Element Nexus

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I got mine yesterday and I think it will be a good scope but it will be a couple days before I get to use it. I got the APR 1C mrad 5-20 x 50

it does have some Chromatic aberration this is common in scopes with out apochromatic lens. ( I will find out if its slight or bad as soon as I get to use it)

It is very very bright and clear it seams to have a lot of eye relief and the magnification and parallax are smooth and very stiff (I hope this eases up some) the reticle might be considered too fine at low power (this is so subjective but I could see some say this) The turrets are smooth with a fine ratchet feel to the index and the zero stop is simple to use (turrets are great)

All i had time to do with it yesterday was take it to the back yard and give it a quick look.

If anyone wants I can give a better description of the optics after it is mounted and I get some real time behind it. the rings will be here in 3 or 4 days)

it is very similar to the Trijicon accupower series scopes
 
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@B. It was delivered on time. Saturday was busy, but I did get it mounted. Saturday night I leveled the scope in the mount. Sunday, Easter morning rain and wind. Sunday afternoon a break in the rain. Zeroed to the most. FX Wildcat Compact II .25. (Slug barrel) Huma regulated. JSB King Heavies II @ 873fps(FX Radar). But never the less, who cares, it could of been a BB gun. I'm not a glass expert. I like to shoot. And with a scope. I have a few Hawkes among others. $300, $400, $500, $600. I searched and researched to find a"good" scope to invest in. I don't skimp on some things, work boots, warm clothes, dependable transportation, a good woman. Any way....to sum it up....the Nexus fits my needs. (fyi...don't believe Pyramyd Airs bull poop about the Nexus being reduced from a suggested retail of $1649.99 to $1499.99. It has always been $1499.99 from the start). Ha! Never the less, I did buy my Nexus from PA. (UA? Phh....backorder, backorder, etc.....)

Shoot safe, Stay healthy.
 
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the blue/purple and yellow haze on opposite side of the pole is the effect I was talking about.

A photo against a sky will all ways make this effect look the worst possible.

In reality the more I have checked the scope the more I like it. In most all ways it is better than many scopes well above its price. this is its weakest feature and even then it on par with scopes in this price range. 

the very edge of the scope does have a soft focus but in the image you can see my side shot is not mounted square so ignore the out side edge it does not represent the scope.
1586737081_19490451995e93afb90b05d7.02805253.jpg

 
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Oops.. I was looking for a down to earth opinion about a scope, not for an optometrist.
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I appreciate his response and find it very helpful. I have been eyeballing this scope for a bit and this is the stuff I wanted to know about. This has been marketed as almost a top tier glass in a midpoint price range. Real world reviews is what we are after.
 
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ok let me try this wit out the correct terms

This is an excellent scope it is Very Bright and Very Clear it is also easy to Reach Fine Focus with very little back and forth with the parallax needed.

The Parallax and Zoom are Smooth and Firm to turn.

the Turrets are great with a Smooth Fine Ratchet feel and the Zero Stop is easy to use.

the optics show some slight negative things around the very edge of the view and this is common in scopes.

Images in the scope might have a blue or yellow haze on the edge of some objects ( the picture of the two birds earlier in this thread has this effect and is typical of the image in the scope my image was meant to show the effect not represent how the scope normally looks )

conclusion I would recommend the scope it has many positive features and no optic are perfect 
 
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The blue/purple and yellow haze on opposite side of the pole is the effect I was talking about.

The very edge of the scope does have a soft focus.



———————————



Images in the scope might have a blue or yellow haze on the edge of some objects (the picture of the two birds earlier in this thread has this effect and is typical of the image in the scope my image was meant to show the effect not represent how the scope normally looks)
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slow642,

🔶 I appreciate your honest user report, something that our Fan Boys on YouTube usually leave out. 👍🏼

You are certainly responding to the concerns of a certain group of scope users — and those are valid concerns. 👍🏼

If I decided to spend upward of a four-digit amount on a scope, I'd want something as near to perfect as possible! 

Differences at the financial stratospheres you're talking about are rather small and hard to express in numbers, so info like yours is great! 👍🏼 😊







🔶 On the other hand:

Seen from my very own and personal scope buying philosophy... — yes, everyone has a scope philosophy, the things you consider important or even deal breakers, so don't deny it...! 😄



So, seen from my own perspective, if "the very edge of a scope does have a soft focus" — I guess I'm not too much concerned with that, since I usually aim with the center of the scope, and maybe 10mil up or left/right (at most) of that center.



If a scope "might have a blurr or yellow haze" — well, that'll be fine, it just might not have the blurr, who knows...? 😊 



And if that blurr is "on the edge of some objects" — well, shucks, I usually try to shoot the center of the objects, not their edges. 😊 



And if only "some objects" suffer this, well, maybe my target cards and pigeons might actually not suffer this, but rather suffer a Baracuda passing through their vitals or their bulls.

After all, I'm not attempting 1000 yard steel hits, just pigeons at a tenth of that range. 



Ergo: For my personal needs, I'd say this:

A sub-500 Dollar scope usually delivers what I need... 😊



Remember, this is just my very own personal scope buying philosophy. 😄 slo642, thank you for your contribution for top-tier scope buyers. 👍🏼

Matthias
 
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Chromatic aberration? Damn, someone has too much time on there hands. Space Hubble optics? I'm interested.
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Oops.. I was looking for a down to earth opinion about a scope, not for an optometrist.
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It seems to me like you weren't at all looking for down to earth opinions, just for confirmation of some sort..... We have someone that actually makes good comments that deliver valuable information about the scope and somebody starts complaining about it..... If info might be hard to understand it doesn't mean it's bad info.

No scopes are perfect; things like CA, soft focus, edge distortion etc is what will set scopes apart in those price regions and above. Brightness is not really what sets scopes apart from others, that's mostly a matter of coatings and can be used to hide a lot of flaws. The old, small leapers scopes were really bright which was a key selling point for those models, if you really looked into their optical properties it was nothing special but you just get a really bright optics for a low price. On the other hand, there is also some 'top tier' optics company which gives you an excessive amount of CA for a top tier price and people still consider this rather bad optics design a good value.

I've used the Nexus during the hands-on product release (which shifted from IWA to Krale in the Netherlands) and it looked good. Indeed noticed some CA, especially in the outer 1/3 edge but it didn't look worrying. To make a good value estimation I will need to compare it to my Vortex PST Gen II, which is a good benchmark in my opinion for the price tag over in Europe (don't know the prices for the US by heart); a small bit of CA, no real edge distortions and good color rendering and no noticeable color cast.



Regarding the question somewhere above about the website address in the reticle: this is a video editing overlay, just look at the focus of the reticle and the focus of the web address and outer edge ;) I have seen some raw footage before it was posted on YouTube and there was no such thing as the web address visible in the reticle plane :)
 
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Through scope footage is always a bit tricky, and barely telling anything about optical quality.

I've taken some moon photo's through my Swarovski ATX85 spotting scope with the camera of my cellphone, and it showed quite a bit of CA.

However, looking through the scope with the naked eye, or with the TLS APO digiscope adapter attached, no such thing. No chromatic abberation visible whatsoever..
 
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Through scope footage is always a bit tricky, and barely telling anything about optical quality.

I've taken some moon photo's through my Swarovski ATX85 spotting scope with the camera of my cellphone, and it showed quite a bit of CA.

However, looking through the scope with the naked eye, or with the TLS APO digiscope adapter attached, no such thing. No chromatic abberation visible whatsoever..
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This is true. For instance Roelf's scopecam images through the Nexus look horrendous, including in direct comparison with the cheaper Element scopes. Yet when you look at Ted's latest video it's a great deal better. Must be at least partially technical.

I personally hate chromatic aberration more than any other optical artifacts. Some don't get bothered by it. Will wait to see it in person I think. It's the only way to really know. But @slo642's impressions go a long way to help build an idea in my mind of what to expect 👌 +1
 
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I could have been very detailed on the optics but it appeared unwanted. I did the same test on it as I do on all my scopes (Kind of a side hobby)

testing aside how well a scope meets you needs is the real test of its value. (and in this it will all ways be subjective)

I still think if you are in the market for a scope in this price range you should take a look at the nexus.

In these times I am pleasantly surprised at how well scopes in the 600 -1000 price perform compared to a few years ago. (this is clearly China)

I am also surprised at the number of 3k+ priced scopes that have 2k to 2.5k scopes out perform them or perform equal. (ardent fans inflate prices)

The things that make a 2k, 3k and more $ scope special are making the little things very very good. It gets nonlinear more expensive to produce elite optics and you should expect a lot from scopes priced in this market.


 
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I could have been very detailed on the optics but it appeared unwanted. I did the same test on it as I do on all my scopes (Kind of a side hobby)

testing aside how well a scope meets you needs is the real test of its value. (and in this it will all ways be subjective)

I still think if you are in the market for a scope in this price range you should take a look at the nexus.

In these times I am pleasantly surprised at how well scopes in the 600 -1000 price perform compared to a few years ago. (this is clearly China)

I am also surprised at the number of 3k+ priced scopes that have 2k to 2.5k scopes out perform them or perform equal. (ardent fans inflate prices)

The things that make a 2k, 3k and more $ scope special are making the little things very very good. It gets nonlinear more expensive to produce elite optics and you should expect a lot from scopes priced in this market.

Click to expand...

I very much appreciate people like you that have the expertise and knowledge to speak on a topic. The more we can learn about the correct terms on different topics the better we can make make decisions on equipment purchases and enjoy this hobby. Bill
 
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I could have been very detailed on the optics but it appeared unwanted. I did the same test on it as I do on all my scopes (Kind of a side hobby)

testing aside how well a scope meets you needs is the real test of its value. (and in this it will all ways be subjective)

I still think if you are in the market for a scope in this price range you should take a look at the nexus.

In these times I am pleasantly surprised at how well scopes in the 600 -1000 price perform compared to a few years ago. (this is clearly China)

I am also surprised at the number of 3k+ priced scopes that have 2k to 2.5k scopes out perform them or perform equal. (ardent fans inflate prices)

The things that make a 2k, 3k and more $ scope special are making the little things very very good. It gets nonlinear more expensive to produce elite optics and you should expect a lot from scopes priced in this market.

Click to expand...

slo642,

I too appreciated your opinion. Some guys don't get it, but don't let that keep you from telling us what you think and telling us about the things that many people don't get. The competition in the $1,000-1,500 range is as good as it has ever been. The same goes even more for the price level just below it. If you are spending $1500 on a scope, you want to know what you are getting. It is in direct competition with one of my favorite scopes, so I would want to understand the good and the bad. While we all have different things we are looking for and certain characteristics are more important to some that others, it is important to put those out there when people ask. I have spent up to $2500 on scopes and been very disappointed and also very happy. I have also spent $500 and been thrilled. Depends on expectations and what you are looking for.
 
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This will probably the last I have to add to this...

I have spent a couple hours shooting with it now. It's been on a .177 Wildcat that I know is extraordinarily capable/accurate/consistent. I picked this gun because it's been windy (like up to 50+ mph for brief stretches), not because it's good in the wind but because I could easily take advantage of my targets at FT distances during breaks in the wind.

I took the time to modify a sidewheel to fit so I could mark a range tape on a larger surface and then proceeded to mark distances from 10 to 30y, as well as 55 and 75y. In my FT thinking, I'm always looking for good distance ranging using the focus wheel and good 'snap into focus' at fairly precise distances. Like 1yard increments from 10 - 20/25 yards an 3-5y increments from there out to 55, then I add 75 and 100y since I have other targets at those ranges. Not trying to make this about my FT methodology but it may be helpful for readers to understand the context.

So what makes all this work...

The better the glass the better your chances for a crisp focus (duh) but also makes it more possible for the image to 'snap' into the focus and yield a precise distance if you also marked your sidewheel well. Result - 1. (Pass) The glass in mine is great, I can see a little fuzziness around the outer edge but I can't honestly say that I've owned a scope that doesn't. 2. (Average for most scopes, Less than average one at this price) While it does focus clearly at each of the distances tested, I have to say that once I got to 15/16 yards it became more difficult to define the distance bases solely on the focus. If I focused clearly on 16y, it wasn't clearly obvious that my distance wasn't 15 or 17 yard when looking at the 3 targets set up 1 behind the other. To be fair, very few scopes are GOOD at this past certain distances but that's usually comes into play more around 20y. Were this fails (in my opinion) is the relatively smaller than average movement needed to adjust the focus ring. Less rotation needed to make large adjustments. So basically, when presented with a target of unknow distance, even as close as 16y, and you have no other reference point... you could be at 15 or 17 and that could be a full holdover point or turret click... An even larger sidewheel might be the answer for me if I choose to try this scope in this kind of setting.

For hunting use, my criticism's are probably advantages, or even meaningless if you are clicking for elevation or shooting fixed distance based on a range finder.

That's my ramble. Not my choice for FT style use, but more importantly... will I keep it or sell it... not sure yet.

Appreciate all the other comments in the thread.


 
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JCD,

If I may ask, knowing you have some top tier scopes, how would this glass stack up to let's say NF NX8's. Would also like your opinion on NF nx8 vs March F compacts FFP scopes. Reason for asking, I am looking to up grade to a higher tier glass as a cross over scope, for hunting / long range shooting. Can only afford to cry once. Wish to keep scope between 12-13" and 28 oz or less. I appreciate your insight!

Cheers
 
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