The optics face off

[yorketransport]

I got bored while glassing a hillside yesterday evening so I thought I'd do some optics testing while I was out there. I had 2 pairs of binos, 6 rifle scopes, a spotting scope, a range finder and a couple of hours to kill while waiting for a foolish critter to step out in the open. Here's the line up:

Nikon Monarch 7 8x42
Cabelas Instinct Euro HD 10x42

Leupold VX 3 4.5-14x40
Leupold VX 3 6.5-20x50 Premier Reticles conversion
Leupold Mk 4 8.5-25x50 ER/T M5 TMR
Sightron S III 8-32x56
Bushnell HDMR 3.5-21x50
Night Force NXS 5.5-22x56

Leupold Mk 4 12-40x60 spotter with Mil Dot reticle

Vectronix Terrapin PLRF



I picked out a stump at 894 yards to see which optic would give the best image for the conditions. I ran the rifle scopes at 20x except for the 4.5-14 which I ran at 14. As you can see by the selection of optics, I tend to be a bit biased towards Leupolds. I wasn't surprised though to find out that the Sightron S III actually gave the clearest image. The NXS was good, but has an almost blue tint to the image which I don't care for in the field. The image was very crisp though. The Leupolds give better contrast in my opinion and sharper colors, the NXS seemed a bit clearer at the extreme edges of the field of view. The Bushnell HDMR gets points for field of view. The image was not as crisp as the others but it gave a good balance of color and contrast. The Sightron has always  been my favorite. It has an amazingly clear image with great color and contrast clear to the edge of the field of view. My only real issue with the S III is it's lack of durability. The Sightron only lasted about 40 rounds on the 375 BME before taking a trip back to the manufacturer for repairs. The VX-3, Mk4 and the NXS to hundreds of rounds each from the BME and never had issues. I don't doubt that the Bushnell would hold up well too.

For the binos I was reminded that my "spare" pair of Nikons will probably remain my primary pair. The Cabelas Euro HDs are great but I'll never get used to the weight and limited field of view of them when compared to the Nikons. The Cabelas binos do have a sharper image and better color but the smaller field of view drives me crazy when I'm glassing a hillside.

The Mk 4 spotting scope has been very good to me over the years but I always feel a little disappointed when I look through it. I just want a little more depth, color, and contrast at the higher magnification. Sometimes I get a little bit of color fringing under certain light conditions too. The one thing that it has going for it though is the fact that it's one of only a handful of spotters that's available with a FFP reticle which is a huge help when we're out shooting at ridiculous ranges. Not that I ever miss, but if I did it's nice to have my spotter make a correction call using the spotter. I think it's time for me to just take a leap of faith and try one of the Vortex Razor HD spotters with the 30x WA ranging eye piece. I like being able to adjust the magnification to match the conditions though.

And finally the Vectronix Terrapin. I set a new personal record when I was able to range a stand of timber at 4937 yards and get a reading +/- 3 yards 10 out of 10 times. To be fair though this was right at dusk under ideal ranging conditions off of a tripod. The max range at 2pm in bright sunlight is closer to 2300 yards. Now all I can think of is setting up a giant gong at 4900 yards and snapping a couple of hail Mary shots to see how close I can get!

Andrew

[Bean Counter]

Good read, thanks. I noticed that my Leica LRF is much brighter than many of the household names but has an ugly greenish blue tint as well. Boo!

I recently got to compare my Nikon EDG to some Swarovski SLC and my Nikons DESTROYED the Swaro, namely in chromatic aberration aka lateral color fringing. Nikons were also clear all the up the, well, edge, and the swaros had the blue halo all the way around. Not entirely a fair comparison as the ELs with Swarovision are their top of the line and I sure would like to see how the EDG stacks up.

[JDHasty]

I have a Razor 85 w/30 WA MOA eyepiece.  If you want to take a look through it at TR&R some evening perhaps I can accommodate you.  But that only gives us about a week before time change and it will be too dark before I get off the Sounder in the evenings.   

I also have a Leupold 12-40X60, I got it off Bob Maschmedt back when he rep'd Leupold twenty-five years ago.  I think I got it the first year they came out. 

It is a great scope, for what it is.  It is far and away more packable than the Vortex, but doesn't stand up to it optically.  It is way pre-HD, but I like it OK. 

I have a pair of 8x42 Nikon EDG bins.  Good stuff.  Every bit as good as the best from Swaro, Leica & Zeiss