I purchased a G-8 (on teh CG5) last december...and am kind of disappointment - it has been rewarding spending hours fixing that mount, dishing out extra cash to make it work better - the slo-mo is jerky, there is too much to be desired. you were right, it is a no brainer. it is far more stable as well - the CG5 can only barely hold the telescope (13 lbs or so)...and is rated at 15...so that's cutting it too close. as for astrophotography, forget that at this price range. you'd need at least synta's eq6 (not a bad idea - aka Orion's new Atlas mount - www.telescope.com ) or a losmandy mount. For now I just use the CG5 for strictly visual use, and take the scope off to take widefield photos with my camera. It will suffice for now anyway. I plan to upgrade soon to a much stronger mount.