I thought those 'amateur' photos of Jupiter's moons were all fakes until I saw one from a guy in my town using a $500 scope. | Astronomy Photos - Vivisector
Totally get that feeling. My buddy showed me Saturn through his basic reflector last year and it blew my mind. You could clearly see the rings, just like a tiny sketch in the sky. That was the push I needed to finally get my own used scope off the classifieds. What kind of setup does your local guy use?
That first view of Saturn really changes everything, doesn't it? My local guy uses a big Dobsonian reflector, which gathers so much light the planets look incredibly sharp. Makes me wonder what deep sky objects would look like through a scope like that.