Vortex are great scopes, especially for the money. Their Warranty is top notch also, I use several of them and have been totally satisfied. The only time i have had a problem was with a used Razer Hd Spotting scope I bought used that looked like it had been through the war. I didn't hesitate on buying it because I called them and asked them if they would accept it for warranty work if I wasn't the original purchaser and if it was pretty beat up, they said yes. I picked it up for half price and sent it in, they cleaned it up, re aligned it and replaced the eye piece for free. 1 week turn around from mailing it in to getting it back.
As far as optic quality, they are cleaner then my Nikon Monarch. I would say on the same level as Meopta, pretty close to a Leupold. Although every leupold owner will say they are not even close, I have used both of them and they were both HD spotting scopes and have used them both a lot, I couldnt see a difference worth spending more for a Leupold.