Why Optisan?

A chat between Lily, Chief Product Designer of Optisan, and Shaun of Elite Optical Distribution.

Lily:

Yes, I believe the superiority starts from the ground up because as a family business we design, develop and build the optics from prototype to the finished product. Our own factory manufactures the optics meaning that materials and quality control are optimised to the maximum. Alternatively, rivals use third party factories at a price point and a brand label added at the end which means there is always a cost cutting element that is detrimental to performance and durability.

Lily:

We are completely invested in the brand and we endeavour to produce a product that is fully developed and tested from its launch and last the lifetime for its user.

Lily:

It is paramount in the production of precision optics. It is why we use our own factory to produce our products so we can maintain the highest standards. Right from the initial checks on glass and components through assembly to finished item for exam- ple one of our 6-24x56 scopes will undergo 80 separate checks before release for sale.

Lily:

Critically. As a scope which is not mechanically durable will certainly become inaccurate over the years of its use and therefore become unable to hold zero effectively or track consistently even though optically it is still excellent.

Lily:

A good example would be our erector spring assembly which ensures retention of zero and consistent repeatable tracking. It is constructed from beryllium bronze as used in high end chro- nometer watches then it is custom heat treated by ourselves to ensure consistent quality. A sample from each batch of springs is then subjected to a two-week fatigue test to ensure the highest quality is maintained. This means during the lifetime of the scope it will perform the same as it did on the day it was made.

Lily:

Dependant on the model we use aircraft alumini- um in either T6061 or T6063 grades to guarantee tube strength. We give great attention to internal glare con- trol as this is very important for good image quality and we believe it is unbeatable in our price range. We now purge our scopes with Argon which gives more thermal stability and durability over nitrogen.

Lily:

All scopes are tested to 1000g and also field tested on .308 and magnum calibres such as .3006, .300WM. Coming up we’ll soon introduce extreme long range line that will under- go test to ensure reliability with .338 LM & .50 BMG.

Lily:

Quality of glass is one of many factors affecting image quality so initial quality control is important to maintain consistency. But importantly other factors such as optical design, index matched lenses and light transmission over wavelength play a major part in the final picture. We use MgF2 AR coatings on all air to glass surfaces which are multi-layer coated to ensure best light transmission and colour rendition. For example, the entire optical system of the EVX 6-24x56 has in total 96 layers of individual coating.

Lily:

Other parameters that are important are the scopes parallax correction and reticle installation. Every scope is checked to be parallax free on a collimator at a series of pre-set critical distances, it is then subjected to recoil testing and then rechecked on the collimator to ensure parallax setting is still correct. Also we go to great length to ensure reticles are installed correctly and with no cant so no error is introduced at long distance.

Lily:

Finally, I would say each and every of the above points are important in the construction of a scope but ultimately they all have to conform to strict quality control and this is where we excel above other brands to create an OPTISAN quality scope.