Trouble focusing spotting scopes

[NSI]

Howdy,
I have a bear of a time getting comfortable behind my Vortex Razor HD 27-60x85 angled spotter.

Everyone seems to love that scope, so I'm wondering whether I'm the problem. Whenever I move that giant ring to focus, I move the glass enough that it blurs on its own and I can't dial it in. I also get black ring shadowing on the sides when I zoom in more than 27x, regardless of how far my eye is back off the scope.

Any ideas? Should I just phoneSkope? Should I try a binocular spotter? Should I buy a spotter with a second Fine adjustment? For the weight of this thing and limited utility I'm getting, I'm considering giving up on spotters altogether.

Best,
-J

 

[PathFinder]

It's because it's a Vortex Razor, and I think you'll find that few people love that scope...
I went through something similar years ago. Had a Viper HD and a Razor HD. Absolutely hated both of them, they were borderline useless in the field. Swore off of spotting scopes for years and used 15x and 12x binos on a tripod. After a while I decided to try a Swaro STS 65, and realized the problem was the cheap scopes. Buy a quality scope (Kowa, Swaro, Zeiss, Leica) and you'll likely find much better results.

 

[LaHunter]

Get someone else to look through it and see if they are having the same issues. Do you have much experience using spotting scopes? I had a 65 mm Vortex Razor HD several years ago and it worked ok for me. I never had issues with getting it to focus clearly. You may need to send it in for repair.

 

[SDHNTR]

My brother has the same scope. Bottom line, it’s a Vortex. Side by side to a Zeiss, Leica or Swaro it’s obvious. Move on.

 

[huntsman22]

Sounds like you need a scope with focus knobs instead of a focus ring. Become a knob-twister over a ring-turner. Some just can't figure out the touch it takes to fine focus a ring...

 

[zrodwyo]

Howdy,
I have a bear of a time getting comfortable behind my Vortex Razor HD 27-60x85 angled spotter.

Everyone seems to love that scope, so I'm wondering whether I'm the problem. Whenever I move that giant ring to focus, I move the glass enough that it blurs on its own and I can't dial it in. I also get black ring shadowing on the sides when I zoom in more than 27x, regardless of how far my eye is back off the scope.

Any ideas? Should I just phoneSkope? Should I try a binocular spotter? Should I buy a spotter with a second Fine adjustment? For the weight of this thing and limited utility I'm getting, I'm considering giving up on spotters altogether.

Best,
-J

Not saying this is your problem but I had a very similar issue as you with a Swarovski 65mm. I couldn’t focus it well and always had shadow pretty much no matter what. I went to the eye doctor to get checked out then set up my scope next to another swaro.

After that, I sent it back to Swarovski and they send me a new scope. No idea what what wrong with it. Point is, if possible try another scope.