Need advice on Zen Ray ED2 20-60x82 (1 Viewer)

Was doing some research on the ZR ED2 and came across a post on birdforum (by henry link) where he mentioned

henry link said:

Whew!...this review has been a long time coming. I received the first test specimen of the Zen-Ray ED2 scope way back in late December and a replacement for it in early January. I considered both of those to be too defective (or damaged) for a fair review.

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I'm interested to know exactly what "defects" he found that rendered the scope not worthy of review (tried to PM henry directly, but apparently his box is full and it would not allow).

I am interested in purchasing one of these spotting scopes (as I have found them on sale), but I want to make sure I'm not getting a "lemon". I have no experience in how to test the optics to determine quality. What should I look for in determining I have an undamaged, non defective unit?

Would a local camera shop be able to test the optics?



Any advice is greatly appreciated.

If I remember correctly both of Henry's first two units star-tested poorly. Star testing is basically pointing the scope at a pinpoint light source while cranking the magnification to maximum and/or using a magnification booster. You then turn the focus in and out of perfect focus to see what the diffraction rings look like. Henry posted some excellent illustrative pics of this in one of the threads.

Go to the search function in the upper right and do a quick search for star testing in this forum.

As far as I can tell Zen-Ray is no worse than other similarly priced brands when it comes to defective units. I'm sorry to say even the most expensive scopes are far from immune. I just wouldn't buy any scope unless I could test it first or return it easily.

If you don't want to learn how to test a scope I would suggest just pointing it at a not too distant target (about 100') at 60x. Something with tiny details like a $1 bill will do. Don't bother with lower magnifications. Those can look fine even if the scope is defective. A good specimen should snap into a reasonably sharp focus at 60x. With a bad one you'll find yourself focusing back and forth hunting for a sharp image that never quite happens.

Zen-Ray has a good returns policy and I think you can trust Charles at Zen-Ray to go the extra mile to make you happy.

Thank you Henry (and frank). I appreciate the assistance.

Do you happen to know what the maximum effective distance for a 20-60x82 optic would be for viewing bullet holes in a target? I want to use this for a spotting scope for long range target shooting. The optics I'm currently using on my sniper rifle is a Nightforce NSX 5.5-22x56. I'd like to start trying some targets at 500 yards, which I can see pretty well with my rifle scope...eventually moving out to 1000 yards.

I just want to make sure this will be the spotting scope I need.

FM,

I don't have much experience with competitive shooting so I can't comment from personal experience.

I can offer two bits of advice though.

1. At that distance any scope's performance is going to be compromised more by environmental conditions (heat shimmer) rather than anything else. So, even if you had the best specimen of the highest performing scope on the market then it isn't going to be of much use if there is a great deal of "haze" in the air.

2. Assuming you get a good specimen of any scope of this quality level I certainly think that 60x with an 82 mm scope should be sufficient for your intended usage.

Sorry, I don't know anything about detecting bullet holes.

FrankD said:

FM,

I don't have much experience with competitive shooting so I can't comment from personal experience.

I can offer two bits of advice though.

1. At that distance any scope's performance is going to be compromised more by environmental conditions (heat shimmer) rather than anything else. So, even if you had the best specimen of the highest performing scope on the market then it isn't going to be of much use if there is a great deal of "haze" in the air.

2. Assuming you get a good specimen of any scope of this quality level I certainly think that 60x with an 82 mm scope should be sufficient for your intended usage.

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Thank you, sir. Much appreciated.


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