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Waterproof EII's? (1 Viewer)

D

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The new Vortex Talon 8x32 HD's are shipping FINALLY! I ordered a pair to see if they are a waterproof EII. The attraction is the 9.1 AFOV which converts to a 477' FOV(Wider than the EII's). That has to be the widest FOV on a modern roof prism binocular in the 8x32 format which is my favorite. The rest of the specifications look good with HD glass for CA control so I will see how they perform compared to my 8x32 EDG II and 8x32 Sightron Blue Sky II. The downfall will probably be the edge sharpness(or lack of) but we will see. Hopefully they will have a large sweetspot like the EII's. Here is the link if you want to try them. About an EII price @ $429.00.

http://www.opticsplanet.net/vortex-talon-hd-8x32-binoculars.html
 
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Seems like a whole lot of features and technology for the money. The EII is so old timey and simple, and commands its price with hardly a "feature", only quality. This will be interesting. Looking forward to your comparison Dennis.
Ron
 
Yes, but the EII has the advantage of simplicity like any porro. It will be interesting to see if technology can surpass a simple elegant design. Probably not.The comparison will be from memory on the EII but I do have the EDG and Sightron in house and they are not to shabby.
 
Will be interested in your experience with that Talon. Still out-of-stock at the company store (Eagleoptics).
 
I'm also intrigued by this binocular, but I don't know how OpticsPlanet would have it if EagleOptics doesn't. Look forward to your comments.

David
 
I can`t believe how lucky you are on the other side of the Atlantic, you write its about the same price as an EII, over here an EII is £399, thats $625.
 
They do look very "Swaro", even the little Vortex logo on the left tube reminds me of the Swaro bird, not unlike like the oh so many Rolex Submariner "homages".
 
Torview said:
They do look very "Swaro"
Click to expand...

well, all of the current versions of China-clone open bridge greenish ED binoculars obviously owe some design heritage to the Swaro EL's. When I would go around with my Zen ED3's many people would assume without looking closely that they were Swaros.

The Vortex Talons though definitely hew the closest in aesthetics.

I'm excited that these are finally shipping although like others I'm skeptical considering Eagle Optics still shows them out-of-stock. Optics Planet sometimes advertises things as available when they aren't....

Based on my experience with the Zen-Ray ED's and other Vortex products, I would not expect an ultra-wide sweet spot especially with that super wide FOV. I would expect outstanding brightness/contrast and color rendition (dielectric prisms and Vortex's high end multicoatings), excellent center field sharpness, low CA, solid build quality with a smooth focus knob, but significant pincushion and mediocre edge performance.
 
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Those are going to be big oculars in that bin to see the full field (about 23.4mm minimum diameter if I got the maths right).

That should be easy to check.
 
Kevin Purcell said:
Those are going to be big oculars in that bin to see the full field (about 23.4mm minimum diameter if I got the maths right).

That should be easy to check.
Click to expand...

I just got a e-mail from Optics Planet saying that the Vortex Talon's 8x32 were still on backorder. So I just cancelled my order until they really do come in. Your right about Optics Planet. They say they have stuff when they really don't.
 
I asked Vortex a few weeks ago when to expect them.... this was there answer.

"Thanks for contacting Vortex Optics. Look for the new 32 mm Talon HD's to be available mid June.
Thanks again
Tim"

Bill...
 
Hello all,

With those specifications, I would be concerned how soft are the edges and if there might be vignetting. I'll wait for someone to examine them and give a report. The laws of physics being what they are, I suspect that the EII and the s Leitz Binuxit were pushing the envelope on the design compromise.

Happy bird watching,
Arthur Pinewood :hi:
 
Newbflat said:
I asked Vortex a few weeks ago when to expect them.... this was there answer.

"Thanks for contacting Vortex Optics. Look for the new 32 mm Talon HD's to be available mid June.
Thanks again
Tim"

Bill...
Click to expand...

I contacted Vortex a couple months ago about the Talon and they said mid May. So I don't think they really know when they will ship. I am in Grand Junction Colorado so I went over to Cabellas and tried some binoculars because they have alot of binoculars. I tried the Vortex Talon 8x42 HD which is the 8x32's big brother and was not impressed at all. The focus wheel was stiff and almost sloppy feeling to start with and the optics were not that great. As everybody has said they had very soft edges and really not that big of a sweet spot. They were typical Chinese quality too meaning pretty cheap looking and feeling similar to a Zen Ray. I am sure the 8x32mm Vortex Talon HD would be very similar to the 42mm. So I am glad I cancelled my order on the Vortex Talons 8x32 HD's. I also tried the Yosemite 8x30 porro's and found then to be pretty cheap and fair optics at best. I guess they are not bad for $99.00 but you get what you pay for. They did not have the new Swarovski Swarovision 8x32's in yet so I could not try those. As I have said before "Once you have Alpha it's hard to go backa". The EDG's just make all these other binoculars look cheap.

"Based on my experience with the Zen-Ray ED's and other Vortex products, I would not expect an ultra-wide sweet spot especially with that super wide FOV. I would expect outstanding brightness/contrast and color rendition (dielectric prisms and Vortex's high end multicoatings), excellent center field sharpness, low CA, solid build quality with a smooth focus knob, but significant pincushion and mediocre edge performance."

Pretty much right on the money except change the build quality to typical Chinese build quality (meaning cheap) and a stiff not smooth focus knob.
 
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Dennis:

You are a "pretty good" judge of optics, and I am thinking your thoughts here are
in line with much of what has been posted on the Nikon 8x30 EII, and SE.

The Nikon porros are very good, and I don't think you, or anyone will find any of the lesser Chinese types you refer to are an equal to the class of the Nikon EII, SE, and EDG.

I agree with a lot of your findings.

Jerry
 
NDhunter said:
Dennis:

You are a "pretty good" judge of optics, and I am thinking your thoughts here are
in line with much of what has been posted on the Nikon 8x30 EII, and SE.

The Nikon porros are very good, and I don't think you, or anyone will find any of the lesser Chinese types you refer to are an equal to the class of the Nikon EII, SE, and EDG.
Click to expand...

well, no offense, but I don't think it's fair to judge these binoculars based upon the strawman that Dennis set up with the title of this thread. Nobody besides him claimed that these would realistically compare to high-end Nikon optics. Realistic expectations are pretty helpful ;)
 
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