scope, that's like having a 90 mm APO. Can you get an APO over 90 mm for under $1000? And SCTs are always twice the cost per aperture than Newtonians. And, SCT's have larger central obstructions than Newtonians. So even same aperture isn't equal, resulting in lower contrast. So in my view, the Newtonian wins hands down. That leaves the mount. And for under the $1000, you have to give up quite a bit of aperture to get a good EQ mount. Since you can get a push-to computer on a dob these days, the dob/Newtonian wins. That's a 12 inch Newtonian dob without a computer, a 10 inch with a computer, or an 8 inch Newtonian on an EQ mount without a computer. For me, the 10" wins hands down.
Argue with me. Best argument wins BA. Note: you have to disagree with me to win. So, no brown nosing.
The heaviest bit of my 10" is 27 lbs. Sure it's bulkier than your 11" SCT, but it's 11 lbs lighter. And it's easier to put together, since the dob mount is lower. And this is essentially the same area, since the SCT has a larger obstruction. But you can't get anything like an 11" SCT for $1000. An 11" SCT is $3000. You'd rather have a 6" SCT on a tracking mount than a 10" Dob with computer, or 12" Dob without? If so, why not an 8" Newtonian on an EQ mount? Heaviest bit on the 12" truss dob is 40 lbs (much heavier than the 10").
There's no reason you can't use an offset mask with an SCT. It's just a smaller mask per diameter than a Newtonian.
You might be able to put a tracking wedge under the 10" Newtonian for cheaper than buying an astrophotography scope. Limited to approximately 1 hour images. But you can stack. I've not yet tried it. I might attempt a DIY project.
I wasn't able to find a new 90mm APO for $1000, but i did spot an 85mm APO for $750. So this is much more comparable than i thought.
No real aperture fever here. I've got a 10" Newtonian Dob. It sets up in 3 minutes, fits in the car, etc. It's a grab & go scope. I use 8x21 binoculars mostly. If i really want a good look, i use the scope. So the 8x21s are just to find stuff. I used to use 8x42s, but they're much heavier, and don't fit in my pocket.
I recently observed with a guy who has a 16" truss dob. Should be a magnitude brighter. Wouldn't fit in my car. But it might if i had a hatchback. He doesn't have a computer, and doesn't have 3 minute setup time. For this sort of thing, my club has a 22". I'd use the club scope more than if i owned it, due to 3 person setup requirement.
For $3000, i might stick with the 10" Newtonian, but buy an EQ mount (the Atlas) with it's computer for about $1700. There may be a better EQ mount. Then i could convert back to a dob if i want. But i don't like how high the 10" is on this mount. And the jury is out on how good it is at photography. I mean, it's better than the Dob, but how is it at long exposures, i don't know.
I've got a laser now, and use it the same way you do. I have a dove tail mount for it, so the laser can go where my finder is. After alignment, i don't use the finder scope much. I have NOT found that re-adjusting the Dob between customers is difficult. With the little kids, i have to check if they've moved it anyway. And i like to change objects frequently. The pushto system uses a 9 volt battery that lasts for months of heavy use. I have cobbled together dew heaters for primary and secondary that last all night on AA's. I use rechargables.
Sure, at 300x, objects fly across the field of view. But i move the Dob, the object is at the other edge again, and the mount settles immediately. It's totally rock solid. Now, outreach is tough at 300x. But i do 240x all the time.
Maybe it's just that there's a big knee of the curve at the 10" Newtonian Dob, and it happens to be near my $1000 mark. I may have mispoken. For $3000, i'd still get the $700 Newtonian Dob with computer and then get a Paracorr, maybe two low power 2" eyepieces, a couple higher power 1.25" eyepieces with wide AFOV. Green laser. Mount for the laser. A good carry bag for the scope. A good box for the eyepieces. A couple books. A couple charts. $3000 still isn't enough for photography.
One thing that bothers me is how good a hydrogen alpha solar scope really is. Would i really look at the Sun that much? But damn, they're good.
The trouble with astrophography is that the guys at the club who do a great job at it have a minimum of $9000 in equipment. I'd really like to be able to do it for less. I think it can be done, but haven't proven anything. They can't image in strong wind, but a cheap tent can solve that.
I borrowed an 8" SCT from my club for outreach events. I was able to get it aligned for groups with half hours between adjustment. I still needed a kitchen stool for kids, and bigger kids since the eyepiece is on a higher tripod. You need a diagonal for the SCT, where you don't for a dob. I still had to watch the scope, because of the little kids. It limits my talking. It didn't have a GoTo, so a 9 volt battery ran the motor. But though i knew a dozen objects, i couldn't just point to a galaxy, then a cluster, then a nebula in the same five minutes, as i've done with my pushto. The views are OK, though. And, i've aligned the manual setting circles and found objects. Slow, but i was new at it.