I recently had the opportunity to compare the SvBONY SA401 85mm spotting scope with the Vortex Razor Gen1 85mm spotting scope. I was able to use them extensively using a Manfrotto video camera tripod.
The Gen1 pricing is now $800 usd. According to Vortex it will continue to be produced in limited quantities for a couple of large merchants (Sportsman’s Warehouse and Cabela’s?).
The SA401 is made by SvBONY of Hong Kong. Its price is $549 (plus $50 shipping) but can be bought as part of discounted bundled items. The SA401 uses a K9 prism while the Vortex uses a Bak4. Specification wise the BaK4 should offer a sharper resolution but frankly, I could not tell any difference-- and I tried hard to find one. The exit pupil stayed perfectly round in both. Eye relief was 20-18mm in both with the SA401 being slightly more forgiving and with a nicer eyebox. Both Vortex and SvBONY Customer Service is excellent.
The area surveyed was across desert country for approximately 1,500 yards. This included a large golf course. Overall, I found the SA401 had resolution about equal to that of the Vortex Razor. The Vortex did have more of a “pop” in focusing. Mirages were a pain past 8am in Phoenix so much of the viewing was done around 6:30 in the morning. I did like the two-roller gross/fine focus of the Vortex. Neither scope demonstrated any color aberration except one instance when looking through a severe mirage at a small sign at 624 yards caused a slight rainbow at the edges.
I compared them in viewing for 10 sessions in the very early morning before any mirage, mid-day with definite hard mirage and at dusk with little mirage. The farthest object viewed was about 1,500 yards. In looking at the palm trees and tall bushes at 1,500 yards, their branches and leaves could be resolved quite sharp at 60x in both scopes at all three times of day. While there was no significant sense of softness to the view at any power, a "sweetspot" for depth perception and color seemed to be at 40X for the SvBONY and about 30x for the Vortex.
In the early morning with little to no mirage I could crisply see 1" black letters on a white background Golf Course sign stating "carts must stay on path" at a lasered 624 yards in both scopes. The dim light performance at twilight of the SA401 appeared to be equal to the Gen1 Vortex.
One difference is the SA401 is heavier than the Vortex. The specifications note 3/4lb heavier. Something I got used to and hardly noticed after awhile. A second thing is the barrel focus ring doesn't have the same fluid feel to it that the Vortex does. This did not affect its functionality and is more of a personal preference thing. A second minor issue on the SA401 is that the power ring is not indexed to the scope body. Overall, I thought the scopes were both very good, quality products. Neither scope came with a Swiss-Acra tripod foot.
A major point to me was that the SA401 can be had with an adaptor that allows the use of standard 1.25” Astro eyepieces. This opens up an entire world of opportunity to experiment with eyepieces and filters not only in the night sky but also daytime viewing. It’s a simple thing and I don’t understand why Vortex, Burris, Leupold, etc. don’t offer an adaptor. SvBONY also offers two different WIFI inserts that will transmit what the scope is viewing to cell phones. The warranties are very different with the Vortex being the idiot proof one that covers any breakage forever and the SvBONY offering a traditional 1year warranty.
To summarize, I’d say the Vortex Gen1 has great optics in a slick package (and the Burris 30mm Mil, MOA and Clear fixed eyepieces will work with it) with an incredible warranty. At $800 it’s a great buy. The SvBONY is simply SHOCKING with its optics for the money. At $549 (plus $50 shipping from Hong Kong) it also offers more options and flexibility for use in a slightly heavier package. Both give the higher priced Vortex Gen2 and Leupold Santiam scopes a run for the money.
IMHO you can’t go wrong with either one.
The Gen1 pricing is now $800 usd. According to Vortex it will continue to be produced in limited quantities for a couple of large merchants (Sportsman’s Warehouse and Cabela’s?).
The SA401 is made by SvBONY of Hong Kong. Its price is $549 (plus $50 shipping) but can be bought as part of discounted bundled items. The SA401 uses a K9 prism while the Vortex uses a Bak4. Specification wise the BaK4 should offer a sharper resolution but frankly, I could not tell any difference-- and I tried hard to find one. The exit pupil stayed perfectly round in both. Eye relief was 20-18mm in both with the SA401 being slightly more forgiving and with a nicer eyebox. Both Vortex and SvBONY Customer Service is excellent.
The area surveyed was across desert country for approximately 1,500 yards. This included a large golf course. Overall, I found the SA401 had resolution about equal to that of the Vortex Razor. The Vortex did have more of a “pop” in focusing. Mirages were a pain past 8am in Phoenix so much of the viewing was done around 6:30 in the morning. I did like the two-roller gross/fine focus of the Vortex. Neither scope demonstrated any color aberration except one instance when looking through a severe mirage at a small sign at 624 yards caused a slight rainbow at the edges.
I compared them in viewing for 10 sessions in the very early morning before any mirage, mid-day with definite hard mirage and at dusk with little mirage. The farthest object viewed was about 1,500 yards. In looking at the palm trees and tall bushes at 1,500 yards, their branches and leaves could be resolved quite sharp at 60x in both scopes at all three times of day. While there was no significant sense of softness to the view at any power, a "sweetspot" for depth perception and color seemed to be at 40X for the SvBONY and about 30x for the Vortex.
In the early morning with little to no mirage I could crisply see 1" black letters on a white background Golf Course sign stating "carts must stay on path" at a lasered 624 yards in both scopes. The dim light performance at twilight of the SA401 appeared to be equal to the Gen1 Vortex.
One difference is the SA401 is heavier than the Vortex. The specifications note 3/4lb heavier. Something I got used to and hardly noticed after awhile. A second thing is the barrel focus ring doesn't have the same fluid feel to it that the Vortex does. This did not affect its functionality and is more of a personal preference thing. A second minor issue on the SA401 is that the power ring is not indexed to the scope body. Overall, I thought the scopes were both very good, quality products. Neither scope came with a Swiss-Acra tripod foot.
A major point to me was that the SA401 can be had with an adaptor that allows the use of standard 1.25” Astro eyepieces. This opens up an entire world of opportunity to experiment with eyepieces and filters not only in the night sky but also daytime viewing. It’s a simple thing and I don’t understand why Vortex, Burris, Leupold, etc. don’t offer an adaptor. SvBONY also offers two different WIFI inserts that will transmit what the scope is viewing to cell phones. The warranties are very different with the Vortex being the idiot proof one that covers any breakage forever and the SvBONY offering a traditional 1year warranty.
To summarize, I’d say the Vortex Gen1 has great optics in a slick package (and the Burris 30mm Mil, MOA and Clear fixed eyepieces will work with it) with an incredible warranty. At $800 it’s a great buy. The SvBONY is simply SHOCKING with its optics for the money. At $549 (plus $50 shipping from Hong Kong) it also offers more options and flexibility for use in a slightly heavier package. Both give the higher priced Vortex Gen2 and Leupold Santiam scopes a run for the money.
IMHO you can’t go wrong with either one.
