looksharp65
Well-known member
I have copied and pasted my own (and Bill S's) replies from a thread where I wanted advice on choosing the Zen Ray 7x36. Finally I ended up with a Vortex Fury, and I think more birders would use it if they were aware of its features. So I thought it would be better not to hide it in the ZenRay thread.
I hope for more opinions from y'all, and that more of you should try it.
http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?p=1864541#post1864541
I hope for more opinions from y'all, and that more of you should try it.
http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?p=1864541#post1864541
So, the Vortex Fury arrived the other day. Earlier reviews have stated it's a bin of extraordinary value, and I can only agree. To summarize my thoughts about it, "Ease of view - instantly" would be the best expression. It will definitely fulfill its purpose and I doubt I will ever look back for a replacement for it, unless Vortex will make an XD version, or rather, reconstruct the Viper 6x32 to the Fury's wide FOV.
I am saying this because it has a CA that is not quite negligible, and it shows around the edges as well as on-axis. However only when the contrast is very high.
The outer-edge performance is quite poor, and it is not a matter of field curvature like my Minox HG. However, the usable sweet spot is very adequate for birding.
AFOV is satisfactory, eye-relief is glorious, depth-of-field is very deep and eye placement is very forgiving even with glasses. Ergonomics are more than adequate and weight is not embarrasing. Focusing is not very stiff and goes clockwise to infinity like my old Zeiss.
Since the weather has been overcast I have not really been able to judge the straylight, ghosting and contrast. But compared to my Minox it appears as dead even, possibly with an edge to the Vortex when it comes to straylight, but on the other hand the Vortex occasionally has produced a reflection in the eyepieces when light comes from behind while the Minox didn't.
[EDIT]: In the daylight of this overcast day, the Fury's lack of glare is astounding. The Minox showed some flare in the lower part of the image, but it would disappear when using the hand to shade the front lenses. The old Zeiss was similar, though slightly worse.
But the street lamp test gave another result: the Minox performed extremely well here. The Fury had clearly visible spikes (yes, multiple) in one of the barrels, but not in the other. Somewhat disturbing but it does not really seem to have any negative impact on its performance in real use. [STOP EDIT]
I say every bespectacled birder should own one of these, if not as their prime instrument, then at least as a back-up or lending pair.
It is hard for me to imagine any rivalling binocular that gives as easy, super fast bird spotting with relaxed vision as the Fury does. The price level is a bargain and the warranty superior.
So, to me the choice between the Nikon Action EX and the ZenRay ended up in the Vortex, somewhat unexpected but really nice.
I would like to add some more comments on the performance of the Fury 6,5x32.
The edge performance is not actually bad, and the sweet spot is very large as measured in degrees. The difference to my Minox is that the latter has a major curvature of field, but refocused it is very sharp all the way to the edge. The Fury has a virtually flat field, and refocusing does not improve the edge sharpness.
The Fury's exit pupil should let in about 40% more light than the Minox's. But I have to struggle to see any difference in the dim light after dawn. It is marginally brighter when watching shadowy areas in shrubberies (i.e. high contrast), which is very positive, since this is the way I intended to use it. But when looking on larger areas with less contrast, like meadows with high yellow grass in the dawn, the difference in illumination is not discernible.
If you wonder how much less the magnification is in reality, I can tell when I change to my 8x it feels like changing from 8x to 10x.
Watching very small and distant details does not really reveal any more detail when moving to the 8x. Of course, there might be situations where the lack of magnification makes a bird identification too hard. But then again, it performs the best when used for shorter distance.
So speed, eyeglass-friendliness and ergonomics is what the Fury is about. It does it thanks to its huge FOV, huge eye-relief, huge depth of field and its modest magnification. Theoretically, some details could be improved, but these above-mentioned properties are by far more important than extreme edge sharpness or total lack of CA.
I wholeheartedly agree. Sometimes ease of use can be more important than optical perfection. I have used many 6X to 7X binoculars and most are easy and pleasant to use, but the Fury is in a class by itself. The eye-relief is perfect for me. The focus is smooth and fast, but not too fast, and in the correct direction (CW to infinity). The ergonomics are excellent. I'm surprised that more people are not singing its praises on this forum. Sure, it has a little too much CA in some situations, but I would never part with it. I was recently birding at Bosque del Apache and I ended up using the Fury and leaving my 7X42 Ultravid in the car all day!