Vortex Optics Diamondback HD Spotting Scopes: Your Best Deal In Town !

VORTEX OPTICS DIAMONDBACK HD 16-48X65

SPOTTING SCOPE STRAIGHT

VORTEX OPTICS DIAMONDBACK HD 16-48X65 SPOTTING SCOPE STRAIGHT

By: Sal Palma

If you are an outdoors enthusiast nothing beats a good spotting scope in your kit, it will open-up the world for you. You’ll need an optic that presents a sharp image throughout its full magnification range, you will also want it to be free from chromatic aberrations, so colors are rendered accurately, and you’ll want an optic that requires little refocusing as you change magnification. An eyepiece that is large enough and adjustable for eye relief that’s comfortable to use for extended glassing.

Achieving those objectives can be accomplished in several ways. You could purchase a Leica APOTelevid 82 82mm Spotting Scope, which will set you back $3,068 just for the body and another $900 for the eyepiece, for an out the door price of $3,968. Justifiable if you’re doing photographic work for National Geographic. Or you can purchase a Vortex Optics Diamondback HD, available in two models: DIAMONDBACK® HD 20-60X85 or DIAMONDBACK® HD 16-48X65, both are available with a straight or angled

eyepiece. In this review I’ll introduce you to the DIAMONDBACK® HD 16-48X65 STRAIGHT. My review is all about the concept of marginal utility, in other words will an incremental increase in cost deliver a corresponding increase in value.

For this review, I paired the DIAMONDBACK® HD 16-48X65 with Vortex Optics’ latest addition to their tripod line, the Mountain Pass, an excellent combination if you’re backpacking on a hunt or outdoor adventure. The DIAMONDBACK’s ArcaSwiss compatibility allows it to be mounted to the Arca-Swiss tripod head on the MOUNTAIN PASS without a mounting plate. The DIAMONDBACK® HD 16-48X65 STRAIGHT has an overall length of 13.75 inches and weighs a hair over 50 ounces. It’s not a compact optic by any means but it is stout and rock solid. I was completely surprised by its optical clarity. Vortex uses fully multicoated HD lenses, which when paired with the 65mm objective lens gives a bright and sharp image.

VORTEXOPTICSDIAMONDBACKHD16-48X65SPOTTINGSCOPESTRAIGHT 2023

The image above is of a windsock at a regional airport located approximately 240 yards from my point of observation, captured at 16x magnification. The image is bright with sufficient detail to meet most requirements.

delivered exceptional optical clarity allowing me to see inside the containers in front of and behind the manifold. Color rendition was also excellent.

The image below is of a storage facility approximately 1.38 km from my point of observation along an azimuth of 027 degrees magneticwith a morning sun at my 2 o’clock and taken over water.

The image above is the same windsock but captured at a magnification of 48x. You can clearly see the seams as well as all the electronic sensors to capture wind speed and direction. I wish I could present you with images of antelope or mountain goats, but my access is limited to a metropolitan area.

Environmental conditions impact optical image quality at any price point, be it mirage or water vapor, sharpness and definition are adversely impacted and glassing over water is particularly challenging due atmospheric moisture

The image above is of a gas manifold located approximately 890 yards from my point of observation. The DIAMOND BACK HD 16-48X65

The DIAMONDBACK HD 16-48X65 is easy to use with a very smooth magnification adjustment. Vortex also did away with the traditional focusing knob protruding from the scope’s body and replaced it with a wide serrated ring centered on the scope’s body. In doing so, they removed potential snag points making the DIAMOND BACK spotting scopes very streamline. You can also rotate the body on its mount, should you need a better viewing angle.

Copyright 2023, Twobirds Flying Publications, All Rights

You can easily identify structural deficiencies as well as corrosion

In closing, Leica offers some of the world’s best glass and it’s worth every cent of its near $4,000 price tag. But does it meet our objectives to a greater degree than what Vortex’s DIAMOND BACK HD 16-48X65 achieves? Only you can answer that question but it’s a question worth asking.

Vortex Optics hasbrought tomarketanexcellent general purpose spotting scope, take it to the range, take it on a hunt or nature trail, this spotting scope will deliver excellent optical clarity, detail and color even under less-thanoptimal lighting. It does it at an M.S.R.P. of $499 and when combined with the Vortex Optics VIP Warranty, it is unquestionably the best deal in town.

Manufacturer Specifications

• Magnification: 16-48x

• Objective Lens Diameter: 65 mm

• Linear Field of View: 138-72 ft/1000 yds

• Angular Field of View: 2.6-1.4 degrees

• Eye Relief: 20.3-18.3 mm

• Length:13.75 inches

• Weight: 50.4 oz

• Exit Pupil: 4.0‐1.35 mm.

• Close Focus: 16.4 feet

INCLUDED IN THE BOX

• Neoprene cover

• Tethered objective lens cap.

• Tethered ocular lens cap.

• Lens cloth

Copyright 2023, Twobirds Flying Publications, All Rights