Good wedge vs. EQ Mount

I'm still looking for a good GEM & I thought I was going to get an Orion Atlas yesterday but someone else got to it first..... I've been wondering though if a really good wedge like a Mitty or Milburn would be a close enough equivalent to a GEM like the Atlas. (for taking pics of course)

My considerations are:

I love my LX200 GPS. I have a real winner and don't really want to give it up.
I could use it in Alt/Az for visual or Polar for pics if I had a wedge.
I'm 100% portable so neither setup would be permanently mounted.

So, overall, is a dedicated GEM worth it?

I know what you mean about the LX200, when you get a good one they're hard to part with. As far as the wedge goes, there are plenty of people who make them work well. Many of them have observatories so getting the rig aligned and balanced is a lot less daunting than using it as a mobile set up. With practice the alignment will become easier but I found it to be more work than I was willing to go through on precious imaging nights. My back injury also played a role in switching to a GEM for a "safer" set up process. As long as you're young and healthy the 10" is no problem but it will be more tricky lifting it up onto a wedge. It'll require more effort.

Proper balance as with any mount will be crucial to get the most from the LX200. I never quite mastered that with mine before selling to get the G-11.

The imagers that I know that started with a fork mount almost always ended up with a GEM down the road. It's simply the right tool for the job in my opinion.

Jeff - been there done that and got the GEM.

There are whole load of other issues with the Meade that for me at least made it a great visual tool but with issues as an imaging setup. I never managed to get PEC under control and getting an 8" onto a wedge is a scary feat never mind the 10". Balance becomes hyper critical to avoid stressing the gear train that in all honestly is not really made for it. Add in in the issues of imaging with an SCT in the first place and I gave up and splashed out on an EQ6 Pro. On a good night I can be out and imaging in 20minutes and that includes setting up a guider. No more collimation, no near hernias and no spikes in every 3rd frame. Now if we could just get rid of this cloud....