Pros

Cons

Optical Tube Type

 

 

Aperture size 

Bigger apertures can gather more light and see more

Bigger apertures can increase the size of the telescope and make it hard to transport

Refractors (Glass Lens Based)

Produce better images, and image is the top to bottom, left to right correct

Cost a lot to produce

Reflector (Newtonian/Mirror Based)

Much cheaper to make, more light gathering for less money and often weigh less

Image would not be as sharp as equivalent in Refractor, Image will be upside down and often left to right the wrong way (fine for a planet of a star but not looking at land-based things)

Mount Type

 

 

AZ (Manual) Mount

Great for land viewing, easy to set up and use

Hard to follow Astronomical objects which move in Arcs around the pole

AZ (Computerised) Mount

Easy to setup and learn, takes the hassle out of finding and tracking Astronomical objects

Can be more expensive, limited manual control

EQ Mount

Easy to follow stars, planets, and other astronomical objects

Need to polar align, steeper learning curve for beginners