I have been playing with

JAYB

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A Zeiss Victory HT 3-12x56 scope, which was kindly loaned to me by Mark at Zeiss. I usually use S&B optics and I swapped over my 8X56 for this one so that I could compare it to my S&B Zenith 3-12x50 flashdot, so specification wise there really is nothing in it, both 3-12, both IR with a 6mm difference in the objective lens.
Here they are side by side, physically not much different.



If you look at the picture below you will see the only difficulty that I experienced, If you look at the Zeiss, the one on the right, you will see that the ring is right up against the objective housing which meant for me I could not position the scope far enough back to suit, so a little neck stretching was in order. If, of course, I was going to keep the scope then I would mount it on a rail and solve the problem easily. I must emphasise though that this is an individual problem peculiar to me and not one that would be suffered by every one.



Now if you are expecting me to come up with a definitive this is better than that type of conclusion then you will be disappointed because as far as my eyes are concerned there is no difference in the quality of the optics, the amount of light transmission to me seemed identical. Last light visibility to me no discernible difference, I would love be to clever enough to be able to highlight the subtle differences there must surely be between the two scopes but I am not. I am told that there needs to be a 5% difference in optical quality before any difference is noticeable well my Mk 1 eyeballs are not up to the job of separating these two so going by that there must be less than 5% between them in the quality of their optics. Everything else is a given these are high end rifle scopes and everything works as it should, the clicks on the windage and elevation turrets are crisp and precise, the glass is clear as crystal, the magnification adjusts smoothly and accurately and the build quality is, to me at any rate, first class.



There is no doubt that the difference between these and other high end scopes is discernible when comparing them with a good many others out there. But I do believe that unless you are a writer being paid to write articles and fill the pages with all the relevant specifications and pointing out the extra 10 seconds available at last light, there is little say. They are both good scopes, and when you use them they do the job with the minimum of fuss and effort and are, in my opinion, head and shoulders above a lot of the sort of scopes that we all start out with, I'm not saying that we did not start with good scopes but these are very good.

John
 
Nice write up and no torrocacka.
I did a similar experiment between a S&B 2.5-10x56, Zeiss 3-12x56 and a Meopta 3-12x56 R1R and couldnt detect any optical advantage between the three other than the meopta was an illuminated ret and the others not.
I appreciate the workmanship and development that goes into these sophisticated optics but, in my experience, a pair of binoculars will 'outsee' the best scope in the gloaming.
 
John good write up so it must come down to aesthetics and price. So which one if you had the choice would you keep.
 
I've sent the Zeiss back, I would keep the S&B because it is sighted in on my rifle and I do not need to go to the extra expense of a rail fitting system :D. I would be equally happy with either I can't tell any difference, you are right Davie aesthetics and price, I think the S&B is a bit cheaper.

John
 
in my experience, a pair of binoculars will 'outsee' the best scope in the gloaming.

I believe this is due to some feature of the way our eyesight works which means that an image presented at both eyes will always appear brighter than the same image presented at only one eye. My understanding was that you have to make the single image a lot brighter before you brain will decide that it is as bright as the image presented to both eyes.

So, binos always start out with a big advantage.
 
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