Other people have different opinions. Solicit them, either passively from reviews, or actively from experienced amateur astronomers, either in person or on internet newsgroups and mailing lists . Factors to Consider Budget. This will possibly be the most important constraint for a beginner. If you will need to transport the telescope to a dark site, make sure that you can easily get it in and out of the vehicle.
Tight fits are no fun in the dark.
Ease of set-up. By definition, a telescope that is not used is useless. Astro targets of interest. The requirements for observing detail on the Moon and bright planets are different to those for detecting faint fuzzies. If you want to attempt anything other than very short exposures, you will need a good equatorial mount with an RA drive at the very least.