Vortex is back with reticled eye piece

[Vamike9]

I just broke down and ordered an angled V-502 and the MRAD eye piece.

It's well worth it to me, have fun bro

 

[cfortune]

I just broke down and ordered an angled V-502 and the MRAD eye piece.

Not to derail the thread but where did you end up buying? I searched around and found largely the same price on the spotter but B&H Photo was including a Vortex GT Tripod for free so that is where I ultimately ended up buying.

Vortex Viper HD 20-60x85 Spotting Scope (Angled Viewing)

Buy Vortex Viper HD 20-60x85 Spotting Scope (Angled Viewing) featuring 45° Angled Viewing, 20-60x Zoom Eyepiece, Large 85mm Objective Lens, Dielectric-Coated Porro Prism, High-Density, Extra-Low Dispersion Glass, XR and ArmorTek Multi-Coated Lenses, Lightweight and Durable Magnesium Body, Argon...

www.bhphotovideo.com

 

[Defender3]

Not to derail the thread but where did you end up buying? I searched around and found largely the same price on the spotter but B&H Photo was including a Vortex GT Tripod for free so that is where I ultimately ended up buying.

Vortex Viper HD 20-60x85 Spotting Scope (Angled Viewing)

Buy Vortex Viper HD 20-60x85 Spotting Scope (Angled Viewing) featuring 45° Angled Viewing, 20-60x Zoom Eyepiece, Large 85mm Objective Lens, Dielectric-Coated Porro Prism, High-Density, Extra-Low Dispersion Glass, XR and ArmorTek Multi-Coated Lenses, Lightweight and Durable Magnesium Body, Argon...

www.bhphotovideo.com

I got it from EuroOptic (I've bought a lot of stuff from them). They honored my mil discount on the spotter and eyepiece through a price match and threw in free shipping.

 

[Vamike9]

Bump for you guys who still don't know about this...

 

[Aries64]

They have a reticle eye piece out for the Razor. It’s been on the market for a a couple years or so.

Razor HD Reticle Eyepiece

Please Select Reticle

vortexoptics.com

Yup Vortex has had one in both gen Razor spotters. It's not new in the Razor line. Just new in the Viper line.

Yes, but this eyepiece has an articulating (rotating) reticle, which allows the user to set the spotting scope up to the left or right of the shooter. In turn, this allows the shooter to alternate between the rifle and spotting scope to check targets by simply turning his or her head to look through the spotting scope.

This Vortex eyepiece is only the second eyepiece I've come across that features an articulating reticle (the other unit being the 30X MIL Optolyth eyepiece). I wonder if Vortex is testing the articulating eyepiece waters with the Viper before designing something for the Razor lineup.

Keith

 

[Rob01]

The Razor does that too.

 

[Aries64]

Yes, but this eyepiece has an articulating (rotating) reticle, which allows the user to set the spotting scope up to the left or right of the shooter. In turn, this allows the shooter to alternate between the rifle and spotting scope to check targets by simply turning his or her head to look through the spotting scope.

This Vortex eyepiece is only the second eyepiece I've come across that features an articulating reticle (the other unit being the 30X MIL Optolyth eyepiece). I wonder if Vortex is testing the articulating eyepiece waters with the Viper before designing something for the Razor lineup.

Keith

The Razor does that too.

Really? So you're saying that the Razor Eyepieces with Reticle (MOA & MIL) allow the Reticle to rotate independently of the Eyepiece. If that's true, I stand corrected. I don't want to get off topic - my point was to hail the Viper Eyepiece's Rotating (aka articulating) reticle, as it is a cool & useful feature.

It's been awhile, but in the few Razor Eyepieces with Reticles that I saw the Reticle was Fixed (non-rotating). I've never been wild about non-rotating reticle eyepieces because for best efficiency the spotting scope Body must be rotated within it's Mounting Collar to 12-6 so the Reticle is square with the horizon. This workaround varies from "works fine" for the shooter directly behind a straight spotter to being a non-starter for a shooter using an angled spotter positioned to the shooter's left or right.

For instance, a shooter using a straight spotting scope with a non-rotating Reticle-equipped Eyepiece can rotate the Scope Body within it's Mounting Collar to orient the Reticle to be square with the horizon. Simple enough, but the shooter has to shift position from being on-the-rifle to being directly behind the scope to view the target, shifting back to on-the-rifle to fire. Obviously, a shooter using an angled spotting scope with a non-rotating Reticle-equipped Eyepiece can also rotate the Scope Body within it's Mounting Collar to orient the Reticle to be square with the horizon. Again simple enough, but the shooter still has to shift position from being on-the-rifle to being directly behind the scope to view the target, shifting back to on-the-rifle to fire. Doable, sure, but awkward at best.

By contrast, a shooter using an angled spotting scope with a rotating Reticle-equipped Eyepiece can set the spotting scope up to his or her right or left, rotate the scope Body within it's Mounting Collar towards the shooter, and rotate the reticle square with the target. The reticle is square to the target and the shooter then simply turns his or her head to use the spotter. There's no shifting positions from on-the-rifle to directly behind the scope to view the target, then back to on-the-rifle to fire. It's much more efficient since the shooter doesn't have to shift positions as when using a straight spotter.

A shooter using an angled spotting scope with a non-rotating Reticle-equipped Eyepiece set-up to his or her left or right can't rotate the reticle square to the target. The reticle will typically be badly out-of-square, rendering the reticle worse-than-useless even if the firing point is flat. (I say "worse-than-useless" because the canted reticle makes it difficult to call impact as well as possibly obscuring the target area). To me the worst thing about angled spotters (regardless of eyepiece), is that their angled design makes them hard-to-use on the fly (hand-held), whereas straight spotters are intuitive and can be picked-up and pointed to acquire the target quickly, especially when moving.


Keith

 

[ken226]

The rotating reticle feature is very convenient. It's handy being able to mil anything in the field of view, regardless of its angle.

I have the 80mm Flourite Optolyth with several eyepieces, including the 30x WA-R reticle eyepiece. The WA-R is my favorite eyepiece, by far. Not just because of the reticle, but because the image quality and field of view are fantastic. I can see the screw heads in metal roof siding at a thousand plus yards.

So, those of you who have tried this new Vortex reticle eyepiece, how does the image quality compare to your standard variable eyepiece, in the same scope?

 

[Rob01]

Really? So you're saying that the Razor Eyepieces with Reticle (MOA & MIL) allow the Reticle to rotate independently of the Eyepiece. If that's true, I stand corrected. I don't want to get off topic - my point was to hail the Viper Eyepiece's Rotating (aka articulating) reticle, as it is a cool & useful feature.

It's been awhile, but in the few Razor Eyepieces with Reticles that I saw the Reticle was Fixed (non-rotating). I've never been wild about non-rotating reticle eyepieces because for best efficiency the spotting scope Body must be rotated within it's Mounting Collar to 12-6 so the Reticle is square with the horizon. This workaround varies from "works fine" for the shooter directly behind a straight spotter to being a non-starter for a shooter using an angled spotter positioned to the shooter's left or right.

For instance, a shooter using a straight spotting scope with a non-rotating Reticle-equipped Eyepiece can rotate the Scope Body within it's Mounting Collar to orient the Reticle to be square with the horizon. Simple enough, but the shooter has to shift position from being on-the-rifle to being directly behind the scope to view the target, shifting back to on-the-rifle to fire. Obviously, a shooter using an angled spotting scope with a non-rotating Reticle-equipped Eyepiece can also rotate the Scope Body within it's Mounting Collar to orient the Reticle to be square with the horizon. Again simple enough, but the shooter still has to shift position from being on-the-rifle to being directly behind the scope to view the target, shifting back to on-the-rifle to fire. Doable, sure, but awkward at best.

By contrast, a shooter using an angled spotting scope with a rotating Reticle-equipped Eyepiece can set the spotting scope up to his or her right or left, rotate the scope Body within it's Mounting Collar towards the shooter, and rotate the reticle square with the target. The reticle is square to the target and the shooter then simply turns his or her head to use the spotter. There's no shifting positions from on-the-rifle to directly behind the scope to view the target, then back to on-the-rifle to fire. It's much more efficient since the shooter doesn't have to shift positions as when using a straight spotter.

A shooter using an angled spotting scope with a non-rotating Reticle-equipped Eyepiece set-up to his or her left or right can't rotate the reticle square to the target. The reticle will typically be badly out-of-square, rendering the reticle worse-than-useless even if the firing point is flat. (I say "worse-than-useless" because the canted reticle makes it difficult to call impact as well as possibly obscuring the target area). To me the worst thing about angled spotters (regardless of eyepiece), is that their angled design makes them hard-to-use on the fly (hand-held), whereas straight spotters are intuitive and can be picked-up and pointed to acquire the target quickly, especially when moving.


Keith

Yes allows the reticle to rotate in the view of the spotter. The original Razors I don't believe did this but the new gen Razors do.

 

[Aries64]

Yes allows the reticle to rotate in the view of the spotter. The original Razors I don't believe did this but the new gen Razors do.

Thanks Rob, good to know. It's very odd that Vortex fails to mention that the reticle in the Razor HD Reticle Eyepiece rotates on the Vortex web site, which is a great feature to have and really is a necessity when using a reticle eyepiece on an angled spotter. It's also kind of weird that the Razor HD Reticle Eyepiece lacks a textured rubber ring inboard of the Diopter's rubber ring for reticle rotation like the Viper HD Reticle Eyepiece and the Optolyth 30X WA Reticle Eyepiece have.

Keith

 

[Rob01]

There is a textured ring. My finger is on it in the pic below.

 

[Aries64]

There is a textured ring. My finger is on it in the pic below. View attachment 7322852

I meant a second rubber ring for rotation. The Viper HD Reticle Eyepiece has two (2) rubber rings. The inboard rubber ring is used to rotate the Reticle while the outboard (rubber) ring is used for Diopter adjustment. The Optolyth 30X WA Reticle Eyepiece's rings are similar in arrangement to those on the Viper HD Reticle Eyepiece. Again, good to know. Thanks!

 

[Rob01]

That one under my finger is the second ring. The top is the diopter adjustment.

 

[Bender]

And allow LOS ranging in addition to automatic angle compensation. My Revic has it's own angle compensation, so it needs LOS range.

Bushnell has ARC in theirs (Angle Range Compensation) It only shows yardage with ARC so no math needed.

 

[MarinePMI]

The Bushnells allow you to turn it off (I have a pair), I would hope Vortex allows that as well.

 

[Defender3]

The new Vortex Viper HD and MRAD eyepiece finally arrived. I like it so far, but hope to get it to the range this weekend for some use.

Sitting on the Manfroto:

Using the MRAD reticle, I should have tweaked the diopter just a tad:

The retention ring can be loosened so you can change the eyepiece angle based on your position:

The eyepiece adjusts so when you do move the tube, you can recenter the reticle:

 

[Rob01]

The retention ring loosening is on the Razor too and I really like that feature.