Doug from Camera Land is off to SHOT Show Next Week

[gr8fuldoug]

Doug from Camera Land is off to SHOT Show Next Week

Now that the new year has arrived it means many things to many people:
A new calendar
A fresh start
Resolutions that may or may not stick
SHOT Show

For the purpose of this writing SHOT Show is what January brings. As in years past I have a VERY full plate.
As of this writing I have appointments with (yes, in order):

Athlon, Steiner, Meopta, Hawke, Bushnell, Carson, Vanguard, Swarovski, Kowa, Konus, ScopeCoat, Leica, Schmidt & Bender, Leupold, Sig Sauer, GPO, Minox, Burris, Pulsar, Nightforce & Zeiss as well as a couple of distributors that we work with so when the manufacturers back order product we can still get our hands on it for you.

As in years past I am looking to add some new lines this year to try to expand our offerings. Of course only with quality products we feel would be beneficial to you.

This year there's a few things I'm looking forward to:

We became a Sig dealer last month. I really have limited knowledge of their products and am excited to learn and meet the folks there.

After many years of trying to become an authorized NightForce dealer I am hopeful this will become a reality at SHOT. I have been speaking with a wonderful rep there for months and I look forward to working together with them, assuming they give the OK. I do have an appointment with them so it's promising.

I've done some pre-show legwork to arrange for some close-out deals on 2018 product so keep an eye out for some great deals.

Here's a sneak peak of new product:

Zeiss:
CONQUEST V4 3-12x44 Z-Plex Reticle (#20) - Capped Elevation Turret - .25 MOA - Fixed Parallax
CONQUEST V4 3-12x44 ZBR-1 Reticle (#91) - Capped Elevation Turret - .25 MOA - Fixed Parallax
CONQUEST V4 4-16x50 ZMOAi-1 Illum. Reticle (#93) - Ext. Elevation Turret - Ballistic Stop - .25 MOA - Parallax Adj. (10 yds - ∞)

Athlon
Cronus10x50 Laser Rangefinder Binocular. Yes, 10x50, 2000 yard unit that will have a street price the same as the Vortex Fury and Nikon Laserforce 10x42's
Cronus 15x56 Binocular
Midas 10x25 Compact Binocular
Cronus BTR 4.5-29×56 APRS1 FFP IR MIL floating dot reticle
Midas TAC 6-24x50 in APLR4 FFP MOA and APRS3 FFP MIL reticles
Midas BTR Gen 2 Riflescopes
Available in 1-6x24 and 2.5-15x50
Helos BTR 1-4.5×24 ATSR3 SFP IR MOA
Looks like they've been listening to what folks have been asking for and are coming through. OH, BTW, it also appears that they are keeping pricing stable for 2019 on existing product as well as these great new products. Way to go Athlon

Kahles:
10660 K16i 1-6x24 3GR with BDC
10653 K318i 3.5-18x50 CCW MSR w-left
10657 K318i 3.5-18x50 CCW SKMR3 w-left
10659 K318i 3.5-18x50 CCW MOAK w-left

Swarovski
58127 CL Companion NOMAD 8x30 (leather armoring and bag in wooden box)
58128 CL Companion NOMAD 10x30 (leather armoring and bag in wooden box)
49000 ATX Interior Spotting Scope (includes special tripod head and tripod)
49278 CCT Compact Carbon Tripod - legs only
49277 PCT Professional Carbon Tripod - legs only
49078 CTH Compact Tripod Head
49077 PTH Professional Tripod Head
49021 CCT Compact Carbon Tripod and CTH Compact Tripod Head
49020 PCT Professional Carbon Tripod with PTH Professional Tripod Head
45066 Tripod Plate for PTH
71000 DS 5-25x52 - 4A-I Digital Riflescope
59770 Z5 2.4-12x50 - PLEX
59768 Z5 2.4-12x50 - BRH
59769 Z5 2.4-12x50 - BT-PLEX
59771 Z5 2.4-12x50 - BT-4W

Leupold:
172955 VX-6HD 2-12x42 (30mm) CDS-ZL2 FireDot Tri-MOA Sitka
173209 VX-6HD 3-18x44 (30mm) CDS-ZL2 FireDot Tri-MOA Sitka
171701 VX-5HD 4-20x52 (34mm) CDS-ZL2 Side Focus Duplex
171700 VX-5HD 4-20x52 (34mm) T-ZL3 Side Focus TMOA
172754 VX-5HD 7-35x56 (34mm) T-ZL3 Side Focus TMOA
173221 VX-5HD 7-35x56 (34mm) T-ZL3 Side Focus Impact-14 MOA
174954 Freedom - RDS 1x34 (34mm) Red Dot 1.0 MOA Dot w/Mount
176533 Freedom - RDS 1x34 (34mm) Red Dot BDC 1.0 MOA Dot w/Mount
177156 DeltaPoint Pro Reflex Sight 2.5 MOA Dot with AR Mount
176284 Service Rifle FX-4.5HD 4.5x24 (30mm) CDS-ZL2 Leupold Fine Duplex Competition Scope
176445 Mark 5HD 3.6-18x44 (35mm) M1C3 FFP PR-1MOA
176446 Mark 5HD 3.6-18x44 (35mm) M1C3 FFP Illum. PR-1MOA
176447 Mark 5HD 3.6-18x44 (35mm) M1C3 FFP Impact 60
176811 Mark 5HD 3.6-18x44 (35mm) M5C3 FFP Illum. Tremor 3
176448 Mark 5HD 5-25x56 (35mm) M1C3 FFP PR-1MOA
176449 Mark 5HD 5-25x56 (35mm) M1C3 FFP Illum. PR-1MOA
176450 Mark 5HD 5-25x56 (35mm) M1C3 FFP Impact 60
174545 Mark 5HD 7-35x56 (35mm) M5C3 FFP H59
174546 Mark 5HD 7-35x56 (35mm) M5C3 FFP CCH
174548 Mark 5HD 7-35x56 (35mm) M1C3 FFP Impact 60 MOA
176124 Mark 5HD 7-35x56 (35mm) M5C3 FFP Illum. TMR
176594 Mark 5HD 7-35x56 (35mm) M5C3 FFP TMR
177332 Mark 5HD 7-35x56 (35mm) M5C3 FFP Tremor 3
177333 Mark 5HD 7-35x56 (35mm) M5C3 FFP Illum. Tremor 3
177187 LTO Tracker 2 Thermal Viewer
177188 LTO Tracker 2 HD Thermal Viewer
176969 BX-2 Alpine 8x42mm Roof Shadow Gray Binocular
176971 BX-2 Alpine 10x42mm Roof Shadow Gray Binocular
176973 BX-2 Alpine 10x52mm Roof Shadow Gray Binocular
176975 BX-2 Alpine 12x52mm Roof Shadow Gray Binocular
176288 BX-T 10x42mm Tactical Black Tactical Binocular
176289 BX-T 10x42mm Tactical Black Mil-L Tactical Binocular
176769 RX-950 Laser Rangefinder Black
172384 RBX-3000 TBR/W Laser Rangefinding Binocular 10x42 Gray OLED Selectable

I'm going to stop here and let you wait a week to read my full report. Needless to say, it will be an exciting year for Sports Optics.

As always I'll be putting together an extensive SHOT Show report while I am there in order to share the week's experiences with you. Stay tuned & I'll do my best to keep you informed.

OH, Very Exciting:
We have added a SHOT Show page on our website to make it easier for you to see the report. Look for the SHOT Show banner on our home page.

As always I do ask that while I am away, Jan 20th - 26th, please make sure Joel, [email protected] and Neil, [email protected] don't get lonely. Feel free to e-mail them or give a call, 516-217-1000 and check up on them. lol.

If there are any products (in Sports Optics or our Photo divisions) you'll be looking for while I am away at SHOT just mention to them that Doug said there a special SHOT Show Sale going on and they will give you special discounted pricing.

Have a great day,
Doug
[email protected]
Camera Land
516-217-1000
www.cameralandny.com

 

[Stooxie]

Can you ask Zeiss why they don't have #60 reticles on the majority of the V6 line in the US? It's available on all their scopes in Europe. Please tell them (and all the vendors) that the American market is NOT all long distance shooters that need super complicated BDC reticles. Still plenty of hunters here. I'd also love to see the V6 2-12x50 and 2.5-15x56 models here in the US. Why are those only available in Europe?

Thanks!
-Stooxie

 

[gr8fuldoug]

I will forward this post to them and reply back once they reply to me.

 

[gr8fuldoug]

Can you ask Zeiss why they don't have #60 reticles on the majority of the V6 line in the US? It's available on all their scopes in Europe. Please tell them (and all the vendors) that the American market is NOT all long distance shooters that need super complicated BDC reticles. Still plenty of hunters here. I'd also love to see the V6 2-12x50 and 2.5-15x56 models here in the US. Why are those only available in Europe?

Thanks!
-Stooxie

Here is the total answer to your question direct from the right person at Zeiss.:

"The reason we do not offer the #60 in the majority of the V6 line was that we didn’t want (at the time of its development) to cross over the $1999 retail price point… and illumination (in anything other than the 1-6, would have forced us over that threshold). So we decided (right or wrong) to offer the #6 dual plex instead.

Can we, or should we, consider adding illumination (including a #60) as we move forward?… sure we can… and actually we’ve already been looking at this possibility.

As to the reason the euro models are not offered in the US, the reasons there are multi-fold….

In general we found, in our experience, that the euro configured scopes don’t always line-up with the US market expectations, and they end up not selling as well as we need them to (in that euro configuration). As an example, the European 2.5-15, does not have parallax (which is fine in Europe, but it would need to be added in order to be widely accepted in the US market). Bottom line, the finer details are market specific. So to make a US version is an entirely new scope.

Can or should we consider a 2-12 or 2.5-15 V6… sure we can. We’d just need to understand how that extension fits within our overall assortment.

In the end… this type of feedback is really important to us. It helps us in making the necessary adjustments to our assortment. It’s genuinely appreciated and I will share this with the product development team."

I hope this helps

 

[Stooxie]

Doug,

Thank you so much for passing that along! Obviously straight from the horse's mouth, please feel free to pass this along to them as well:

I totally appreciate them taking the time to respond, although it's pretty painful to hear, frankly. It's exactly what I feared. All this rubbish about everyone in America now being a long range sniper is exactly that-- rubbish. Maybe it's a growing sport, maybe more and more folks are reaching out farther, but 95% of shooters and 99% of hunters are still shooting under 200 yards.

This is where the tail starts wagging the dog. Thanks to all this marketing around long distance shooting we now have:
1. The average weight of scopes is going through the roof. What was once an 18oz scope is now 26 or 28. This is just dandy for the benchrest shooters.
2. The average length is now probably an inch longer than it used to be, needing to accommodate 6x and 8x zoom levels.
3. Where we once treasured clear optics above all, we now etch the whole thing with Christmas tree reticles.
4. Scopes used to pay attention to minimum exit pupil. Now scopes with 2mm exit pupils are the norm! Pinhole cameras.
5. I don't need parallax controls if I'm shooting minute-of-deer under 200 or 300 yards.
6. I don't need ballistic turrets on a hunting rifle. I sight in and that's it. I'm not shooting enemy combatants at 2500 yards.
7. I wouldn't worry about breaching the $2,000 mark with an illuminated reticle, seeing what people fork over for everything else.
8. I am NOT going to use a 24mm objective lens scope on a deer hunting rifle where twilight performance is important.
9. The perfect mag range for most hunting is a 2-8, 1.5-10, 2.5-12, 2-12, etc. The "middle" V6 is 3-18, in a 13.3" 22oz scope, quite outside that realm.

The Zeiss Victory HT line is still widely regarded as one of the world's best scopes, yet it's completely discontinued in America, and mostly still for sale in Europe.

They are going to be losing a lot of American business to the scopes that have what I talk about. Meopta, Schmidt and Bender, Leica, Swarovski, all have tons of options in that sweet spot: Illuminated #4 reticles in the 2nd focal plane, 1.5-10ish to 2-12ish mag range, simple capped turrets, world class optical performance, reasonable weights and (mostly) reasonable lengths. (Most American makers don't seem to come anywhere close to this either. I am happy to explain that statement).

Maybe Zeiss could do a campaign or product line that would be for "hunters" to make something old new again. As a hunter my TOP priority is the glass. I want to be able to see which hairs are bent on a deer's hide before I put a hole in it. I don't give a rat's butt about ballistic turrets or reticles when shooting under 200 yards. The Zeiss Victory HT gives me that in the exact package I am looking for. Please don't leave that market unattended in the US and then chalk it up to waning interest!

Thanks!
-Stooxie

 

[gr8fuldoug]

I have sent this along to the powers that be