I have the new VX-III in 2.5-8x36 and it's a great scope. Just mounted it on my 30.06 last week and brought it to the range. Is it worth the extra money? I personally don't think so, but, all I have to compare it with is my Leupold M8 scopes. I have 2 fixed 2.5's, one on my 11-87 shotgun, one on my TC black diamond muzzleloader and, a fixed 4 on my 30.06 semi-auto model 7400. The optics are crisp and clear in every Leupold scope I have so I can't imagine any difference with the VX-II. All I know every Leupold scope I have, in my mind, is worth every penny. I'm sold on Leupold. After shooting the VX-III, I picked up my .22 that has a Cabela's Pine Ridge scope on it, that I thought was clear, it looked like I was looking through the bottom of a dirty coke bottle! I plan on purchasing another VX-III in the near future to mount on a .338 win mag that I also haven't bought yet!
The reason I went with the VX-III is I have a spring black bear hunt coming up which I'm sure I'll be shooting in low-light conditions and the write up on the VX-III bragged about it's light gathering capabilities so I figured I'd try it. Although, I'm sure with the VX-II you could hunt past legal shooting hours and still see fine. YOU REALLY CAN'T GO WRONG WITH EITHER SCOPE. Good Luck shooting and hunting. John