FrankD said:
Thank you for the reply Scotty. As I am sure I mentioned before I have a pair of the Vortex Razors so I am somewhat familiar with the image quality of their binoculars. After your comments though I believe I am going to have to try to get a hold of both the Vipers and the Sidewinders to see how they compare to my own selection of bins. I was hoping to wait until the new Furys come out before trying another Vortex but you may have just changed my mind.
I have owned a pair of the SPs though it was the 8x32 model. I thought the SPs offered very good optics for the price. However, you are correct, the full sized models due lack a nice wide field of view. In that regard both of the models you mentioned do offer a better alternative. It is in the other qualities of the view that I am interested and which will prompt me to investigate them further.
Thank you for sharing your experiences.
I too, am waiting for the Fury's to come out. This is why I haven't bought the
DLS's just yet. I want to compare them both side-by-side first at my local
Audubon shop when they get them in even though I know I’ll end up the
DLS’s. The Vipers are for my wife, the Broadwings are for my Father for his b-
day next month. I am willing to go to the top of the line with Vortex for me.
Also, some might be mis-reading my post.
No-way am I writing about one better or superior than the other of any
Swaros I own or what I had a chance to compared them to last weekend.
Bottom line on the mid-range Vortex is the impressive field of view and their
brightness, detail, clarity for the money. You have to decide for yourself if
comparable optics like the SP's are better for you and you’re willing to give up
the impressive field of view with the Vortex. I definitely right now would go
out birding or hawk watching with my wife’s Viper's over my Swaros' and I
actually did yesterday.
All of us have read many reviews about mid-range binos catching up with the
big boy European ones with the newer coatings and phase correction on sub
$1000 binos. The brightness and detail on these Vipers and Broadwings
compared to my 7 year old SLC’s is proof of that!!!!!!
Also just a note: When I looked through the Vortex DLS 8x42's at the
vendors booth there was something special about them. Vortex talks about
better coatings and their XP glass in their higher end binos. It was as almost
as if I was looking through Zeiss Fluorite’s with a touch narrower field of view
that's all I noticed!
So...$799 or another $1000 on top for the Zeiss? It really is the $1000 question.
Speaking of which, did you happen to read it? I believe it is now on the second page of the main binocular forum. My experiences tend to mirror yours, at least with regard to the Razors. The only negative I have with mine in terms of either image quality or build (in comparison to the highest priced Euro models) is there is a bit more field curvature. Other than that, two big thumbs up. I have not yet looked through the DLS yet but hope to get my hands on a pair eventually.
