ginseng503
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- N. Ontario
We have just received our new Vortex Viper 65mm angled spotting scope. This will be used mostly for nature viewing. I am a bit particular in that I wanted a spotting scope that would be able to focus objects in as sharply as possible. I am happy to tell you the Viper is able to do so.
At the maximum power of 45X, I am able to clearly see the iris of a Sandhill Crane, at a distance of 100 meters. I can clearly see the texture of the feathers and anything else I look at. At 500 meters I can focus in on the branches and leaves of trees and they look sharp. This telescope is quite useable at full power. When I dial it back to the 30 - 35 range, the view is as "perfect" and sharp as one could wish for. Especially useful is the coarse and fine focus controls. You can move the depth of field to focus in on the exact thing you want to see.
Colour balance is also right on. Colours are natural and bright. Reds, greens, blues, browns, blacks, and whites, all pop out naturally. They may pop a bit more at lower powers and I expect I will learn how all this works as I use it more.
I have looked through a lot of blurry optics in the past, and that is what I wanted to avoid. I have never looked through the high end stuff from Swaro, Zeiss, Leica, etc. I really wanted something I would not be ashamed of using, and I am happy to have found it.
I don't know all the details but I believe these new Vipers were developed to improve on the performance of the now discontinued Skylines etc. It follows that being named Vipers they will have optics, coatings, and construction details in line with the Viper riflescopes. This spotter is covered by the Vortex VIP warranty.
I would like to thank Doug and Neil at Camera Land NY for supplying such a good product and kudos to them for an efficient transaction, shipping, documentation, price point etc.
If I have forgot anything, it is all in the excitement of playing with something new and typing this twice due to power failure.
At the maximum power of 45X, I am able to clearly see the iris of a Sandhill Crane, at a distance of 100 meters. I can clearly see the texture of the feathers and anything else I look at. At 500 meters I can focus in on the branches and leaves of trees and they look sharp. This telescope is quite useable at full power. When I dial it back to the 30 - 35 range, the view is as "perfect" and sharp as one could wish for. Especially useful is the coarse and fine focus controls. You can move the depth of field to focus in on the exact thing you want to see.
Colour balance is also right on. Colours are natural and bright. Reds, greens, blues, browns, blacks, and whites, all pop out naturally. They may pop a bit more at lower powers and I expect I will learn how all this works as I use it more.
I have looked through a lot of blurry optics in the past, and that is what I wanted to avoid. I have never looked through the high end stuff from Swaro, Zeiss, Leica, etc. I really wanted something I would not be ashamed of using, and I am happy to have found it.
I don't know all the details but I believe these new Vipers were developed to improve on the performance of the now discontinued Skylines etc. It follows that being named Vipers they will have optics, coatings, and construction details in line with the Viper riflescopes. This spotter is covered by the Vortex VIP warranty.
I would like to thank Doug and Neil at Camera Land NY for supplying such a good product and kudos to them for an efficient transaction, shipping, documentation, price point etc.
If I have forgot anything, it is all in the excitement of playing with something new and typing this twice due to power failure.
