~~
Vortex claims to have a "unique, VIP, no questions asked, replacement guarantee."
The Vortex dealer tells me that my battered old Vixen achromat is bound to be better than a £1400, brand new, terrestrial, APO, ED, HD [whatever] spotting scope. Simply because it has a longer focal length and simpler eyepieces. They have asked that I return the telescope to the UK for [possible] repair if I still think it is faulty.
I have had the Vortex Razor 85mm for just over a month and it has been a real struggle to ignore its mechanical and image faults. Soft images and violet or blue, false colours at higher powers.
Mechanical:
Ridiculously loose eyepiece rubber ring never stays in place.
Very stiff zoom collar.
Impossibly stiff eyepiece locking ring is very awkwardly placed. Causes broken nails!
The eyepiece frequently refuses to come out of the body.
The stay-on bag is quite simply garbage:
The ridiculous, elasticated lens bags have plastic buckles.Which can easily be trapped and damage the optics!
The bag denies the user access for retracting or extending the sun shield.
I denies the user access to the eyepiece locking ring for eyepiece removal.
It rotates randomly around the body. Making fitting and release from the tripod ridiculously difficult.
The plastic lens caps fall off all the time. Strictly shop display only.
The ridiculously heavy, rubber objective cap is all but impossible to fit and remove.
No lanyard. So where do you keep it when not in use?
Image faults:
Violet wash at higher powers. Dark twigs appear violet against the sky.
Only bright and sharp at lowest power 27x.
Softer at higher powers.
Can't match an elderly and battered 90mm achromat.
Washed out when viewing against the sky.
Poor even for casual astronomy. Moon and [properly filtered] sun both soft and difficult to focus.
None of my videos nor stills through the Vortex will tolerate full screen even on a laptop. Many videos and stills taken with other maker's telescopes easily show the finest feather detail, full screen on my 55" 4K, Sony, OLED TV, via YouTube!
I had completely forgotten there was a 30 day limit on returns. It only seems like a fortnight that I have had it. Though I had to buy parts from several European countries to assemble a complete camera adapter. So the time has soon flown by.
Update: The UK dealer is arranging for home collection of the re-packaged telescope. Since we are self isolating that is a great relief!
A [Danish] bricks and mortar dealer took my money for home delivery of the Manfrotto tripod and video head. The wholesaler completely ignored this and sent it to a parcel pickup point in a shop. With all the attendant risks of infection for my age group! Not happy about that at all after two months of careful isolation!
~~
No comments:
Post a Comment