Most of this type of scope these days come with 1 or 2 Eye Pieces. I think the XT6 comes with a 25mm Plossl. You'll also want a 2x barlow to go with that. I think you can pick up a 2x Barlow for $40-50. You will want some accessories (either the included Eye Piece and a Barlow or another Eye Piece). You don't have to have a book since you can get much of the same sort of info online or in free software, but I do really like the "Turn Left at Orion" book.
Very true.

Definitely save astrophotography for way later.
I wouldn't say get a binocular first. I'd say get one too. If I was going to say get one first, I'd want something big like a 15x70, but for something that big you need a tripod, and those aren't cheap (kind of like buying 2 small scopes really) Even the cheap 10x50 bushnells that I use are difficult to keep steady. I'd definitely recommend getting some though. You'd be amazed at how much more you can see with the 10x50s that I use than with your naked eye. They really help when trying to find things, and sometimes I just scan the sky looking for stuff. I've found some really neat stuff that way. I'd almost consider them a must have with a scope.

I heard folks saying you could get a deal by buying a used scope. AstroMart is a popular place. I've also heard about folks that bought a scope that needed lots of work and were basically junk.
Again, I think a binocular is a must have. 7x50 is an odd size (but there's a specific reason behind that size) but a 7x35 or 10x50 either will be a nice addition
I bought an 8" dob. I'd think that 6", 8" or 10" dob would be a good starting point for anyone.

I actually had/have and used a similar scope for about 6 months before I got my dobsonian. I had a 100mm short tube. It was nice, I liked it. I could fit all of Pleiades in the field of view. I also used it on a photo tripod. I very sturdy photo tripod. The biggest problem with the photo tripod was that you'd have to move the scope around to find something and then lock it down. Invariably, it moves a bit after you lock it down. The photo style head made it kind of a pain to use.

Me neither. They're like pants; you should always get them in pairs. :D

Well, which one did you get?

I am going to get this one: 6" dobsonian for $250 but its out of stock till April.

There's an 8 inch Orion in the for sale section of that local club I linked, for $200. Go look at that one. 8 inch dobs are significantly bulkier than 6 inchers, but they're easy for an adult to setup in the yard or pack in the back seat of a car.

At least go look at it, and see what you're getting into as far as size, weight, etc. Then buy it, since an 8 inch dob for $200 from a local amateur is about 1000x better than a 6 inch dob for $250, sight unseen, and with a waiting list ;)

Hey, Thanks, I have a call into him so I can take a look at it! That would be great to get something local, no shipping, tax etc....

Cool, that comes with a better finder than the 6" and 2 Eye Pieces. That's an improvement. Make sure it also includes whatever was included for collimation. I'm sure it will.

The included eye pieces would give you 48x and 120x. If you added a 2x Barlow, you'd have 96x and 240x. You'll like the 240x on stuff like the moon, Saturn and Jupiter especially.

Did you ever get to look at that scope?

Go tonight to take a look...

cool, hopefully it's a keeper.

Well I got it. Everything looked hardly used at all, a bit dusty but not bad. It came with all the manuals, a 10 and 25mm eyepiece, 90 degree finder scope and a LaserMate Collimator. She got her birthday present a bit early because it was so nice out tonight and Dad wanted to use it too. Saturn was very clear tonight along with her moons, sure a lot nicer than the one I had 40 years ago!! This is going to be a lot of fun!

Congrats! Enjoy it for many years. I've been checking locally for something similar. I've outgrown my little Meade 60mm refractor. Pictures of the next Galileo and the scope?

Out Freakin' Standing!!

Happy Birthday! and Happy Good Daddy Day! (since you both got a toy).

Did you check out Orion's nebula? That's one not to miss this time of year. And if you have a decent view to the west you may even be able to see Andromeda's Galaxy (not nearly as exciting as the other two. If you get out just as the sun is setting you can also get a good view of Venus as it chases the sun into the sea.

Awesome! If you haven't already, check out the forums over at www.cloudynights.com. They are a great resource.

You'll be very happy with the 8", much more so than you would have with the 6" or something smaller. The 8" will collect 73% more light than a 6" which is good because the main point of a telescope is to collect light. The more light, the more you can see.

The laser collimater will do a good job, it's what I use, but make sure you collimate it first. There should be 2 really tiny allen screws around the middle of the collimater. You'll want to point the laser at a wall a long way off in something that acts as a base where you can rotate the collimater. When you rotate the collimater, the laser point should stay put on the wall. Chances are, the point (which may actually be a small "-") will wobble a bit. Use the Allen screws to adjust the position of the laser point until when you rotate the collimater, the point stays put on the wall.

Hell, let them play :p
He'll learn the minutia of collimators and cleaning mirrors and all that crap when the time comes ;)

Cgarr, when you need that mirror recoated, talk to me. I can drive over to Tucson and do it. Only $10K and 5 day turn around, but it'll be the best damned mirror you've ever seen :D

Is this one any kind of a deal? Found on my local Craigslist.

http://chautauqua.craigslist.org/pho/1067758911.html

Can I come over and play?

Just don't feed Mike any beer. The mirror may look real purty, but it'd be as flawed as the Hubble's mirror! :p

No, I think the reason for the high cost is because it includes a "DSI" type camera, but it's on an Alt-Az mount which is bad for imaging. For imaging, you really need an German Equatorial Mount (GEM). You're better off skipping the Astrophotography initially and getting something for visual observing before you try for AP. AP is expensive and difficult (relatively). For that price you could get a decent scope on a decent GEM and then get a DSLR to go with it.

Actually,it's a great price, and an amazing telescope (for someone who wouldn't want to go for a custom).
1) The wedge is included, so it can be single axis tracking
2) With the DSI, it's designed to work with the alt-az data from the scope, to take many short CCD images, auto-rotate them in the software, and co-add them, just like the big observatory scopes do it.
3) It comes with lots of great accessories, including the nice Losmandy dovetail mount, which means he could mount a widefield scope on top, image through that, and get great wide field CCD images.
4) It comes with all of the bells and whistles that one would normally want with that scope

$1600 for all that, assuming it's all clean and works well (no frayed cables, no scratches, etc) is a great price of someone wants a SERIOUS scope that will keep them busy for years.

But...a 10 inch LX-200 is a freak HANDFUL of telescope. I would not be comfortable putting that on or off the tripod alone in the dark. With 2 people, it's trivial.

I love you Porsche guys...the $10K price tag don't even make you blink :p