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Minox ZA 5 1.5-8x32

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cheaptrick View Drop Down
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    Posted: May/11/2012 at 16:50
Here's some pics to get it started. I'll add a little commentary and thoughts as I go. Got this in the other day from Koshkin. His Unholiness asked that I put it on a rimfire to see how it would fare.

Here's the scope on my CZ 452 in .17 HMR. Warne medium rimfire rings. 




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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote cheaptrick Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May/11/2012 at 18:16



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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote helo18 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May/11/2012 at 19:44
Get Your Popcorn Ready even if the stock is fugly, I want to hear the details on the scope.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote lucytuma Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May/11/2012 at 20:01
That scope just looks perfect on the CZ, I love the look!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote stickbow46 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May/11/2012 at 22:23
Look forward to your review.I would think that  you might have a problem as that scope is parralex free out at 100yds.I know you usally don't have a problem with parralex till you hit 8x without a side or AO focus.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote cheaptrick Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May/12/2012 at 06:33
Originally posted by helo18 helo18 wrote:

Get Your Popcorn Ready even if the stock is fugly, I want to hear the details on the scope.

I like the stock, but I would concede that this rifle is better suited for iron sights than a scope. 

Nobody saw Gumby through the scope?? 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: May/12/2012 at 09:54
Originally posted by cheaptrick cheaptrick wrote:


Nobody saw Gumby through the scope?? Wink

You should have put both hands up.
-Matt
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote helo18 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May/12/2012 at 10:04
Is that you dog eyeballing him?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote cheaptrick Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May/12/2012 at 10:27
I had to keep throwing my pup a ball to leave me alone for my "photo shoot"....Wink
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote lucytuma Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May/12/2012 at 10:53
Ah...Now I see gumby, he's pretty well camouflaged.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote cheaptrick Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May/12/2012 at 15:18
Originally posted by lucytuma lucytuma wrote:

Ah...Now I see gumby, he's pretty well camouflaged.

Ya, he was trying to surrender but......C'est la vie.....
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote 300S&W Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May/13/2012 at 08:20
Originally posted by cheaptrick cheaptrick wrote:

[QUOTE=helo18]Get Your Popcorn Ready even if the stock is fugly, I want to hear the details on the scope.

I like the stock, but I would concede that this rifle is better suited for iron sights than a scope. 
 
 
 
   NICE looking rifle!  The stock on my Husqvarna isn't as radical as that but still doesn't allow for a decent cheek weld when sighting through a scope no matter how low it's mounted (El Paso Weaver K2.5).  At least for me.
 
   As for the scope I SURE HOPE it passes your critique as we could use more of that X range on the market.  AND with my favorite reticle to!   Yippee
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote cheaptrick Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May/13/2012 at 12:07
Earl, the Versa Plex reticle is indeed nice. I told Koshkin that I think this reticle would make for a nice small game/varmint reticle. Target acquisition is fast and it's user friendly. 

More later! Thanks for the comments and I'll do some more testing as I go. I'll be out of town this week, but will be back in the loop the following week and head back to the range. 

Feel free to ask any questions you may have and I'll try to answer.    
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote SVT_Tactical Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May/14/2012 at 06:40
Looks nice CT,  Looking forward to the full review!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote cheaptrick Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May/25/2012 at 15:22
Well folks, I've messed with this scope and have the following commentary. 

This scope is perplexing. On one hand, the Schott glass is really nice and clear. The reticle, a Versa Plex is really handy and fast, but would probably be better suited for a small game/day light varmint set up, than a big game hunting rig. The reticle is just too fine to use at low light, or in brush, IMO. 
I like it though and shot from 25 yards to 100 yards at my home range and have no problems with it. 



Fast focus eye piece allows the shooter to easily focus the reticle. In this regard, the scope is very forgiving.   
I love the power range of this scope. 1.5-8x is ideal for a lot of hunting situations. Eye relief is good at all magnifications and seems to be "fixed".   
I forgot to see if there was a POI change when changing powers, so I don't know about that. Sorry. I shot 100 yards on my CZ 452 in .17 HMR and was either on 7x or 8x when doing so. 

I also like the rubber ring that encompasses the magnification ring. It feels good and allows the shooter to switch powers if the optic or his hands are wet. The mag ring also glides very smoothly between 1.5-8x. 
Also has a "rib" at about the 5x setting that allows the shooter turn the mag ring a little easier. 
 

The scope is a quality built unit. It's not really heavy, but feels robust.

Didn't try a box test, but it seems to track decent and was repeatable. Clicks are 1/4 MOA and W/E turrets were solid.

Now.....the other side. 
I'm not sure how to describe this, but to me, the center of the scope is fine, but it gets "swimmy" at the outer edges and "wavy" or distorted when your looking through the scope and move side to side, or up and down. 
I'm not sure what's going on there, but it's very annoying to me and is the only knock I can find on this scope. For the price of this scope, ($480 from our gracious host), it shouldn't distort at the edges and when moving.  (Shrug)   
The scope is also a little hinky getting behind and not very forgiving of head placement either, but not a deal breaker.

Overall....I give this scope a B-. 
If it cost closer to $400 than to $500, I'd give it a B+. 

Thanks for reading. And thank you Koshkin for letting me check it out. 

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Bitterroot Bulls Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May/27/2012 at 14:55
Originally posted by cheaptrick cheaptrick wrote:

I'm not sure how to describe this, but to me, the center of the scope is fine, but it gets "swimmy" at the outer edges and "wavy" or distorted when your looking through the scope and move side to side, or up and down. I'm not sure what's going on there, but it's very annoying to me and is the only knock I can find on this scope.


It occurred to me that this may be the rolling ball effect. Do you notice it at all when the scope is still? Maybe Koshkin can chime in if he looked for pincushion distortion in this scope.

I see it in my Swaro z3 on occasion, as the field is really flat for a riflescope.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote cheaptrick Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May/27/2012 at 15:29
Far less so when still, Matt. 

I've tried it using "inferior" scopes and didn't notice it at all. It's sorta weird.   
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote RifleDude Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May/27/2012 at 20:06
Originally posted by cheaptrick cheaptrick wrote:


Didn't try a box test, but it seems to track decent and was repeatable. Clicks are 1/4 MOA and W/E turrets were solid.

Now.....the other side. 
I'm not sure how to describe this, but to me, the center of the scope is fine, but it gets "swimmy" at the outer edges and "wavy" or distorted when your looking through the scope and move side to side, or up and down.

The scope is also a little hinky getting behind and not very forgiving of head placement either, but not a deal breaker.


Excellent commentary, Mark!

Koshkin loaned me that scope last year, and I had it for a couple months prior to you receiving it.  In fact, I owe him a review of it, but a lot has happened in my life since then that has interfered with my ability to sit down and pen my thoughts on it.

I boxed the hell out of that scope, multiple times, and it tracks dead nuts perfectly.  Rest assured, unless something happened between then and now, your scope has spot-on tracking.  I moved the W/E knobs enough to have total faith in it's mechanical precision, though I didn't exactly put its ability to hold POI to the test, as I had it mounted on a .17HM2 rimfire.

The optical phenomenon you're seeing is barrel distortion, where the outer edges of the view converge during panning and straight lines of objects viewed through the scope bend outward away from the center of the view.  In other words, objects appear slightly convex when panning.  It's a bit odd, since most scopes (and other optics) have intentionally designed-in pincushion distortion (the exact opposite of barrel distortion) to counter the "rolling ball" effect when panning.  Pincushion distortion is much less noticeable and less annoying to most folks, me included.  I found the effect goes away somewhat once you dial to about 5X and above.  Perhaps in some way this was an optical design tradeoff Minox was willing to accept in exchange for the 5X zoom ratio in a fairly compact package, but I don't know for sure.  Maybe Koshkin can speak to that.

I liked the reticle a lot for the purposes I'd be using the scope for. 

I compared it side by side to my reference "tweener" scope -- the mighty 2-7X36 Kahles CL, and center field resolution was actually pretty comparable, though the Kahles had a noticeably more expansive view and a better overall image further out from the center.  I found it to be roughly equivalent to my Zeiss Conquests in terms of center field resolution, contrast and flare control.

I agree; it is a bit more unforgiving of eye position misalignment than other competing scopes.

My only other criticisms of it besides those you mention are:
- I thought the turrets / turret caps were a bit too tall and obtrusive for such a compact scope.

- If you grab the eyepiece focus ring and jiggle it, you will notice it has a bit of play in it.  I compared it against other fast focus scopes in my collection, and although some others of various brands will likewise move (including some much more expensive scopes), none exhibited as much side to side play as the Minox did.  I think that could be remedied with another o-ring between the focus ring o.d. and eyepiece housing i.d. placed further toward the eyepiece end.

- Although the slick rubber focus ring gives the scope a sleek, clean look, I personally would have preferred it had additional ribs on it besides the one for better grip when wearing gloves.  I also thought the rubber moved around a bit much, giving me the impression it might get torn off the underlying aluminum focus ring if one got a bit too exuberant when rotating the ring.

- W/E adjustment clicks didn't feel very positive even though the scope tracked absolutely spot-on.

In short, I thought it was a good scope despite its flaws, so much so that after I returned it to Koshkin, I bought one of my own.


Edited by RifleDude - May/31/2012 at 11:38
Ted


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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote koshkin Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May/29/2012 at 10:39
Thank for looking at this scope, gentlemen.

It is an unusual design in terms of the compromises they made with it, which is one of the reasons I wanted a couple of other people to look at it.

I found it very functional, personally, and I rather like it.  However, the compromises they made with it do not bother me all that much.

When I originally talked to Minox, they were pretty open about it.  All scopes are built to a price point and at this price point they wanted very good center field performance, wide magnification range and solid tracking.  Optical performance at the edges is one of the compromises.  Turret feel is not great, but the tracking is spot on.  Eye position flexibility is not great (although I have to admit I was not bothered by it), but eye relief is rather long.

All in all, I think that the little Minox 1.5-8x32 is a nice design.  My biggest complaint with it is probably with reticles: their #4 is too widely spaced, making it a less than optimal low light reticle.

Of all the reticles they offer in this scope, I like Versa-plex the most.

ILya
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote cheaptrick Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May/29/2012 at 14:51
Ted and Koshkin, thank you for clarifying so well, what I was unable to. 

As an aside, I thought the turrets on this unit were OK and I don't typically scrutinize "hunting" scopes with the same degree of "clickiness", as I would a tactical style scope, because I feel hunting type scopes are mostly set it and forget any way. 

Koshkin:
Let me know when the package arrives, if you would kindly.   
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