[collinvue]

+

After a month of testing different bins, from the current crop of Chinese ED glass, Monarchs & other roofs, even several porros,
I finally found my bins.....

I live 2 hours NE of Eagle Optics in Middleton, so I drove down last weekend to find my binoculars.

Mike at EO was very open to me and he didn't push any binocular, he asked what I'v used and approx. price range.
I told him I owned Zen-Ray ED2s and tried some Nikons, we started to look.

After a while of testing CA in various binoculars, I told Mike I was looking for really good build quality,
he pulled down a pair of Vortex Vipers (I actually wouldn't have looked at them) oh my!!!

* Put it this way,...take the size of Monarchs, the ED glass of Zen-Ray and wrap that in absolutely fantastic Japanese build quality {yes they are actually made in Japan},
you have the Vortex Vipers
The Vipers have stellar clarity w/ ED glass & the FOV seems much larger in actual use.
Focus is fast, but not so fast as to overshoot your view, true pleasure.

What's most amazing to me, that Vipers are not talked about more, maybe people don't want to let the secret out .

I was able to get a verrrry good price being there in person
...thanks Mike

[kristoffer]

they are great. But they show plenty of ca and zr ed2 or zeiss fl got way better glass. I have owned all three.

[J. Moore]

Originally Posted by collinvue

What's most amazing to me, that Vipers are not talked about more, maybe people don't want to let the secret out .

They used to be highly recommended here for those seeking bang for the buck. But they've been eclipsed by all the excitement about the chinese ed's, which (according to those who have tested both) seem to have slightly better optics for a slightly lower price. But I have to work hard to see much difference optically between my 8x42 vipers and my 8x32 Swaro EL's. (Though I'm not sensitive to Chrom. Abber., so that's not a concern for me and can't speak to that for those who are sensitive). So I agree they are a great bin, and have advantages over the chinese ed's in terms of having an unconditional, transferable warranty from a company with an excellent track record, being very light weight for a full size bin, having a locking diopter, generous eye-relief, and relatively fast focus.

Cheers,
Jim

[collinvue]

Originally Posted by kristoffer

they are great. But they show plenty of ca and zr ed2 or zeiss fl got way better glass. I have owned all three.

+

The brand new model has much less CA than the older shelf tester,
Safe to say, improvements have been made.

[kristoffer]

Both the Viper and Old EL show CA, the chinese EDs does not. If you are used to the EL and is non sensitive to CA , the Viper probably looked good. But they showed too much CA for me, and the ED2/FL is really a step forward in optics evolution.

Originally Posted by J. Moore

But I have to work hard to see much difference optically between my 8x42 vipers and my 8x32 Swaro EL's. (Though I'm not sensitive to Chrom. Abber., so that's not a concern for me and can't speak to that for those who are sensitive)

Cheers,
Jim

[kristoffer]

I have not heard about this. Interesting, so new glass in this new Viper?

Originally Posted by collinvue

+

The brand new model has much less CA than the older shelf tester,
Safe to say, improvements have been made.

[oleaf]

I tried a pair of Vipers when I was looking at a quality pair of binoculars and was quite impressed. At the time there was a lot of talk about this new bino and it's excellent performance.

In the end the specs and real life performance were very good, but nothing outstanding jumped out. For the price these were nice. I think the 8x were selling for around $425 at the time ( if I remember correctly). Currently the same 8x are pushing $539. This is probably why many have lost interest. I want to ask what warranted the $100+ price increase. I know they got a lot of praise... maybe EO figured they were worth more?

If I'm wrong about my memory of pricing please chime in.

In the end I came to purchase a Meopta 7x42 (a demo model at a good discount)
These had a build quality, FOV, and performance I could not ignore and bought them.
There was a big difference between these and the Vipers. Kind of the difference of an Alpha and a viper.

The Vipers are no slouch and if I had bought them at the time I'd still be using them.

But... once I got a taste of a very wide, flat field (Meopta) I couldn't go back.

Cheers

Cheers

[NWBirder]

I tried Viper and can easily pick up the CA when I looked for it. It is not a big issue for me. But at that time, I was looking for a 7x or 8x and was not too thrilled with the narrow FOV (340ft for 8x). In the end, I got an ED2 7x36. As Oleaf says, $500+ price tag set it back a little. There are some better options out there well below that.

[J. Moore]

Originally Posted by NWBirder

was not too thrilled with the narrow FOV (340ft for 8x).

347 feet to be exact, which is pretty typical for an 8x42 roof prism. For any 8x42 under $1000 you can get a wider field of view but generally have to add weight and decrease eye relief. The viper is best for those who place a priority on the latter two features. The 5.1 ft close focus is also worth mentioning.

Best,
Jim

[kristoffer]

I like the handling of the Viper, but not the glass. I don´t like the handling of the ED2, but I like the glass. I like the handling, and the glass of the FL. Only problem was is the price

[oleaf]

Originally Posted by J. Moore

347 feet to be exact, which is pretty typical for an 8x42 roof prism. For any 8x42 under $1000 you can get a wider field of view but generally have to add weight and decrease eye relief. The viper is best for those who place a priority on the latter two features. The 5.1 ft close focus is also worth mentioning.

Best,
Jim

Hi Jim,

I agree... the FOV is pretty typical for a mid priced 8x. Same with the build and all other specs. Pretty typical.

Good typical 8x run from $275 to $395 currently. So maybe at $500+ it's playing a little out of it's field?

No dig... good binocular. I'm sure you've put yours to good use in the field.

Cheers

[Kammerdiner]

For what it's worth, I have yet to see ANY bin that has NO CA. The Zens have it. Zeiss FL has it too. I am quite sensitive to it however. I remember trying polycarbonate ("high index") eyeglass lenses once and absolutely couldn't stand them. The whole world fringed out with CA. It was like looking through a fishbowl. My eyes watered for two weeks and then I took them back. The Optometrist tried to tell me something like only 1 or 2 percent of users even notice! I said you'd have to be blind not to notice--but then again . . . clearly many don't.

And now, back to the thread . . .

[kristoffer]

Must be hard to have your eyes. The viper showed alot of CA to me, I can´t see any in the ED2 or FL. And I have perfect eyesight, but not perfect for CA detection then

Originally Posted by Kammerdiner

For what it's worth, I have yet to see ANY bin that has NO CA. The Zens have it. Zeiss FL has it too. I am quite sensitive to it however. I remember trying polycarbonate ("high index") eyeglass lenses once and absolutely couldn't stand them. The whole world fringed out with CA. It was like looking through a fishbowl. My eyes watered for two weeks and then I took them back. The Optometrist tried to tell me something like only 1 or 2 percent of users even notice! I said you'd have to be blind not to notice--but then again . . . clearly many don't.

And now, back to the thread . . .

[collinvue]

Originally Posted by kristoffer

Must be hard to have your eyes. The viper showed alot of CA to me, I can´t see any in the ED2 or FL. And I have perfect eyesight, but not perfect for CA detection then

+

I'm a very particular person,
if something bugs me even a little, I either fix it or eliminate it.

If there were alot of ca on these, there's no way I'd invest in them, period.
.....it's that minimal on the latest versions of the Vipers.
see post #4

[kristoffer]

Ok cool. Vipers without CA would be very nice bins. I really liked my Vipers, except the CA. Nice focus wheel and great handling.

Originally Posted by collinvue

+

I'm a very particular person,
if something bugs me even a little, I either fix it or eliminate it.

If there were alot of ca on these, there's no way I'd invest in them, period.
.....it's that minimal on the latest versions of the Vipers.
see post #4