Henry. You are correct in that a binocular even though it is claimed to be Apochromatic is never going to be as color free as a very fine Astrophysics Apochromatic refractor telescope that cost $10K. I know I am an amateur astronomer as well and I have had many fine refractor telescopes. The binocular doesn't have the necessary focal length but I think the binocular manufacturers understand this and when they say Apochromatic they just mean it is much better than an Achromat without ED glass. They all use the term through out the industry so you just have to understand what they mean by it.
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Vortex Viper UHD beats Zeiss SF and Leica Noctivid! (1 Viewer)
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I have been comparing the 8x42 UHD, FL and EDG under different lighting conditions and it very hard to decide which one is better. They are all stunning optically. The UHD and the FL with their AK prism are a little brighter than the EDG. The UHD controlled CA the best with the FL 2nd and the EDG 3rd. The UHD is almost colorless so I can see why Vortex says it is Apochromatic. The EDG and UHD have a little sharper edges than the FL. They are all better than an EL at controlling glare and the UHD and FL especially are a little sharper on-axis.The one big difference is the bigger FOV of the UHD. That extra 20 feet makes a difference and makes it stand out from the FL and the EDG. The EDG has the smoothest focuser but the UHD is very close albeit a little tighter. The FL focuser is stickier and doesn't move as smoothly as the other two. The ergonomics are great on all of them and the quality of the UHD is just as good as any alpha level binocular I have ever seen. The eye cups are perfect and the diopter on the eyepiece is superb. If I had to rank them I would place the UHD 1st and the FL and EDG tied for 2nd. The UHD WOWED me more than the other two every time I went back to it because of the bigger FOV, the excellent contrast and the superb resolution on-axis. I can see why Audubon and Best Binocular's reviewed it so highly. It is definitely an alpha binocular.
Not so really. The Vortex Razor UHD 8x42 is 1/2 the price of the alpha's at around $1250.00 but definitely in the alpha territory performance wise. They have excellent service and an unconditional warranty which matches companies like Swarovski and in ways even exceeds them. If you accidentally drop your binocular in the river Vortex will replace it. I am not sure Swarovski would even do that.
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Warranty has to do with product defects, malfunction etc. What Vortex seems to offer in the above mentioned case is not a warranty, but insurance, which costs money and is something for insurance companies, so I hope Swarovski would not replace your bino if you throw it in the river and rather use their money diligently.
Vortex's Unconditional Warranty is like an insurance policy which I am sure drives the cost of their binoculars up just like Swarovski's warranty increases the cost of their binoculars but I am sure it helps sell their binoculars especially to the hunter's whose binoculars tend to have a tougher life than a birder's binocular's.
jan van daalen
Well-known member
Dennis,
Time to stop talking and proof what you claim.
Some people believe in angels and there are even people who believe that when they throw their binocular in the river the manufacturer will replace it.
Sweet dreams or proof it. Tell them you thrown your Vortex in the river and want another one.
Time to wake up.
Jan
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Ontario
Well-known member
The Blaser pre dates the UHD very similar design looks like a pimped out Swarovski CL Nomad.
Here is a review of the Blaser Primus vs Noctivid https://huntingbinoculars.net/2019/06/28/leica-noctivid-8x42-vs-blaser-primus-8x42/
... “ It is actually a big surprise that Blaser’s optics are that good and can compete with an established producer such as Leica. Blaser has every right to be in the same category as other top-quality manufactures. Because of Abbe-König prisms it probably has the brightest image in this category of binoculars.”
The guy who sells the Blaser’s on eBay wrote this about them;
... “At the moment it is the best binoculars on the world, glass is from company Schott and maker is Wetzlar company (Carl Zeiss). I spent many time testing of binoculars, thousands of binoculars ... at the moment I can tell that binoculars from Blaser are top of the world. Images are so sharp in low light conditions, that is unbeliveble. This is oportunity for all.”
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jan van daalen
Well-known member
GSO Germany does Minox and Minox does Blaser (Japan and China OEM made).
Zeiss has nothing to do with GSO.
Jan
I wouldn't tell them I THREW it into the river! I just accidentally dropped it while in hot pursuit of a deer.
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jan van daalen
Well-known member
I wouldn't tell them I THREW it into the river! I just accidentally dropped it while in hot pursuit of a deer.
Hi Dennis,
Yes, we can joke about it, but what if......
Does Vortex replace your bin if you drop it into the water, as you stated?
Jan
Yes, they will.
"OUR VIP WARRANTY IS ABOUT YOU, NOT US.
VIP stands for a Very Important Promise to you, our customer. We will repair or replace your Vortex® product in the event it becomes damaged or defective—at no charge to you. If we cannot repair your product, we will replace it with a product in perfect working order of equal or better physical condition.
You see, it doesn't matter how it happened, whose fault it was or where you purchased it. If you ever have a problem, no matter the cause, we promise to take care of you. You can count on the VIP Warranty for all Vortex Optics riflescopes, prism scopes, red dots, rangefinders, binoculars, spotting scopes, tripods and monoculars.
UNLIMITED LIFETIME WARRANTY
FULLY TRANSFERABLE
NO RECEIPT NEEDED
The VIP Warranty does not cover loss, theft, deliberate damage or cosmetic damage that does not hinder the performance of the product."
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henry link
Well-known member
Read the last line.
jan van daalen
Well-known member
Well Dennis,
They say they don't, you say they do.....
Who to believe:-C:-C:-C
Jan
If you drop them in the river accidentally that is not deliberate. Now if you throw them in the river that is deliberate.
PYRTLE
Old Berkshire Boy
If they cannot be retrieved from river = lost...... insurance job
If they are recovered then repaired or replaced with a similarly aged but working example = warranty
Deer turns back and gorges hunter whilst scrabbling near riverbank = divine retribution, binos and rifle thrown away, Kudos to the buck.
P
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No. Just a new entry into the alpha ranks maybe at a lower price point that is more affordable. I like alpha's too much for them to die. I still think the Tract Toric HD and now UHD is close to an alpha view but the FOV always held it back and still holds it back from competing with the big boys. The Vortex UHD has the FOV to compete with the alpha's so I think if you are looking at alpha's you should take a look at it especially if you are under budgetary constraints. Other options are used older alpha's like the Zeiss FL and Nikon EDG. I picked up a new Zeiss FL 8x42 for $1200.00 on Ebay and it is still competitive with anything out there. The same with the EDG's. The only reason I ranked the Vortex UHD 1st was IMO it has as good of a view as the FL and the EDG but the FOV was bigger. The Vortex Razor UHD 8x42 reminds me of the Zeiss SF view even though it beat it in the Audubon Review or the Swarovski EL 8x32 except brighter than both with the AK prism. It is that good.
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Steve C
Well-known member
As to the Vortex warranty, it comes down to having a binocular or its remains to send to Vortex for warranty repair/replacement. Vortex will replace much I don't think they should. For example, leave the binocular on top of the car and drive away, Vortex warranty covers you. If Dennis could retrieve the binocular from the river, he may be in luck, if not he's probably out of luck. I have an acquaintance who is a recently retired Vortex dealer, and he has many tales of what he has sent back to Vortex and what they did with the returned binocular.
Now I had a chance today to go hands on with a new Vortex Razor UHD 10x42. Side by side with my Maven B 2 9x45. It takes no imagination or great leap of faith to tell where the inspiration for the UHD came from. Aside from the obviously identical form factor of the frame and different color and texture of the armor, they pretty much look identical. The quality of the images are virtually indistinguishable as well. There is a bit of apples to oranges in that the objective size and the magnification are different. It was a gray, rainy day and take this for what it is, a first impression.
I hesitate greatly to seem to agree with Dennis, for his opinions are so ephemeral , his stance the UHD may change by the end of the thread. But as he currently expresses his opinion, the UHD is a solidly built binocular, with superb optics. Both of which are alpha worthy in comparison with Zeiss, Leica, and Swarovski. The same thing applies to the Maven B 2. If I had a UHD, would I be interested in a B 2? Probably not. If I had a B 2, would I be interested in a UHD? Again. probably not. If I was in the market for this sort of a binocular, which would I choose? At this point I can't say for adequate time with both had not occurred.
There are a couple of things which may not bode well for the UHD. The first is the focus, which is counterclockwise to infinity, is excruciatingly slow. Far too slow I think to appeal as a dedicated birding glass. It was not possible to get an accurate idea of how many turns of the focus wheel the UHD had, but it took at least twice as many finger pushes or pulls to go from close to infinity and back as it did on the Maven. Once past about 60-75t feet, again distances were not able to be accurately measured, the Vortex became better, but for close in birding, far too much time and effort would have to be applied to the UHD focus as desirable. The focus was also extremely stiff. I would not put a lot of stake in this, as it may well ease up wit use. Perhaps Vortex could lighten it up if sent in to them, but I don't know. Just trust me that this one was stiff enough to discourage many users. The close focus is around four and a half feet. I can just about focus on the toe of my boot.
The second thing, which I can only note as an observation, is the extension of the eye cup. All the way out was fine for me, but I don't wear glasses with binoculars. They certainly feel and act solid enough, but there are only two positions. All the way down and all the way up. The potential problem lies in the fact there is only maybe 3 mm of total movement present. How this will seem for various eye glass wearers, I can't say, but check it out before you buy.
They are a bit on the large side, but I have little sympathy for those thy say "too big" before using them. I realize size is an issue for a lot of people, but in spite of earlier comments on their being awkward, I find them, like the B 2, to be quite well balanced and easy to center your object when rapidly brought to bear on your target.
The thing with evaluating binoculars is to ignore that it says something like Vortex or Maven and prejudge them. Likewise it is best not to prejudge because it has the brand of a favorite product. Just let the binocular tell you its tale. Aside from the focus, the UHD tells a pretty good story
The UHD, like the Maven B2, would surprise no one if it came in the appearance of a Zeiss or Swarovski. I note that the price of this one, at the local Sportsman's Warehouse was $1,599. I see the Vortex site starts of with the 8x42 at $2,099.
Now I had a chance today to go hands on with a new Vortex Razor UHD 10x42. Side by side with my Maven B 2 9x45. It takes no imagination or great leap of faith to tell where the inspiration for the UHD came from. Aside from the obviously identical form factor of the frame and different color and texture of the armor, they pretty much look identical. The quality of the images are virtually indistinguishable as well. There is a bit of apples to oranges in that the objective size and the magnification are different. It was a gray, rainy day and take this for what it is, a first impression.
I hesitate greatly to seem to agree with Dennis, for his opinions are so ephemeral , his stance the UHD may change by the end of the thread. But as he currently expresses his opinion, the UHD is a solidly built binocular, with superb optics. Both of which are alpha worthy in comparison with Zeiss, Leica, and Swarovski. The same thing applies to the Maven B 2. If I had a UHD, would I be interested in a B 2? Probably not. If I had a B 2, would I be interested in a UHD? Again. probably not. If I was in the market for this sort of a binocular, which would I choose? At this point I can't say for adequate time with both had not occurred.
There are a couple of things which may not bode well for the UHD. The first is the focus, which is counterclockwise to infinity, is excruciatingly slow. Far too slow I think to appeal as a dedicated birding glass. It was not possible to get an accurate idea of how many turns of the focus wheel the UHD had, but it took at least twice as many finger pushes or pulls to go from close to infinity and back as it did on the Maven. Once past about 60-75t feet, again distances were not able to be accurately measured, the Vortex became better, but for close in birding, far too much time and effort would have to be applied to the UHD focus as desirable. The focus was also extremely stiff. I would not put a lot of stake in this, as it may well ease up wit use. Perhaps Vortex could lighten it up if sent in to them, but I don't know. Just trust me that this one was stiff enough to discourage many users. The close focus is around four and a half feet. I can just about focus on the toe of my boot.
The second thing, which I can only note as an observation, is the extension of the eye cup. All the way out was fine for me, but I don't wear glasses with binoculars. They certainly feel and act solid enough, but there are only two positions. All the way down and all the way up. The potential problem lies in the fact there is only maybe 3 mm of total movement present. How this will seem for various eye glass wearers, I can't say, but check it out before you buy.
They are a bit on the large side, but I have little sympathy for those thy say "too big" before using them. I realize size is an issue for a lot of people, but in spite of earlier comments on their being awkward, I find them, like the B 2, to be quite well balanced and easy to center your object when rapidly brought to bear on your target.
The thing with evaluating binoculars is to ignore that it says something like Vortex or Maven and prejudge them. Likewise it is best not to prejudge because it has the brand of a favorite product. Just let the binocular tell you its tale. Aside from the focus, the UHD tells a pretty good story
The UHD, like the Maven B2, would surprise no one if it came in the appearance of a Zeiss or Swarovski. I note that the price of this one, at the local Sportsman's Warehouse was $1,599. I see the Vortex site starts of with the 8x42 at $2,099.
Good comments, Steve. The focus is pretty stiff but I think it will loosen up with use as you say. Mine is already loosening up. I think focus speed can be personal preference with some people preferring slower focusers so you don't overshoot like you can with some extremely fast focusers. The tightness and speed of the focuser could be that the UHD is targeted more at hunter's than birder's and many hunter's prefer a tighter, slower focuser because they are glassing large areas at long distance where they don't change focus often and they don't want their focuser to be moving too easily. The good thing it is very smooth with no slack or play. Having three Habicht's this focuser doesn't seem stiff at all! I agree that their should be a little more extension in the eye cups. They are a little short and it could be a problem for some people. Do the Maven B2's have as sharp of edges as the UHD? It has been awhile since I looked through a Maven but I was impressed with the big sweet spot and sharp edges of the UHD being almost SV sharp. The UHD do seem large at first but like you say when you use them you quickly forget their size because of their excellent balance. You are correct in that there are a lot of similarities to the Maven but the problem is that Maven does not have an 8x42 with anything near the 420 foot FOV of the UHD and that for me is the deal killer. That surprises me because 8x42 is the most popular birding binocular size. The 9x45 B2 is nice but I prefer the much larger FOV of the UHD 8x42 and all the advantages that go with 8x including DOF and the steadier view. Even the 7x45 B2 Maven has a very tunnel like 388 foot FOV for a 7x. I think for an all around binocular 8x42 is hard to beat and Maven should make an 8x42 with at least a 400 foot FOV to compete with the Zeiss SF, Swarovski SV and the Noctivid. You can get the Vortex Razor UHD 8x42 for $1250.00 at Sport Optics which makes it pretty competitive at it's price point.
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