I believe USO is also refining/updating this model so it comes with the mini erek knob. I would wait, or order it along with this.
Keep in mind there are two models… You want the more expensive one (400-500 more) that has the daylight visible dot.
Killer scope that has no competion on the market. Last Years shot, all the big shots including S&B were fumbling over it trying to figure out how they did it. I would love to have one on my SCAR, but optics can wait when we are in the gun buying golden years.
Yep there you have it folks conclusive proof, a metric poopload & tons of distortions & curvature noted in these pics.
It was written on the internet so it must be true…
You can see rather extreme pin cushion distortion in the 1x and 4x pictures by looking at the cinder block wall. Or the wall is sagging in the middle from a questionable masonry job that just happens to line up with the target.
Not that other scopes don’t also suffer from the same exact thing, of course. Even the S&B short dot has a bit.
I guess I should have asked more specifically… how does pin cushion affect performance? why does it matter? is this scope good enough with that type of artifact inherent in design?
Pin cushion and barrel distortion don’t affect the optical performance unless they bother the user to the point of distraction. At some point an extreme amount of distortion may cause unnecessary eye fatigue as your eyes and brain try to cope with the unrealistic view through the scope.
One thing to keep in mind is that camera lenses suffer from the same problem, so the distortion in the pictures above could be caused by his particular camera/lens, and not the scope!
Voodoo’s opinion and experience holds a lot of weight, so if he’s happy with it I don’t think there’s anything to worry about.
I think I know your posts well enough to assume this is sarcasm, but just making absolutely sure since I do see some distortion and curvature… you’re not concerned at all about the SR8c, right?
In terms of optical properties of the scope, it is pretty bad when it’s noticeable halfway between the reticle center and the edge of the view circle. Even a $250 kit lens off a cheap SLR generally won’t display that kind of distortion except at the very edge. Obviously a rifle scope is not a camera lens, and the designer is forced to deal with size, weight, and a variable distance to the eyeball of the user in terms of exit pupil and eye relief. This is why I basically said previously that if it doesn’t bother you, there’s no reason not to use the scope.
Ultimately, it is an optical defect, which, considering the price of the SR8, may be an indication that more money was put into the illumination as compared to the optics.
I had a Nikon M223 3x12 that had some amount of pincushion and barrel distortion. It really taxed my eye after abit. I didnt even know those things were classified and had a name until i read them on BIGFISH’s review of the SR8. I quickly got tired of the scope even though it did its job of holding zero and zooming the target in. It went in for a refund. Reason I stated was that the scope could not be focused completely at certain magnification levels and it had blurry spots.
So yea, I would love for a scope i spent over $2k on to have less visual distortion than a $1k scope. On a good note, the customization choices, the design improvements, and the battery life advances are great.
Mine unfortunately, does seem to have a high amount of distortion in the glass though. Maybe I’m spoiled by my Mark 6, but I like it when the lines I’m looking at are straight! The pic below was also taken at 1.5x mag. For some reason when I have the mag set to 1x the image in the scope looks smaller and further away than 1x with a high amount of fish-eye. Changing the mag to 1.5x makes it look neutral.
I have an SR-8c on the way as well since Opticsplanet’s coupon code the other week brought it in to less than $200 more than the SR-8s. It’ll be nice to compare it to see if this is just how the glass is, or if there’s something really wrong with this SR-8s I got. I’ll post an update when I get it and can compare. I really hope it’s this particular scope though, since my cheap, Chinese Mark 4 clone (got it as a gift) has less distortion than this!
Sure & I hope it’s a aberration that can be fixed. If they can’t tell them you wan’t it right, they will step up & replace. I have seen it on some scopes before as well. I don’t think the scope is perfect & never inferred that. What I do think it is is a very good optic for the money comparatively & mine has helped me make some great shots w/ impressive range capability. I paid $1,600 for mine new & would not sell it. Hope your “C” model works out.
I paid less than that with the opticsplanet coupon :).
Unfortunately Arms Unlimited is a less than honorable vendor. I’ve been scammed by them once when they sold me a counterfeit product, and if it hadn’t been for Amazon, I wouldn’t have gotten my money back.
