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Fast Focus Eyepiece Position

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote RifleDude Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: Fast Focus Eyepiece Position
    Posted: February/24/2008 at 14:12
Maybe this topic has been discussed before, but if so, I don't remember it.
 
I've been wondering at what position people find the best eyepiece focus when using the fast focus style eyepieces.  On a typical Euro scope, I've found that best focus for my eye is always when the reference dot or arrow on the focus ring is positioned 90-deg clockwise (3:00 position when looking straight at the eyepiece) from the 12:00 diopter reference mark on the ocular bell.  On a Zeiss, Kahles, Swaro, S&B, etc., this means that the reference mark on the focus ring is pointing toward the brand or series name on the right side of the ocular housing.  I've often wondered where various people find the best focus compared to me, and whether or not my eyesight is radically different from other people, especially since different people can have such widely differing opinions of the optics of various scopes.  
 
At what focus ring position do you find best focus for you? 
Ted


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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Tip69 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February/24/2008 at 15:06
Pretty much all the way turned in............ I think its the 20/20 setting.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote pyro6999 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February/24/2008 at 16:56
i find it intresting myself, my 4200 and my monarch are both turned out a couple of turns and my cheaper scopes i keep bottomed out im not sure if this is attributed to poor glass or if its just the way it looked to me the day i set them
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Tip69 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February/24/2008 at 16:57
I've never had to adjust one........... they have always been in focus to me.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote RifleDude Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February/24/2008 at 18:57
Originally posted by pyro6999 pyro6999 wrote:

i find it intresting myself, my 4200 and my monarch are both turned out a couple of turns and my cheaper scopes i keep bottomed out im not sure if this is attributed to poor glass or if its just the way it looked to me the day i set them
 
Unless you have one of the new Monarchs and the newer style 4200 eyepiece, those scopes don't have the Euro style fast focus eyepiece I'm referring to.  Neither will the cheaper scopes you're referring to.  They would have the conventional fine threaded eyepiece with locking ring where the whole eyepiece rotates to focus like a typical 1" tube Leupold, Burris, etc. comes equipped with.
 
Tip69, the typical Euro fast focus eyepiece comes with the focus ring set on the "0" setting.  If you find best focus turned all the way in, that would be about 270 degrees or so clockwise from "0" into the "-" diopter range. 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote tahqua Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February/24/2008 at 19:03
All of my Kahles are hash mark to the dot which is supposedly 20-20? My Burris SS are cranked out so far I'm worried about the ocular falling off. I can't figure that one out.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote pyro6999 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February/24/2008 at 19:04

affraid your wrong here ted, all of my scopes have fast focus, i dont have any scopes left with the style you are refering to. even my cheapo bushnell trophy has it

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote RifleDude Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February/24/2008 at 19:13
I keep forgetting that many of the newer 1" tube scopes are going to the fast focus eyepiece.  With exception of my Kahles and Swaro 1" scopes, most of my 1" tube scopes of all brands are at least 10 years old and have the conventional threaded eyepiece. 
 
That's rather wierd that you have widely differing focus settings on different scopes.  All of mine end up set in approximately the same position for achieving best focus to my eye.


Edited by RifleDude - February/24/2008 at 19:23
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Dale Clifford Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February/24/2008 at 19:24

not sure I understand the question--probably making to much out of it-- if you screw it in your near sighted, myoptic, if you screw it out you're hyperoptic or far-sighted, the amount depends on how bad of either. To have 2 different scopes stop at the same point , would mean the thread pitch is the same.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote RifleDude Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February/24/2008 at 19:31
Originally posted by Dale Clifford Dale Clifford wrote:

To have 2 different scopes stop at the same point , would mean the thread pitch is the same.

 
Most of the Euro scopes I've seen do have the same thread pitch and all of mine are therefore set in the same relative position for best focus -  about 1/4 turn clockwise from the "0" (12:00) position.  Since the fast focus eyepieces usually only have about 1.5 turns of full adjustment range (or at least all mine do), and since best focus for me always seems to be in the same position, I figured I would see if my observations were common, out of the ordinary, or if there even was a "common" setting.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Dale Clifford Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February/24/2008 at 19:35
I see--- yes all the ones I use are backed out as far as they can go-- thats pretty consistent.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote RifleDude Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February/24/2008 at 19:42
The interesting thing about this for me is that I was shooting my buddy's .300 Ultra this past season and he had his set about 30-degrees CCW from the "0" position.  It was way out of focus for me.  I asked him if it was o.k. to refocus it for my eye while I shot his rifle, and he said sure, no problem.  When I was finished shooting and I handed it back to him, he was curious and compared his previous setting with where I had it set and he said "wow, it looks like it's in sharper focus where you had it than where I did!"
 
I'll frequently be looking through high end scopes with my buddies at gunshows and they'll look through them and kinda have a "ho hum" opinion of them.  Then I'll tell them to just rotate the eyepiece slowly until the image is in sharp focus.  This always results in them changing their minds about the scope's optics.  I have a feeling that many people who have negative impressions of a given high quality scope may in fact just not have the eyepiece in proper focus.


Edited by RifleDude - February/24/2008 at 19:47
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Mojo Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February/24/2008 at 19:46
The Arrow on my KX ocular begins at the 9:00 (when turned all of the way in), pointing at the Kahles name on the left side.  I need to focus the ocular counterclockwise, to the 5:00 position to offer me the best quality.   
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote pyro6999 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February/25/2008 at 08:05
i went back to double check and i lied i only have one scope that has a different setting than the rest, for some reason the setting on my 4200 elite is way further out than my other scopes my cheapo bushnell is further out than my nikons are they are about 1/4-1/2 a turn out from the bottom i would say that the cheapo bushnell is3/4 of a turn and the 4200 is probably more like 7/8 of a turn but i think next time i have them out at the range again i will adjust all of them at the same time on the same target object. i think that may be the issue with the difference i can sit here in my house and look at tack on the wall and screw them all the way in and they still look fine
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Tip69 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February/25/2008 at 08:17
Originally posted by RifleDude RifleDude wrote:

The interesting thing about this for me is that I was shooting my buddy's .300 Ultra this past season and he had his set about 30-degrees CCW from the "0" position.  It was way out of focus for me.  I asked him if it was o.k. to refocus it for my eye while I shot his rifle, and he said sure, no problem.  When I was finished shooting and I handed it back to him, he was curious and compared his previous setting with where I had it set and he said "wow, it looks like it's in sharper focus where you had it than where I did!"
 
I'll frequently be looking through high end scopes with my buddies at gunshows and they'll look through them and kinda have a "ho hum" opinion of them.  Then I'll tell them to just rotate the eyepiece slowly until the image is in sharp focus.  This always results in them changing their minds about the scope's optics.  I have a feeling that many people who have negative impressions of a given high quality scope may in fact just not have the eyepiece in proper focus.
 
I guess this confuses me a bit.... I thought this ring just focused the "reticle".... is that wrong? 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote ckk1106 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February/25/2008 at 15:19
I was thinking the same thing as tips.  When I turn mine it seems to focus the reticle, but does nothing to the picture itself.  
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote RifleDude Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February/25/2008 at 16:54
No, it focuses both the reticle and the target image, and you should find the best focus of BOTH reticle and target image.  You can see this by turning the focus ring all the way in the opposite direction of where the best focus is for you.  With the fine threaded eyepieces, it takes a lot of turning to see a big difference in focus, so the general advice is to find the best reticle focus.  However, if you turn the conventional threaded eyepieces with locking rings too far in either direction, you will eventually have an out of focus image as well as reticle.  Since the fast focus eyepieces have a much coarser thread pitch, it takes less turning to see a more dramatic change in focus.
 
The thing that prompted my question is the fact that all of my fast focus scopes end up set in pretty much the same relative position to give me the best focus.  Since a typical fast focus eyepiece only has about 1.5- 2 total turns of full adjustment, I figured if I compared notes I might find a common trend in how much and in what direction from the "0" position (assuming you move it from "0" at all) you guys end up turning your focus rings to get best focus to your eyes.  From your responses so far, it is evident there isn't any "common" setting, which would indicate everyone who has responded to this thread so far has radically different eyesight.
 
What's puzzling for me is the fact that when I set the diopter setting on a pair of binoculars, the best focus always ends up being close to the "0" setting, whereas with riflescopes with FF eyepiece, the best focus is always slightly in the "-" diopter range from "0" setting.


Edited by RifleDude - February/25/2008 at 16:57
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Mojo Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February/25/2008 at 17:22
RifleDude:  You are correct that adjusting the ocular ring corrects focus for both the image, and the reticle.  After fooling around with it in my rifle rest,  I found that I ended up with the most clarity for both, at the 3:00 position.  This would be one half turn, countetclockwise.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote RifleDude Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February/25/2008 at 17:29
Originally posted by Mojo Mojo wrote:

RifleDude:  You are correct that adjusting the ocular ring corrects focus for both the image, and the reticle.  After fooling around with it in my rifle rest,  I found that I ended up with the most clarity for both, at the 3:00 position.  This would be one half turn, countetclockwise.
 
The 3:00 position is where it's best for me as well, except if I'm looking directly at the eyepiece, the 3:00 position would be 1/4 of a turn clockwise (from the "0" position at 12:00).
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Mojo Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February/25/2008 at 18:01
This is interesting.  I have a mark on the ocular bell at the 12:00 position of my Kahles KX.  I also have a large arrow embossed into the black rubberized protective covering of the ocular adjustment ring.  If I begin when the ring is turned all of the way in toward the ocular bell, the arrow is at the 9:00 position, not the 12:00 position.  I then must turn the ring in a counterclockwise manner to the 3:00 position into focus.  (This increases the overall length of the riflescope.)  I wondered if that arrow was supposed to begin at 12:00, but the rubberized covering appears to be cemented in place.  Practically speaking, it makes no difference, since all you really interested in is proper focus.
 
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