[bluedubius]

I've seen a post that stated that Swarovski eyepieces will work with the Vortex Razor HD bayonette mount. I've also see posts that say they won't. Has anyone had any real experience trying an eyepiece from a different manufacturer with the Vortex Razor HD scope? The zoom works well, but would love to experiment digiscoping with some other eyepieces. Thanks.

[henry link]

The Swarovski and Vortex Razor bayonets are very similar, but I found the dimensions to be just different enough to prevent my Swarovski 30x eyepiece from fitting the Razor body. The Vortex 20-60x zoom eyepiece is optically quite a faithfull copy of the Swarovski 20-60x zoom, so there wouldn't be much point in making that substitution even if it were possible.

[mayoayo]

I used a Swarovski 30X in the ZEN RAY ED82,..both models,the new and the old ,mounted perfectly,..The Razor and the ZEN seem to be very similar,but If Henry´s eyepiece didnt work in the Razor ,they must have slightly different bayonets...And yet this seems surprising,because I have seen both ,ZEN and Vortex ,30X eyepieces and they seem the same eyepiece .They are using a modified astro eyepiece, after removing the astronomy barrel and fitting the eyepiece with a strange looking bayonet adapter that fits both brands...It would be surprising that the chinese manufacturer of this adapter/bayonet is making one for Vortex and a different one for ZEN,so it must be ,As Henry is pointing in the next post,that both brands are slightly different but close to enough to be interchageable

[henry link]

Right, my Swarovski 30x eyepiece did fit the Zen scope (although the locking pin wouldn't engage), but it wouldn't fit the Razor. All three bayonets look very similar, but with close examination you can see slight differences. It could be that Zen and Vortex are close enough to be interchangeable. I didn't try that.

[bluedubius]

Thanks, guys. I was hoping to use some of the fixed power eyepieces that might have a little better eye relief and possibly a little better IQ for digiscoping than the 20-60X zoom that comes with the razor, although it is pretty sharp at 20X. Would love to get that Vortex mount on my Baader 17mm eyepiece!

[mayoayo]

Have You tried the Baader 17 on the Vortex, even hand held..?..If the image is good You might be able to use an astronomy adapter..Swarovski made one and there are third party swaro fit adapters in the market..since they use a skeletal type of fit,maybe they are more forgiving in fitting similar bayonets,like the vortex one,....

[bluedubius]

Originally Posted by mayoayo

Have You tried the Baader 17 on the Vortex, even hand held..?..If the image is good You might be able to use an astronomy adapter..Swarovski made one and there are third party swaro fit adapters in the market..since they use a skeletal type of fit,maybe they are more forgiving in fitting similar bayonets,like the vortex one,....

That's a great idea. I hadn't considered that one and it might be worth a try. I have hand-held the Baader eyepiece and it looked good. I also remember seeing somewhere that someone was able to make their own astro eyepiece adapter out of pvc. I might have to try that over our Christmas break.

[mayoayo]

Yes , That´s the way to go...double Fun !..Here is a link to a homemade PVC adapter ,probably the one you are talking about,..It is for a Kowa 883 ,but the basic concept is the same..
http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=105037

[bluedubius]

Originally Posted by mayoayo

Yes , That´s the way to go...double Fun !..Here is a link to a homemade PVC adapter ,probably the one you are talking about,..It is for a Kowa 883 ,but the basic concept is the same..
http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=105037

That's it! Thanks, I had forgotten where I read that. Looks like it would be worth a try.

[davem]

We've got a Swarovski 30x SW eyepiece in our demo kit for the Razor 85HD that goes with us to all shows as an alternative (albeit almost 2x the price) to the VTX fixed 30x eyepiece.

We've also fitted several 25-50x Swarovski zooms to it when customers have asked to see it on the Razor.

I think I'm right in saying that the original AT/ST80 eyepieces fit it but have never had a problem with the ATS/STS range of eyepieces.

ATB,
Dave.

[bluedubius]

Originally Posted by davem

We've got a Swarovski 30x SW eyepiece in our demo kit for the Razor 85HD that goes with us to all shows as an alternative (albeit almost 2x the price) to the VTX fixed 30x eyepiece.

We've also fitted several 25-50x Swarovski zooms to it when customers have asked to see it on the Razor.

I think I'm right in saying that the original AT/ST80 eyepieces fit it but have never had a problem with the ATS/STS range of eyepieces.

ATB,
Dave.

Thanks so much for that information, Dave. That gives me some hope that I might be able to play around with some alternate eyepieces, especially for digiscoping.

Rick

[davem]

Originally Posted by davem

I think I'm right in saying that the original AT/ST80 eyepieces fit it but have never had a problem with the ATS/STS range of eyepieces.

Whoops!! That should read...

I think I'm right in saying that the original AT/ST80 eyepieces DO NOT fit it but have never had a problem with the ATS/STS range of eyepieces.

Sorry!

[mayoayo]

Surprising, because both eyepiece models have THE SAME bayonet,..the eyepieces are different only from the bayonet Up!!..the newer (ATS/STS) are bigger around,and have the pinhole to fit the pin retainer..both models fit perfectly the ZEN ED scope,and if one fits the Vortex ,the other should too..

[mayoayo]

By the way..I wanted to post a picture, to illustrate an early comment, of one of the eyepieces that I think Vortex rebrands as their 30X,,hefty increase in price in the process..from 65 $ to 190$!..this one is branded BST Flat Field,but they sell with other names too..looks exact in size and even glass reflections seem to match..
So If you make Yourself an astronomy adapter,here is an option ,not too expensive for a wide,flat field eyepiece..

[wachipilotes]

There is, then, an adaptor for the Vortex Razor HD 85 for astronomical eyepiece of 1.25" ?
thanks

[bluedubius]

Originally Posted by wachipilotes

There is, then, an adaptor for the Vortex Razor HD 85 for astronomical eyepiece of 1.25" ?
thanks

No. We were just talking about me trying to make one myself...and I'm not all that great at making things...haha

[wachipilotes]

You have use for astronomical observactions this scope?

[row1x]

Hello, I am a little confused. I think Henry Link said that his 30X wide Swaro did not fit the Razor. However it looks like DaveM says the 30x swaro does fit. I am thinking of putting the 30x with the APO adapter on the Razor. Has anyone had that experience? Thanks

John

[gcole]

Originally Posted by row1x

Hello, I am a little confused. I think Henry Link said that his 30X wide Swaro did not fit the Razor. However it looks like DaveM says the 30x swaro does fit. I am thinking of putting the 30x with the APO adapter on the Razor. Has anyone had that experience? Thanks

John

I have the Swaro 30x W & it does fit nicely on my Vortex Razor 65 HD spotting scope ... gwen

[leybold12]

I recently had both the Razor 65mm HD and a Swarovski ATM 65 HD side by side to swap back and forth. I had the 20-60x, 25-50x, and 30x Swarovski eyepieces and the Razor 15-45x to play with.

I was able to swap the eyepieces back and forth. The trick was to try all three rotation positions. The eyepieces swapped back and forth for me. They also locked into place with the locking pin. I initially took off the o-ring seal around the bayonet barrel so it would not interfere. The o-ring seal was very snug in both cases and required some force to twist the bayonet in. Pushing in to compress the o-ring while twisting made it easier. I ended up replacing the black rubber o-ring with a softer silicon o-ring and now it is a easy twist in and out. Just have to align the bayonet up to the proper 120 degree angle. Looking at it to figure the proper insertion position did not work for me. I had to try all three on only one worked. The other two ended up with the lens sitting crooked so there is a slight difference.


The biggest problem was the infinite focus. Using the Swarovski eyepieces on the Razor barely allowed for infinite focus. I could only go about 1 turn on the fine focus past infinite. My eye diopter correction is 1.25 (farsighted) so the infinite focus might not be achievable depending on your eyes.