Spent a fascinating afternoon birding with these three binos. Moved through the three and really could not decide which I liked more.
The lxl build quality is just lovely. The edge to edge picture is great. I do find the grip/strap loop location to be odd and puts the hold balance off kilter. The colors were lovely but a notch off the Vipers. But the biggest issue, and this was significant, was that the image sharpness was just not quite what I'd like, at least I think so. It is a tough call at times; but overall it seemed not quite as sharp as the Viper in particular. Since for me this is perhaps the most important thing it cast a slight pall over the lxl. Again, it was right on the edge.
The Viper from a build/gestalt standpoint is fine, but not great. The focusing knob glue broke loose allowing me to remove the focusing knob sleeve. Plasticy. Cheap. The diopter adjustment, not great. The body itself is pretty good. Whoever came up with the naming for these binos really needs to find another line of work. Vortex Viper? Are these for watching X games?
All that said, I do really like these binos. The thing the ultimately sways me is the combination of image crispness at the center and vibrant colors. Also, they are lighter than the lxl's. They fit in the hand just right as well. I plan to glue an old walking liberty quarter on the face of focusing knob so I don't have to read "Vortex Viper" every time I look at them. Also, they really fit the hand great - really the best of the three.
The biggest downside, and it is significant, is the very poor image quality off center. These are crisper at center than the lxl's but across the field the lxl's really shine. It is the difference between watching the whole setting and focusing on the bird. The lxl's feels like they're for nature lovers and the vortex's for listers. Not a judgement between the two, just different.
Then of course are the EII's. I've owned my black bodied pair since new (actually factory refurb) since the late 90s. They are amazing bins but I will say the two above did not shrink from comparison - all three are great mid range bins. I do have to say the field of view of the EII's are great, and the slightly lower magnification, as well as featherweight, also helps with image sharpness - you can really hold these guys very steady. The colors maybe don't snap like the Vipers, but that really doesn't matter that much to me, they're great. Nice build quality too, between the lxl's and the Vipers. Serial 805947 for those of you really geeked out.
I may just keep all three.
The lxl build quality is just lovely. The edge to edge picture is great. I do find the grip/strap loop location to be odd and puts the hold balance off kilter. The colors were lovely but a notch off the Vipers. But the biggest issue, and this was significant, was that the image sharpness was just not quite what I'd like, at least I think so. It is a tough call at times; but overall it seemed not quite as sharp as the Viper in particular. Since for me this is perhaps the most important thing it cast a slight pall over the lxl. Again, it was right on the edge.
The Viper from a build/gestalt standpoint is fine, but not great. The focusing knob glue broke loose allowing me to remove the focusing knob sleeve. Plasticy. Cheap. The diopter adjustment, not great. The body itself is pretty good. Whoever came up with the naming for these binos really needs to find another line of work. Vortex Viper? Are these for watching X games?
All that said, I do really like these binos. The thing the ultimately sways me is the combination of image crispness at the center and vibrant colors. Also, they are lighter than the lxl's. They fit in the hand just right as well. I plan to glue an old walking liberty quarter on the face of focusing knob so I don't have to read "Vortex Viper" every time I look at them. Also, they really fit the hand great - really the best of the three.
The biggest downside, and it is significant, is the very poor image quality off center. These are crisper at center than the lxl's but across the field the lxl's really shine. It is the difference between watching the whole setting and focusing on the bird. The lxl's feels like they're for nature lovers and the vortex's for listers. Not a judgement between the two, just different.
Then of course are the EII's. I've owned my black bodied pair since new (actually factory refurb) since the late 90s. They are amazing bins but I will say the two above did not shrink from comparison - all three are great mid range bins. I do have to say the field of view of the EII's are great, and the slightly lower magnification, as well as featherweight, also helps with image sharpness - you can really hold these guys very steady. The colors maybe don't snap like the Vipers, but that really doesn't matter that much to me, they're great. Nice build quality too, between the lxl's and the Vipers. Serial 805947 for those of you really geeked out.
I may just keep all three.
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