Speaking of scopes...
Hi Chris
Sky & Telescope has a detailed article on advanced imaging with digital cameras - even in largish amateur scopes surface features on the Galilean moons can be resolved using the new image processing gear. I was blown away by how clear Jupiter's cloud features come up in a 40 cm scope (that's 16" for all you yanks - a largish amateur scope) and Jupiter's moons are as good as Pioneer X's flyby pics.
Adam