Well, in terms of ease of care, I would say that photosynthetic soft corals and non-photosynthetic corals, in general, are at exact opposites of the spectrum. Soft corals do well as long as there is light and decent water quality. Most non-photosynthetic corals require practically non-stop feeding along with excellent water quality. That said, soft corals can do very well in tanks designed for non-photosynthetic corals, provided they have sufficient lighting. In my tank, I use an LED spotlight directed in one particular area, which is covered with Cespitularia. The Cespitularia grows like mad and I have to constantly cut it back to keep it from encroaching on my other corals. It seems to benefit from the high nutrient input in my tank.
Since you are beginner, do not try any non-photosynthetic corals until you have a lot more experience under your belt with other easier corals and until you have done tons of research into what it takes to keep non-photo corals. There are plenty of threads on this forum that describe the methods people are using to keep these corals. Keep in mind, however, that for many of these non-photo corals, we are really only just beginning to understand what it takes to keep these corals alive. We are applying unproven methods and seeing what works. It's frontier territory out here.
In the meantime, there are in fact some soft corals that are sort of on the cusp between photosynthetic and non-photosynthetic. These corals seem to need good lighting, but also benefit from the feeding required in a non-photo tank. These are corals such as Lemnalia sp. and Stereonephthya (
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=597+1492+2295+2548&pcatid=2548). If you start with a soft coral tank, these might be good corals to attempt as a sort of intermediate between photosynthetic and non-photosynthetic. Also, photosynthetic gorgonians (photosynthetic versions of the "tall branch corals" you see in Merriq's tank) are good candidates. They aren't as colorful, but they have similar requirements.