When I was up in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming this summer I was observing butterflies with two other people and it was an open meadow in between the woods and you could spot the butterflies from a long distance away hovering above the flowers and vegetation even with your eyes. Most of them were smaller species also. There were many different species. I think it all depends on your habitat.
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Vortex Viper UHD beats Zeiss SF and Leica Noctivid! (1 Viewer)
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I received the Vortex Razor UHD 18x56 but I am going to move my comments over to the Razor UHD 18x56 thread. Here it is https://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=378445&page=3. If you want to keep discussing the UHD 8x42 here that is fine. I will respond.
For sure you can enjoy views of butterflies drifting about a meadow but if you want to identify species, unless you are very familiar with the butterflies in the area you are visiting, it is frequently the case that you need the butterfly to land on something so you can study the upperwing or underwing or both. This is when vegetation often gets in the way from even close distances.
But I am only being half serious. Some of the time this can be an annoying impediment and some of the time not.
Lee
Hermann
Well-known member
Nope. 18x binoculars are neither fish nor flesh. Too much magnification handheld, and not enough magnification compared to a scope on a tripod. And they're utterly unsuitable for observing butterflies due to the very small depth of field.
Posts like this make me wonder if you actually use binoculars in the field.
Hermann
PYRTLE
Old Berkshire Boy
A pair here for sale, interesting reason why they are no longer a "keeper"
.https://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=385924
.https://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=385924
He's been trying to sell those for a while over on rokslide as well, to no avail. I hope he can sell them, but as I said earlier it's a terrible price point for a Vortex.
You need to try the Vortex Razor UHD's. I think you might change your mind. Everybody's is entitled to their opinion though. I personally hate Meopta's because the two pair I had were disasters quality wise. The Razor UHD's are as good and better than a lot of the alpha's costing $2k and over IMO. At $1.2K to $1.5K they are a remarkable value. I think the seller is asking a little too much for those because I bought my Razor UHD 18x56's new for $1.5K. He should have them listed at $1.3K for an open box pair. I have never had a problem selling Vortex's on the used market. In fact they are one of the fastest selling binoculars in my experience maybe next to Swarovski's. Now try and sell a Leica and they well sell but it will take a lot longer.
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Dennis, I did try the new UHD for a brief period of time, inside the Cabela's store in Dallas. I thought the optics were great, but quite frankly the ergos sucked, big time. No way, no how would I spend anywhere near that money on a Vortex UHD. IF they were $1000 I would have an easier time justifying the cost. Then again I see the Razor HD as a good $650 bino, not $950
What would you expect the seller to say about something he' selling......."they suck but I want $1500 anyway"????? They've been for sale on Rokslide since Jan 21st.
What would you expect the seller to say about something he' selling......."they suck but I want $1500 anyway"????? They've been for sale on Rokslide since Jan 21st.
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PYRTLE
Old Berkshire Boy
The guy has had 3 different pairs of UHDs, sold two and has the 3rd one up for sale - that tells me a bit, apart from a strange way of buying optics. Dennis, there's no doubt you think estacitcally about them and have endorsed them so, almost to an excruciatingly painful level if truth be known. We 've got your message but please confirm you don't sleep with them around your neck?
Cheers, P
Cheers, P
That's cool. Ergo's are a personal thing. If they don't fit you you are not going to like them. I agree on the Razor HD. I don't think it is worth difference in price from the Viper HD. I question how much traffic Rockslide get's. Put the UHD's on Ebay for $1300.00 and they would be gone in two weeks.
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PYRTLE
Old Berkshire Boy
Not so Ron, I just disagree that their ( Vortex ) top of the range optics are better or equal to the established Alphas. Underneath is an extract by yourself a while ago about one of their products.
I wouldn't say the build quality was bad, I didn't have a problem with the diopter, but it is a bit vague and plasticky.
The eye cups don't stayin any intermediate position on the Viper or the Razor. I've put O rings underneath the eyecups. You can put them anywhere you want and the stay there. Like said I did'nt have problem with the diopter, if I had and I was keeping them I would have stuck some tape on.
The focus is poor, it's stiff and has variable resistance. Optically excellent though.
Ron
Regards, P
No I have to get a divorce first from my EDG's they might get jealous.
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PYRTLE
Old Berkshire Boy
"Not so Ron, I just disagree that their ( Vortex ) top of the range optics are better or equal to the established Alphas."
Ron. Have you looked through a UHD? Just curious.
Ron. Have you looked through a UHD? Just curious.
That mini review was about the Viper, not the Razor. The build quality on the Razor is as good as it gets. The diopter on the Razor is fine, I had no problems with that. The eye cups can moves down, and an o ring fixes that, I don't think is just on the Vortex bins. Lots of eye ups move when rubbed against clothing.
I have the Razor 8x42 and 10x42 and they are superb. I had the Zeiss conquest side by side with the Razors for more than two weeks and I thought the Razors beat the Conquest in every respect, so I bought the Razors. They were exactly the same price. £680.
You can knock them all you like, but the Vortex Razors are a really nice pair of bins. Are they over priced or value for money, I don't know, but they are a fine pair of bins, with what I believe is the best warranty in the business.
What’s not like..
I did say the focus on the Viper was poor and stiff, with variable resistance, that is correct.
However, that was comparing it to the Razor, which is silky smooth from end to end.
I don’t think a slight stiffness and slight variable resistance is uncommon though.
The Swarovski SLC is not brilliant from what I gather on these forums.
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I am increasingly perplexed
I want to be bad! :smoke:
Do you want to support you too "the charlatan law" that with 8x you will see more details than 18x? ... or what?
Have you already gone to the dark side?
Both an 8x at 1.3m and an 18x at 3m, both present the same DOF!
But how can this be explained to "Professor Hermann", avoiding him to make bad figures?
:flyaway:
I want to be bad! :smoke:
What do you mean? I do not understand you, Jan.
Do you want to support you too "the charlatan law" that with 8x you will see more details than 18x? ... or what?
Have you already gone to the dark side?
Unfortunately, they are posts like this that make me wonder if Hermann really knows binoculars and depth of field. :brains:
Both an 8x at 1.3m and an 18x at 3m, both present the same DOF!
But how can this be explained to "Professor Hermann", avoiding him to make bad figures?
:flyaway:
jan van daalen
Well-known member
I want to be bad! :smoke:
What do you mean? I do not understand you, Jan.
Do you want to support you too "the charlatan law" that with 8x you will see more details than 18x? ... or what?
Have you already gone to the dark side?
Unfortunately, they are posts like this that make me wonder if Hermann really knows binoculars and depth of field. :brains:
Both an 8x at 1.3m and an 18x at 3m, both present the same DOF!
But how can this be explained to "Professor Hermann", avoiding him to make bad figures?
:flyaway:
Rico,
I won't go there, but I'm getting sympathy for the "don't feed the troll" quote.
Be careful (one can't keep hiding behind the Google translate) with your attitude otherwise you could find yourself all alone howling in the desert and nobody will hear you anymore.
Jan
Rico
You should know by now that it is the practical experience of Birdforum members that hand-held 18x binocular is too much affected by hand-shake to deliver useful and enjoyable images.
Kindly desist from this line of argument.
Lee
Moderator
Originally Posted by PYRTLE View Post
Not so Ron, I just disagree that their ( Vortex ) top of the range optics are better or equal to the established Alphas.
Who are you disagreeing with? It's not me because I have never held that view or expressed it on any forum..
Ron
Not so Ron, I just disagree that their ( Vortex ) top of the range optics are better or equal to the established Alphas.
Who are you disagreeing with? It's not me because I have never held that view or expressed it on any forum..
Ron
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