Zeiss Conquest vs Leupold vx-3

[monasheemountainman]

I know it is a personal preference, but I am actually looking for opinions. what do you guys like about these scopes, dislike?

im probably going to get the vx-3 in 3.5 x 10 x 50 as I have always liked/ had good exp with Leupold.

Never had experience with Zeiss, but for close around the same $ i can get 3.5x10x 44.

what do you guys think?

[coach]

I have the exact Leupold you are talking about. Any time you want to get out and field test it, let me know. I love mine but hear great things about the Zeiss as well.

[monasheemountainman]

thanks Sean, thanks for the offer!

[coach]

Anytime.. Although I re-read your post. Mine is vx3 3.5-10x40 not 50.

[wlbc]

I have both and through my eyes the Zeiss conquest is better glass both for clarity and low light performance.

Just a minute while I don my fireproof suit...:)

I have three Leupold scopes and two of them have had to go in for service - and I'm someone that looks after equipment. Others will chime in and say theirs have been fine and I respect that but from my actual life experience, my Leupolds have not held up. They do have a great warranty and service although one could speculate that you would have to with that failure rate.

If it were my money I would buy the Zeiss.

[monasheemountainman]

cool thanks for the input wlbc, good info! anybody else?

[Ovis17]

I've also had both and find the Zeiss to be a bit brighter at those crucial low light hours.

[Hank Hunter]

I agree on the zeiss glass, much better to my eye

[monasheemountainman]

ok, how about warranty? does zeiss have good service if anything goes wrong?

[huntcoop]

How is pricing, close?

[knockturnal]

Add another vote for Zeiss. I had a Leupold MK4 6.5-20x50 i thought was great but then i looked through a buddys Zeiss and there was no comparison. i sold the Mk4 and bought a Conquest in 6.5-20x50. Awesome glass. Clear right up to max power. Brighter in low light.

[375 ultramag]

I've got the vx-3 3.5 x 10 x 40. Its been great. Have Leupold on all my rifles and had good luck with them all.

[monasheemountainman]

How is pricing, close?
i found these two models within $60 of eachother. seems pretty close to me

[2x4x16]

I have to give my vote to the Zeiss. I now have them on both my go to guns

[monasheemountainman]

cool thanks for all of the input guys! seems like most of you would choose the zeiss...maybe ill have to re-think things

[BiG Boar]

A few points to consider are:
What caliber rifle you're putting it on. If something magnum -ish I would choose the leupold as they have much better eye relief normally. Ziess I believe has the least eye relief and this will result in more chance of a magnum kiss.

I have never used either warranty, but do have products made by both. Leupold canada isn't warrantying products that were bought in the states as of I think about 2 years ago. So if that is the case, it may make me choose zeiss.

50 vs 44. In my opinion and in actual fact, the light transmission difference is something like 2% better with the 50 objective lens. That amount is negligible if non registrable to the human eye. Personally, they are bulky, heavier, and just not worth it. So I would go to a 44 or a 40 that leupold makes.

Both are great scopes, I have owned both, but as most of my rifles are magnums, I don't own a lot of zeiss products.

[monasheemountainman]

great in-put Big- Boar, thanks. if im not mistaken I believe the zeiss is shorter, and a bit lighter.

[Salty]

re. eye relief. This thread got me interested in Zeiss and checked their website. Like Big Boar I had thought that Leupy would shine in eye the eye relief dept but the Conquest 3-9x40 has 4" even of ER. That's more than I thought and more than enough. I'd also like to hear more about how good Zeiss' warrantee is in Canada. (I see their optics and components are made in Europe and they're assembled in the US)

[RoscoeP]

I have 3 Leupolds and two Zeiss but I would give a slight edge to Zeiss.

[WKCotts]

Zeiss is far better glass. Ive had both. I wouldn't even compare the vx3 to it. Comparable would be a Swarovski z3

[monasheemountainman]

hmm ok thanks wkc, well for the minimal price difference i'll probably go with the zeiss!

[xfactor]

325 wsm with zeus scope love the setup!

[goinghunting]

Zeiss is far better glass. Ive had both. I wouldn't even compare the vx3 to it. Comparable would be a Swarovski z3

what about durability wise how does the zeiss and the swaro z3 chalk up to the leupold for holding zero and taking hard knocks?

[Hank Hunter]

Mine has been on a 338 mag since day1, has been hunted hard and no issues

[albravo2]

Off topic, I know, but I'll put on my flame-proof underpants and mention that I just bought a 6.5-20 x 50 (30mm tube) Vortex Viper for $519 new for my .223. I have the exact same spec Leupold VX3 on my 7mm Rem Mag that cost me well over $1000 and I can't pick the better scope in side-by-side early light and mid-day comparisons.

I spent some time on this forum before I bought and know Vortex isn't everybody's favorite but I thought it worth mentioning.

[swampthing]

I also have both and find the zeiss better glass. The adjustment clicks are also more positive. The zeiss is a bit heavier if that matters.

[mikeboehm]

this is the Zeiss specs

Conquest 3.5-10x44 MC

Magnification
3.5 x
10 x


Effective Lens Diameter
44 mm


Exit Pupil Diameter
12.6 mm
4.4 mm


Twilight Factors
9.9
20.9


Field of View at 100 yd
35.1 ft
11.7 ft


Diopter Adjustment Range
+2 | -3 dpt



Eye Relief
3.5 inch


Parallax-Free in yards
100+


Adjustment Square at 100yd
64.9 inch


Adjustment per Click at 100yd
0.25 inch


Centre Tube Diameter
25.4 mm


Eye Piece Tube Diameter
41 mm


Objective Tube Diameter
50 mm


Water Resistance
400 mbar


Functional Temperature in °F
-13 | +122 °F


Length
12.7 inch


Weight in Use
15.87 oz


Order Number (black)
521420


Order Number (silver)
521424



this is the leupold VX3 specs



Linear Field of View (ft/100 yd)
29.80 ft
11.00 ft


Linear Field of View (m/100 m)
9.90 m
3.70 m


Eye Relief (in)
4.50 in
3.60 in


Eye Relief (mm)
114.00 mm
91.00 mm




Specification
Value


Weight (oz)
14.70 oz


Weight (g)
417.00 g


Objective Clear Aperture (in)
2.00 in


Objective Clear Aperture (mm)
50.00 mm


Elevation Adjustment Range
57.00 moa


Windage Adjustment Range
57.00 moa





Specification
Value


http://www.huntingbc.ca/wp-content/uploads/illustration/scope_diagram.png?9d7bd4


A. Length
12.30 in


B. Tube Length
5.10 in


C. Illustration
1.60 in


D. Illustration
2.30 in


E. Eyepiece Length
3.10 in


F. Objective Length
3.90 in


G. Objective Diameter
2.30 in


H. Eyepiece Diameter
1.60 in


K. Tube Diameter
1.0 in

[mikeboehm]

the leupold vx3 is lighter and has 4.5' er vs 3.5 on the zeiss. i love leupold and zeiss either one is a great choice

[hookedonblacktails]

I have both and to be honest I can't really see any difference clarity wise or see a difference in it's light gathering capability. But there are two things that I will say about the zeiss. I could see quite an obvious difference in how well the different colors or shades stuck out, the zeiss being the better of the two, I felt like I could see more definition in an object for this reason. The second thing is the reticle in the zeiss, the main crosshairs are significantly fatter/heavier than the leupold, I feel this could be a small advantage at low light, the crosshairs will be easier to see. Seeing as the zeiss is a bit cheaper and I'm cheap I would go for the zeiss.

[416]

Either one would be a good scope. I own both but if $60 bucks is the difference in price, l'd go with the Zeiss hands down. As mentioned there are fairly dependable units on the market that don't have a premium added because of the name. Optics are one area that in recent years have really closed the gap between high end glass and the other offerings on the market.

[Krico]

I've had both, and prefer the Zeiss, even though I don't own it anymore. I preferred it for the reticle, brightness, color rendition and extremely accurate adjustment dials. As for toughness, I beat the heck out of the Zeiss for years-froze it, drenched it, dropped it, sat on it and also threw in a half dozen accidental ninja rolls on it with a loaded pack and tired legs coming down off mountains. Never an issue. Only reason I sold it was to fund a new lightweight rig a couple years ago. I miss that thing.

[sheephunterab]

Zeiss has made some big changes to the Conquest Line for 2013 and they've introduced a new value-priced line so you may want to check some of the new stuff out as it becomes available.

[knightcc]

I have both. I like the crosshairs and the quality of the glass a little better on the Zeiss. However, I like the windage and elevation dials and their firm click better on the VX III. IMO, better glass and crosshairs of the Zeiss trump the windage dials since I only set them once.

[Vossie]

Have the Zeiss on my 300 WSM, kicks like a mule and haven't got a kiss yet. Abused it as well, all that happened was that the blue emblem paint is rubbed off where it rubs against by day-pack belt. Haven t used the warranty yet, never had the need. I have a brand new Conquest 3-9 x 40 Z600 in the box (won in a draw) for $599 if you are interested.

[Hillbros_96]

I do not think you can go wrong with either scope, I have been a leupold guy my entire lfe with no warranty issues, but I would probably buy the Zeiss if I was in your shoes for something different.

[goinghunting]

Have the Zeiss on my 300 WSM, kicks like a mule and haven't got a kiss yet. Abused it as well, all that happened was that the blue emblem paint is rubbed off where it rubs against by day-pack belt. Haven t used the warranty yet, never had the need. I have a brand new Conquest 3-9 x 40 Z600 in the box (won in a draw) for $599 if you are interested.

Does this zeiss have the ability to put the equivelent of the leupold cds turrett on it?

[monasheemountainman]

Thanks guys, I appreciate all the good info! Probably going to go with the zeiss

[brian]

I can't believe nobody has mentioned the constant eye relief on the Zeiss Conquest. Basically it has the same eye relief through the entire magnification range where as raising magnification on the Luepold can mean changing your head position on the stock to account for its eye relief shortening. I really really really like this feature! I own a couple Leupold VX2s and prefer the Conquest for this reason alone.

[sakofinnlight]

I have been hunting with a finnlight in 300winmag for 2 years now, I sighted it in perfect when I set it up and eveytime I shoot it now its where I want it. I take care of my guns but I also put alot of hours on my boots and have taken some falls and dropped this gun. Everytime im always afraid I have knocked my zero out but it hasnt budged! Very rugged scope and the light at low visibility is exceptional! A hunting friend this year had his zeiss fog up internally on him, so a call was made to zeiss and it has been shipped back to zeiss with no questions. Scope hasnt came back yet, im very interested to hear about their service in the end but it seems great so far.

[The Hermit]

I could be wrong about this but if memory serves, SPY had a warranty issue with Zeiss and it took them MONTHS to get the scope back to him... do a search on HBC under his name. I'm not entirely happy with Leupold scopes for optical clarity and brightness and I have had lots of them over the years. Found VORTEX to be brighter, and the Quigley-Ford Long Range scope in 3x12x50 (Euro Glass) is the brightest thing yet! LOL but to be totally honest I've had cataracts removed so flipping everything is bright now! :-)

[monasheemountainman]

I can't believe nobody has mentioned the constant eye relief on the Zeiss Conquest. Basically it has the same eye relief through the entire magnification range where as raising magnification on the Luepold can mean changing your head position on the stock to account for its eye relief shortening. I really really really like this feature! I own a couple Leupold VX2s and prefer the Conquest for this reason alone.


Good to know thanks Brian!

[knightcc]

I can't believe nobody has mentioned the constant eye relief on the Zeiss Conquest. Basically it has the same eye relief through the entire magnification range where as raising magnification on the Luepold can mean changing your head position on the stock to account for its eye relief shortening. I really really really like this feature! I own a couple Leupold VX2s and prefer the Conquest for this reason alone.

I agree totally. It is a pain in the but to adjust your cheek position on the stock with a VX III. Great point