excellent review...this is the best comparison of a spotting scope that I've found..you really hit it on the head..especially your side by side comparison..it make the decision on what scope to purchase a no brainer....great job...
Nice review. I do wish you had photos of shots on target at 1000 yards with both scopes. That would have helped me know if I really need to spend the extra cash for the Razor.
The Razor line of scope and binocs is WAY better optical quality than the Vipers. Worth every penny. Now spending the cash on say a Leica vs a Razor HD scope.... maybe not worth it unless money is no object. Razor HD optics are EXCELLENT
I bought the Viper in 2013. It's an ok scope as with optics you get what you pay for. Besides the scope you need a really stable tripod for it otherwise you won't get happy. I realize that the Viper is lacking clarity during dusk and dawn what you would not experience with high end scopes. I bought it mainly for daylight hunt and observation and it does ok.
The color fringing you are witnessing is chromatic aberration which is the result of different color wavelengths focusing on different planes after passing through a lens. I bit the bullet hard and bought a Kowa 88mm scope with Flourite lens. No chromatic aberration. Very good video, calmly accomplished.
resolution is reported to be the same. Reduction of chromatic affect is superior. No other brand uses pure Fluorite , all others use glass with Fluorite content. Read some pro reviews on the Kowa. Less $ than Swaro.
This is true. But for many the question becomes whether the higher price is worth the money. I got the razor for about $1100 on amazon. for me the extra clarity makes it much more useful. Thought I could do with the viper, but found it limiting enough not be worth its cost
This was a very usefull comperisson, thank you. At the moment I have the option to either get the Razor 65mm as in this video, or the Viper but 80mm (same model/year as the one in the video). They are both the same price since they are second hand and a demo model from a store. Do you think the Razor would still be the superior glass, even when the Viper has a 80mm objective? I would like to glass in low light so that's an important factor for me. Thanks for the great review and greetings from the Netherlands
That's tough as 80mm would def give you more light. I prefer clarity though, so would still lean towards Razor. Keep in mind the zoom is not too useful as image degrades quickly with the zoom
I personally would never buy a Celestron due to only 2 year limited warranty regardless if they advertised lifetime warranty. Vortex on the other hand have an unlimited unconditional lifetime warranty even if it gets destroyed in a house fire you will always get a brand new replacement from Vortex no questions asked for life regardless if you're the original owner or not. Vortex can be purchased for 40% to 50% off if you shop smart and if you only buy them when they go on sale from certain dealers. When buying optics without an unlimited unconditional lifetime warranty always be sure to buy them as cheap as possible so when they break it doesn't feel too bad to have to throw them away into the trash can and buy another one especially made in CHINA products. I have both name brand as well as significantly cheaper generic optics from SVBony SV406P ED and Gosky dual focus ED. They're comparable to the Vortex Razor HD Gen 1 which I also own which cost 3x-4x the price but don't have any warranty aside from the Amazon return window. I also have the Leupold SX5 Santiam and Meopta S2 (Nightforce) spotter and Kowa with Fluorite glass as well. There's a night and day difference in clarity vs the cheaper Vortex Razor Gen 1 HD and other generic Chinese ED spotters and what's good enough is all up to you and your wallet. I wouldn't buy the Gosky Eagle view ED since the same Athlon Cronus UHD is the same Chinese spotter for around the same cost with a lifetime warranty. I'd probably buy one if it cost $300-$350 maximum specifically for the ED/UHD model though.
Not sure what "HD" means - and I'm not sure it means anything. It's like saying big or heavy. Without an objective value It's worthless. If they were to say ED - that means something as it is at least indicating a type of extra-low dispersion glass in use. There are still many kinds of ED glass but at least you'd know you're getting one of them. Without it you're likely going to have false color. Coatings are nice but everyone's got their own idea of what works best. Without measurements or demonstrable benefit it's not easy to understand whether you're getting someone's exotic but mostly worthless coatings or basic but very functional...
Just wanted to say thanks for taking the time to do this review. You had mentioned Swarovski twice. Do you own a Swarovski Spotting Scope? I have a pair of binoculars I got over twenty years ago, best glass I ever purchased. I was wondering what you thought of the Swarovski compared to the Vortex? I also saw a video on a guy who took his Vortex spotting scope on a mule deer trip and the focus ring froze on him. Vortex sent him another one and that froze on him. He said they know about it but keep selling the product and did not or have not made an effort to fix the problem. Not sure if you heard about that or not but wondered if you had any difficulty in cold weather? Peace, Reese
your eye relief and minimum focus findings are due to having differing powers. it is not an apples to apple comparison. compare them at the same magnifications.
This is one of the best RUclips side by side video comparisons I have ever seen.
excellent review...this is the best comparison of a spotting scope that I've found..you really hit it on the head..especially your side by side comparison..it make the decision on what scope to purchase a no brainer....great job...
super awesome review. nice comparison. I also owned both. I upgraded to the Razor. Your pictures are exactly the difference between the two.
This is how to review an product thanks so much
So true
Awesome, thank you so much for this comparison! Makes the decision much easier.
+Buss Borg you're welcome
thanks for the video, I think ill sill go with the viper. I found one used off a guy for 300$ hard to turn down. hopefully I don't regret it
How did it work out for you?
Nice review. I do wish you had photos of shots on target at 1000 yards with both scopes. That would have helped me know if I really need to spend the extra cash for the Razor.
Do the moon pictures count? ;) In my experience, the farther the distance the more the optics make a difference
The Razor line of scope and binocs is WAY better optical quality than the Vipers. Worth every penny. Now spending the cash on say a Leica vs a Razor HD scope.... maybe not worth it unless money is no object. Razor HD optics are EXCELLENT
I bought the Viper in 2013. It's an ok scope as with optics you get what you pay for. Besides the scope you need a really stable tripod for it otherwise you won't get happy. I realize that the Viper is lacking clarity during dusk and dawn what you would not experience with high end scopes. I bought it mainly for daylight hunt and observation and it does ok.
Superb review, thanks!!!
Thanks for the thorough review.
Thanks,,very good review!!!
Great review! Thanks!
The color fringing you are witnessing is chromatic aberration which is the result of different color wavelengths focusing on different planes after passing through a lens. I bit the bullet hard and bought a Kowa 88mm scope with Flourite lens. No chromatic aberration. Very good video, calmly accomplished.
+Mr42960 haven't heard of that one. Better than swarovski?
resolution is reported to be the same. Reduction of chromatic affect is superior. No other brand uses pure Fluorite , all others use glass with Fluorite content. Read some pro reviews on the Kowa. Less $ than Swaro.
I'm wondering how much of the CA is due to the phone's camera.
I can it with my eye as well. But even in the video it's noticeably less in the razor
@@XJarhead360probably none
take into consideration that the razor is double the price. is this really fair. I
This is true. But for many the question becomes whether the higher price is worth the money. I got the razor for about $1100 on amazon. for me the extra clarity makes it much more useful. Thought I could do with the viper, but found it limiting enough not be worth its cost
Really good review helped me with my Choice
+Floyd Guel great. Did you go razor?
Excellent presentation. 👍
+Edwin Acevedo thanks!
This was a very usefull comperisson, thank you.
At the moment I have the option to either get the Razor 65mm as in this video, or the Viper but 80mm (same model/year as the one in the video). They are both the same price since they are second hand and a demo model from a store. Do you think the Razor would still be the superior glass, even when the Viper has a 80mm objective? I would like to glass in low light so that's an important factor for me.
Thanks for the great review and greetings from the Netherlands
That's tough as 80mm would def give you more light. I prefer clarity though, so would still lean towards Razor. Keep in mind the zoom is not too useful as image degrades quickly with the zoom
@@Teslavangelist Thank you!
Thanks for your review, can you compare Vortex Razor HD with Celestron Regal M2 100ED it will be useful and interesting.
I would but I don't have the Celestron
I personally would never buy a Celestron due to only 2 year limited warranty regardless if they advertised lifetime warranty. Vortex on the other hand have an unlimited unconditional lifetime warranty even if it gets destroyed in a house fire you will always get a brand new replacement from Vortex no questions asked for life regardless if you're the original owner or not. Vortex can be purchased for 40% to 50% off if you shop smart and if you only buy them when they go on sale from certain dealers.
When buying optics without an unlimited unconditional lifetime warranty always be sure to buy them as cheap as possible so when they break it doesn't feel too bad to have to throw them away into the trash can and buy another one especially made in CHINA products.
I have both name brand as well as significantly cheaper generic optics from SVBony SV406P ED and Gosky dual focus ED. They're comparable to the Vortex Razor HD Gen 1 which I also own which cost 3x-4x the price but don't have any warranty aside from the Amazon return window. I also have the Leupold SX5 Santiam and Meopta S2 (Nightforce) spotter and Kowa with Fluorite glass as well. There's a night and day difference in clarity vs the cheaper Vortex Razor Gen 1 HD and other generic Chinese ED spotters and what's good enough is all up to you and your wallet.
I wouldn't buy the Gosky Eagle view ED since the same Athlon Cronus UHD is the same Chinese spotter for around the same cost with a lifetime warranty. I'd probably buy one if it cost $300-$350 maximum specifically for the ED/UHD model though.
how do i attach a red dot to help in align on the razor?
I'm not sure about that
WTF??
Not sure what "HD" means - and I'm not sure it means anything. It's like saying big or heavy. Without an objective value It's worthless. If they were to say ED - that means something as it is at least indicating a type of extra-low dispersion glass in use. There are still many kinds of ED glass but at least you'd know you're getting one of them. Without it you're likely going to have false color. Coatings are nice but everyone's got their own idea of what works best. Without measurements or demonstrable benefit it's not easy to understand whether you're getting someone's exotic but mostly worthless coatings or basic but very functional...
Lot of marketing stuff. But, a noticeable difference was present between these two scopes
great vid
Just wanted to say thanks for taking the time to do this review. You had mentioned Swarovski twice. Do you own a Swarovski Spotting Scope? I have a pair of binoculars I got over twenty years ago, best glass I ever purchased. I was wondering what you thought of the Swarovski compared to the Vortex?
I also saw a video on a guy who took his Vortex spotting scope on a mule deer trip and the focus ring froze on him. Vortex sent him another one and that froze on him. He said they know about it but keep selling the product and did not or have not made an effort to fix the problem. Not sure if you heard about that or not but wondered if you had any difficulty in cold weather? Peace, Reese
I've never had Swarovski but I always hear how good they are. Some day :)
+Mo “Reeses” Pieces I haven't had trouble in cold, but haven't been out more than an hour or two in severe cold
your eye relief and minimum focus findings are due to having differing powers. it is not an apples to apple comparison. compare them at the same magnifications.
they're nearly identical, RAZOR is 16-48mm, VIPER is 15-45mm
Muchas gracias man good review. Can you review the razor 85 if possible gracias again.
+Enrique Jaramillo I would love to if I get my hands on one
Alright then, enjoy what you got for now. Maybe in the future will get lucky take care.
Well done
i have one of these still in the box, thats just been collecting dust in my garage and im willing to let it go for $700 cash
Which one you have? The razor or the viper ?
You KNOW its the Viper. No way he's letting a Razor go for that price.
wow, i should not complain about crispness on my emarth 60mm 77 buck scope!!!!
👍🏻
the razor is the more expensive glass...
These are all crap i got a 100mm Celestson scope....
I used to have one of those, C90
@@Teslavangelist that’s not the same thing. That’s a maksutov reflector scope they adapted for terrestrial use.
Lol
Nice review, thanks!