I suppose there are exceptions, especially from the city where finding stars or anything that isn`t high magnitude or brighter. Dobs are considered good beginner scopes if they are simple. My thought is if you are going to do alot of star gazing, might as well get a scope that will perform for you for awhile. 6" or even an 8" is an ideal size scope in the Dobsonian family. Have fun and clear skies!!