MarieD:Thanks armchairal for your reply. Yes I agree these scopes are quite expensive that is why I am trying to get as much user information as possible before spending that kind of money. But I must reiterate that the gentleman who gave me that information about these Tele Vue scopes seemed extremely pleased by the product.
Again thanks
MarieD
There are a lot of people that will seem Extremely Pleased with the telescope they are recommending. Most often this opinion is biased for one reason or another. Could be that he is promoting the telescope or that he owns one himself. Nonetheless, whatever the reason, before you spend that much money on a small yet very expensive telescope I suggest you look at the night sky through one first. Find and visit a local astronomy club, attend one of there star parties, or maybe two. Members of these astronomy clubs will be more than willing to allow you to look through their telescopes and answer any questions you might have on the spot. This will allow you to make up your own mind rather than someone who seems Extremely Pleased with one particular telescope make it up for you. You might find that no matter how superior the quality of the telescope, the aperture might not offer you what you want. Look first buy later if you can. For many people a telescope 2 or 3 times larger isn't enough. You can get a pair of binoculars to see as much for much less money.
Did this person ask you what your observing goals are?
Did he explain the advantages of aperture? i.e. Light grasp, resolving power and magnification limits.
Did he ask you what kind of budget you're willing to spend?
How about the skies over your home, are they light polluted, and are you going to have to take the telescope on the road each time you want to use it?
Let me reiterate what was already mentioned by Dave. 85mm is only 85mm; It is a small telescope!
It only has a maximum useful magnification of around 170x to 180x. If you want to observer the planets with any discernible amount of detail you will want to use more than 200x magnification, preferably 250x or above; a 6" Dobsonian will allow for that.
Too many people come here disappointed when they've had their first looks at Jupiter or Saturn because it's so small and they couldn't make out details like they see in pictures, or they can't find many of the DSO's This is because the telescope they are using doesn't have the light grasp and is incapable of reaching those higher magnifications and is incapable of resolving that detail. Additionally don't judge what you should see through a telescope by what you see in pictures, It's not going to happen.
If you want to observe faint little galaxies and nebulae then you will want larger aperture, not just for the ability to use more magnification but for the increased light grasp and resolving power.
If your skies are light polluted and you can't take the telescope on the road to find a darker site for whatever reason you will again need more aperture. Aperture won't increase the effects of light pollution, but light pollution will reduce the limiting visual magnitude of any telescope, therefore larger aperture is a benefit.
The first money you should spend on this hobby should be spent at the book store. Get a copy of Night Watch by Terence Dickinson. Get a pair of Binoculars,(12 or 16x50's) and sit back in your favorite lawn chair on a clear night and scan the sky. Visit a Astronomy Club!