Tested 4 scopes at the ranch
Needed a new scope for inherited gun, wished to spend 200$ ish. Looked at leupold vx1, vortex diamonback and nikon profstaff, all 3-9x40. Tested in very late evening. I have no bias one way or another, prob wanted to like the nikon the best bc it was least expensive of three but also heaviest and longest. Leaupold has best name and biggest following but scope felt very light, didnt have a nice focus adjustment like nikon and vortex but who doesnt love the brand.
I need to do more overall testing but in terms of low light performance, it was really hard to tell the difference between these three but the nikon was marginally less bright, not what i expected since they use bogus light transmission stats of 98%. The vortex and vx1 seemed about the same but i favored the vortex due to the better eyepiece adjustment, a better power adjustment knob, overall better feel and a superior unconditional warranty. I would be happy w either but favored the vortex by a small to medium margin.
Now, the biggest disappointment...my 14 yr old swarovski that i paid over 1000$ for showed no better brightness than any of these scopes. That doesnt mean it isnt clearer or superior in some way but damn, low light performance was virtually identical to these 200$ scopes.
Tomorrow, with better lighting, i will make sure focus is adjusted on all three and will look at clarity and other aspects
Not sure how these finding compare to what others have seen but this is an honest tho un scientific comparison.