Vortex Razor UHD

[Stwrt9]

I can't wait to check the 18x56 not sure what the marketing strategy is on the MSRP being so high and retailers right off the bat having it way under that price such as what is shown at EuroOptic: https://www.eurooptic.com/vortex-razor-binoculars.aspx?utm_source=eoic2017&utm_medium=JBS

I assume they are trying to move into the higher end market with these, time will tell once people get these in hand to test them out.

 

[DangerRanger]

I figured it was just a social media crew mixup going off the spec list. I don’t find that to be a big deal at all. Nice to see them come in here and say they made a mistake and tell us they have fixed it. Hopefully a BP/Cabelas near me has a pair soon.

 

[lundellhunting7]

Admittedly, those of us on the social team here were going off the information we had on the website. We kind of took the web specs as Gospel until a few others pointed out some inconsistencies, so we ran some more tests and corrected the mistake. The reply you received on Facebook was speculative, going off the information we had available at the time. Again, we certainly apologize for the mix-up.

Alright thank you. With those specs I am actually interested in looking through them.

 

[generalist]

They all come from the same manufacturer I would bet, same shit, different wrapper.

Maven released their 15 and 18s yesterday. I guess Vortex got the go ahead to release their version first. Let's be honest, the B5 and UHD share the same parts. Maven builds theirs here, Vortex pays for theirs to be built over there.

 

[Boxerboxer]

Maven released their 15 and 18s yesterday. I guess Vortex got the go ahead to release their version first. Let's be honest, the B5 and UHD share the same parts. Maven builds theirs here, Vortex pays for theirs to be built over there.

Is there a particular source of information that leads you to believe they share parts?

Sent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk

 

[generalist]

Circumstantial evidence for sure. From my research Japan doesn't have a slew of glass manufacturers and the timing is suspicious. Quality 18s were hard to find, but now we have two released within a week of each other, both with Japanese parts. Abbe-Koenig prism systems to be exact. Granted all AK binos are going to have a similar appearance, I think the Maven and Vortex look strikingly similar. These are just my observations, feel free to disagree.

 

[Boxerboxer]

Circumstantial evidence for sure. From my research Japan doesn't have a slew of glass manufacturers and the timing is suspicious. Quality 18s were hard to find, but now we have two released within a week of each other, both with Japanese parts. Abbe-Koenig prism systems to be exact. Granted all AK binos are going to have a similar appearance, I think the Maven and Vortex look strikingly similar. These are just my observations, feel free to disagree.

Wasn't coming at you, genuinely wanted to know. Thanks.

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[Ryan Avery]

I keep hearing they are all the same argument. Well, a Ram 2500 with a Hemi is very similar to a Ram 2500 with a Cummins.... But they are not the same in performance or cost.

From what I have seen with my own eyes from Sig, Vortex, and Maven. The Chassis is similar, the glass is very different.

 

[Pezboat]

I keep hearing they are all the same argument. Well, a Ram 2500 with a Hemi is very similar to a Ram 2500 with a Cummins.... But they are not the same in performance or cost.

From what I have seen with my own eyes from Sig, Vortex, and Maven. The Chassis is similar, the glass is very different.

Such a tease, Ryan.

 

[DangerRanger]

I keep hearing they are all the same argument. Well, a Ram 2500 with a Hemi is very similar to a Ram 2500 with a Cummins.... But they are not the same in performance or cost.

From what I have seen with my own eyes from Sig, Vortex, and Maven. The Chassis is similar, the glass is very different.

Is the UHD noticeably better in glass quality to your eyes? Is the focus noticeably less temperamental?

You seem to be implying that the UHDs are better binos than the b2s

 

[Ryan Avery]

Is the UHD noticeably better in glass quality to your eyes? Is the focus noticeably less temperamental?

You seem to be implying that the UHDs are better binos than the b2s

I haven't compared the Vortex to the B2s. I am talking more about the bigger glass. Only one has fluorite on the lenses to my knowledge. I am not going to say one is better at this time until I can get more time on them BUT the glass is definitely different IMO.


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[DangerRanger]

I haven't compared the Vortex to the B2s. I am talking more about the bigger glass. Only one has fluorite on the lenses to my knowledge. I am not going to say one is better at this time until I can get more time on them BUT the glass is definitely different IMO.


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Ah, so I guess you’re talking about comparing the big B5s

 

[Ryan Avery]

Ah, so I guess you’re talking about comparing the big B5s

I have compared the B2s against the Sig 11-45 and I prefer the B2s. The glass is not the same. But they all have depth of field issues.


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[Newtosavage]

I keep hearing they are all the same argument. Well, a Ram 2500 with a Hemi is very similar to a Ram 2500 with a Cummins.... But they are not the same in performance or cost.

From what I have seen with my own eyes from Sig, Vortex, and Maven. The Chassis is similar, the glass is very different.

Where do you suppose all that different glass is coming from?

 

[Researcher]

Where do you suppose all that different glass is coming from?

Zeiss Lens and Prism Documentary

Take a look at the quick “How Its Made” segment on Zeiss. I know you asked Ryan and Im sure he will chime in and youd rather hear from him than me but I run a manufacturing facility and I would imagine its a similar basic process.

Imagine for a moment that time and money arent factors and you decide to build the best lenses and prisms you can. After you do so you know that it takes 100 processing steps to get the best and out of a batch of 100 that go through the steps only 10 are truly perfect.

So as a business then you say well what did those ten cost me to make and what do I have to sell them for, will people buy them. Usually the cost is too high because youre “junking” the other 90. So you say maybe I can use those other 90 in another product to make it worth. Good news for you if you can. Some say the quality of the other 90 isnt something we want our brand attached too so we’ll sell them to another company for them to use. Win win for both companies.

As the videos states the lenses and prisms pretty much start out the same and its all about processing. The UHD line probably get more processing than the Razor which gets more than the viper which gets more than the diamondback.

 

[Ryan Avery]

@Researcher you said it way better than I could. Glass is just a stating point.

The big three use Schott glass in most of there binoculars and most would agree the image is different in all three of there binoculars.

 

[Newtosavage]

Are you talking glass, or coatings?

 

[KurtR]

Coatings is where the difference is made. So I have been told

 

[elkstabber]

Okay, optics gurus can you explain the Abbe-Koenig concept a little more? I find it very hard to believe that the big 3 are using Porro designs and now supposedly the AK design is better?

The big 3 are on top because they are pioneers, and have been pioneers for a long time (Swarovski started making binos in 1935). Swarovski recently created the BTX system. Leica has variable power binos. They do a great deal of research before bringing out new products.

So why in the world would both Vortex and Maven simultaneously bring out binos that use AK designs? If the AK design was superior wouldn't the big 3 already be using it?

 

[DangerRanger]

The big 3 aren’t using Porro designs, they are using roof prism designs. Ak is a type of roof prism. Swaro uses an Abbe-Koenig roof and so does Zeiss. They also use Schmidt-Pechan roof prisms for their compact models