Solitary Man

Considering overall quality and optical performance, the best scope I' ve ever owned is the Swarovski 3-12X50. However, I prefer a smaller scope with a second plane reticle and 1" tube, so I actually prefer the Zeiss Conquest over the much more expensive Swarovski. Plus, I think the Conquest' s optics are in the same league as the Swarovski.

The Leupolds have always served me well, but the Vari-X III design is dated and the optics just aren' t quite as good as the European scopes. With what Leupold has to offer right now, I wouldn' t buy one. If they would update the Vari-X III with more user friendly features and better optics and keep the price at a reasonable level, I' d probably buy one.

oldelkhunter

If someone wants to bash a Leupold than at least use the correct information not disinformation which seems to prevail on this site. They VXIII transmits 92% of light, not anywhere from 86% to 91%. They are the lightest shortest best eye relief scope on the market and their lenses are bought on a worldwide market not just Japan like others have inferred. They are the overwhelming choice of custom gunmakers . What good is a scope if it doesn' t hold zero...and please don' t tell me that Zeiss and Swarovski' s vs. number of units sold hold their zero as well because that would be deceitful and outright lying. How many scopes does Leupold produce in comparism to those 2 and how many fail..do the math no comparism. Zeiss is at least in the same ball park as Leupold if they could only manage to build a recoil proof scope they are comparable in price and eye relief but have a little better light transmission 3% better to be exact. They are not enough to make me sway from Leupold. Swarovski' s have a reputation only in name ,snob appeal and banging ones wallet hard ..their optics are no better than Zeiss and they cost for all intents and purposes twice that of a comparable Leupold or Zeiss. They used to have a black hole(personal experience) for customer service but now wised up and fix their problems in the US and God forbid anyone that buys a 700 dollar plus scope would have the crust to say they ever had a problem with them especially here. Nikon is a joke and so is their customer service...another black hole in space that is where your scope is sent..the same can be said of Burris. Bushnell has good customer service vs a lot of scopes they sell but they still suffer from some performance issues...excess weight, length and no eye relief but great optics otherwise. As far as the griping about the lack of ocular adjustment on the Leupolds let me tell you something it is not a focus knob it is for focusing your crosshairs so unless your eyes fail from day to day it is a one time thing or an infrequent thing plus i always carry around change so it is not a big deal to adjust windage and elevation with those antiquated but reliable as hell knobs, that scope won' t let you down during a hunt.

WV Hunter

The only quality scope I' ve ever had is Leupold. I believe they are a great scope, especially for the $. I' ve never had a problem with any I' ve had. I will say....IMO the worst quality scope you could buy, is miles ahead of the cheap scopes. You get what you pay for with optics (to a point). Personally I know some folks that have upper end Swar' s and Zeiss, and they are nice, but I' m not spending that kind of $, no matter what the gain may or may not be.

VAhuntr

I have always preferred Leupold....I have no idea what their customer service is like because in 20 years of using their products I have never had to use it! My only question is: Can the human eye physically tell the difference between 92% and 95% light transmission? Scientifically speaking I don' t know if it can.

Solitary Man

For me the light transmission is not an issue. The Leupold transmits plenty of light for my hunting needs. Light transmission, however, is just one element of optical quality. Where the Leupold falls a little short in my experience is in clarity and sharpness. The ones I have owned just didn' t have the resolving power that the Swarovski and Zeiss do. May be the lense, may be the coating, I don' t know. I just know that when I' m at the range I can see a definite difference when viewing a target. The target details are more defined and just plain easier to see with the Zeiss and Swarovski.

woodseye

First of all oldelkhunter,I' m not bashing Leupold I' m just stating my opinion and experiences with them.Second the disinformation you accuse me of spreading is from an open E-Mail Leupold sent a forum poster named Kenjs1 and has been posted on several of the optics forums,heres the statement right from Leupold so I guess they are spreading the disinformation -


" I wrote Leupold asking for clarification on how their M8 (specifically the 6x42) was coated. I got a response from a rep. named Sharon the same day.
Here is that response;
The V-X-I scope has the same coating as the Vari-X-II scopes that we just discontinued. The coating is magnesium fluoride on all lens surfaces. This will give you a light transmission specification of 84%.
The V-X-II (not Vari-X-II) has magnesium fluoride on the internall lens surfaces and multi-coat IV on the exterior lens surface. This will give you light transmission of 86%.
The Vari-X-III has muliti-coat lens coating on all lens surfaces. The light transmission is 91%.
The M8 6X42 has multicoat lens coating on all lens surfaces. The light transmission is 91%.
You can see these comparisons on our web site if you look at " products" and then click on the red and black icon that says " compare features" . Some manufactures will say that the light transmision for their scopes is 99%. This is the light transmission per lens surface. The percentages that I just gave you is the actuall light transmission that will meet your eye. Not per lens surface."

VAhunter,apparently the human eye can distinguish the difference as I have yet to see anyone look thru my Conquest and one of my Vari X lll' s and not feel the Conquest is noticeably brighter.Its what sold me on buying one initially and it appears evident to anyone that compares.I don' t think the Zeiss lenses can be beat and their lens coatings are excellant also.I just state the facts as I experience them and personally own both scopes(conquest/vari x lll) to compare back and forth at different times and light conditions and do real hands on shooting.If my statements sound like bashing then I guess one of the two is gonna come in second in comparisons huh? I just like to put out the info and let people pick up the two scopes and look thru and at them and decide on their own.I' m not married to either one and can see they both have faults and are far from perfect.Heck I just had a Conquest fail to work out of the box but I got enough common sense to know that anything man made can and at some point will fail.
Compare for yourself,I don' t own stock in either company(but I can tell when one scope is brighter and clearer and more user friendly than another)and by the way the occular adjustment can be adjusted to a specific range for fine focus and its easy enough to actually do on any of the new euro style focus scopes.if you notice you can turn this adjustment quite a bit and the crosshairs will stay crisp looking at the sky but you can fine tune to specific ranges by looking at print and focusing try it.

woods

oldelkhunter

Woodseye I am not blaming you on spreading disinformation on it...92% is the answer I got back a few months when a similiar question appeared here. You have the right to bash anything you want but I don' t feel you do in your posts, you answer them sincerely and you are to be commended for that. The numbers you posted for the other Leupold products are in line with what I heard from Leupold.

cgturner7

Swift! They may not have the history of Leupold or Zeiss but it' s VERY difficult to ignore value. An excellent product that rivals those in much higher price ranges.

woodseye

Sorry oldelkhunter I thought you were jumping on me my apology.I try not to bash any maker and just give facts.I own too many Leupolds to be against them.Sorry again

woods

308TIKKA

I said it earlier and was right. I knew leupold would be the favorite. They make a great product but I am with the zeiss people. The conquest line affords a larger number of people to buy zeiss now and optically they are better