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Vortex Talon HD

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    Posted: January/18/2011 at 23:37
Hi, I am new to the Optics talk forum. Just wondering if anyone has got an opportunity to look at the Vortex Talon HD yet. I see there are a few retailers that have them listed already, but I can't find any reviews. Thanks
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Klamath Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January/19/2011 at 00:18
I don't think you will hear much until after SHOT is over. 
 
I will take an educated guess about the Talon and tell you to look at the ZEN ED 2 reviews.  I think the Talon HD is nothing more than the Atlas Intrepid morphed over into the Vortex line with a Talon HD label, with a bit different armor style to change the look a little.  I have had the Intrepid for review and own ZEN ED 2 and Promaster ELX ED binoculars.  So I do not think that at the price level of the Talon HD they will reinvent the wheel when there is a binocular just like it already out there, especially one branded from a company they (Vortex) basically own anyway.  Just add a different armor and sell it.  The specs are identical.  I'd guess it has dielectric prism coatings, but I don't know
 
Don't place a lot of stock in the HD moniker either.  It is just Market-speak and really tells you nothing.  Everything Vortex is calling HD (they say for High Definition) already has high definition glass in it anyway,  They just used to call it XD glass.  There are undoubtedly changes in the majority of the HD series but I don't think anybody knows beyond what Vortex will say about it.
 
Welcome to Optics Talk.  I like your avatar too.


Edited by Klamath - January/19/2011 at 00:24
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote switchback Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January/19/2011 at 00:46
Thanks. That is what I sort of expected with the "HD" label, but was also hoping it would put them up to par optically with the Zen ED2. Right now I am on the fence on what Binos I want to purchase, between the Zen ED2 and the Vortex Vipers. I have compared both over and over again, and the optics of the Zen ED2's make it almost a no brainer, but I am hung up on what basically sounds like a "no fault" warranty with Vortex and that is a big deal to me, cause s#!t happens. I have not found much on reviews of whether Zen Ray honors warranty work on accidental user damage. 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote lucytuma Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January/19/2011 at 07:55
It you are sincerely concerned about warranty, I would strongly suggest Vortex. They are known to be fantastic in this regard.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote switchback Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January/19/2011 at 21:40

Yeah, warranty is a big concern for me, but good optics is also very important. Guess I want my cake and eat it too...for under $500, am I kidding myself that there is such a thing.Loco

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Klamath Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January/19/2011 at 22:38
Originally posted by switchback switchback wrote:

Yeah, warranty is a big concern for me, but good optics is also very important. Guess I want my cake and eat it too...for under $500, am I kidding myself that there is such a thing.Loco

I suppose we all appreciate good warranty and service.  Vortex certainly has that.  I've used it before and it works just like they say it does.  Even beyond manufacturer issues and covers stupidity.  But you do have to pay for that.  What that is worth is up to you.  The Talon is $579 and comes with the Vortex warranty.  That seems to tag about $100 on to the price.  The ZEN ED is about $450 and has a no fault one year and lifetime manufacturer defect warranty.  Run over it and too bad.  But any glass should show manufacturers defect in the fault free one year period.  It's probably going to be three models obsolete at the end of ten years anyway.  Theron with their Wapiti binoculars is simililar, but are less than $400.  So you just about can have your cake and eat it too.  Just a bit over $500 for the full warranty and just a bit under $450 for a 10 year.  Which you like is up to you. Zen Ray is establishing a pretty good track record in standing up for their stuff beyond the warranty.

Edited by Klamath - January/19/2011 at 22:41
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote switchback Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January/20/2011 at 00:26
Thanks Klamath. Actually the Talon HD's retail for $459, but I see your point. I actually got in touch with Zen Ray and gave them some examples of what I thought would possibly cause "accidental" damage while out hunting and the reply I got was, they would be covered as long as the binoculars were not damaged intentionally. Sounds like Zen Ray is serious about standing behind their product.Excellent 

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Midwest_Hunter Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January/20/2011 at 13:41
Klamath you seem to put down vortex products and push zen rays in multiple threads. Just an observation I've made...
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Klamath Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January/20/2011 at 19:17
Originally posted by Midwest_Hunter Midwest_Hunter wrote:

Klamath you seem to put down vortex products and push zen rays in multiple threads. Just an observation I've made...
 
I have always had Vortex products, have them today in fact.  I thought I was saying in the above post was that Vortex had really excellent warranty and service, which they do, and which I have applauded them for in every forum I have ever posted on.  Having said that, I do happen to think that the Zen Ray lines currently have better value for the price at each of their price points than the comparable Vortex product.  I happen to think the ZEN ED 2 has a better image than the original Vortex Razor.  Maybe that has changed with the new HD series.  If that is how I see it when I see them, then I will say so.  I call what I see, like I see it, nothing more.  That's my personal opinion, nothing more.  If it offends you...then it offends you I guess. 
 
I have nothing against Vortex products.  I think Vortex is a fine company with a good vision.  I may have got a bit off track in the post above as I quoted the Talon HD price off the Vortex website.  That is $579, apparently that is wrong.  I shot myself in the foot there by assuming (never a good thing) the warranty and service was the cost difference.  I do not think that warranty and service policy comes without cost, which was my point, not a put down of Vortex. 
 
Another point that needs to be made here.  There were several of us who got (Edit:  I should have said posted, I didn't get my first ZEN ED until after they had been out on the market for awhile)  the ZEN ED series glass early.  When the firsts posts came out there was a chorus of "...cheap Chinese junk...nothing but knockoffs...etc and ad nauseum"  So the choice was to let the blowhards have their way, and admit they were right, or keep with it in order to make the point.  The point being was that you really can get very close to alpha image with something less than $500.  The first definite answer to the often asked question on any optics forum.  It goes something like "...OK guys I don't have a lot of money and need a good binocular..."  That was the first, best definite answer I had seen.  I should point out I owned Vortex Vipers at the time.


Edited by Klamath - January/21/2011 at 10:34
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote tompac Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January/21/2011 at 07:43
 Very well said klamath. Seems like some try too hard to read between the lines. And any reveiws without some opinions thrown in would not seem right. Thanks to you and others who take the time to post these reveiws. There are those like me who have absolutely no chance to look thru various optics. So those reveiws become pretty significant when I make a purchase.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote JGRaider Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January/21/2011 at 08:27
Some people can't stand to  find out there's something better than what they own, and possibly cheaper.  The euro loving crowd especially has a hard time admitting it, and I would too if I had a $2500 Zeiss/Leica/Swaro around my neck.  
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote tompac Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January/21/2011 at 09:34
Originally posted by JGRaider JGRaider wrote:

Some people can't stand to  find out there's something better than what they own, and possibly cheaper.  The euro loving crowd especially has a hard time admitting it, and I would too if I had a $2500 Zeiss/Leica/Swaro around my neck.  
 
Yup, I agree. That said, I wish I could afford to have a Swaro hanging off my neck!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote fly4fish Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: August/02/2011 at 07:58
Hey there,

I just did a full review on the Vortex Talon HD 10X42 and I will say that I find them to be a great value, clear, crisp, and have a high quality feel.  I can honestly say that they are one of the best under $500.  There really is not anything I do not like about them and I think anybody who tries them out will agree.  Plus, like said above, they do have a great warranty. 




Edited by koshkin - August/02/2011 at 16:40
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Klamath Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: August/02/2011 at 15:47
Originally posted by fly4fish fly4fish wrote:

Hey there,

I just did a full review on the Vortex Talon HD 10X42 and I will say that I find them to be a great value, clear, crisp, and have a high quality feel.  I can honestly say that they are one of the best under $500.  There really is not anything I do not like about them and I think anybody who tries them out will agree.  Plus, like said above, they do have a great warranty. 


I see where you have been all over the place posting this.  Not trying to be argumentative and I have no real issue with a guy blowing his own horn a little, and you do have some interesting stuff on your site.  You don't seem to be selling anything on your site, so maybe you will get past the moderators here Smile.
 
But, sorry...you come up way short of a full review here.  That is simply the sort of vanilla that reads like an infomercial, and really tells nothing much other than that you like them, and not much past what can be gleaned from the Vortex information about them.  We can I suppose discuss the definition of a full review I guess, if it comes to that.
 
I really have some trouble of going from your review to your statement that the Talon HD is  the best binocular out there for less than $500.  Are you kidding me!  Nobody who has had any time behind the likes of the ZEN ED series, particularly the new ED 3, the Kruger Caldera, the Theron Wapiti APO-ED, or even the Steiner Predator Xtreme, and yes the Talon HD can make that statement with a straight face.  There is simply too much personal preference variation for you to possibly come up with that.  Each of those (and some others) are all fine examples of why it is really not necessary to fork out over $500 for a binocular.  But they each have strengths and weaknesses and more than a little similarity.  I have now or have had for review a whole lot of mid price stuff that I have reviewed, and for $500 I can come up with the above list, but none of those is the best.
 
You need to come up with some more selections at each of your levels and come up with something why one is "best" and another is not. 
 
 


Edited by koshkin - August/02/2011 at 16:40
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Chris Farris Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: August/02/2011 at 16:28
He's not really trying to write informative or accurate articles, he's just trying to write articles.
 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote lucytuma Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: August/02/2011 at 20:03
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Bitterroot Bulls Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: August/02/2011 at 23:34
i laughed out loud when I read the edge was just as sharp as the center.
-Matt
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote tompac Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: August/03/2011 at 07:52
Originally posted by Bitterroot Bulls Bitterroot Bulls wrote:

i laughed out loud when I read the edge was just as sharp as the center.
 
Matt, not trying to stir the pot,but my Theron Wapiti is VERY sharp on the edge. Not sure if my (somewhat blind!) eyes can tell the difference!Wink
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Bitterroot Bulls Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: August/03/2011 at 09:07
Quit stirring the pot, Tompac!

JK, I was referring to the Talon HD's edge which is fine, but not nearly as sharp as the center.

When I reviewed the Theron, I also noted the excellent edge, but there was still some field curvature that required refocussing. Even with the Theron, the maximum sharpness was in the center of the field.

BTW, after finally seeing the Talon, I am certain it shares the same manufacturer as the Zens, Promasters, etc.
-Matt
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