Which has better glass? Bass Pro has the Zeiss on sale for Labor Day.

Swarovski is imno t best of the best as far as glass quality

Saying that i have Zeiss and my son has a zeiss spotting scope

Have zero complaints

I will say my Swarovski spotting scope is much clearer than the zeiss at dusk and dawn

I whitetail hunt annually in South Dakota where your average shot is over 325 yds so, optics are important

I have glassed the same whitetail for hours some 1600 yds+ . Honestly i enjoy the heck out of that aspect of hunting the rolling hills of SD v south texas/hill country

The first deer was 2 years ago… my sons Tamu graduation gift, the second i shot last year at 425 yds… i was more excited about the shot than the deer

I've used both. Optically, the Zeiss is brighter and sharper in my opinion. So to answer your question, Zeiss.

Ergonomics is personal preference.

the Zeiss have been on sale for a couple of months now. i believe Zeiss is bringing out a newer model.

here's my 2 cents. I bought a pair of the Zeiss. they are one of the clearest binos i have looked through. (I've not tried alpha level glass).

everything about them is nice...except the eye cups. they do not extend enough for my vision. so, i got black spots unless i hold them slightly away from my eyes. this is a common complaint.

i sent them back because they just weren't going to work for me. i'm hoping to find a pair of the Leica's on sale at some point to try out.

all of that to say that if the eye cups work for you, then this the best glass for money going.

Thanks for the responses. I currently use Leica Trinovids. My nest glasses will be Swaro ELs. I was considering getting my son the Zeiss for Christmas, but was curious if they were better than my Leicas

nealan said:

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but was curious if they were better than my Leicas

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I've used both. IMO the Zeiss is slightly more sharper than the Leica, and at least in the ones that I have used, the Zeiss' focus wheel had a very slightly smoother rotation. However, I don't particularly like the Zeiss' color presentation. I prefer the warmer color presentation of the Leica, and I prefer the feel of its build quality and physical appearance as well.

In the end, I don't feel that one is better than the other. They just go about doing things a bit differently from each other. The good news is that you can't go wrong with either one. One thing that might sway your decision is eye relief. Zeiss binos will often have more ER than Leicas. I have yet to use a Leica that had enough ER so that I could use them with sunglasses (although the 7x35 Trinovid comes close), and I've used just about every single one they make. So if ER is important to you, definitely check the specs.

C

I'm only here to add that Optics Planet is running a Labor Day sale with an additional 12% off, which brings the Conquest HDs down to $616 and the Trinovids down to $880. While the Leicas might be a little nicer, I have a hard time imagining they're 40% nicer.

I have both Leica and Zeiss in 10x42 RF binoculars and to me Zeiss is sharper at dusk and dawn. I do believe Swarovski is hands down the best glass you can buy though.

When you are comparing 2 optics from legendary companies like Zeiss and Leica (and/or Swarovski), there is no such thing as "best" because they have slightly different design intents. "Best" depends entirely on what characteristics are most important to you, and you will likely get varying opinions because different people value different qualities differently.

Both Zeiss Conquest HD and Leica Trinivid are awesome binos in the "upper mid tier" class - solid, high quality binos that are a slight step down from each maker's flagship models that cost much more. Both will likely make you very happy.

The Zeiss has slightly better resolution, whereas the Leica has slightly higher contrast. The Zeiss has slightly wider FOV and slightly longer eye relief. The Leica has a little more vibrant, warmer color presentation to my eyes. This pretty much holds true for all comparable comparisons between Zeiss and Leica models of binos. When you design an optic for ultimate resolution, you sacrifice a little contrast and vice-versa. I personally prefer the build quality and feel of Leica's binos over Zeiss. I've also seen much better control over veiling flare/internal reflections in Leica than Zeiss.

The only way you can really know which is better for you is to spend time behind both. Unless you are very picky, you will be impressed with either.

Great analysis and I agree that between the "Big 3" you are cutting hairs on which one is best for each individual. Having owned and/or used all 3 in the mid and upper level, in my opinion the Swaro's have slightly out performed the other 2 in all cases. May not be the case for everyone and could just be that they fit my eyes better. I don't think you can go wrong with any of them.