After some requests on Instagram and our local forums in the Netherlands I decided to make a comparison / review of the Element Optics Titan and the Vortex Strike Eagle. Before we start I need to mention that I’m part of the Element Optics Pro-Staff and was given the opportunity by Krale in the Netherlands to borrow the Vortex Strike Eagle for this review. To avoid a discussion about my honesty and discretion I will not make a recommendation but you’ll have to base that on what you read and decide what you like. This is going to be quite a long read, just to let you know up front 
Let’s start with a comparison of the specs to see what we’re working with:
Above is a table to describe the specs that are listed on the websites. Both scopes are only available in FFP and I’ve chosen the reticles because they’re similar in the way they are build (target dot in the middle and holdover tree). Keep in mind that the prices in the US are vastly different than over here in Europe so I leave the value estimation up to yourself. For comparison: US EO Titan vs Vortex SE = $800 vs $630 and in Europe it is €800 vs €900.
For the rest of the review/comparison I will use Titan or EO Titan as abbreviation/acronym for the Element Optics Titan and Vortex SE or SE as abbreviation/acronym for the Vortex Strike Eagle. This is just to save some time on having to type the complete names all the time.
Some items stand out in my opinion and some raise questions that hopefully can be answered along the way:
These are just thing that pop up in my mind while reading and comparing the specs. Some specs can be measured (like the FOV) and I will have a look at them to verify if my suspicions are right.
What are we going to have a look at?
First impressions and how does it run straight out of the box?
First a couple of pictures to see what’s in the box and how they are placed. First one is the Element Optics Titan:
What’s really in the box?
Everything is nicely packaged and secured in the soft foam and has a snug fit. The accessories are individually packaged in sealing bags inside the sunshade.
Next is the Vortex Strike Eagle:
What’s really in the box?
The SE is floating in the box in between two foam pieces and the sun shade makes sure that the scope is snug in the foam pieces. Accessories are also packaged in individual sealing bags and are placed both in the sunshade and around the riflescope in the box.
How are they performing right out of the box?
The Element Optics Titan has a bit of resistance in the magnification and parallax adjustment ring, the ocular and reticle illumination dials both already feel quite smooth and have just the right amount of resistance to not adjust at the slightest touch. The turrets have a nice feeling to them and a really audible sharp click sound. The resistance of the turrets feels just right, this prevents that it’s easy to move the turrets without being too heavy to have a hard time rotating them.
The Vortex Strike Eagle feels really smooth right out of the box on all dials and they have just the right resistance. At the magnification and parallax adjustment ring/dial there is both an audible scratching sound at the end of their track. Nothing feels off there but the sound can be heard. The turrets have a lot less resistance compared to the Titan (at least if you release the locking mechanism
) and give a more neutral sound which isn’t as audible. The turrets are easier to rotate so the lock is good to use to prevent unwanted movement of the turrets. What I personally miss is a rotation indicator but you’ll only notice this when you’re actually dialing with the turrets for different ranges.
Both turrets have a bit of play in there but nothing worrying for the price class. Locking turrets is nice in some cases but personally I prefer non-locking turrets, this prevents that you’ll have to start pulling on your turret in the middle of a match or during practice.
First impressions are good, adjustment mechanisms and turrets feel really good and rigid and the finishing of the parts looks good!
Reticle and its illumination
The two reticles that I’ve chosen are the APR-1D MRAD for the Element Optics Titan and the EBR-7C MRAD for the Vortex Strike Eagle.
Element Optics Titan APR-1D reticle
The APR-1D reticle has 0.5 MRAD hashmarks at both the horizontal as the vertical axis and every integer MRAD value there is a bigger hashmark. Below the horizontal axis of the reticle there are dots for wind correction at every integer MRAD value with a sub division of smaller dots every 0.2 MRAD. You’ll also see dots at the 0.5 MRAD marks in between the lines for windage. The thickness of the center dot in the reticle is 8mm @ 100 meter, the smaller dots are 6mm thick and the lines are 3.3mm at 100 meter. These values are not in the manual so I requested the values from Matt himself.
Below is a picture of the reticle itself and a picture of the reticle illumination at 25x:
As you can see on the picture almost the whole center of the reticle is illuminated, this is 10 MRAD left and right on the horizontal axis and from 6 MRAD upwards up to 20 MRAD downwards on the vertical axis. The numbers next to the horizontal and vertical axis are not illuminated but the numbers next to the holdover tree are illuminated.
At 5x there are clear black lines of the reticle in view that help you to focus on the center more quickly. At 12x the side bars have the shape of an arrow pointing towards the center comparable to what Nightforce uses in some reticles. At 25x there is about 8.25 MRAD left of the reticle in all directions (guess how the FOV can be calculated at 25x
).
What can be seen at 25x on a typical 100 meter practice card that is used for our 100 meter competition. Inner gray dot is about 1/3 MOA and the circle around it is approximately 1 MOA, the inside of the gray circle is 2.25 MOA, just FYI.
It’s hard to take a decent picture of a through the scope view with a phone held by hand, don’t use this to judge the optical quality
My personal opinion about the reticle: the center dot is slightly bigger than I would choose normally for target shooting but it’s not too big for this use, the center is clean and calm which helps for target shooting. The 0.2 MRAD for windage are nice to have but a 0.2 MRAD on the vertical axis would be nice for a bit more precision shooting based on holdover but the 0.5 MRAD marks already do the job just fine.
Vortex Strike Eagle EBR-7C MRAD
The EBR-7C MRAD reticle has both on the horizontal as well as the vertical axis different lengths and distances of hashmarks. The horizontal axis is a mix of 0.1, 0.2 and 0.5 MRAD distances and hashmarks and the vertical axis is a mix of mainly 0.5 MRAD and a section of 0.1 MRAD for measurements (I assume). The holdover tree has dots the size of 9mm @ 100 meter at a 1 MRAD spacing and the 0.2 MRAD dots are 6mm @ 100 meter. The thickness of the center dot is 4mm and the thin lines are 3mm thick @ 100 meter. All values can be found in the manual or online.
Below are two pictures of the reticle at 25x, again one is a general view and the other one shows the reticle illumination:
As you can see on the pictures the whole center is illuminated on the reticle. This is from 8 MRAD left to right on the horizontal axis and from 10 MRAD above to 10 MRAD below the center on the vertical axis. All number are illuminated on the reticle.
At 5x magnification the reticle has clear thick black lines in view that help to quickly focus on the center. These thick lines stay visible up to almost 25x and at 25x there is approximately 8.75 MRAD of view left in all directions measured from the center.
Again a picture of how the reticles looks on a local 100 meter test card at 25x:
My personal opinion on this reticle: the center is a bit too busy in my opinion for precision paper target shooting, this because there is so much going on with different sizes in the center that it becomes a bit chaotic. The 0.2 MRAD and 0.5 MRAD on the horizontal axis are a bit inconveniently used on one axis if you ask me. The rest of the reticle is nice, clear and clean. I’m using this reticle in my PST Gen II since they were released for that line of scopes and I do like it for practical shooting at varying distances and targets but most of them are steel targets instead of paper.
Turret internals and how does the zero stop work
Element Optics Titan
Turret & internals
The turret of the Titan can be taken apart by unscrewing the top cover of the turret. This top cover has plenty resistance to not unscrew by itself without becoming too tight to release by hand. The first time can be a bit hard but once loosened in should be fine if you don’t hammer it down in place.
After taking the turret apart you’ll see the brass tower which is rotating when adjusting the turret and the stainless steel teeth ring where the click value is defined. This stainless steel part is what normally wears down after repeated use of the turrets but since this is stainless steel this will take a lot longer compared to having a brass teeth ring.
And a close up of the brass tower and stainless steel teeth:
Zero stop
The zero stop is fairly easy to install: once the scope is zeroed you unscrew the turret and take of the cap.
Next step is to put the zero stop ring over the brass tower and align the notch on the zero stop ring on the left of the notch of the stainless steel ring. Once in place tighten it down and they will grip the brass tower and prevent it from going lower than the defined point.
When you adjust the turret after installing the zero stop you can see how it works. Like I described the brass tower can no go any lower than the zero stop position but can still go up to dial elevation. While dialing for distance you can see the zero stop move upwards and leaves enough space for all the travel that was left after the zero stop.
Turret characteristics
The manufacturer specified adjustment range for both turrets is 23.2 MRAD. While adjusting my turrets I noticed that there is more elevation available then specified:
I know a lot of manufacturers are quite conservative with giving these values since it is better to have a few MRAD extra than 0.1 MRAD short. The shortage will bring a whole lot more complaints than the few extra.
Of course it is important to know if the turrets track accurately, I haven’t tested the exact accuracy but by judging it they are close to very accurate. Still have to measure the exact accuracy someday.
Comments
There is a bit of play in the mechanism but nothing shocking. The turrets can be moved about 0.02 to 0.025 MRAD as play before it will move towards the next click. The mechanism is very audible and has a very nice feel to it but this means a bit more force is needed to rotate the turrets. The stainless steel teeth ring is a good addition for longevity of the turret mechanisms compared to brass.
Vortex Optics Strike Eagle
Turret & internals
The turret of the Strike Eagle can be taken apart with a tool that is used to unscrew the cap on top of the turret. This cap will never loosen by itself because it is secured by an O-ring.
When you take the turret apart you will see the following:
Because the teeth ring is blackened I can’t see what material it is made of but judging on the height and looking on the outside where the brass ring is I assume it’s made of brass. This doesn’t have to be bad but it just means it won’t last as long as a stainless steel version. For the rest the turrets looks good and clean.
Zero stop
This zero stop is also one of the easiest to use: after zeroing the scope remove the turret cap and just place the zero stop ring according to the instructions written on the ring and you’re done.
Spin the zero stop ring to the left until it stops and you’re ready put the cap back on.
Once assembled again the zero stop is set, you now have -0.5 MRAD and up towards maximum 19 MRAD or until the mechanical limit of the scope. This is important information to remember because it limits your maximum travel range to 19.5 MRAD! In most cases this is more than enough but still I mention it to be complete.
Turret characteristics
The specified adjustment range specified by Vortex is 31 MRAD for the elevation and 23 MRAD for the windage. I measured the following:
The same holds here, they were a bit conservative with the specified vertical adjustment but it’s good to have a little extra.
For these turrets I also didn’t have the time to measure the exact accuracy of the turret tracking but my judgement is that it’s also not far off. Don’t have this scope anymore so somebody else will have to prove the accuracy but I guess it’s just fine!
Comments
Also on these turrets there is a bit op play, also about 0.02 to 0.025 MRAD of play before you move it to the next click. The turret mechanism works great and smooth although it might be somewhat easy to overturn it but there is a lock to prevent unwanted movement. You can hear some sort of rattling noise from the zero stop but that’s only audible in a very quiet room. Personally would have liked a rotation indicator but you can’t have it all, with the zero stop installed it’s very easy to trace back your zero and work from there again when needed.
Testing some specifications
I tested some of the specifications to see how accurate they were and put them in a table:
There are two points listed with personal configuration, what I mean with this is in which configuration I would use the scope. The configuration is with the throw lever, bubble level on the tube and sunshade with lens covers.
I’m unfortunately not in the possession of a device to check the exact magnification of the scopes but by comparing side to side with other 25x scopes it seems like they are not far off. Despite the differences in FOV the magnification looked pretty much alike. For this reason I assume the max magnification is very close to 25x.
What you can see from this comparison is that the EO Titan has a slightly smaller FOV, minimum focus distance is just a bit farther and the weight is about 30% higher compared to the Vortex SE.
The optics and distortions/effects that can be seen
Resolution
The resolution of both scopes is very good in the center of their adjustment range, even to the edges of image at both low and high magnification. What I can see when I compare them side by side:
Chromatic aberration
There is chromatic aberration in both scopes, this can’t be denied. Difference though is that the Vortex SE was having quite a lot of it compared to the Titan. This really gets visible once you’re approaching the edge of the adjustment range. With the Vortex SE it was getting quite annoying in the edge of adjustment range because I was losing details behind the CA. I guess most people won’t stay for long in the edges of adjustment but keep this in mind while dialing there.
Globe effect and distortions
Despite that I do think both scopes perform really well in this sector (contrary to what I expected from a Chinese made scope) there is a bit of distortion on the EO Titan. It’s a bit of barrel distortion which is not really noticeable in bench conditions but once scanning the fields at low magnifications you can see the globe effect happening. This is something that is more worrying in a binocular than a scope but it is there so I want to mention it. The Strike Eagle performs really nice in this subject since there is not much to see which is worth mentioning related to distortions.
Edge clarity and sharpness
Both scopes perform really well in this subject, both on high and low magnifications the image is completely in focus from edge to edge. I’m not going to waste any more words on this since this is just how it should be!
Contrast and colors (in my eyes)
Colors are very true to nature when being compared to my naked eye view on the same objects. Brands like Sightron sometimes have a warm glow over the image and some other brands use coatings which let certain colors really pop up. Both perform pretty much the same in this area and it’s very neutral so that’s good in my opinion. Contrast is similar, nothing that really stands out in this subject.
Recommendations
Wat I mostly noticed with the Vortex is that it becomes hard to use it at the edge of the adjustment range due to the above mentioned factors. By using the right mounts (read 10-12 MRAD of cant or 30 to 40 MOA of cant) you can use the zero stop to limit yourself to the good part of the adjustment range around the center. When you’re not planning to use the turrets for adjustments then just make sure you zero the scope around the optical center, but I would advise this for most scopes if used in the same way.
Internal reflections
A bit that I don’t see being discussed by many people is the internal reflections. Internal reflections can cause your image to become distorted with a white glow when light is coming in from unwanted angles or is overly bright and this causes problems for using the scope.
On the pictures below you can see the Element Optics Titan on the left and the Vortex Strike Eagle on the right. The first pictures are taken under normal lighting conditions at 25x and the second row pictures are taken while shining a bright light into the objective lens to really light things up.
Element Optics Titan @ 25x Vortex Strike Eagle @ 25x
Element Optics Titan @ 25x Vortex Strike Eagle @ 25x
The internal reflections on the pictures are taken by staring into the ocular from a distance while aiming at a light surface. You can see the inside of the erector tube lighting up depending on which magnification you’re on.
At the Vortex SE there is a small halo starting at 16x magnification around the tunnel of light which develops into the image shown above. For the EO Titan this halo is starting to show only at 18/19x magnification. With a really strong light coming in from an almost straight angle it could be noticed that the EO Titan was suffering a bit more than the Vortex SE. This is the reason the sunshade is included, this helps a lot with removing light coming in from inconvenient angles and preventing a white glow on the image (sometimes referred to as milky).
In the lower magnifications you can see some very thin lines reflecting but those are the rings that hold the lenses in place or the edges of the lenses. This will reflect more light when a bright light in shing in from the ocular side together with the reflections from the ocular lens itself. If you’re suffering from this put on a hat and block the light source (small tip here ).
Looking into the objective lens I don’t see any really shiny surfaces but this is very hard to capture in a photo so you’ll have to do it with reading this. Both used ribbed surfaces inside to minimize internal reflections and guide it back out where it came from.
Just to show that this isn’t a weird phenomena I included a picture of my Vortex Viper PST Gen II 5-25x50 FFP with it’s internal reflections in the erector tube.
All in all there is not much weird going on in this section. Parts are nicely blackened without becoming too shiny, in the erector tube some grease can be seen but it mostly the tube itself reflecting.
Performance related items
Late night performance
While observing different objects in the dark I noticed that the EO Titan holds on just a bit better than the Vortex SE. Colors stay better for just a bit longer and objects stay a tiny bit brighter. Once it goes dark the lowest magnification is your only option left to be able to see something without artificial lighting. The last bits of light seem to make it through the Titan just a bit easier than the SE. It’s not a big difference but it’s there.
Overall performance
The overall performance of both scopes is really nice! Of course they aren’t perfect but in both cases you get value for money. Both have some advantages over the other but it’s up to you to decide which ones you like better. I’ve tried to describe what I saw while having both of them next to each other for comparison.
Something I didn’t talk about before is the eye box of both scopes, this is the region where full FOV is achieved and everything is in focus (some scopes have a tendency to shift the reticle focus once you’re not fully aligned with the optical axis). Both scopes aren’t too critical with this but they do ask a bit of attention to get the max performance out of it. Once you really start deviating from the eye-box you will see shifts of focus and FOV changes so it’s easy to correct this. Scopes like the EO Nexus and Vortex PST Gen II perform better in this subject but the prices of those scopes aren’t comparable. I personally like to have a non-critical eye box because it feels a lot easier to work with the scope. I know some target shooters like the exact opposite because they then know they’re on the absolute correct position to shoot.
Unfortunately I haven’t been able to do tracking tests yet but I expect both scopes to perform just fine in this subject!
Some short tips for using these scopes:
How are the scopes doing after some time of using it?
Like expected the parts with just a bit of extra resistance on the EO Titan loosened up and for the Vortex SE I didn’t notice a difference since it already ran smooth out of the factory.
So far this comparison/review, if more thing pop up I will add them and upload it after an update. Hope you guys like to read this long story with a bit more in depth comparison.
Let’s start with a comparison of the specs to see what we’re working with:
Above is a table to describe the specs that are listed on the websites. Both scopes are only available in FFP and I’ve chosen the reticles because they’re similar in the way they are build (target dot in the middle and holdover tree). Keep in mind that the prices in the US are vastly different than over here in Europe so I leave the value estimation up to yourself. For comparison: US EO Titan vs Vortex SE = $800 vs $630 and in Europe it is €800 vs €900.
For the rest of the review/comparison I will use Titan or EO Titan as abbreviation/acronym for the Element Optics Titan and Vortex SE or SE as abbreviation/acronym for the Vortex Strike Eagle. This is just to save some time on having to type the complete names all the time.
Some items stand out in my opinion and some raise questions that hopefully can be answered along the way:
- In terms of length both scopes are pretty similar but the weight of the Titan is 243 grams higher -> what would be the reason for that difference? The tube in the Titan is slightly thicker (2mm vs 1.75mm) but since the volumetric mass density of Aluminum is low and considering the difference in thickness this won’t make a difference of the 243 grams.
- The ratio between the minimum and maximum FOV has to be equal to the ratio between minimum and maximum magnification (due to rounding off of the numbers for magnification there will be a very slight difference in most cases). The FOV ratio for the Titan is 5.98 and for the SE this is 4.62. The Titan seems to have a slight mistake in the specs and for SE a slight suspicion of tunneling is present after reading this or the actual magnification is very broadly rounded off to the nearest integer value.
- The Vortex SE has 8 MRAD more adjustment range compared to the Titan -> is the adjustment range of the Titan reduced on purpose to preserve image quality or did Vortex find a way to overcome this issue?
- The Titan turrets can’t be locked but be can be removed without tools to be able to adjust the zero stop or re-zero the turret. The SE has lockable turrets but requires a tool to open it up and adjust the zero stop. One thing to add for the SE: once the zero stop is placed you will only have a maximum of 19.5 MRAD (+19 MRAD to -0.5 MRAD) of travel left, depending on where you set the zero stop of course
- Line thickness is similar but the center dot on the Titan is a bit thicker compared to the Strike Eagle.
These are just thing that pop up in my mind while reading and comparing the specs. Some specs can be measured (like the FOV) and I will have a look at them to verify if my suspicions are right.
What are we going to have a look at?
- First impressions and how does it run straight out of the box
- Reticles comparison and reticle illumination
- Turret internals and how does the zero stop work
- Testing specifications
- The optics and effect/distortions that can be seen
- Resolution
- Chromatic- and/or spherical aberrations
- Globe effect and distortions
- Edge clarity and sharpness
- Contrast and color
- Internal reflections
- Performance related items
- Overall performance
- Late night performance
- How is the scope doing after using it for some time
First impressions and how does it run straight out of the box?
First a couple of pictures to see what’s in the box and how they are placed. First one is the Element Optics Titan:
What’s really in the box?
- Two sets of lens covers, rubber bikini covers and flip caps
- Sunshade
- Battery for the reticle illumination
- Zero stop ring
- Throw lever pin
- Set of hex keys for the zero stop and throw lever pin
- Lens cloth
- Manual for the scope and reticle
- Element optics sticker (not in the picture)
Everything is nicely packaged and secured in the soft foam and has a snug fit. The accessories are individually packaged in sealing bags inside the sunshade.
Next is the Vortex Strike Eagle:
What’s really in the box?
- Rubber bikini lens cover
- Sunshade
- Battery for the reticle illumination
- Zero stop ring
- Throw lever
- Hex keys for the throw lever
- Lens cloth
- Manual for the scope and reticle
- Tool for disassembling the turrets
The SE is floating in the box in between two foam pieces and the sun shade makes sure that the scope is snug in the foam pieces. Accessories are also packaged in individual sealing bags and are placed both in the sunshade and around the riflescope in the box.
How are they performing right out of the box?
The Element Optics Titan has a bit of resistance in the magnification and parallax adjustment ring, the ocular and reticle illumination dials both already feel quite smooth and have just the right amount of resistance to not adjust at the slightest touch. The turrets have a nice feeling to them and a really audible sharp click sound. The resistance of the turrets feels just right, this prevents that it’s easy to move the turrets without being too heavy to have a hard time rotating them.
The Vortex Strike Eagle feels really smooth right out of the box on all dials and they have just the right resistance. At the magnification and parallax adjustment ring/dial there is both an audible scratching sound at the end of their track. Nothing feels off there but the sound can be heard. The turrets have a lot less resistance compared to the Titan (at least if you release the locking mechanism
) and give a more neutral sound which isn’t as audible. The turrets are easier to rotate so the lock is good to use to prevent unwanted movement of the turrets. What I personally miss is a rotation indicator but you’ll only notice this when you’re actually dialing with the turrets for different ranges.Both turrets have a bit of play in there but nothing worrying for the price class. Locking turrets is nice in some cases but personally I prefer non-locking turrets, this prevents that you’ll have to start pulling on your turret in the middle of a match or during practice.
First impressions are good, adjustment mechanisms and turrets feel really good and rigid and the finishing of the parts looks good!
Reticle and its illumination
The two reticles that I’ve chosen are the APR-1D MRAD for the Element Optics Titan and the EBR-7C MRAD for the Vortex Strike Eagle.
Element Optics Titan APR-1D reticle
The APR-1D reticle has 0.5 MRAD hashmarks at both the horizontal as the vertical axis and every integer MRAD value there is a bigger hashmark. Below the horizontal axis of the reticle there are dots for wind correction at every integer MRAD value with a sub division of smaller dots every 0.2 MRAD. You’ll also see dots at the 0.5 MRAD marks in between the lines for windage. The thickness of the center dot in the reticle is 8mm @ 100 meter, the smaller dots are 6mm thick and the lines are 3.3mm at 100 meter. These values are not in the manual so I requested the values from Matt himself.
Below is a picture of the reticle itself and a picture of the reticle illumination at 25x:
As you can see on the picture almost the whole center of the reticle is illuminated, this is 10 MRAD left and right on the horizontal axis and from 6 MRAD upwards up to 20 MRAD downwards on the vertical axis. The numbers next to the horizontal and vertical axis are not illuminated but the numbers next to the holdover tree are illuminated.
At 5x there are clear black lines of the reticle in view that help you to focus on the center more quickly. At 12x the side bars have the shape of an arrow pointing towards the center comparable to what Nightforce uses in some reticles. At 25x there is about 8.25 MRAD left of the reticle in all directions (guess how the FOV can be calculated at 25x
).What can be seen at 25x on a typical 100 meter practice card that is used for our 100 meter competition. Inner gray dot is about 1/3 MOA and the circle around it is approximately 1 MOA, the inside of the gray circle is 2.25 MOA, just FYI.
It’s hard to take a decent picture of a through the scope view with a phone held by hand, don’t use this to judge the optical quality
My personal opinion about the reticle: the center dot is slightly bigger than I would choose normally for target shooting but it’s not too big for this use, the center is clean and calm which helps for target shooting. The 0.2 MRAD for windage are nice to have but a 0.2 MRAD on the vertical axis would be nice for a bit more precision shooting based on holdover but the 0.5 MRAD marks already do the job just fine.
Vortex Strike Eagle EBR-7C MRAD
The EBR-7C MRAD reticle has both on the horizontal as well as the vertical axis different lengths and distances of hashmarks. The horizontal axis is a mix of 0.1, 0.2 and 0.5 MRAD distances and hashmarks and the vertical axis is a mix of mainly 0.5 MRAD and a section of 0.1 MRAD for measurements (I assume). The holdover tree has dots the size of 9mm @ 100 meter at a 1 MRAD spacing and the 0.2 MRAD dots are 6mm @ 100 meter. The thickness of the center dot is 4mm and the thin lines are 3mm thick @ 100 meter. All values can be found in the manual or online.
Below are two pictures of the reticle at 25x, again one is a general view and the other one shows the reticle illumination:
As you can see on the pictures the whole center is illuminated on the reticle. This is from 8 MRAD left to right on the horizontal axis and from 10 MRAD above to 10 MRAD below the center on the vertical axis. All number are illuminated on the reticle.
At 5x magnification the reticle has clear thick black lines in view that help to quickly focus on the center. These thick lines stay visible up to almost 25x and at 25x there is approximately 8.75 MRAD of view left in all directions measured from the center.
Again a picture of how the reticles looks on a local 100 meter test card at 25x:
My personal opinion on this reticle: the center is a bit too busy in my opinion for precision paper target shooting, this because there is so much going on with different sizes in the center that it becomes a bit chaotic. The 0.2 MRAD and 0.5 MRAD on the horizontal axis are a bit inconveniently used on one axis if you ask me. The rest of the reticle is nice, clear and clean. I’m using this reticle in my PST Gen II since they were released for that line of scopes and I do like it for practical shooting at varying distances and targets but most of them are steel targets instead of paper.
Turret internals and how does the zero stop work
Element Optics Titan
Turret & internals
The turret of the Titan can be taken apart by unscrewing the top cover of the turret. This top cover has plenty resistance to not unscrew by itself without becoming too tight to release by hand. The first time can be a bit hard but once loosened in should be fine if you don’t hammer it down in place
.After taking the turret apart you’ll see the brass tower which is rotating when adjusting the turret and the stainless steel teeth ring where the click value is defined. This stainless steel part is what normally wears down after repeated use of the turrets but since this is stainless steel this will take a lot longer compared to having a brass teeth ring.
And a close up of the brass tower and stainless steel teeth:
Zero stop
The zero stop is fairly easy to install: once the scope is zeroed you unscrew the turret and take of the cap.
Next step is to put the zero stop ring over the brass tower and align the notch on the zero stop ring on the left of the notch of the stainless steel ring. Once in place tighten it down and they will grip the brass tower and prevent it from going lower than the defined point.
When you adjust the turret after installing the zero stop you can see how it works. Like I described the brass tower can no go any lower than the zero stop position but can still go up to dial elevation. While dialing for distance you can see the zero stop move upwards and leaves enough space for all the travel that was left after the zero stop.
Turret characteristics
The manufacturer specified adjustment range for both turrets is 23.2 MRAD. While adjusting my turrets I noticed that there is more elevation available then specified:
- Vertical adjustment: 29 MRAD
- Horizontal adjustment: 28 MRAD
I know a lot of manufacturers are quite conservative with giving these values since it is better to have a few MRAD extra than 0.1 MRAD short. The shortage will bring a whole lot more complaints than the few extra.
Of course it is important to know if the turrets track accurately, I haven’t tested the exact accuracy but by judging it they are close to very accurate. Still have to measure the exact accuracy someday.
Comments
There is a bit of play in the mechanism but nothing shocking. The turrets can be moved about 0.02 to 0.025 MRAD as play before it will move towards the next click. The mechanism is very audible and has a very nice feel to it but this means a bit more force is needed to rotate the turrets. The stainless steel teeth ring is a good addition for longevity of the turret mechanisms compared to brass.
Vortex Optics Strike Eagle
Turret & internals
The turret of the Strike Eagle can be taken apart with a tool that is used to unscrew the cap on top of the turret. This cap will never loosen by itself because it is secured by an O-ring.
When you take the turret apart you will see the following:
Because the teeth ring is blackened I can’t see what material it is made of but judging on the height and looking on the outside where the brass ring is I assume it’s made of brass. This doesn’t have to be bad but it just means it won’t last as long as a stainless steel version. For the rest the turrets looks good and clean.
Zero stop
This zero stop is also one of the easiest to use: after zeroing the scope remove the turret cap and just place the zero stop ring according to the instructions written on the ring and you’re done.
Spin the zero stop ring to the left until it stops and you’re ready put the cap back on.
Once assembled again the zero stop is set, you now have -0.5 MRAD and up towards maximum 19 MRAD or until the mechanical limit of the scope. This is important information to remember because it limits your maximum travel range to 19.5 MRAD! In most cases this is more than enough but still I mention it to be complete.
Turret characteristics
The specified adjustment range specified by Vortex is 31 MRAD for the elevation and 23 MRAD for the windage. I measured the following:
- Vertical adjustment: 32.5 MRAD
- Horizontal adjustment: 23 MRAD
The same holds here, they were a bit conservative with the specified vertical adjustment but it’s good to have a little extra.
For these turrets I also didn’t have the time to measure the exact accuracy of the turret tracking but my judgement is that it’s also not far off. Don’t have this scope anymore so somebody else will have to prove the accuracy but I guess it’s just fine!
Comments
Also on these turrets there is a bit op play, also about 0.02 to 0.025 MRAD of play before you move it to the next click. The turret mechanism works great and smooth although it might be somewhat easy to overturn it but there is a lock to prevent unwanted movement. You can hear some sort of rattling noise from the zero stop but that’s only audible in a very quiet room. Personally would have liked a rotation indicator but you can’t have it all, with the zero stop installed it’s very easy to trace back your zero and work from there again when needed.
Testing some specifications
I tested some of the specifications to see how accurate they were and put them in a table:
There are two points listed with personal configuration, what I mean with this is in which configuration I would use the scope. The configuration is with the throw lever, bubble level on the tube and sunshade with lens covers.
I’m unfortunately not in the possession of a device to check the exact magnification of the scopes but by comparing side to side with other 25x scopes it seems like they are not far off. Despite the differences in FOV the magnification looked pretty much alike. For this reason I assume the max magnification is very close to 25x.
What you can see from this comparison is that the EO Titan has a slightly smaller FOV, minimum focus distance is just a bit farther and the weight is about 30% higher compared to the Vortex SE.
The optics and distortions/effects that can be seen
Resolution
The resolution of both scopes is very good in the center of their adjustment range, even to the edges of image at both low and high magnification. What I can see when I compare them side by side:
- The resolution of the Titan degrades a bit at the edge of the adjustment range but the reticle stays in sharp focus with the image. This means details will degrade a bit but it is still decently usable to do a whole lot of shooting stuff, finding exact hole locations on paper will be more difficult though.
- The resolution of the Strike Eagle stayed better through its magnification range but I just couldn’t get both the reticle and image in focus anymore. This made it very hard for me to keep using it and was really asking a lot of focus from my eyes to work with this.
Chromatic aberration
There is chromatic aberration in both scopes, this can’t be denied. Difference though is that the Vortex SE was having quite a lot of it compared to the Titan. This really gets visible once you’re approaching the edge of the adjustment range. With the Vortex SE it was getting quite annoying in the edge of adjustment range because I was losing details behind the CA. I guess most people won’t stay for long in the edges of adjustment but keep this in mind while dialing there.
Globe effect and distortions
Despite that I do think both scopes perform really well in this sector (contrary to what I expected from a Chinese made scope) there is a bit of distortion on the EO Titan. It’s a bit of barrel distortion which is not really noticeable in bench conditions but once scanning the fields at low magnifications you can see the globe effect happening. This is something that is more worrying in a binocular than a scope but it is there so I want to mention it. The Strike Eagle performs really nice in this subject since there is not much to see which is worth mentioning related to distortions.
Edge clarity and sharpness
Both scopes perform really well in this subject, both on high and low magnifications the image is completely in focus from edge to edge. I’m not going to waste any more words on this since this is just how it should be!
Contrast and colors (in my eyes)
Colors are very true to nature when being compared to my naked eye view on the same objects. Brands like Sightron sometimes have a warm glow over the image and some other brands use coatings which let certain colors really pop up. Both perform pretty much the same in this area and it’s very neutral so that’s good in my opinion. Contrast is similar, nothing that really stands out in this subject.
Recommendations
Wat I mostly noticed with the Vortex is that it becomes hard to use it at the edge of the adjustment range due to the above mentioned factors. By using the right mounts (read 10-12 MRAD of cant or 30 to 40 MOA of cant) you can use the zero stop to limit yourself to the good part of the adjustment range around the center. When you’re not planning to use the turrets for adjustments then just make sure you zero the scope around the optical center, but I would advise this for most scopes if used in the same way.
Internal reflections
A bit that I don’t see being discussed by many people is the internal reflections. Internal reflections can cause your image to become distorted with a white glow when light is coming in from unwanted angles or is overly bright and this causes problems for using the scope.
On the pictures below you can see the Element Optics Titan on the left and the Vortex Strike Eagle on the right. The first pictures are taken under normal lighting conditions at 25x and the second row pictures are taken while shining a bright light into the objective lens to really light things up.
Element Optics Titan @ 25x Vortex Strike Eagle @ 25x
Element Optics Titan @ 25x Vortex Strike Eagle @ 25x
The internal reflections on the pictures are taken by staring into the ocular from a distance while aiming at a light surface. You can see the inside of the erector tube lighting up depending on which magnification you’re on.
At the Vortex SE there is a small halo starting at 16x magnification around the tunnel of light which develops into the image shown above. For the EO Titan this halo is starting to show only at 18/19x magnification. With a really strong light coming in from an almost straight angle it could be noticed that the EO Titan was suffering a bit more than the Vortex SE. This is the reason the sunshade is included, this helps a lot with removing light coming in from inconvenient angles and preventing a white glow on the image (sometimes referred to as milky).
In the lower magnifications you can see some very thin lines reflecting but those are the rings that hold the lenses in place or the edges of the lenses. This will reflect more light when a bright light in shing in from the ocular side together with the reflections from the ocular lens itself. If you’re suffering from this put on a hat and block the light source (small tip here
).Looking into the objective lens I don’t see any really shiny surfaces but this is very hard to capture in a photo so you’ll have to do it with reading this. Both used ribbed surfaces inside to minimize internal reflections and guide it back out where it came from.
Just to show that this isn’t a weird phenomena I included a picture of my Vortex Viper PST Gen II 5-25x50 FFP with it’s internal reflections in the erector tube.
All in all there is not much weird going on in this section. Parts are nicely blackened without becoming too shiny, in the erector tube some grease can be seen but it mostly the tube itself reflecting.
Performance related items
Late night performance
While observing different objects in the dark I noticed that the EO Titan holds on just a bit better than the Vortex SE. Colors stay better for just a bit longer and objects stay a tiny bit brighter. Once it goes dark the lowest magnification is your only option left to be able to see something without artificial lighting. The last bits of light seem to make it through the Titan just a bit easier than the SE. It’s not a big difference but it’s there.
Overall performance
The overall performance of both scopes is really nice! Of course they aren’t perfect but in both cases you get value for money. Both have some advantages over the other but it’s up to you to decide which ones you like better. I’ve tried to describe what I saw while having both of them next to each other for comparison.
Something I didn’t talk about before is the eye box of both scopes, this is the region where full FOV is achieved and everything is in focus (some scopes have a tendency to shift the reticle focus once you’re not fully aligned with the optical axis). Both scopes aren’t too critical with this but they do ask a bit of attention to get the max performance out of it. Once you really start deviating from the eye-box you will see shifts of focus and FOV changes so it’s easy to correct this. Scopes like the EO Nexus and Vortex PST Gen II perform better in this subject but the prices of those scopes aren’t comparable. I personally like to have a non-critical eye box because it feels a lot easier to work with the scope. I know some target shooters like the exact opposite because they then know they’re on the absolute correct position to shoot.
Unfortunately I haven’t been able to do tracking tests yet but I expect both scopes to perform just fine in this subject!
Some short tips for using these scopes:
- The EO Titan could use some help in inconvenient lighting conditions like a low hanging sun above your target. Luckily this is easy to solve by having the sunshade with you or leave it on there. Aside from that it’s performing nicely within it’s factory limits
- The Vortex SE performs a bit better on some subjects but the limitation on this scope is the adjustment range which is just a bit too big. If you’re using the zero stop in a proper way you can work around this but you’ll loose more than 10 MRAD of your adjustment range. The low light performance was just a bit behind the Titan but this is a minute difference and hard to notice if you don’t have them side by side.
How are the scopes doing after some time of using it?
Like expected the parts with just a bit of extra resistance on the EO Titan loosened up and for the Vortex SE I didn’t notice a difference since it already ran smooth out of the factory.
So far this comparison/review, if more thing pop up I will add them and upload it after an update. Hope you guys like to read this long story with a bit more in depth comparison.
