Zeiss V3 review

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Hey folks, I just wanted to drop this note in here in case others are interested in the new Zeiss V3 lineup. I bought a couple of them but so far only one has arrived (many are on backorder). The one I am waiting on has illumination and the one I got does not, so that’s the only thing I can’t really comment on yet.

I love me a second focal plane riflescope (I know there are a lot of FFP folks here, but I also know that sometimes even for you, a simple SFP is what the doctor ordered).

The most direct comparison would be to Leupold’s VX-3HD and VX-4HD line. That is what Leupold considers their “mid-tier” glass (they call it their “Elite Optical System,” which is positioned between “Advanced” = VX Freedom and “Professional” = VX-5/6HD and Mark series scopes).

I kind of thought the Zeiss V3 would be the same glass as the V4 Conquest. But I confirmed it is completely different lens coatings/optical system. The V3 are all made in Japan, with Japanese glass. And, my first impressions, at least to my eye, the V3 looks BETTER than the V4. Which is odd because V4 is supposed to be step above V3, but the “purple hue” to the V4 glass always bothered me. This appears to have none of that, just perfectly clear.

The Japanese glass is so good, at least as nice as Leupold’s. And I hate to say it but I think it is a much better value overall than a Leupold VX-3/4HD too. For example, both Leupold and Zeiss offer lightweight, second focal plane scopes in 2.5-8, 3.5-10, 4.5-14, and both have good, clear glass. But Zeiss pulls ahead in almost every other category.

  1. Turrets are way better. It’s not close.
  2. The eyepiece/diopter is way better, Euro-style.
  3. More options, with price gradient that makes more sense. The cheapest VX-3HD is now $600 I think, MSRP (you can find them cheaper). The Zeiss starts at $300 for the 2.5-8 rf and graduates up to $800-900 for all the bells and whistles (illumination, parallax, exposed turret, etc.)
  4. Reticles are better; the XRR is meh, but the SHR/SHRi beats the pants off Leupold’s regular duplex, wind-plex, or the firedot duplex (the only thing I can’t comment on is quality/brightness of Zeiss’ illuminated center dot on SHRi–yet). Even their normal duplex is more like a German reticle which I prefer to the “classic” duplex.

Looking to pick up a 3.5-10 or 4.5-14? I would have to go with the Zeiss over the Leupold. For less money, it’s just a better all-around scope.

Edit: One more note, it is the only riflescope I am aware of that boasts 90% light transmission for under $1,000. Most manufacturers won’t print these ratings at all, but a few premium brands will, and most who do will claim 90 or 92% (all of these are other premium brands). The leader overall is still Schmidt & Bender w/ 96%, but that is $3-4K.

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Thanks for the info!

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Great to hear. I have many leupolds of different vintages and I have always preferred them as the eye relief seems to always fit me better. But they have been going up in price and I have recently been buying the Element scopes and have enjoyed those as well. I have a helix and a titan, both under $1000 and both have performed very well. I still like the Element zero stop adjustment the best. You still need an hex wrench to position the zero stop if you are at the bottom but I have only had to do that once. The element system is way better than the 3 hex adjustments you have to do on the Leupolds in this range. Thank you for the review.