Quick and Crazy Comparison - Bushnell Trophy XLT, Vortex Diamondback, and Trijicon Credo

[calicojack]

I just bought the Trijicon Credo. Crazy comparison but seeing is believing. I have a Bushnell and a Vortex laying around, how do they look at 4X compared to the Credo? The (low-end) Bushnell Trophy XLT (made in Korea) you can get for $50 at PSA (IDK, maybe these are now made in China). The Diamondback (made in the Phillipines) you might be able to get on sale for about $200. The Credo (made in Japan) on sale for $600 at EuroOptics.com. All of these have a much higher MSRP.

So 50-ish yards away at 4X looking at tree branch details; with the Bushnell tree branch details are soft, the Vortex I can almost make out buds on the tips of branches, the Trijicon I can definitely see the buds. I may not have noticed some of the detail in the Vortex had I not looked through the Trijicon first. The difference between the Vortex and the Bushnell are actually pretty dramatic. That low-end Bushnell was quite frankly a waste of my money (go high-end or don't bother with Bushnell). While the Diamond back looks pretty good at close range, the Tijicon really pops. The hash marks on the Trijicon cross hairs are extremely sharp. The 50 mm object makes for a really bright image. I have read you don't need a 50mm objective, but wow - sure is bright. IDK maybe it's the glass as well. The Trijicon looks almost as good as my Vortex Razor spotting scope. Pretty impressive.

Next time I go to the range I will compare my Nikon Monarch 4-16X with the Credo at 100 and 200 yards. Pretty sure the Monarch, while it ain't too shabby, is not as good as the Trijicon. At $600 on sale, that Credo is a really good buy IMHO. I will never buy crap optics again.

 

[beetles]

I have learned that with sport optics, the biggest gains for the money are had between the low and the upper mid-tier models. Above that, you get a little more edge clarity, less color fringing, nicer finish, more selection of reticles, a little more robust build and a known brand name with a higher-labor-cost country of origin, especially Germany and Austria.

The sweet spot for me is the upper mid-tier.

 

[jrumann59]

not an optics master but comparing the top to the bottom two is comparing apples to footballs. Honestly looking at all 3 with brands blacked out I would expect the top 1 to be better than the bottom 2. The bottom 2 against each other different story. The top 1 definitely has a bigger bell, looks like it has a bigger tube so more light at least in theory gives better clarity. Not trying to argue just calling how I would see it