Zeiss Conquest ($329) vs. Leupold VX-1 ($189)

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I had the opportunity to try out a couple of Zeiss Conquest 3-9x40 riflescopes. Having heard so many good things about them, and since they're being replaced by that new Terra line, I figured, what the heck? Granted that a quantity of two riflescopes doesn't constitute a very big sampling, but if you can, two is better than one when doing a comparison.

What inspired this was Euro Optic's pricing of $329 for the Conquest. This is down considerably from the $449 and up that they were routinely going for, not too long ago. At $449+, people were swearing by (no, not "at") them. These are the "Assembled in USA" ones made of German metal and either Czech or German glass.

The comparison riflescopes are Leupold's VX-1 and Redfield's Revolution, both in 3-9x40. I got the VX-1 on sale for $189, and the Revolution for about the same price (I'm quite the bargain hunter). From what I can determine, the Revolution is essentially a VX-1. Their listed features are virtually identical, and both are made by Leupold. I'm trying to keep this comparison as apples-to-apples as I can. The Conquest and VX-1 scopes have duplex reticles, while the Revolution has the Accu-Range.

Daytime comparisons were done on a sunny day, since that's what was available to me after work. Nighttime comparisons were done on evenings with cloud cover and without, always at around 10:00pm.

First, I had compared the Conquest to the Revolution. Both scopes were mounted on rifles and boresighted. During the day, the Conquest looked a little brighter. I expected that (hey, Zeiss, right?). However, at night, to my surprise, the Revolution looked just a little brighter than the Conquest! It was actually just a little easier to see stuff at 10:00pm nighttime through the Revolution. Both scopes did have their eyepieces adjusted for my eyesight beforehand, and parallax on both is fixed at 100 yards. This was throughout the magnification range, but especially noticeable as I got close to 9x.

I thought, hey, this is Zeiss; aren't those supposed to be brighter, given Zeiss's pedigree? I remember looking through Zeiss binoculars and remarking how good they were. So, thinking, maybe this was just an aberration, I put in an order for a second Conquest to see if this was consistent. I can always use a good riflescope, so no wasted money there.

The VX-1 and Revolution seemed to give identical performance, at least to my eyes, in all conditions. This is as I expected, since they seem to be basically the same scope. So, I repeated my tests with the VX-1 and the Revolution, but this time without mounting the scopes so I could keep them very close to each other and go back 'n' forth more quickly. I got the same results as with the Revolution. As before, in bright light conditions, the Conquest was a little easier to see stuff through. But at night, the VX-1 pulled ahead by just a bit.

Here's the Conquest, with its reticle.

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And here's the VX-1, with its reticle. It's a bit hard to tell from the crappy cell-phone pics, but this is actually the newer VX-1 (one), not the earlier VX-I (eye).

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As you can see, the Conquest's reticle posts are thicker than those of the VX-1. Whether that's good or bad depends on the specific shooter.

Fortuitously, my neighbor, a long-time shoooter, had just arrived home (it was just past 10pm). So, I handed him the Conquest and the VX-1 to look through (both unmounted, just the scopes themselves). Told him one was the Leupold, and the other was the Zeiss. He said, "oh, Zeiss! Yeah, their optic quality's supposed to be excellent." He took a look through both of them, about 200 yards down the street, switching back 'n' forth, for several minutes. He said, "ya know, I actually think the Leupold's just a bit brighter."

He asked me what the price difference is. I told him, and he did expect the Zeiss to be more money, which of course it is. I got the VX-1 for $189, with shipping. The Conquest, as mentioned above, came for $329 plus shipping (total $344), which I've learned is a good price for a Zeiss *anything*.

I wasn't sure if I was missing something with the earlier Revolution/Conquest comparison, when I perceived the Revolution to be brighter. That time, both scopes were mounted. This is why I asked my neighbor to have a look, too. It seems that the VX-1 really is a little brighter at night. I, too, had expected the Conquest to outshine the VX-1 in this area. Who'd've thought?

So, how about clarity? The VX-1 and the Conquest look pretty much equal to me at night, as far as just clarity goes. During the day, though, the Conquest took the edge by just a bit, with the VX-1 and Revolution still looking pretty darn good.

Mechanically, the Conquest and VX-1 both feel just a little less "mushy" in the elevation and windage adjustment knobs than the Revolution. Now, "mushy" is relative here; all three scopes are quite satisfactory, and all do work well. The magnification and reticle focus adjustments felt about equally solid on all three scopes.

Is there any real advantage, therefore, to the Conquest?

There are three possible ones that come to mind.

Both the Conquest and the VX-1 have duplex reticles, with the Conquest having thicker posts than the VX-1 does. During the day, that doesn't really matter to me, but at night, it is easier to get on the target with the Conquest, for that specific reason. I now see why some people like #4 or #1 German reticles.

Additionally, while the VX-1 looked a touch brighter at night, the Conquest looks a bit brighter during the day. I dunno how *that* happens; maybe it's the different light spectrum in play during the day vs. nighttime.

Finally, the Conquest does have half an inch of additional eye relief. If you're mounting your scope on a hard-kickin' chambering, every half-inch helps. That rubber cushioning ring around the eyepiece didn't go unappreciated, either.

So, now that I've actually looked through a couple of Conquests, the question must be answered: is the Conquest, even at $329, worth the additional money over the VX-1 or Revolution at $189?

As with all things, it depends.

For me, since I don't shoot at night, the answer is probably no, if it's not a magnum chambering. Even though the Leupold's a little brighter, the Conquest's thicker posts would be an advantage for a night-shooter. The Conquest's slight additional brightness during the strong light of daytime is nice, don't get me wrong. But the VX-1's still plenty darn bright, and the Conquest's thicker posts aren't nearly as much of an advantage during the daytime as they would be at night. I have no trouble whatsoever getting on a target with the VX-1's reticle, even in overcast days or during dawn/dusk. Same applies to the Revolution's Accu-Range reticle; it's easy for me to get on target with it.

On the other hand, if you've got, say, a 300 Anything Magnum, I'd say the Conquest is a good idea. Not that the VX-1 or the Revolution will give you scope-eye, since the eye relief's pretty good on them, too. But even if I don't need it, that extra half-inch sure feels good to have. Furthermore, since with magnum chamberings, you're probably shooting at distance anyway, you're probably also shooting during the day. The Conquest's slightly greater daytime clarity would be a plus for this sort of shooting.

So, I've determined that the Revolution/VX-1 is very good for the shooting that I personally do (.308 Win or 7.62x54R during the daytime). Therefore, what am I going to do with these two Conquests?

Why, mount them and use them, of course! Whadja think?? I never said they were "bad" scopes, folks. :-)
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Re: Zeiss Conquest ($329) vs. Leupold VX-1 ($189)

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Good review, thanks.

Do you think the Leupold and Redfield were brighter at night or just more "washed out?" In other words, could you see more detail with the Leupold glass or was the image simply brighter? Were you looking at natural or artificial light?

Also, it's been awhile since you wrote the review; have you had a chance to test them at dawn and dusk. I think scope makers tend to focus their efforts toward glass that can see in the low light of early morning and just before dark, not necessarily nighttime.
We live at a time when emotions and feelings count more than truth,
and there is a vast ignorance of science.
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It is impossible to defeat an ignorant man in argument.
-William G. McAdoo, lawyer and politician (1863-1941)

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