Sandblaster recommendations for a small shop?

[trevarthan]

I've been planning to buy a compressor and sandblaster for a while now to help restore my 1971 chevy C10.

I've decided the most I can afford will be a 7.5HP reciprocating type compressor. Either this one new from Amazon/NorthernTool, or else a good quality used one on craigslist for half the price: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BJ2F97M
I know that won't let me sandblast using large nozzles or sandblast constantly. However, I think it will work well for small parts, and I'll be able to use it on large parts with reduced efficiency. I just don't think I can get by without one. The ability to strip paint from metal and repaint is too important.

Feel free to tell me I'm crazy and why, but that's where I've landed on the compressor for now.

The part I'm still undecided on is the sandblaster itself. NorthernTool has this one for $189, and this seems to be what most people use for light duty use: http://www.northerntool.com/shop/too...ct_17798_17798

However, there is also this vacuum blaster for $500: http://www.northerntool.com/shop/too...5367_200435367

It costs more, so there are fewer reviews and I'm not sure what to think of it. The advantage seems to be that you get to recycle your media and make less of a mess, which seems like a really awesome advantage. The disadvantage is that it costs a bit more and it doesn't seem to cut as quickly.

At the moment, I'm thinking the ability to recycle media outweighs (and pays for the price of the blaster) the slower cutting speed.

Any thoughts on this from experienced users? I've never used either type before, so I have no practical baseline.