Low light scope
- Thread starter Sika64
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I've found that just about every optic over the $1K mark offers enough "glass quality" that I can see into shadows with them at first/last light better than my naked eye.
As far as "the best", that is going to be subjective as mentioned above. I'll go further to say that you probably won't gripe about owning a TT, ZCO, Kahles, S&B, LRP S5, etc... All of them will outperform your eyeball by itself. Best of luck.
As far as "the best", that is going to be subjective as mentioned above. I'll go further to say that you probably won't gripe about owning a TT, ZCO, Kahles, S&B, LRP S5, etc... All of them will outperform your eyeball by itself. Best of luck.
When it comes to the top-tier or "Alpha" class of scopes, several brands stand out, especially in the 25 to 36 power range. Brands like Nightforce, Schmidt & Bender, and March are often considered the best, March scopes are also highly regarded for their clarity and innovative design.
My buddy and I have compared our PMII 5-25s and his ZCO behind clip ons and also at low light before shooting. Both to my eye to be on par, but the ZCO probably has the better turret system. The fact the older PMII have glass that good is saying something.
The scopes are good enough that when other mod tier scopes, like a Mk5 3.6-18, can't make out steel at distance, you still have enough of an image through the S&B or ZCO to absolutely make out a target.
I haven't looked through a TT or Khales to compare for what that is worth
The scopes are good enough that when other mod tier scopes, like a Mk5 3.6-18, can't make out steel at distance, you still have enough of an image through the S&B or ZCO to absolutely make out a target.
I haven't looked through a TT or Khales to compare for what that is worth
Swarovski for low light, but again very subjective. This has been my experience. I'm running a ZCO on my hunting rig. All my binos and spotters are Swaro
Here's a review of some high magnification alpha scopes. One of the sections is low light but at lower power. Should still translate decently well I would think.
However a low light scope where you're going to have it on 25-36 power seems a bit of a contradiction, doesn't it? For hunting scopes the S&B Polar and Leica Magnus are generally thought of as the two best low light scopes on the market. Not sure what your intended low light use is though.
However a low light scope where you're going to have it on 25-36 power seems a bit of a contradiction, doesn't it? For hunting scopes the S&B Polar and Leica Magnus are generally thought of as the two best low light scopes on the market. Not sure what your intended low light use is though.
I own a number of top tier scopes and the two the are the best to my eyes are Zcomp and Kahles. But S&B,NF and Zeiss are VERY close. Alot comes down to what looks good to you!!
I currently own TT, 7-35 ATACR and the Zeiss S3 and have owned G3 razor and ZCO. I have nothing nothing close to clarity and lowlight to the TT other than the ZCO. Everything abt the TT checks all the boxes for me except the little bitty numbers. The G3 has really nice glass but I know they were suffering from some tracking issues but I have no doubt Vortex will get it resolved. The S3 for me kinda fits in the really nice glass, good turrets, reliable and pretty good lowlight conditions scope. It does lots of things really well but obviously isn’t a TT but it’s half the price. The NF is really good glass, extremely rugged and reliable, great tracking but give up up a tiny bit in the lowlight dept for me. With that said, all these are really nice scopes and everyone’s eyes are different and glass is subjective. So, pick what looks good to you and roll with it.
Optics - Hensoldt ZF 6-24x72 "Hubble"
I'm already regretting this but necessity dictates this reluctant sale. The epitome of a Last/ Low light hunting rifle scope is this Hensoldt 6-24x72. Its red illuminated Mil dot reticle calibrated to x12 in the second focal plane thus it is simple math to use x6 and x24. Turrets also match in...
www.snipershide.com
Not quite sure your question in lieu of the thread title which says "Low light scope" but then your first post mentions 25-36 power? It's confusing because scopes generally have to abide by the laws of physics and with an optical scope design you are limited by the exit pupil which is based largely upon the front objective and magnification. Even with the large 56mm objectives of today, at 25x your exit pupil is 2.24mm which is pretty small and in low light scenarios is going to struggle mightily, at 36x the exit pupil shrinks even further to 1.56mm. In low light most peoples eyes will dilate to somewhere between 5-7mm so having an exit pupil smaller than that is going to greatly limit the amount of light your eye can take in. Out of curiosity, what low light situations do you plan to engage in at 25x and above? Are you just looking for PID in the first/last 30 minutes of hunting light or???
When my eye doctor (who is also a shooter) prescribed me a set of glasses that I use only for shooting, every one of my scopes took a jump up in clarity. And yeah, I still have 20/20 vision without the glasses.
So, my recommendation is to go have your eyes checked by a competent eye doctor before you start spending big bucks on scopes.
That's why you can't just go by other people's reviews. You need to get behind the scopes yourself.
And as for shooting with glasses that's a whole new thread, I just started wearing glasses and my world is screwed up.
I used to like my EOTECH Holographic, now it looks like a fuzzy caterpillar.
I have a XTR lI 4 20 I can't use I think it's garbage, it's horrible for me to look through, I let my friends shoot with it and they said its me, they like it just fine.
They didn't get them ground correctly, or you're looking through them wrong.
My Dad had the same issue. New eye doctor, new prescription, new lenses, and no more issues.
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