What would be a good first telescope?

[Crow T. Robot]

I am thinking of something along the lines of an apochromatic scope made by either Meade or Orion. Any thoughts?
I would primarily use it to look for DSOs.

[laurahal42]

Yeah: don't.

I second the recommendation for a Dob. More aperture is what you need for deep sky stuff.

You know the drill: hook up with local astronomers first. See what is possible. See what things actually look like. Then decide.

M13 is brighter in my 12" Dob, for example, but looks like a sparkling piece of modern art in my TOA-130. But you have to look carefully, because it's a lot dimmer.

[stargazer]

I would recommend a reflector instead of a refractor scope..(minimum of six inches)...if your goal is deep sky objects.
It's all about the seeing...and bigger is better...so the more light gathering capability the scope has..the better off you are.

Might I suggest you look at this link from Orion...Lots of good first scope choices and reasonably priced.

http://www.telescope.com/control/category/~category_id=reflectors/~pcategory=telescopes;jsessionid=69A498DB7FEAA7D7B 8EF459171B4FD79.ivprod1