Have you considered glass in lieu of ballisters? We have a small egress deck leading onto our patio and wanted the view unobstructed. Some photos can be seen from the "my page" link on the album entitled patio/backyard. Maybe an idea.

I really like Salmo Slayers rail shown in the previous post.

The Porch Guy

Here is a link that might be useful: My Album

Not sure if you like the cable rail system but it really preserves the views with minimal obstruction. Reasonably low maintainence as well. Here is a pic of one on a house I did for my GF recently.

I really like the look of the glass 'stripes' (not a full glass panel - I think you would loose airflow).

http://www.ufpi.com/product/deckorators/balusters/scenic.htm

However it was out of our budget for now... so we went with the basic black Aluminum Balusters..... I think it impededs the view less then wood would.