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That's true. I could go out and buy a Dobsonian "light bucket" relatively cheap, but it's useless for astrophotography.
As for a well-built, quality 12.5 inch Newtonian, it's just too big, heavy and ungainly for many people.
A Schmidt-Cassegrain or Matsukov will do beautifully, but we're talking some serious bucks here.
But hey! Got too much time and money? Here's a new wallet-slimming hobby!
Wish I could afford to do that, though...

I got to help do that digital spectum layering on the Triffid nebula
at Table Mountain two years ago...The difference in Detail is INCREDIBLE
You really felt like you were getting a feel for the distribution of elements
in the picture...whole regions would be Dark in Red and lit up in Blue or whatever.
Putting the images together was so easy thanks to the software...I wouldn't do
film astrophotography after seeing what the CCD can do and its just in its
INFANCY! Makes me want to go shoot out all the streetlamps in Seattle!!!
I'm glad people get to read about the technology behind these images BEAM P7...
Excellent POST!