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"Wait a second. PRS, an equipment race? Say it isn't so!"
Haha, I know! Huh!
Me shooting stage 11 at Dog Valley. It's pretty much every pump pillow from the entire squad... I call it the Tactical La Z Boy.
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I am guilty of not reading thru this entire post...Some random thoughts about DOF and pop. As a rule the DOF gets smaller as magnification gets higher.
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As you change the parallax you change where the focal point in the depth of field is. Things in focus will be sharp and pop while things out of focus will be blurry and fade into the back ground. If there is any CA in the blurry portion of the FOV things will fade even more. In the image below the left side is what a deep DOF looks like while the right side is a shallow DOF. Most folks would think the flower on the right side pops out of the image. Related to shooting which image in the scope would be easier to put the cross hairs on. While contrast can be measured in an optical sense a shallow DOF will make a target seem to have more contrast (and easier to see and put the cross hairs on. Just my two cents but developing your skill set to set the parallax to make the target pop is something I think is important. And having a scope that makes getting the right parallax setting easy is a good thing.
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No question for me the right side of the image above would be easier for me to put the cross hairs on and it also pops more. On the other hand if I was trying to hit something in the background the left side would be my first choice. Thing is it is probably worth the few seconds it would take to change the parallax setting to get what ever you are shooting at in as sharp as focus as possible.
I am guilty of not reading thru this entire post...
But, one thing even as a spoiled F1.2 glass guy who for a while made a living behind glass, there is something to be said for the old photographer saying "F8 and be there" --
What the hell does that have to do with shooting? Well, in some places like matches where the distances between targets is a bit longer and the time is short, for me it is super nice to have a very deep (greater distance) DOF with the larger FOV of reduced mag setting so you don't have to dick with parallax and can maybe quickly shade the scope if needed. Thats just me I am sure.. But while the image on the right looks cool, it is not something I want in my scope.
Just my random rattlings/
Kind of curious to hear what @koshkin thinks on some of these posts...
SNIP
Using video resolution charts is a little tricky but doable if you can position one at a distance where your scope can focus. However, how you illuminate it matters, so getting a quantifiable result is not a matter of just staring at it.
ILya
I am guilty of reading the entire thread, not just a post.
Hope that helps you understand 'what the hell this has to do with shooting', if not feel free to ask for an explanation for what you don't understand.
... the attempt to make objective measurements of everything is misguided ...
For the match in Craig Colorado next month, I'm tossing out all my rear bags in favor of this..
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This must be at least partly directed at moi ... I am the one who said way above words to the effect of "let's drill into GOOD GLASS" and see what that means. I also said "I like things that can be measured" ... which is just my nature.
So hopefully there is some ground between us simply saying "GOOD GLASS" and "attempts to ... [objectively measure] ... everything" ??
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And BTW, while I did apologize to the OP for thus derailing his scope selection thread ... I must admit I have really enjoyed all the chatter that has come about in the discussion around "What is GOOD GLASS"I am learning much useful info !!
So thanks to all for the data !!!
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Toward the end of last year, there was a thread in this sub-forum reviewing several scopes on my list: TT, NF (both the 5-25 and 7-35 ATACR), Minox, V/O G2 Rz 4.5-27, S&B, maybe one other. The reviewer used the USAF 1951 chart in an attempt to "objectify" the resolution aspect. I realized at the time, doing that is not 100% or even 95% objective. For "science" it would have to be repeatable and repeated. But, it seemed at least a small step beyond simply saying GOOD GLASS.
So, if there are other tests we can use, along those lines, that do not require laboratories with 50 technicians and $100M worth of gear, then such "user" executable tests would be other steps on the road beyond GOOD GLASS, which after all might just be a person paraphrasing "I like this scope better than that scope".
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Please, do let us know when it will be available. Will this be a dead tree book, or a softcopy (e-book, PDF, etc.)?Staring at a 1951 chart is not objective in any way shape or form. When you talk about image quality testing, anything that involves a human eye as a measurement instrument is classified as a subjective test. To classify it as an objective test, you have to completely eliminate a humam observer from the test protocol.
Now, that does not mean that looking at a 1951 chart is not useful or meaningful. However, the words objective and subjective have very specific meaning when it comes to image quality testing.
In the interest of full disclaimer, I started working on an updated copy of my Riflescope Fundamentals article series (http://opticsthoughts.com/?page_id=122), but rather than simply posting it on my website, I think I'll make it into a short book. It is a fair amount of work and it is fairly lengthy. A blog is not the best format for that. I will cover how I think you can best evaluate optical quality of a riflescope in there. There are a few ways to go about it.
The reason I am doing is mostly dissatisfaction with what it out there. There are several books out there on the subject that cover the rather broad range between incompetent (mostly written by gunwriters like Barseness) and irrelevant (written by optics people who have never seen a gun), so I am trying to do something that is a little shorter, more to the point and at least somewhat actionable.
ILya
Please, do let us know when it will be available. Will this be a dead tree book, or a softcopy (e-book, PDF, etc.)?
Haha...
I think those white sections on each side are "insulated" cup holders.
This is the Cadillac of PRS competition rear support...![]()
That is correct. My wife just went that route with the latest book she wrote. I believe she is very happy with how it went.I havn't the foggiest idea. I need to finish it first and it is a bit of a slow going. I think I can self-publish with Amazon, which would allow for both traditional book and a Kindle version. If you have any knowledge of publishing, I am open to suggestions.
ILya
Too late after reading this post I purchased their last 899 modelI did the same thing. Wife bought me a PST II as a welcome home from my deployment, played with it a bit then saw the SWFA deal and traded it in for the illuminated version. At $899 it is a steal.
Buddy of mine is looking at a Steiner T5xi 5-25 with the SCR. Seems like if you get the upgraded turrets, it's a pretty bulletproof option with a good reticle. Basically an XTR without the glass quality issues. But I have no experience with it, so I can't say for sure.Followup on the XTR.
Got it mounted on a good .5 moa rifle, and shot it as the light faded this evening. The glass is the most noticeable difference from my SWFA, and it is just not close. I did pay half as much for the Burris as the SWFA, so that may not be a fair comparision. Then again, it not hard to get a SWFA and an XTR for right about the same price, slightly used.
I like the reticle, definitely better than the SWFA, and practically speaking, every bit as good as anything else for fine work or speed work, unless you need a tree. In fact, if the glass was better, I would rate this as a top choice for hunting, since it is 100% usable for fast shots on 5X.
The turrets are not as solid as the SWFA, but they seem just fine, and feel pretty good to me.
Anyway, I have only just started to shoot it and that's what I have so far. nice eye box, btw.
I think you're seeing why many of us say the glass is...pedestrian. It works, and won't limit you to hitting what you're aiming for, but optical clarity wise, it leaves you kind of flat. That being said, they track like tanks; which ultimately, is more important.Followup on the XTR.
Got it mounted on a good .5 moa rifle, and shot it as the light faded this evening. The glass is the most noticeable difference from my SWFA, and it is just not close. I did pay half as much for the Burris as the SWFA, so that may not be a fair comparision. Then again, it not hard to get a SWFA and an XTR for right about the same price, slightly used.
I like the reticle, definitely better than the SWFA, and practically speaking, every bit as good as anything else for fine work or speed work, unless you need a tree. In fact, if the glass was better, I would rate this as a top choice for hunting, since it is 100% usable for fast shots on 5X.
The turrets are not as solid as the SWFA, but they seem just fine, and feel pretty good to me.
Anyway, I have only just started to shoot it and that's what I have so far. nice eye box, btw.
Definitely. I didn't buy it because I didn't believe you guys, I was just curious to see the differences myself. At equal price points, it is definitely more of a game scope, where the SWFA is a better hunting scope. As someone pointed out early on in the thread.I think you're seeing why many of us say the glass is...pedestrian. It works, and won't limit you to hitting what you're aiming for, but optical clarity wise, it leaves you kind of flat. That being said, they track like tanks; which ultimately, is more important.
Well I have a dog in this fight being a Burris team shooter, so I'll chime in with my two bits.. I've been fortunate in the fact that the glass is pretty nice on the Burris scopes I own, and haven't really exhibited some of the issues others have encountered.
I have not one bad thing to say about SWFA. I like them, I think they are a very good scope in their price point. My contribution is in the fact that I have spent more time behind XTR II's than just about anyone I know. I have them on my 3 gun rifles, my two PRS rifles, and my hunting rifles. They have all been rock solid through a LOT of hard use and abuse. I thought I actually experienced my very first Burris breakage this weekend at the Dog Valley NRL match in Nephi Utah. My rifle made a 7 hour drive flipped over and riding on the top turret of my scope. The turret was locked up when I took it out of my bag. My groups were atrocious while zeroing. So I swapped to another Burris and found out it was actually the rifle. We got it squared away, the scope is fine. So I can still claim I have had zero issues in reliability in performance with Burris optics.
The XTR II is a solid scope that consistently performs very well. Thanks for considering it!!