I too was in the market for a polar alignment scope .... to help with "quick
and accurate polar alignment for astrophotography." My two (only) choices
were the Tuthill scope ($300+) and the JMI scope ($200+).

I contacted every astrophotographer I knew, or could get in touch with, and
the consensus was that I would be throwing away good money. They all agreed
that a polar alignment scope would get the main scope in the "ballpark" of
being polar aligned for astrophotography. However, it would still need to be
aligned using the drift method to achieve any accuracy whatsoever.

The question I needed to answer for myself was, "How much was a "ballpark"
alignment worth?" Surely, not $200+ .... and definitely not $300+. You can
get that close with no polar alignment scope at all.

I say that if you are going to do ONLY visual observation with your scope,
then there is no need for a polar alignment scope (I think we can all agree
on that). If your mission is astrophotography, then at some point during
setup you will need to do a drift alignment. To me, this nullifies the need
(and cost) of a polar alignment scope.

My two cents!

V/R
Pat Lanclos
http://members.aol.com/skysgt/index

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