Refractors vs Reflector Telescopes?

[Kuji]

I'd like to buy my first telescope soon. My question is what would be better for viewing the solar system and several deep sky objects:

A 5" Reflector (Orion)

A 3" Refractor (Celestron)

I know the refractor will yield sharper images, but will the greater light and aperture of the reflector win out?

Do you think these are good beginner scopes?

Thanks!

[Falcon]

The first thing I think you should do is find the closest astronomical society and contact them about going to their meetings. Then go to their star parties and look through different scopes until you know what you want.

If it was me, I'd get the reflector because it is bigger and will gather more light on dim fuzzy objects. If it is well collimated it will do pretty good on planets too. The refractor may be better on planets, but you lose more possible objects because of the smaller objective.

[philip d]

What makes you think that the refractor will give you sharper images? Unless the reflector is real garbage, the larger aperture will always win out for general use. The refractor may be smaller and thus easier to move about, but the 5 incher will have over twice the light gathering surface to work with. The best advice is to go to a star party hosted by a local astro club. You get actual hands on experience and will quickly see what kind of scope fits your needs best. There is no substitute for actual use of the equipment. Clear skies,

[skywalker]

reflector is better because it gathers much more light, which is important, I mean viewing the planets if fun, but your missing out on thousands of deep-sky objects which keep you busy, and wondering.
remember, in astronomy, BIGGER is better!