Hi Patrick, As you may recall I had a 20" R-C when I lived in Salt Lake. This was at a time when CCD cameras were just coming out so I almost always used it with an eyepiece. The central obstruction isn't a problem except when the seeing is extremely good. I did shoot images with film and they came out good except for the slight field curvature due to the R-C design. With that said, taking a camera on and off for eyepiece use still will require you to align, focus and take new flats for the camera. The difference between running your C-14 at f/5 with a focal reducer and the 8" R-C at f/8 is only a couple of inches so the FOV would be about the same. And again with that said, a new telescope is always fun and often can't be justified on a logical basis. Good luck on your decision. Jerry Foote ScopeCraft, Inc. 4175 E. Red Cliffs Dr. Kanab, UT 84741 435-899-1255 jfoote@scopecraft.com