Vortex Razor HD 20-60x85 Spotting Scope USA

Comments about Vortex Razor HD 20-60x85 Spotting Scope:

Short and sweet... I am a birder. I winter in South Florida where the nature areas are beyond compare.

Having birded for the last 10 years or so, I thought that it might be time to upgrade my binoculars. But after going to some of the areas in Florida where a scope would definitely have helped, I decided to jump into the scope arena and defer the bins.

I tried purchasing this scope on the well known online auction website without success and finally decided to go with B&H, from whom I've purchased other photography stuff. And am I glad I did!

This scope is pretty darn close to the Swarovskis and Kowas that some of my friends use (if not slightly better in some regards) -- for roughly half the cost. I was so pleased with this scope that I went back to that well known online auction website and purchased a pair of Vortex Razor HD 10x42 bins. Even though these two purchases are going to send me to the poor house.

At least I'll go a happy man!

Comments about Vortex Razor HD 20-60x85 Spotting Scope:

This scope has great clarity and is very easy to use. Downsides I would say are the eyepiece is a bit tough to get in and out and it would be nice if the lens caps had teathers. Its not light but I have no problem managing it.

Very satisfied and would recommend it.

Comments about Vortex Razor HD 20-60x85 Spotting Scope:

We have only used it once, so far. It was great. Could see great distances and the picture is clear!
Great for birding.

Comments about Vortex Razor HD 20-60x85 Spotting Scope:

5 Stars for Value, 4.5 for performance. Not quite as bright as the Leica or Kona, but awfully good given the $$ differential. I've been using the scope mostly for bird watching/digiscoping and the results have been excellent using my iPhone setup. The macro/micro focus rings are easy to use, and the included case is highly functional as well. Can't beat the warranty!

Comments about Vortex Razor HD 20-60x85 Spotting Scope:

I already own a Zeiss 85mm Diascope, also with a 20-60x eyepiece, so I was able to compare the Razor and the Zeiss side-by-side. My conclusion: the Razer is AT LEAST as good as the Zeiss . . . actually an ooch better.

Resolution: essentially equal. One or the other might be infinitesimally better at various zoom levels, but nothing consistent.
Distortion: no geometric or chromatic distortion I could see in either.
Brightness and color: The Razor is definitely a bit brighter and the colors pop more. Not a giant difference, but the Razor has the edge.
Mechanical: They are physically almost identical, and appear very well-built. The focussing and zoom feel just as smooth and precise on the Razor as the Zeiss.

If you are hesitating over the low price (literally half the price of a Swarovski when you include the eyepiece) or the fact that you've never heard of Vortex, hesitate no more. This is the real thing.

Comments about Vortex Razor HD 20-60x85 Spotting Scope:

This spotting scope fills a void between low priced and high priced scopes at a price point where there is little competition. This scope easily competes with the high price scopes at a cost far below what they cost. This scope does an excellent job in all light levels and is sharp and clear as could be. Highly recommended.

Comments about Vortex Razor HD 20-60x85 Spotting Scope:

I purchased this recently after a very extensive research (I have been looking for basically over a year as I worked myself up to spending this much money), which included field use of several competing scopes (Swarowski, Leica, Nikon and other Vortex models). Ultimately I think that, unless you simply don't care about the money, this scope is by far the best value, as well as optical quality that is as good as all but the very best scopes (which in my view are the top of the line Swarowski, Nikon and Leica scopes, maybe also the Zeiss 85mm).

- Beautiful product - if aesthetics matter to you this scope has real presence.
- Image is fantastic. Having compared side-by-side with top of the line Swarowski (in full light and low light conditions), I would say that at most this scope is 10 percent less sharp/clear than the Swarowski at the extreme zoom range. Others who made the comparison with me saw no difference, or preferred the Vortex. I would suggest similar metrics vis-a-vis some of the other scopes I looked at from Nikon and Leica. This suggests very high optics quality and, except perhaps for those parties looking for professional photography applications, you probably won't notice the difference. Given immense price gap, and the superior warranty, the Vortex is an easy sell. The only other group who may benefit from the very expensive marginal increase in utility are people who may have impaired vision or poor eyesight generally (I found, for example, that my friend's elderly father did benefit from the marginal extra clarity provided from the Swarowski). So the image is good. Very good. But is it the best I have seen? No it is not. However, it is still fantastic and the marginal benefit is not worth the extreme cost and lack of similar warranty that other competitors provide. This scope easily competes with the $3000+ scopes, and all but the most picky ought to be very much impressed.
- Very robust construction. My main uses for this product are long range target shooting (500m+) and deep field wildlife observation (viewing animals in the Canadian back country). The provided carrying bag and the solid construction leave me confident lugging this around in the field.
- For those looking to use this in the deep field, however, it is BIG and heavy. Not something to be added to your backpacking or hunting packs lightly. Also, I do not find the angled construction to be as convenient for glassing as the strait tube - as my main purpose is target shooting and observation this is not an issue for me as the angled scope is preferred for those applications, but if you are using this as a glassing piece for hunting or for bird watching, I would recommend the straight tube (or, frankly, a good set of binoculars with which I find it easier to acquire, analyze and track game and other animals).
- Eyepiece is very comfortable and provides good eye relief. The turning resistance is exactly right—won't turn on its own or with inadvertent touching, but is easy to turn.
- Carrying case is quite good, but not perfect. It would have been nice to see a little more room on the lower zipper (that covers the tripod foot) to more easily accommodate a screw-on proprietary tripod foot (you'll probably want to take this off your preferred tripod and just leave it on the scope for easy mounting). I leave a tripod quick release plate attached (screwed to the foot on the Vortex), but it makes operating the zipper a little bit tight. Additionally, would have added a few small pouches to the case for storing cleaning clothes, solution, and the aiming sight when it is not on the scope. But these are minor detriments.
- Focus knobs are perfect. Very useful and much less frustrating than some of the knobs on other spotting scopes.
- Delivery box was well padded and nicely presented.
- Will be looking to get the camera adapters, but have not had the opportunity to do this yet.
- Sunshade is excellent.
- My package was missing the aiming sight--I called B&H. They offered to either exchange my product or have the manufacturer send me the part (either way at no cost to me). I chose the latter as I didn't want to let go of the scope during the exchange period. Spoke to Vortex (30 second wait time on hold) and they are mailing me the part free of charge (all the way to Canada). Kudos to both B&H and Vortex for standing behind the products they sell and manufacture, respectively. Note that due to this I was not able to review the accuracy or effectiveness of the aiming sight.
- As I use this in the field I have paired it with a large but cheap ($40) tripod. Regardless of what quality of tripod you will be using this on, do not pair the product with a light-weight compact size tripod. This is a large piece of equipment and anything other than a large tripod will not serve you well. I would like to get a nice Vortex tripod in the future to accompany this, but given financial constraints (I just spent all my money on the scope!) I picked-up a very big but cheap tripod which works well.

Hope this review can be of some use.

Happy glassing.

M

Comments about Vortex Razor HD 20-60x85 Spotting Scope:

Clear Brilliant image, great for viewing wildlife and spotting arrows for archery. Comes with a fitted cover that fits snugly.

Comments about Vortex Razor HD 20-60x85 Spotting Scope:

Needed a really high-powered high-quality scope to watch the birds, seals, beach & boating activity from our new ocean-front home. This hit the mark. Did lots of research on web & with friends -- other 3 contenders were twice as expensive, but without appreciable benefit for a 1st time user. Razor has been terrific - great viewing & easy to use. Also got Vortex camera attachments & Ridgeview tripod. Happy with all. Highly recommended.

Comments about Vortex Razor HD 20-60x85 Spotting Scope:

Birding and other local wildlife. Replacing a cheap other brand scope and wanted one that can work well in digiscoping. After long and extensive research the Razor came out on top. The eye relief is better than many of the 'top names' and seems just as bright. So far all of the DSLR's I have tried work well with the adapters from Vortex. I still need alot of practice as I get more bird back ends or empty branches than anything - but they seem sharp. I tried on old P&S and it even seemed to work well if the light is bright enough.

A eyepiece specifically designed for digiscoping would really fill out the package.

Comments about Vortex Razor HD 20-60x85 Spotting Scope:

After reading all of the positive reviews on this scope, I was hopeful. The scope has met my expectations.

The scope is easy to use. The dual-focus is nice, but I use the fine focus almost exclusively, probably because I tend to use it for a particular range for spotting birds.

The optics are great. I'd heard about the edge-to-edge clarity and it was true. I focused on a nestling Red-Tailed Hawk that was on the ledge of a building in NYC. I had the field of view set to the ledge walls on each side. As the hawk jump-flapped back and forth, she was in sharp detail the whole time. Made the purchase worthwhile.

The eye relief is good for an eyeglass wearer like me. I did lose a little bit of the edges, but when spotting that was less important than when glassing with binoculars.

The case is free, so it's hard to knock it, but it's the only thing I really had any problems with. The (thin width) strap might have been okay, but because of the position of the hooks, the weight kept pulling it off my shoulder. With the quick-release on, I couldn't close the zipper easily, so I had to leave the bottom zipper (for tripod) unzipped. Similarly, when I had the digiscoping adapter on, it was hard to zip closed. I'd pay a little more for a nicer case, and would buy it if sold separately, but it's still a nice case.

The weight is fine and putting it on and taking it off the tripod were fine.

I wish the tripod adapter had the quick-release format already built in. When using a screw-on QR, it would sometimes twist a little, which gets magnified 20-60x of course. I'm sure that's part of keeping the cost down, but I'd pay a little more for that.

Yes, like many people have reported, the front lens cover is harder to take off and put on, but I'd rather have that than like some of my binoculars where I've thrown away caps because they didn't stay on. I use string to tie the caps to the connector on the rangefinder.

Speaking of the rangefinder, when using the digiscoping adapter, you might as well take it off as many do. It's not required, because the adapter will fit, but the adapter pressed on the rangefinder and threw off its alignment, making it unuseful. Otherwise, the adapter worked well with my DLSR.

The large 85mm lens does make a difference. Some have noted the help in low-light conditions like dawn and dusk, but I don't encounter those much. However, when looking at birds in shadows or on cloudy days, the extra light-gathering ability makes the feather detail stand out.

Of course, a tripod is a must. Use the savings to get a nice one!

Comments about Vortex Razor HD 20-60x85 Spotting Scope:

The first great thing I noticed with the Razor was that I didn't have to remove my eyeglasses while using the scope at ANY magnification level. Also, the big lens provides as bright an image as any other higher priced scope that I've seen.

Comments about Vortex Razor HD 20-60x85 Spotting Scope:

A high quality, functional, very clear spotting scope. It blows away other spotting scopes as far as clarity and ease of use and has optic clarity and quality as good or better than Swarovski and Leica but at half the price. I would definately recommend this product.

Comments about Vortex Razor HD 20-60x85 Spotting Scope:

Review Of Vortex Razor HD 85mm spotting scope
By Jeff W.
Professional Naturalist /Guide for The Nature Conservancy, Montana.

Pros:
· Clear sharp images,
· Excellent resolution.
· Well built and solid
· Smooth zoom
· Smooth and adjustable eye relief
· Wide field of view
· Out standing price!
· Unbeatable Warranty

Cons:
· Not enough eye relief for some people with glasses
· Lens caps may not work with some filters
· The View through case is poorly fitted and cumbersome.
· Sunshade slides out too easily (a small rubber ring would help)

Bottom Line:
This is an outstanding scope at a great price.
The other leading optics manufacturers may have a slight edge over the Vortex in some areas, but this scope holds its own with the very best leading with a great price and the best warranty in the business.

More about how I found the Vortex.
I have been using a Leica APO 77mm scope and Leica binoculars for years.
I have a straight view Leica. This came to be a problem guiding because of the long hours glassing for bears and other wildlife as well and that it will not accommodate users of differing heights easily. So, I started looking for a replacement scope. I went to Leica first, but the new Leica APO 82 was selling for several thousands of dollars!
That made me pause and look around. I read some reviews of the Vortex. It sounded like a top quality scope at a reasonable price . However, the price made me wonder if I would notice a difference in quality from the other top scope manufacturers.
Fortunately, due to my work, I have access to many top scopes for comparisons including Swarovski, Nikon, and Leica.

I was able to test the Vortex scope in the field for several weeks. I also set up a 100 yard Snell eye chart comparison. I am very impressed with the Vortex performance both in day- to-day field use and in direct comparison to several other excellent scopes.

Resolution and sharpness

In the resolution tests I set up, the Vortex scored equal to other scopes tested against.

For my resolution test, I set each of the four scopes on a sturdy tripod viewing a Snell Eye Chart at 100 yards on a cloudless, Montana afternoon. I had several different testers read the eye chart through each scope several time, and at different magnifications. I varied the order for scopes and the direction that they read the lines of the eye chart.

The scopes I compared were:
Vortex Razor HD 85mm w/20z-60x
Leica APO 77 w/20x-60x
Swarovski 80mm STS HD w 20x-60x
Nikon Fieldscope 82mm ED w/ 25x-75x

Here are the results of my Snell Eye Chart comparisons.
All were great scopes.
None of the scopes tested were able to clearly resolve one line smaller than the others. In other words, all appeared equally clear.
In most runs of the test the Vortex had the same accuracy as the Leica. There was some variation from one test to another and from one tester to another.

When trying to read 5 mm lettering at 100 yards, body position and eye relief were very important. If one's position was not in correct, testers had more difficulty with some letters.

After hours of squinting at the eye chart, the impressions of the testers were:
The Leica might have been the sharpest, but not by much. The Vortex was a very very close second and even that was not a sure thing. The Swarovski and Nikon were about equal, and just behind the Leica and the Vortex.

We did however notice more chromatic aberration in the Swarovski and in the Nikon than with the Leica and the Vortex. The Vortex had warmer cast to the view, almost like a slight warming filter and the Leica and Swarovski had a cooler cast like a cooling filter. I do not think this is good or bad just different. One of the testers said "that they though the Vortex had great contrast in relation to the other scopes." I did find that some style of glasses made it difficult to get the appropriate amount of eye relief for one tester.

Body and construction

The Vortex razor feels very well made. The zoom operates smoothly. I really like the duel focus knobs that are very smooth and have no lag in the rolling of them.
I really like that the eye-piece locks in place with a pin. I would prefer all rubber armor on the body like the Leica and Swarovski.. I also find the sun shade slides out too freely for my tastes. I think the Objective lens cap might not fit well if you put a protective filter on but I did not test this.
I also like how smooth and firm the eye-cup twists out. making for great eye-relief adjustment.

Now for some real world use.
I used the Vortex in the field leading wildlife watching expeditions and hikes.
I also tested it watching White-winged Cross bills feeding. I loved the color rendition I got through the Vortex. I saw great highlights in the bird's feathers.

I used the scope several times at dusk looking for grizzly bears at Pine Butte Preserve in Montana. The Vortex did very well in the poor light- even in the rain. The Vortex scope was even brighter than my Leica binoculars. I had several of my clients comment on how bright and sharp they thought the scope was. We watched several moose and were able to see the velvet on the antlers from ½ a mile. I was able to pick out elk from nearly two miles away, and we watched a female grizzly with two cubs run across a meadow. The detail in their hair was excellent. You could see her coat ripple and move as she stood up to smell us. One major difference I noticed: at 60x the Lexica and Swarovski realy seemed to tunnel down and have small field of view. The Vortex seemed much bigger and brighter. This was most observable when looking at wildlife over one mile away in poor light.

Summary
The Vortex Razor is a top quality scope. You might get slightly more from a $4000 dollar scope, but I do not think it would be a difference that mattered.
The Razor has by far the best warranty in the industry and that is a huge benefit to me.
If you drop the Vortex and break it ;Vortex will fix it. You will not get this with Leica, Swoarvski, or Kowa. Nikon had a great warranty too, but it is not transferable to another owner of the scope. The Vortex warranty stays with the scope not the owner!

I have loved using the scope on the job. I am very impressed by the scope and will seriously look at other Vortex products in the future. I think that if they can keep up the quality and the affordable prices, we will hear a lot more about Vortex Optics.

Comments about Vortex Razor HD 20-60x85 Spotting Scope:

I am a birdwatching enthusiast. After much comparison of plenty high end scopes I believe this one fits my need without breaking my budget. Great construction quality. Easy focus and crisp vision. The lifetime warranty was a big factor in my choise. I also use Vortex binoculars.I would recommend this product to my friends [...]

Comments about Vortex Razor HD 20-60x85 Spotting Scope:

For the money, the Vortex Razor provides the most high performance optics on the market. The HD glass provides a clear view with not discoloration on the edges. I use this for birding/wildlife watching in general and have been able to see more at a higher quality with the razor. Highly recommended!

Comments about Vortex Razor HD 20-60x85 Spotting Scope:

Short and sweet... I am a birder. I winter in South Florida where the nature areas are beyond compare.

Having birded for the last 10 years or so, I thought that it might be time to upgrade my binoculars. But after going to some of the areas in Florida where a scope would definitely have helped, I decided to jump into the scope arena and defer the bins.

I tried purchasing this scope on the well known online auction website without success and finally decided to go with B&H, from whom I've purchased other photography stuff. And am I glad I did!

This scope is pretty darn close to the Swarovskis and Kowas that some of my friends use (if not slightly better in some regards) -- for roughly half the cost. I was so pleased with this scope that I went back to that well known online auction website and purchased a pair of Vortex Razor HD 10x42 bins. Even though these two purchases are going to send me to the poor house.

At least I'll go a happy man!

Comments about Vortex Razor HD 20-60x85 Spotting Scope:

This scope has great clarity and is very easy to use. Downsides I would say are the eyepiece is a bit tough to get in and out and it would be nice if the lens caps had teathers. Its not light but I have no problem managing it.

Very satisfied and would recommend it.

Comments about Vortex Razor HD 20-60x85 Spotting Scope:

We have only used it once, so far. It was great. Could see great distances and the picture is clear!
Great for birding.

Comments about Vortex Razor HD 20-60x85 Spotting Scope:

5 Stars for Value, 4.5 for performance. Not quite as bright as the Leica or Kona, but awfully good given the $$ differential. I've been using the scope mostly for bird watching/digiscoping and the results have been excellent using my iPhone setup. The macro/micro focus rings are easy to use, and the included case is highly functional as well. Can't beat the warranty!

Comments about Vortex Razor HD 20-60x85 Spotting Scope:

I already own a Zeiss 85mm Diascope, also with a 20-60x eyepiece, so I was able to compare the Razor and the Zeiss side-by-side. My conclusion: the Razer is AT LEAST as good as the Zeiss . . . actually an ooch better.

Resolution: essentially equal. One or the other might be infinitesimally better at various zoom levels, but nothing consistent.
Distortion: no geometric or chromatic distortion I could see in either.
Brightness and color: The Razor is definitely a bit brighter and the colors pop more. Not a giant difference, but the Razor has the edge.
Mechanical: They are physically almost identical, and appear very well-built. The focussing and zoom feel just as smooth and precise on the Razor as the Zeiss.

If you are hesitating over the low price (literally half the price of a Swarovski when you include the eyepiece) or the fact that you've never heard of Vortex, hesitate no more. This is the real thing.

Comments about Vortex Razor HD 20-60x85 Spotting Scope:

This spotting scope fills a void between low priced and high priced scopes at a price point where there is little competition. This scope easily competes with the high price scopes at a cost far below what they cost. This scope does an excellent job in all light levels and is sharp and clear as could be. Highly recommended.

Comments about Vortex Razor HD 20-60x85 Spotting Scope:

I purchased this recently after a very extensive research (I have been looking for basically over a year as I worked myself up to spending this much money), which included field use of several competing scopes (Swarowski, Leica, Nikon and other Vortex models). Ultimately I think that, unless you simply don't care about the money, this scope is by far the best value, as well as optical quality that is as good as all but the very best scopes (which in my view are the top of the line Swarowski, Nikon and Leica scopes, maybe also the Zeiss 85mm).

- Beautiful product - if aesthetics matter to you this scope has real presence.
- Image is fantastic. Having compared side-by-side with top of the line Swarowski (in full light and low light conditions), I would say that at most this scope is 10 percent less sharp/clear than the Swarowski at the extreme zoom range. Others who made the comparison with me saw no difference, or preferred the Vortex. I would suggest similar metrics vis-a-vis some of the other scopes I looked at from Nikon and Leica. This suggests very high optics quality and, except perhaps for those parties looking for professional photography applications, you probably won't notice the difference. Given immense price gap, and the superior warranty, the Vortex is an easy sell. The only other group who may benefit from the very expensive marginal increase in utility are people who may have impaired vision or poor eyesight generally (I found, for example, that my friend's elderly father did benefit from the marginal extra clarity provided from the Swarowski). So the image is good. Very good. But is it the best I have seen? No it is not. However, it is still fantastic and the marginal benefit is not worth the extreme cost and lack of similar warranty that other competitors provide. This scope easily competes with the $3000+ scopes, and all but the most picky ought to be very much impressed.
- Very robust construction. My main uses for this product are long range target shooting (500m+) and deep field wildlife observation (viewing animals in the Canadian back country). The provided carrying bag and the solid construction leave me confident lugging this around in the field.
- For those looking to use this in the deep field, however, it is BIG and heavy. Not something to be added to your backpacking or hunting packs lightly. Also, I do not find the angled construction to be as convenient for glassing as the strait tube - as my main purpose is target shooting and observation this is not an issue for me as the angled scope is preferred for those applications, but if you are using this as a glassing piece for hunting or for bird watching, I would recommend the straight tube (or, frankly, a good set of binoculars with which I find it easier to acquire, analyze and track game and other animals).
- Eyepiece is very comfortable and provides good eye relief. The turning resistance is exactly right—won't turn on its own or with inadvertent touching, but is easy to turn.
- Carrying case is quite good, but not perfect. It would have been nice to see a little more room on the lower zipper (that covers the tripod foot) to more easily accommodate a screw-on proprietary tripod foot (you'll probably want to take this off your preferred tripod and just leave it on the scope for easy mounting). I leave a tripod quick release plate attached (screwed to the foot on the Vortex), but it makes operating the zipper a little bit tight. Additionally, would have added a few small pouches to the case for storing cleaning clothes, solution, and the aiming sight when it is not on the scope. But these are minor detriments.
- Focus knobs are perfect. Very useful and much less frustrating than some of the knobs on other spotting scopes.
- Delivery box was well padded and nicely presented.
- Will be looking to get the camera adapters, but have not had the opportunity to do this yet.
- Sunshade is excellent.
- My package was missing the aiming sight--I called B&H. They offered to either exchange my product or have the manufacturer send me the part (either way at no cost to me). I chose the latter as I didn't want to let go of the scope during the exchange period. Spoke to Vortex (30 second wait time on hold) and they are mailing me the part free of charge (all the way to Canada). Kudos to both B&H and Vortex for standing behind the products they sell and manufacture, respectively. Note that due to this I was not able to review the accuracy or effectiveness of the aiming sight.
- As I use this in the field I have paired it with a large but cheap ($40) tripod. Regardless of what quality of tripod you will be using this on, do not pair the product with a light-weight compact size tripod. This is a large piece of equipment and anything other than a large tripod will not serve you well. I would like to get a nice Vortex tripod in the future to accompany this, but given financial constraints (I just spent all my money on the scope!) I picked-up a very big but cheap tripod which works well.

Hope this review can be of some use.

Happy glassing.

M

Comments about Vortex Razor HD 20-60x85 Spotting Scope:

Clear Brilliant image, great for viewing wildlife and spotting arrows for archery. Comes with a fitted cover that fits snugly.

Comments about Vortex Razor HD 20-60x85 Spotting Scope:

Needed a really high-powered high-quality scope to watch the birds, seals, beach & boating activity from our new ocean-front home. This hit the mark. Did lots of research on web & with friends -- other 3 contenders were twice as expensive, but without appreciable benefit for a 1st time user. Razor has been terrific - great viewing & easy to use. Also got Vortex camera attachments & Ridgeview tripod. Happy with all. Highly recommended.

Comments about Vortex Razor HD 20-60x85 Spotting Scope:

Birding and other local wildlife. Replacing a cheap other brand scope and wanted one that can work well in digiscoping. After long and extensive research the Razor came out on top. The eye relief is better than many of the 'top names' and seems just as bright. So far all of the DSLR's I have tried work well with the adapters from Vortex. I still need alot of practice as I get more bird back ends or empty branches than anything - but they seem sharp. I tried on old P&S and it even seemed to work well if the light is bright enough.

A eyepiece specifically designed for digiscoping would really fill out the package.

Comments about Vortex Razor HD 20-60x85 Spotting Scope:

After reading all of the positive reviews on this scope, I was hopeful. The scope has met my expectations.

The scope is easy to use. The dual-focus is nice, but I use the fine focus almost exclusively, probably because I tend to use it for a particular range for spotting birds.

The optics are great. I'd heard about the edge-to-edge clarity and it was true. I focused on a nestling Red-Tailed Hawk that was on the ledge of a building in NYC. I had the field of view set to the ledge walls on each side. As the hawk jump-flapped back and forth, she was in sharp detail the whole time. Made the purchase worthwhile.

The eye relief is good for an eyeglass wearer like me. I did lose a little bit of the edges, but when spotting that was less important than when glassing with binoculars.

The case is free, so it's hard to knock it, but it's the only thing I really had any problems with. The (thin width) strap might have been okay, but because of the position of the hooks, the weight kept pulling it off my shoulder. With the quick-release on, I couldn't close the zipper easily, so I had to leave the bottom zipper (for tripod) unzipped. Similarly, when I had the digiscoping adapter on, it was hard to zip closed. I'd pay a little more for a nicer case, and would buy it if sold separately, but it's still a nice case.

The weight is fine and putting it on and taking it off the tripod were fine.

I wish the tripod adapter had the quick-release format already built in. When using a screw-on QR, it would sometimes twist a little, which gets magnified 20-60x of course. I'm sure that's part of keeping the cost down, but I'd pay a little more for that.

Yes, like many people have reported, the front lens cover is harder to take off and put on, but I'd rather have that than like some of my binoculars where I've thrown away caps because they didn't stay on. I use string to tie the caps to the connector on the rangefinder.

Speaking of the rangefinder, when using the digiscoping adapter, you might as well take it off as many do. It's not required, because the adapter will fit, but the adapter pressed on the rangefinder and threw off its alignment, making it unuseful. Otherwise, the adapter worked well with my DLSR.

The large 85mm lens does make a difference. Some have noted the help in low-light conditions like dawn and dusk, but I don't encounter those much. However, when looking at birds in shadows or on cloudy days, the extra light-gathering ability makes the feather detail stand out.

Of course, a tripod is a must. Use the savings to get a nice one!

Comments about Vortex Razor HD 20-60x85 Spotting Scope:

The first great thing I noticed with the Razor was that I didn't have to remove my eyeglasses while using the scope at ANY magnification level. Also, the big lens provides as bright an image as any other higher priced scope that I've seen.

Comments about Vortex Razor HD 20-60x85 Spotting Scope:

A high quality, functional, very clear spotting scope. It blows away other spotting scopes as far as clarity and ease of use and has optic clarity and quality as good or better than Swarovski and Leica but at half the price. I would definately recommend this product.

Comments about Vortex Razor HD 20-60x85 Spotting Scope:

Review Of Vortex Razor HD 85mm spotting scope
By Jeff W.
Professional Naturalist /Guide for The Nature Conservancy, Montana.

Pros:
· Clear sharp images,
· Excellent resolution.
· Well built and solid
· Smooth zoom
· Smooth and adjustable eye relief
· Wide field of view
· Out standing price!
· Unbeatable Warranty

Cons:
· Not enough eye relief for some people with glasses
· Lens caps may not work with some filters
· The View through case is poorly fitted and cumbersome.
· Sunshade slides out too easily (a small rubber ring would help)

Bottom Line:
This is an outstanding scope at a great price.
The other leading optics manufacturers may have a slight edge over the Vortex in some areas, but this scope holds its own with the very best leading with a great price and the best warranty in the business.

More about how I found the Vortex.
I have been using a Leica APO 77mm scope and Leica binoculars for years.
I have a straight view Leica. This came to be a problem guiding because of the long hours glassing for bears and other wildlife as well and that it will not accommodate users of differing heights easily. So, I started looking for a replacement scope. I went to Leica first, but the new Leica APO 82 was selling for several thousands of dollars!
That made me pause and look around. I read some reviews of the Vortex. It sounded like a top quality scope at a reasonable price . However, the price made me wonder if I would notice a difference in quality from the other top scope manufacturers.
Fortunately, due to my work, I have access to many top scopes for comparisons including Swarovski, Nikon, and Leica.

I was able to test the Vortex scope in the field for several weeks. I also set up a 100 yard Snell eye chart comparison. I am very impressed with the Vortex performance both in day- to-day field use and in direct comparison to several other excellent scopes.

Resolution and sharpness

In the resolution tests I set up, the Vortex scored equal to other scopes tested against.

For my resolution test, I set each of the four scopes on a sturdy tripod viewing a Snell Eye Chart at 100 yards on a cloudless, Montana afternoon. I had several different testers read the eye chart through each scope several time, and at different magnifications. I varied the order for scopes and the direction that they read the lines of the eye chart.

The scopes I compared were:
Vortex Razor HD 85mm w/20z-60x
Leica APO 77 w/20x-60x
Swarovski 80mm STS HD w 20x-60x
Nikon Fieldscope 82mm ED w/ 25x-75x

Here are the results of my Snell Eye Chart comparisons.
All were great scopes.
None of the scopes tested were able to clearly resolve one line smaller than the others. In other words, all appeared equally clear.
In most runs of the test the Vortex had the same accuracy as the Leica. There was some variation from one test to another and from one tester to another.

When trying to read 5 mm lettering at 100 yards, body position and eye relief were very important. If one's position was not in correct, testers had more difficulty with some letters.

After hours of squinting at the eye chart, the impressions of the testers were:
The Leica might have been the sharpest, but not by much. The Vortex was a very very close second and even that was not a sure thing. The Swarovski and Nikon were about equal, and just behind the Leica and the Vortex.

We did however notice more chromatic aberration in the Swarovski and in the Nikon than with the Leica and the Vortex. The Vortex had warmer cast to the view, almost like a slight warming filter and the Leica and Swarovski had a cooler cast like a cooling filter. I do not think this is good or bad just different. One of the testers said "that they though the Vortex had great contrast in relation to the other scopes." I did find that some style of glasses made it difficult to get the appropriate amount of eye relief for one tester.

Body and construction

The Vortex razor feels very well made. The zoom operates smoothly. I really like the duel focus knobs that are very smooth and have no lag in the rolling of them.
I really like that the eye-piece locks in place with a pin. I would prefer all rubber armor on the body like the Leica and Swarovski.. I also find the sun shade slides out too freely for my tastes. I think the Objective lens cap might not fit well if you put a protective filter on but I did not test this.
I also like how smooth and firm the eye-cup twists out. making for great eye-relief adjustment.

Now for some real world use.
I used the Vortex in the field leading wildlife watching expeditions and hikes.
I also tested it watching White-winged Cross bills feeding. I loved the color rendition I got through the Vortex. I saw great highlights in the bird's feathers.

I used the scope several times at dusk looking for grizzly bears at Pine Butte Preserve in Montana. The Vortex did very well in the poor light- even in the rain. The Vortex scope was even brighter than my Leica binoculars. I had several of my clients comment on how bright and sharp they thought the scope was. We watched several moose and were able to see the velvet on the antlers from ½ a mile. I was able to pick out elk from nearly two miles away, and we watched a female grizzly with two cubs run across a meadow. The detail in their hair was excellent. You could see her coat ripple and move as she stood up to smell us. One major difference I noticed: at 60x the Lexica and Swarovski realy seemed to tunnel down and have small field of view. The Vortex seemed much bigger and brighter. This was most observable when looking at wildlife over one mile away in poor light.

Summary
The Vortex Razor is a top quality scope. You might get slightly more from a $4000 dollar scope, but I do not think it would be a difference that mattered.
The Razor has by far the best warranty in the industry and that is a huge benefit to me.
If you drop the Vortex and break it ;Vortex will fix it. You will not get this with Leica, Swoarvski, or Kowa. Nikon had a great warranty too, but it is not transferable to another owner of the scope. The Vortex warranty stays with the scope not the owner!

I have loved using the scope on the job. I am very impressed by the scope and will seriously look at other Vortex products in the future. I think that if they can keep up the quality and the affordable prices, we will hear a lot more about Vortex Optics.

Comments about Vortex Razor HD 20-60x85 Spotting Scope:

I am a birdwatching enthusiast. After much comparison of plenty high end scopes I believe this one fits my need without breaking my budget. Great construction quality. Easy focus and crisp vision. The lifetime warranty was a big factor in my choise. I also use Vortex binoculars.I would recommend this product to my friends [...]

Comments about Vortex Razor HD 20-60x85 Spotting Scope:

For the money, the Vortex Razor provides the most high performance optics on the market. The HD glass provides a clear view with not discoloration on the edges. I use this for birding/wildlife watching in general and have been able to see more at a higher quality with the razor. Highly recommended!