Oldtrader3
Ammo Smith
- Nov 6, 2009
- 8,406
- 5
I don't know what I know about optics after this morning, except they are no better than my corrected eyesight with my new glasses (20/20), plus maybe half of the 20/15 line on the Snellen eye chart.
I also did a color shift test on the Leica ER, Zeiss HD-5 Conquest and my older Zeiss Diavari V/VM with a MacBeth color swatch chart. None of these three scopes shifted color sufficiently for me to see it at 15 yards with the three scopes set on 3X in natural sunlight.
The scopes that I tested with the eye chart at with scopes at 6x are: Zeiss Conquest HD-5, 3-15x42, Leica ER 2.5-10x42, Zeiss Diavari 5-15x42, Swarovski AV 4-12x50, Kahles 3.5-10x50, Minox ZA5 2-10x40 and a Leupold Vari-XIII 4.5-14x40AO.
On the Snellen eye chart test set at 30 yards, with scopes set at 6X, there were no surprises when testing the Zeiss HD-5, Leica ER, Swarovski AV, Kahles scopes. They all easily read all of the 20/20 chart and about 1/2 of the 20/15 chart letters. The surprises were the older Zeiss Diavari at only 20/20, and less so the Minox at 20/25 and the Leupold at 20/30 resolution. The Minox ZA5 and Leupold Vari-XIII were not much of a surprise but the Zeiss Diavari, which is 20 years old did surprise me. It was a $1500 scope in the early 1990's. However, coatings have come a long way in this era of post industrial age science
I will keep working on this challenge and find a better optic rating system which does not require a laboratory. This testing just exemplifies how hard it is to chose a scope among the major, premium brands. Essentially the Zeiss, Leica, Swarovski and Kahles brands are very close in test results to one another. Certainly when, the Zeiss HD-5, Leica ER and Swarovski scopes are essentially equal in contrast and resolution.
Personally, I would put the Leica slightly ahead of the Zeiss HD-5 in this test because of the better color saturation of the Leica but believe me when I say that there is not a large difference between these top scopes. The Leica is very impressive with really sharp images and saturated colors.
I also did a color shift test on the Leica ER, Zeiss HD-5 Conquest and my older Zeiss Diavari V/VM with a MacBeth color swatch chart. None of these three scopes shifted color sufficiently for me to see it at 15 yards with the three scopes set on 3X in natural sunlight.
The scopes that I tested with the eye chart at with scopes at 6x are: Zeiss Conquest HD-5, 3-15x42, Leica ER 2.5-10x42, Zeiss Diavari 5-15x42, Swarovski AV 4-12x50, Kahles 3.5-10x50, Minox ZA5 2-10x40 and a Leupold Vari-XIII 4.5-14x40AO.
On the Snellen eye chart test set at 30 yards, with scopes set at 6X, there were no surprises when testing the Zeiss HD-5, Leica ER, Swarovski AV, Kahles scopes. They all easily read all of the 20/20 chart and about 1/2 of the 20/15 chart letters. The surprises were the older Zeiss Diavari at only 20/20, and less so the Minox at 20/25 and the Leupold at 20/30 resolution. The Minox ZA5 and Leupold Vari-XIII were not much of a surprise but the Zeiss Diavari, which is 20 years old did surprise me. It was a $1500 scope in the early 1990's. However, coatings have come a long way in this era of post industrial age science
I will keep working on this challenge and find a better optic rating system which does not require a laboratory. This testing just exemplifies how hard it is to chose a scope among the major, premium brands. Essentially the Zeiss, Leica, Swarovski and Kahles brands are very close in test results to one another. Certainly when, the Zeiss HD-5, Leica ER and Swarovski scopes are essentially equal in contrast and resolution.
Personally, I would put the Leica slightly ahead of the Zeiss HD-5 in this test because of the better color saturation of the Leica but believe me when I say that there is not a large difference between these top scopes. The Leica is very impressive with really sharp images and saturated colors.
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