I recently bought a Zeiss conquest 3.5-10x44mm Z800 rifle scope, hoping to gain another 10 or 15 minutes hunting time dusk or dawn. I heard good things about conquest line's low light performance
I was surprised that it came literally wrapped in paper, not even packed in plastic bags. But let's focus on optical quality
So last night I sat on the front porch and compared it with Bushnell Elite Tactical 10X and Vortex Viper HS 5-15X44. both have mil dot reticles. I tried to read the license plate of a black SUV that is about 50 yard away. Light source is street light across the street.
1. Vortex 5-15@10x, flare, low contrast, can't read car tag
2. Zeiss 3.5-10@10X, wide field of view, generous eye box, can read some number of the car tag, not all of them, seems not sharp eough
3. Bushnell 10X@10X, brightest scope of the three, can read car tag.
The Z800 reticle is much better than mil dot in that kind of darkness.
I was a little disappointed with the Zeiss. So give it another shot around noon. It was raining and cloudy outside, the kind of condition Zeiss is supposed to perform well. I tried to read some word on a power post 75 yard away, and observe a palm tree 100 yd away.
1. Vortex 5-15@10X, not as bright as the rest, but very impressive chromatic aberration control (best of the bunch).
2. Bushnell 10X@10X, brighter than Vortex, slight blue and yellow color fringing
3. Zeiss 3.5-10@10X, wider field of view, seems slightly brighter than Bushnell, generous eye box. Lots of purple color fringing, worst of all the scopes. I tried to adjust eye piece focus, no improvement.
4. Weaver 3-10X tactical, brighter than Bushnell 10X, slight color fringing. This is a better scope than Bushnell.
5. Weaver 3-15X tactical, brightest and sharpest image. quite a bit of color fringing. Best scope.
Zeiss conquest 3.5-10x44 is a $600 scope. I would rate it is about the same as the $300 Weaver 3.5-10X, only slightly better than the $125 Bushnell scope. I like the Z800 reticle, but I am not impressed with its optical quality.
What is your rating of the Zeiss conquest scope? Is this expected performance? Did I get a lemon?
I will give it a final test over the weekend, around sunset time. Unless it performs better, I will be returning it.
Kevin
======= Retested 12/02/2012
I guess so many people can't be wrong...so I retested them again near sunset today. I mount them on top a tripod, and watching a palm tree and tile roof about 327 yard away. Paid special attention to eye alignment. The test lasted about one hour minutes, 20 minutes before sunset and 40 minutes after. Here are the results
1. Zeiss Conquest 3.5-10x44mm, this is the best scope. Brightness and clarity is very impressive in low light situation. I can tell the palm tree leaves are green, and count number of tiles when the light got even darker. I think this is a good scope for low light hunting.
2. Weaver 3-10X40mm tactical, it is a close second.
3. Bushnell 10X40mm tactical, slightly behind Weaver. It is hard to tell the palm tree leaves are green, and tiles are kind of blurred in low light.
4. Viper 5-15X44 HS. This is a disappointment. Palm tree leaves look blackish through it, and forget counting tiles.
I tend to pay attention to chromatic aberration since I am also doing photography. I have used Zeiss (Hasselblad and Contax), Lecia, Nikon and Canon. I don't think Zeiss was worse than the rest in terms of chromatic aberration. But with the Conquest rifle scope, I still notice more fringing than the rest of the scopes. Is this normal?
I was surprised that it came literally wrapped in paper, not even packed in plastic bags. But let's focus on optical quality
So last night I sat on the front porch and compared it with Bushnell Elite Tactical 10X and Vortex Viper HS 5-15X44. both have mil dot reticles. I tried to read the license plate of a black SUV that is about 50 yard away. Light source is street light across the street.
1. Vortex 5-15@10x, flare, low contrast, can't read car tag
2. Zeiss 3.5-10@10X, wide field of view, generous eye box, can read some number of the car tag, not all of them, seems not sharp eough
3. Bushnell 10X@10X, brightest scope of the three, can read car tag.
The Z800 reticle is much better than mil dot in that kind of darkness.
I was a little disappointed with the Zeiss. So give it another shot around noon. It was raining and cloudy outside, the kind of condition Zeiss is supposed to perform well. I tried to read some word on a power post 75 yard away, and observe a palm tree 100 yd away.
1. Vortex 5-15@10X, not as bright as the rest, but very impressive chromatic aberration control (best of the bunch).
2. Bushnell 10X@10X, brighter than Vortex, slight blue and yellow color fringing
3. Zeiss 3.5-10@10X, wider field of view, seems slightly brighter than Bushnell, generous eye box. Lots of purple color fringing, worst of all the scopes. I tried to adjust eye piece focus, no improvement.
4. Weaver 3-10X tactical, brighter than Bushnell 10X, slight color fringing. This is a better scope than Bushnell.
5. Weaver 3-15X tactical, brightest and sharpest image. quite a bit of color fringing. Best scope.
Zeiss conquest 3.5-10x44 is a $600 scope. I would rate it is about the same as the $300 Weaver 3.5-10X, only slightly better than the $125 Bushnell scope. I like the Z800 reticle, but I am not impressed with its optical quality.
What is your rating of the Zeiss conquest scope? Is this expected performance? Did I get a lemon?
I will give it a final test over the weekend, around sunset time. Unless it performs better, I will be returning it.
Kevin
======= Retested 12/02/2012
I guess so many people can't be wrong...so I retested them again near sunset today. I mount them on top a tripod, and watching a palm tree and tile roof about 327 yard away. Paid special attention to eye alignment. The test lasted about one hour minutes, 20 minutes before sunset and 40 minutes after. Here are the results
1. Zeiss Conquest 3.5-10x44mm, this is the best scope. Brightness and clarity is very impressive in low light situation. I can tell the palm tree leaves are green, and count number of tiles when the light got even darker. I think this is a good scope for low light hunting.
2. Weaver 3-10X40mm tactical, it is a close second.
3. Bushnell 10X40mm tactical, slightly behind Weaver. It is hard to tell the palm tree leaves are green, and tiles are kind of blurred in low light.
4. Viper 5-15X44 HS. This is a disappointment. Palm tree leaves look blackish through it, and forget counting tiles.
I tend to pay attention to chromatic aberration since I am also doing photography. I have used Zeiss (Hasselblad and Contax), Lecia, Nikon and Canon. I don't think Zeiss was worse than the rest in terms of chromatic aberration. But with the Conquest rifle scope, I still notice more fringing than the rest of the scopes. Is this normal?
