ED 50 or Vortex Razor 11-33X50....should I wait

[Lil dude]

New member here located in western Montana. After much exhaustive research and trolling these forums I decided my first scope would be a Nikon ED 10-30X50 compact spotter. I was extremely excited about it as it seemed the perfect fit for my lifestyle. I ordered it from BH photo over a month ago and am still waiting but now I see that Vortex is entering the compact spotter market with their Razor HD 11-33x50, sometime this spring from what I can tell.

My question being, the Nikon has always received raving reviews for what it is and I was more then pleased with my choice.....but should I wait and see on this Vortex compact spotter coming this spring. Or is the general feeling that the Nikon will still be on top. Both compact, both ED glass, both look to be in that $650 range.

Any thoughts much appreciated

 

[Grantbvfd]

I would wait for the new vortex personally. The warranty alone is huge. Not to mention all the razor hd glass I have looked through is incredible for the price. I think the new 50 mm will be an excellent product and as good of not better than the ed 50. But only time will tell.

 

[Montana]

I have to stand up for Nikon and their warranty... This last fall I borrowed my buddies and stripped the threads that mount the tripod. 100% my fault being impatient and not used to his tripod. I was sweating this one as Nikon said that is not covered under their warranty since it was no default of the product. Sent it in for repair.... $22.00 and the sent my buddy a brand new scope. Now there are a few companies I support simply due to their customer service.... Cabelas, REI, Patagonia.... and now Nikon. Superior service and high quality products.

Here's the good news... You have a good problem to have, probably can't go wrong. But my vote - Nikon.

 

[Bitterroot Bulls]

Vortex has a No Fault Lifetime Transferrable Warranty.

Montana,

Had it been a Vortex, it would have saved you $22.

That said, looking closely at the two designs, my guess would be the performance is VERY similar. Looks can be deceiving, though, and the Nikon has the advantage of a greater eyepiece selection.

The Vortex also has a dual focus knob.

 

[Lil dude]

Thanks everyone. I was hoping everyone would have more of an opinion (like normal). Even the warranties are basically a wash. I was wondering whether the vortex outer shells are tougher in general. That is the one thing I noticed about the ED 50 comments was that it didn't seem to beefy. It is a high end optic so only so much can be done. Being in Montana we can't get our hands on any of these items unless we order them.

Maybe it will come down to availability. The ED50 has been on order for a month now. I did notice that the ED50 is one of the few items on the web where you google it and can really only find one maybe two places who carry it (and that's not even in stock ever)

Any more thoughts are appreciated

 

[Montana]

In regards to it being beefy>>> Keep in mind they are after a light weight product>

 

[BigSurArcher]

I'll have my new Vortex Razor 50 Saturday. My Nikon ED50 angled is for sale if any of you are interested.

Yes, I'm selling the Nikon to fund the Vortex. I'll find out shortly if it was worth it. Side by side comparison to come by Monday if I still have the Nikon.

 

[Lil dude]

BIg Sur Archer

I will wait for your review on Monday. Where did you find the Vortex 50mm for sale already. A side by side coparison will be much appreciated. I'm thinking of cancelling the ED 50 order today especially if I can get the vortex already. Keep us posted

 

[BigSurArcher]

I was on a waiting list with ElkNut Outdoors since around the first of the year and Vortex just started supplying some of their dealers, luckily I'll have my hands on the first batch he receives.

 

[Montana]

BigSur... Let's chat on your ED 50... Any chance of selling the body only?

 

[BigSurArcher]

Montana, there actually is a chance, a small one. A guy on another site wanted to purchase the eyepiece so if I can coordinate for them to both be sold then I might do it. I'm really not positive I want to get rid of the ED5o yet though. PM me your offer for the body and I will touch base with the guy on the eyepiece.

Here is a little comparison video I put together. I focused more on practicality rather than technicality, figured some guys (Bitterroot) would probably be doing more technical stuff down the road. Besides, anyone can just look up the specs if that's what they want to know about.

[video=vimeo;59926662]http://vimeo.com/59926662[/video]

 

[Montana]

Very nice review... Impressive. PM sent.

 

[Montana]

I think your PM box is full...

 

[BigSurArcher]

Woops sorry about that, I had no idea. I'll clear it up now Montana.

 

[Lil dude]

Thanks....super helpful review to actually see them side by side. Basically what I picked up is if you don't own an ed 50 already, it looks as if the vortex is the way to go with slightly better glass and the fine focus option.

The only con I picked up is that roll down eyepiece? How big of deal is that. It looked like a pain in the butt compared to the twist up on the minox. All in all a rather sloppy design flaw? But, not enough to dissuade you from the vortex I guess.

 

[BigSurArcher]

It's not that big a deal in the grand scheme, but why have an eye cup when you have no choice but to leave it rolled down? I guess a guy could trim it to find a happy medium. I can see where they wanted to keep things simple and keep weight/ cost down by not putting a twist-up on that little eyepiece. They shouldn't have made it so damn deep. Up is too deep, down is too short (for me anyway). It's fine from 11-16x, but after that you need to roll it down. It's pretty stiff so rolling it down and up all the time isn't an efficient option. But since that's the scopes biggest fault so far, I'd say it's doing very well.

 

[Bow newbie]

Great review! Very helpful.

 

[dying to kill]

yes very helpfull, i looked threw a razor 60 yesterday and couldnt believe my eyes just to dern big to carry around.

 

[dying to kill]

BigSur- iv been looking at the viper hd 60x it dont appear to be much bigger than the razor hd compact, their both around the same price, more power for same money not much bigger, any thoughts?

 

[Grantbvfd]

BigSur- iv been looking at the viper hd 60x it dont appear to be much bigger than the razor hd compact, their both around the same price, more power for same money not much bigger, any thoughts?

Are you talking about the 85mm? Im confused... the viper is heavier than the razor line in the same mm. They don't have a 50mm in the viper line.