Is it worth it when not auto guiding??

[Lordspace]

Is astro photography worth it when not using auto guiding?

No matter how much attention I pay to alignment it seems I am always limited to 30 seconds. 

Is this just want I will have to live with as my mount isn't capable of guiding...

Well I don't think it is anyway.

I also understand my mount and scope isn't meant to such a task as it's a fork mounted scope.

But is there anything other than spending hours on polar alignment I can do?

I have a Meade etx 90 with a reducer.

[Space Bat]

Polar alignments can be a daunting task.. it takes practice!  If you persevere eventually you will be aligned in minutes. 

You can get pole scopes for forks btw

[Lordspace]

4 minutes ago, Space Bat said:

Polar alignments can be a daunting task.. it takes practice!  If you persevere eventually you will be aligned in minutes. 

You can get pole scopes for forks btw

I didn't know you could get them, I will have to take a look.

My mount likes to make polar alignment difficult as when it spins and does it's thing to polar align some times the eyepiece is pointing to the floor so it's very awkward seeing if Polaris is in view.

[Space Bat]

Take a look 

 

http://astronomy.robpettengill.org/blindSmartPhonePolarAlign.html

[PEMS]

It is very likely going to be difficult with a Meade ETX 90.

There is no polar scope on them so any polar alignment will be approximate. Using the scope itself is not correct and invalid. Then the scope is a long focal length so what errors present gets in a way amplified and the scopes is therefore slow.

You have I suppose very little that makes your life easy for gathering images.

If using a wedge have you a Wixey for setting the angle correct and I know of little equipment that will align the mount - note, not the scope - to the NCP.

[michael8554]

1 hour ago, Lordspace said:

I also understand my mount and scope isn't meant to such a task as it's a fork mounted scope.

Most world-class professional scopes are fork mounted. 

Unlike them the ETX 90 drives have a lot of backlash and the RA has Periodic Error. 

But don't get hung up on that, make the best of what you have. 

A bolt-on polar scope will only be the start, at the long fl of the 90 you will also have to drift align to get good results at longer exposures. 

1 hour ago, PEMS said:

I know of little equipment that will align the mount - note, not the scope - to the NCP

I guess you mean the mount and scope may not be orthogonal. 

Classic Drift Alignment uses a high mag eyepiece on the scope, and PHD2 Drift Alignment uses a guidescope approximately aligned to the rig......? 

Michael 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Lordspace]

15 hours ago, PEMS said:

It is very likely going to be difficult with a Meade ETX 90.

There is no polar scope on them so any polar alignment will be approximate. Using the scope itself is not correct and invalid. Then the scope is a long focal length so what errors present gets in a way amplified and the scopes is therefore slow.

You have I suppose very little that makes your life easy for gathering images.

If using a wedge have you a Wixey for setting the angle correct and I know of little equipment that will align the mount - note, not the scope - to the NCP.

I will be using a filed reducer to make it closer to 600 focal length.

I have been looking at maybe going the drift align method to clean up what inconstancy is in the align process but as I don't have an illuminated reticle could I use my imaging camera and the capture software as the reticle?