I got to look through a Swarovski Z3 and a Z5 both BRH reticles, right next to a Leupold Mark 3HD, and honestly I was blown away by the Swarovskis. I am thinking about throwing one on a hunting rig, maybe large frame AR. What do you think about these? Opinions? BTW the Leupold I lookded through was a 30mm Mark 3 HD mildot, something like 10X by 50mm.
Zwaro z5, Z3 opinions
- Thread starter mshootnit
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rabid wombat
Member
I like Swarovski glass…the Z3 and Z5 seem to be good compromises of price to performance…buy it, you will like it.
Congratulations. You've just made the very, very expensive mistake of comparing a good scope and a couple of great scopes side by side. Unfortunately you can't unsee this so you're doomed to spending lots and lots of money for scopes for the rest of your life and have hard time with settling for anything less.
It's akin to being bitten by a zombie. Welcome to the team. And trying to answer your question, Swarovski is a part of the traditional holy trinity of optics with Zeiss and Schmidt & Bender. Whenever I get the itch and my account balance doesn't support one of them, Meopta, Noblex (formerly known as Docter) and a handful of others provide temporary relief. Before you spend even more on a Z6/8i, Victory, Polar T96, PM II or the like, to upgrade to what you really want.
It's a curse.
Nature Boy
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You’re screwed now.
My sincere condolences to you and your wallet
My sincere condolences to you and your wallet
Peakbagger46
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I’ve been using Swarovski Binoculars for quite a while now and they are absolutely fantastic. Alpha glass is much more important for binos than a rifle scope. What are your current field glasses?
westernrover
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I have a Swarovski spotter that is absolutely alpha glass and I paid for it. It's stunning. I've compared it side-by-side with $15K Takahashi scopes and it left little to be desired.
I've had the Z3 and presently the Z5 rifle scopes. They're not what I would call spectacular optically but they are good overall for their purpose. The Z3 is a sub-kilodollar scope and at its price point I would expect it to compete with an advantage over the VX-3HD. The Z5 should compare favorably to the VX-5HD. It's noticeably optically superior to lower-end scopes, but it is a mid-market product. Optically, it has a generous apparent field of view. The chromatic aberration is the worst. When I look at a high-contrast edge at higher magnification (12X), I can hardly believe Swarovski produces this. I even sent it back to Swarovski USA and they completely overhauled it but the CA is still bad. It's a twelve-hundred dollar scope. I would advise not to expect it to look like a four-thousand dollar scope optically nor would I expect it to be mechanically as robust. I find it entirely satisfying for hunting. It's lightweight, compact in length, the ballistic turret is simple to use and all that is needed for hunting big game. The erector, turret, and tracking are probably going to leave something to be desired for long range precision that a Nightforce would not but at the cost of another pound of weight.
There is a way out of the optics rat race. If you're like me and can't achieve your big game hunting goals with a flintlock (which would be my first choice), get a quality scope (the mid-range Leupold and Swarovskis are fine) and be content knowing that you have more money for tags, time off work, travel, and observing glass (spotters and binos).
I've had the Z3 and presently the Z5 rifle scopes. They're not what I would call spectacular optically but they are good overall for their purpose. The Z3 is a sub-kilodollar scope and at its price point I would expect it to compete with an advantage over the VX-3HD. The Z5 should compare favorably to the VX-5HD. It's noticeably optically superior to lower-end scopes, but it is a mid-market product. Optically, it has a generous apparent field of view. The chromatic aberration is the worst. When I look at a high-contrast edge at higher magnification (12X), I can hardly believe Swarovski produces this. I even sent it back to Swarovski USA and they completely overhauled it but the CA is still bad. It's a twelve-hundred dollar scope. I would advise not to expect it to look like a four-thousand dollar scope optically nor would I expect it to be mechanically as robust. I find it entirely satisfying for hunting. It's lightweight, compact in length, the ballistic turret is simple to use and all that is needed for hunting big game. The erector, turret, and tracking are probably going to leave something to be desired for long range precision that a Nightforce would not but at the cost of another pound of weight.
There is a way out of the optics rat race. If you're like me and can't achieve your big game hunting goals with a flintlock (which would be my first choice), get a quality scope (the mid-range Leupold and Swarovskis are fine) and be content knowing that you have more money for tags, time off work, travel, and observing glass (spotters and binos).
redneck2
Member
Back maybe 8-10 years ago I was going on a bear hunt in Canada. I figured it may be my only bear hunt, so I wanted to get what I thought was the best equipment (within reason). I went to the LGS ready to walk out with a Z-3.
Owner of the LGS and I were good friends. I tell him what I’m going to do and I’m ready to get a Swarovski. So he says “have you looked at the new Leupold?” Ahhhhhh......not really. Kinda set on better glass. Against my better judgment he convinces me to check them side by side. He has both a VX-R and a Swarovski in stock. Same exact magnification range, same objective size. As equal a test as you’re going to get.
We are on a deck out the back of the store, looking at a gas meter about 150 yards away. I fully expect the Swarovski to blow away the Leupold. We spent quite a bit of time, as he was interested himself. With both carefully adjusted for focus and parallax, you could see the 9/16 bolt heads with the Swarovski, but you could see the flats on the bolt heads with the Leupold. Had I not experienced it myself I would have not believed it.
I walked out with the Leupold with Firedot and saved about $400. The Firedot was amazingly useful in the low light, foggy and rainy conditions. I would not have been able to see the black crosshairs on a black bear at dusk in a drizzle under heavy pine trees
Again, this was maybe ten years ago. May be different now, but I think sometimes we convince ourselves things are better because we’ve always heard and now believe they are better. And I’m an equipment snob and am more than willing to pay for better equipment
Owner of the LGS and I were good friends. I tell him what I’m going to do and I’m ready to get a Swarovski. So he says “have you looked at the new Leupold?” Ahhhhhh......not really. Kinda set on better glass. Against my better judgment he convinces me to check them side by side. He has both a VX-R and a Swarovski in stock. Same exact magnification range, same objective size. As equal a test as you’re going to get.
We are on a deck out the back of the store, looking at a gas meter about 150 yards away. I fully expect the Swarovski to blow away the Leupold. We spent quite a bit of time, as he was interested himself. With both carefully adjusted for focus and parallax, you could see the 9/16 bolt heads with the Swarovski, but you could see the flats on the bolt heads with the Leupold. Had I not experienced it myself I would have not believed it.
I walked out with the Leupold with Firedot and saved about $400. The Firedot was amazingly useful in the low light, foggy and rainy conditions. I would not have been able to see the black crosshairs on a black bear at dusk in a drizzle under heavy pine trees
Again, this was maybe ten years ago. May be different now, but I think sometimes we convince ourselves things are better because we’ve always heard and now believe they are better. And I’m an equipment snob and am more than willing to pay for better equipment
European publications test scopes regularly, with a heavy bias on clarity and light transmission. Mainly because there's no daylight requirement and most people hunt at night too, so high end glass is in demand. Not to mention that in many central european countries hunting in itself is very expensive so blowing a few grand on a scope every now and then isn't necessary a big deal.
One recurring reminder from all these group tests is to never simply look at the brand. Top shelf branded pricepoint lemons aren't nearly as common as they still were a few years ago, but some do exist. Tests like these were originally the wake-up call for me to look at Meopta, their lab and field performance has been consistent and "value" rating ranging anywhere between good and exceptional. Not quite up there with Z6i or Victory HT, but very close and usually quite a bit better than lower end products of more prestigious brands, for comparable money.
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