Rifle Scopes S&B vs. Zeiss glass

[diderr]

Ive been debating on getting a S&B for a while, and would really like to look through one to see the glass quality. The only thing my local retails have that MIGHT compare in terms of glass quality is a Zeiss Conquest. How close or far off would this be from a S&B scope?
Thanks.

 

[seporith]

In broad daylight the contrast & clarity of the S&B will be better. When it starts getting darker big difference. Anthony

 

[thefitter]

In broad daylight the contrast & clarity of the S&B will be better. When it starts getting darker big difference. Anthony

What are the specific reasons for this? Glass, coatings, construction?

thanks

 

[seporith]

The Conquest line are good scopes (I own several Conquest and S&B PMIIs as well) however they are not the top of the line Zeiss scopes. The upper end Zeiss/Hendsolt scopes are equal (or better??? personal preference your eyes) to the S&B scopes. The reasons are quality of the grind, coatings, manufacturing processes, (they are engineering marvels) and attention to detail. Anthony

 

[diderr]

From what I gathered on a little of my research is they both use Schott glass, but yeah the coatings can make the difference. I'm almost positive I'm going to be shooting it broad day exclusively. This is not going on a hunting rifle.

 

[thefitter]

The Conquest line are good scopes (I own several Conquest and S&B PMIIs as well) however they are not the top of the line Zeiss scopes. The upper end Zeiss/Hendsolt scopes are equal (or better??? personal preference your eyes) to the S&B scopes. The reasons are quality of the grind, coatings, manufacturing processes, (they are engineering marvels) and attention to detail. Anthony

I misunderstood. I thought you were saying that the Zeiss would be better in lower light than a S&B.

 

[Tackleberry]

I have a Zeiss victory 6x24 and a S&B pmii 5x25. Hands down the Zeiss has better glass

 

[hk dave]

"Schott glass" means nothing other than it starts off as one of the highest grades of optical glass available. How it's handled and cut makes all the difference in the world.

Think diamond... a master can take a rough diamond and turn it into a masterpiece... a mass producer with minimum wage diamond cutters will make something just good enough for the masses.

 

[BigJimFish]

All Zeiss scopes use Schott glass, this from the Zeiss rep. However, as the above folks have said, it is not all ground and coated the same. Conquests are excellent optical platforms at their price but they do not look like $3k scopes. I'm afraid looking at the Conquest won't provide much help in getting a feel for an S&B except to say that the difference between a Conquest and say an entry level Leupold VX-1 will appear greater than the difference between a Conquest and an S&B. You live in a good shooting state in Wyoming. Try to find a local precision rifle match. Anywhere you find a large assemblage of serious long range shooters you should be able to find more than a couple S&B's.

 

[victorz]

Zeiss glass is the best, but you can't compare 1'' Conquest line to 30mm or 34mm S&B. Their brightness and contrast are not the same. For price, you can't beat zeiss conquest line on glass quality. On high end, you can't beat Zeiss/Hensold on eye relief.

 

[jbell]

I have a Zeiss victory 6x24 and a S&B pmii 5x25. Hands down the Zeiss has better glass

Just goes to show how subjective this subject is. I have owned a few Zeiss Victory Diavari 6-24X56 and also PMII and although the Zeiss is very nice I like the PMII noticeably better in all conditions. But where the Bender shines is at long range and in bad air, so far they are the best I have used, and that is many very high end scopes.

 

[nexusfire]

All the zeiss scopes mentioned is comparing apples to oranges. A better comparison is an s&b to a hensoldt

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