Vortex Skyline Angled 80mm (not ED) ??

[IAHNTR]

I have a chance to pick one of these up off of Craigslist for 300 bucks. It has hardly been used (hence the selling) and comes with scope case and tripod. The tripod I'm assuming is the one that might come with it when new, but not sure. Body and glass are like new.

Just wanting to know if this is a good glass for the price or to keep looking. Thanks!

 

[Matt Cashell]

I would keep looking. That model shows significant Chromatic Aberration (CA). I have seen used Skyline ED models for not much over $300.

 

[stonecitysniper]

What would Chromatic Aberration happen to be in laymans terms?

 

[Gman]

In layman's terms it's a distorted image that shows seperation of color on the edges of an object in your scope (I'm a layman, so did I get that right Bitterroot?) If you want to graduate to the next level http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chromatic_aberration

 

[Matt Cashell]

CA is commonly referred to as "color fringing". It is usually a pink, purple, or yellow effect most visible in high contrast parts of the image, like a black moose on a white snow background. CA occurs as white light separates when passing through the objective. It is commonly controlled by use of a triplet objective and/or ED glass in the objective.

 

[stonecitysniper]

Thanks guys! Is this common with new scopes that are not high-end, or does it happen to the scope over time and use?
If it happens with time and use how long are we talking before the CA starts to set in?

Lovin' Rokslide by the way!!

 

[aggieland]

I have a Vortex Angled 80mm that is not the ED as well. Mine is black and was a production test sort of run a few years back.. I think its a great piece of glass but then again I have never compared it to a Swaro, Ziess, etc. One of these days I will sell it and move up to the big boys club, but living where I do and only glassing for game a short period of the year I can't spend the money for the really good stuff yet.

 

[Matt Cashell]

Thanks guys! Is this common with new scopes that are not high-end, or does it happen to the scope over time and use?
If it happens with time and use how long are we talking before the CA starts to set in?

Lovin' Rokslide by the way!!

CA is present in every glass-based optic to some degree. It is controlled better in some more expensive optics. It does not get better or worse through the life of the optic. The amount the light separates is called "dispersion". ED is short for "Extra low dispersion". It refers to glass containing fluorite, which lowers dispersion, meaning less CA is visible. Other names for ED glass are APO, HD, FL, etc. Although a true Apochromat (APO) is a triplet lens design usually using at least one ED element. They all refer to the same thing in sport optics, and the variation in names is for marketing purposes. The purpose is to control the CA which leads to better apparent contrast, and apparent sharpness.

Some less expensive scopes that control CA well include the Celestron Regal ED series and the Pentx PF ED series, although they are found typically for $400 to $800 on the street, depending on model.