Lets Talk about The Zeiss V4

I am in the middle of the Zeiss V4 review and the one I have chose to review was the 6-24 x 50 with the Zmoa BDC turret ,

I have to say I am not going to through the whole review on here mainly because it has not finished, but, I am gonna to write about how surprised I am on how far quality scope manufacturing has evolved over the years give us stalkers and shooters some amazing variety to choose from and none more than Zeiss.

Zeiss chose to ditch their Terra scope range and focus as their lower budget scope the V4,

The V4 is not German glass like the V6 and V8, and for the most part I am not a huge fan of Japanese glass and, dare I say it, neither are many UK and European hunters, but, Japanese glass has come a very long way in the last decade and providing some amazing quality optics and when you couple that with European scope engineering from companies such as Zeiss then you know your into something special.

One thing I have to say is the price of the V4 is less than £1000 for true 1000yrd performance with turrets that break glass on every turn, in some places the V4 is as low as £800 brand new. Now when you look at the price of top quality scopes like the V4 along with various others on the market, then, you see second hand scopes going for the same price you can understand why the second hand scope market has become stagnant and awash with scopes that were upwards of £2k a couple of years ago not being able to be sold. Glass is a hard sell.

I can only imagine what the scope market is going to be like in the future if this is the quality we are getting from our current mid-range priced market.

In conversation with many other shooters within all the shooting communities it seems the scopes we use can out shoot the abilities of the "rifle-person" and I know they can out shoot me.

I am currently testing the Zeiss V4 6-24x50 as a hunting and long range hunting scope housed upon the Tikka T3 .270 rifle, shooting a very basic and cheap homeload set up , FED brass , CCI 200 primers, Sierra Prohunter 130gr bullets and 59gr RE 19 powder and the performance I get from that rifle is shooting the 130gr at 2930fps with a BC of 0.373 and an SD of around 9 . SO not the best load in the world but does group sub quarter MOA at 100m. With this set up housing the Zeiss Victory HT 2.5-10x50 scope I dropped 5 rounds centre on a pumpkin at 500yrds so I am eager to see if I can run a similar performance with the V4, I have shot a few deer with the V4 already and I am very impressed so far.

Back to what I was saying about scopes under £1000, the quality you have to admit has definitely improved over the years offering very capable, or should I say, immensely capable performance for half the price of ones 5-10 years earlier.

I am looking forward to the future.

 

[Miki]

Yes it may be but my point is if you want a 4-16x56 scope (with Zeiss optics) you could simply buy a Hensoldt

Cost = 2 arms, 1 leg and a rib .....

 

[Everlong]

Which is a bit like saying you can buy an Audi from a VW garage - same parent company, totally different brand and specifications

 

[1894]

Thanks but it looks like a 4-16x50FL rebranded. Lovely scopes but FOV a bit crap and light transmission is lnt as good.
I think there is a market for superlative optical clarity without tacticool features or massive zoom ratios which eat into light transmission.

 

[plonker]

This is where Delta come in - Japanese glass, manufactured in the Light Optical Works and better, both in performance and value, than either the Conquest V4 or V6 in my opinion. Sadly, some people think that a blue, red or bird shaped badge automatically means it's better. That's not been true for a while now.

Let's take one parameter as a good example.

Delta Titanium 2.5-15x56 - light transmission 93% for £700 - First deer I shot with it was 40 minutes after sunset, in very, very low light and the Fallow Doe was clearly visible against a dark background of trees.
Zeiss Victory V8 range - Light Transmission 92% - these are scopes that cost £2-3k

Just watch Richard Utting's review of the Delta scopes both for hunting and long range target use if you're unconvinced - this is a man that knows a thing or two about optics across the complete range of manufacturers.

Had a delta titanium that I bought off the back of the Richard uttings review and promptly sold it after my first stalk with it.
It just goes to show how everyone's eyes are different.
Atb Dave

 

[Effnjeff]

I had a Zeiss Conquest V4 6-24x50 and was disappointed with the optical quality, so much so that I sent it back and replaced it with a Swarovski Z5 5-25x52 which in my opinion is in a different league. The older Conquest HD5 5-25 and original Conquest 6.5-20 also have significantly better glass to my eye, and I still have both.
I must confess that I am seriously fussy about optical quality though, and have sent back all sorts of vaunted stuff, including the Delta Stryker, which to me was just another typical Japanese scope. Like the V4, it looked great until I took it to Bisley and compared on targets side by side.

 

[DS Mad]

I am in the middle of the Zeiss V4 review and the one I have chose to review was the 6-24 x 50 with the Zmoa BDC turret ,

I have to say I am not going to through the whole review on here mainly because it has not finished, but, I am gonna to write about how surprised I am on how far quality scope manufacturing has evolved over the years give us stalkers and shooters some amazing variety to choose from and none more than Zeiss.

Zeiss chose to ditch their Terra scope range and focus as their lower budget scope the V4,

The V4 is not German glass like the V6 and V8, and for the most part I am not a huge fan of Japanese glass and, dare I say it, neither are many UK and European hunters, but, Japanese glass has come a very long way in the last decade and providing some amazing quality optics and when you couple that with European scope engineering from companies such as Zeiss then you know your into something special.

One thing I have to say is the price of the V4 is less than £1000 for true 1000yrd performance with turrets that break glass on every turn, in some places the V4 is as low as £800 brand new. Now when you look at the price of top quality scopes like the V4 along with various others on the market, then, you see second hand scopes going for the same price you can understand why the second hand scope market has become stagnant and awash with scopes that were upwards of £2k a couple of years ago not being able to be sold. Glass is a hard sell.

I can only imagine what the scope market is going to be like in the future if this is the quality we are getting from our current mid-range priced market.

In conversation with many other shooters within all the shooting communities it seems the scopes we use can out shoot the abilities of the "rifle-person" and I know they can out shoot me.

I am currently testing the Zeiss V4 6-24x50 as a hunting and long range hunting scope housed upon the Tikka T3 .270 rifle, shooting a very basic and cheap homeload set up , FED brass , CCI 200 primers, Sierra Prohunter 130gr bullets and 59gr RE 19 powder and the performance I get from that rifle is shooting the 130gr at 2930fps with a BC of 0.373 and an SD of around 9 . SO not the best load in the world but does group sub quarter MOA at 100m. With this set up housing the Zeiss Victory HT 2.5-10x50 scope I dropped 5 rounds centre on a pumpkin at 500yrds so I am eager to see if I can run a similar performance with the V4, I have shot a few deer with the V4 already and I am very impressed so far.

Back to what I was saying about scopes under £1000, the quality you have to admit has definitely improved over the years offering very capable, or should I say, immensely capable performance for half the price of ones 5-10 years earlier.

I am looking forward to the future.

Question..what are they like when shooting sun up sun set..Are they as good as the v6 v8 ?

 

[Dunwaters]

I often sit and look at the top optics manufacturers with despair, I have to say, especially Zeiss as they have this idea that the high end scopes need more features and functions and have to be bigger in all dimensions..

Now don't get me wrong, I love zeiss as well, all my optics have been zeiss (and S&B) in the past, but they were from a bygone era in scope manufacturing when life was simpler..

I ask, I want the following in a scope from a top european optics house, what are my options (please reply if you know)
a. 1" tube,,,worst case 30mm, but prefer 1" by far
b. long eye relief
c. an occular lens diameter no larger than 38 or 40mm as otherwise the scope has to sit way too high or the bolt handles have to be cut so thin you mess with their integrity
d. a long front tube so the scope can be set back far for standing and offhand shooting where laying down and 'stretching' for the scope isn't an option
e. gloss or almost gloss paint
f. non-illumination
g. no adjustable drift/drop nor parallax settings
h. a minimum mag setting of 1.25 for driven game
i. a maximum mag setting of 8 for long shots
j. a maximum objective lens diameter of 40mm, ideally 36mm
k. reticle no. 4 or ideally 7

I guess what I'm asking is, who makes such a real 'hunting' scope? I have in the past turned to Zeiss or S&B for 'hunting' scopes, but literally can't find a SINGLE product of ANY interest from Zeiss these days, and from S&B maybe two, where I'd have to place a custom order to have them remove a couple of features in production to simplify the scope (which they will at cost).

I think Zeiss, after they were about to pull out of the scope market a few years ago, struggling badly to gain any marketshare traction with current competition, so are trying to re-position some of their products to new market segments,,but IMHO, a 'budget' zeiss...I'd probably rather buy a top end Leupold for the same money!

I'll be reading the report and am grateful people like you do proper field reviews on gear!!! just don't make it biased because you want free zeiss stuff for a positive review please

A Swarovski Z3 should meet that spec, or come pretty close to it.
The AV is a 1” tube, the PV is 30mm.

 

[Woodlander]

I often sit and look at the top optics manufacturers with despair, I have to say, especially Zeiss as they have this idea that the high end scopes need more features and functions and have to be bigger in all dimensions..

Now don't get me wrong, I love zeiss as well, all my optics have been zeiss (and S&B) in the past, but they were from a bygone era in scope manufacturing when life was simpler..

I ask, I want the following in a scope from a top european optics house, what are my options (please reply if you know)
a. 1" tube,,,worst case 30mm, but prefer 1" by far
b. long eye relief
c. an occular lens diameter no larger than 38 or 40mm as otherwise the scope has to sit way too high or the bolt handles have to be cut so thin you mess with their integrity
d. a long front tube so the scope can be set back far for standing and offhand shooting where laying down and 'stretching' for the scope isn't an option
e. gloss or almost gloss paint
f. non-illumination
g. no adjustable drift/drop nor parallax settings
h. a minimum mag setting of 1.25 for driven game
i. a maximum mag setting of 8 for long shots
j. a maximum objective lens diameter of 40mm, ideally 36mm
k. reticle no. 4 or ideally 7

I guess what I'm asking is, who makes such a real 'hunting' scope? I have in the past turned to Zeiss or S&B for 'hunting' scopes, but literally can't find a SINGLE product of ANY interest from Zeiss these days, and from S&B maybe two, where I'd have to place a custom order to have them remove a couple of features in production to simplify the scope (which they will at cost).

I think Zeiss, after they were about to pull out of the scope market a few years ago, struggling badly to gain any marketshare traction with current competition, so are trying to re-position some of their products to new market segments,,but IMHO, a 'budget' zeiss...I'd probably rather buy a top end Leupold for the same money!

I'll be reading the report and am grateful people like you do proper field reviews on gear!!! just don't make it biased because you want free zeiss stuff for a positive review please

I have a Kahles 1.5-6x42, A4 ret, gloss black, ticks pretty much all your boxes.
PM me if you’re interested.

 

[sauer]

Used to be Swarovski thru and thru but most of their offerings now ( to me) are very ocular fussy… if head is not to nearest thou perfect lose full sight picture … plus cost … out window
Zeiss… know couple folk who starting off thought I’ll buy one of big three so bought the Terra range binos at around 330 quid ish…. Both pairs were crap both people had issues with quality / bits falling off … both send them back .

Problem with “ big three” is indeed cost … very prohibitive to many

My scopes now a days are meopta
And delta and a 2nd hand Nightforce …
Meopta was on a par with scopes 2x it’s price at last ligh to my eyes
Delta javelin and a titanium
Titanium was very good last light and works with digital rear add on … many of big three don’t
Javelin for gong bashing at a £1000 with good turrets, lockable, reticles, good mag range etc just work and allows someone to get into longer range etc …
Yes I covet some of the stuff you used but for many … me included ..£2k or more on a scope is not happening or justifiable & with my choices I certainly don’t feel handicapped .
Watch Richard Utting and see how Japanese glass and build quality had really closed the gap on the big three the last 5yrs
Even more interested to see how that gap / products will be in time to come

Paul

 

[webley701]

It’s a pity that Zeiss & the other main European optical manufacturers equate ‘simple’ with ‘budget’ & so relegate variable scopes with (only) a 3x zoom multiplier to their ‘entry’ ranges & ‘offshore’ production - or cease production entirely. The same applies even more so to the fixed power scopes where we now have only S&B making a single model.

I’ve still got a few Zeiss catalogues dating from the mid 1980’s to late 90’s, as far as the scope size/specification is concerned I could happily satisfy virtually all of my varied needs without compromise from these catalogues. Compare that to the current ZEISS range where I don’t really find anything ideal - even ignoring cost there’s only a couple I’d consider buying & I’d be paying for features I didn’t want or need on an scope that’s hardly elegant.

The same story applies to a great degree to the other members of the ‘big three’ although less so to S&B who have thankfully retained some of their ‘Klassik’ line (it’s dwindling though).

To partially echo the earlier comments of User00003, I’d like to buy from Zeiss/S&B/Swarovski top quality, simple, elegant & relatively lightweight variable scopes of compact size with modest zoom ratios. Ditto - 4x36, 6x42 & 7x50 fixed powers (ideally with 1” tubes).

I understand the rationale for some of the current range (very impressive technically) offered by Zeiss et al but it’s unfortunately at the exclusion of top quality but simple designs/specifications which would be ideal for many users & uses.

 

[norcan]

Which is a bit like saying you can buy an Audi from a VW garage - same parent company, totally different brand and specifications

Same chassis, same engines, same components… different badges, though.

 

[Magnificent 7]

Had one on my old 308 and rated it cracking scope for the money so much so toying with the idea of getting one on the 375

 

[20-250]

I have a Kahles 1.5-6x42, A4 ret, gloss black, ticks pretty much all your boxes.
PM me if you’re interested.

I think he’s been banned since 2019, so not much chance of a reply. From that account, at any rate.

 

[Woodlander]

I think he’s been banned since 2019, so not much chance of a reply. From that account, at any rate.

Thanks Marv,I should’ve checked the date of the thread before replying.
How come these old threads get resurrected?

 

[Ranger1]

Yes mate .

 

[Tuck]

Question..what are they like when shooting sun up sun set..Are they as good as the v6 v8 ?

Not on the same level as the German Zeiss. It’s not just the glass.. turrets are not rubbish.. but the turrets on the v6 are far superior, brass interiors on the v4. V6 is stainless and the clicks are so much sharper on the v6.

 

[LarryLightFoot]

Following this thread with interest as about to put together my first stalking rig, there is a package deal and the scope in that deal is the Zeiss V4 3-12x56 Illuminated . Before pondering over this package deal, I had been eyeing up Meopta Optika 6 , Minox ZX5i and the GPO Spectra 5 all decent enough affordable scopes in the same price bracket with each other and leading up to the V4 price, the other more expensive option is the Leopold VX5 HD 3-15x56 .
The package deal is tempting and my thinking is the V4 will be more than adequate for me on my first rig and I can always swap out further down the track so to speak.
So would it be safe to say that the V4 is a decent enough scope rather than a “ don’t touch it with a barge pole if I were you “ kinda deal ?

 

[Cris]

I have a V4 4 - 16 x 50 Zmoa BDC turret and been using it for the past year. Nothing not to like about it as far as I can see. Works very well out in the filed and off the web..

Problem is people want to compare apples and pairs. You cant. My S&B 8x56 is better at low light but is that any supprise?

 

[Tulloch]

Mine has never lost zero in years