Zeiss Conquest binoculars

[Stud Duck]

Does anyone have any experience with or opinions about the new Zeiss Conquest 8x40 T* ABK or the 10x40 T* ABK binoculars?

How do they compare to Leica and Swarovski glass? Do they perform well in low-light/twilight conditions?

Thanks in advance.

[Jeffer]

Hello to Stud Duck and All Bird Forum Members--

I am a brand-new member of BF and very happy to be among you!

Just purchased a few days ago the new Zeiss Conquest 8x40 B T binoculars.
What attracted me to these the most is the Zeiss name plus a substantially lower price than their FL line of bins. These new Conquests--which came out just last month, I believe--have an MSRP of about $1200. These new bins simply "felt right" in my hands when I first picked them up. At 29 ozs., they feel very well balanced.
I handled both the 10X and 8X models and opted for the 8X as perhaps being more
versatile overall for multiple uses.

So far, I have been very pleased with the Conquest 8x40 bins. Clarity, field of view, and focusing are all first rate. I wanted a set of bins that were a cut above a middle price range but not as expensive as a new Leica or Swarovski (or Zeiss FL). I had looked through and considered the Leica Trinovid 8x32, which I thought had an outstanding view, but I liked the looks and feel of the new Zeiss Conquest model enough that I decided to be a "trailblazer" of sorts and took the plunge.

Sorry, Stud Duck, I can't compare the new Zeiss to other Leicas/Swarovskis, since I don't have that experience. I haven't yet used these new Zeiss bins in twilight, etc., so I can't give you an opinion about that. I am aware of such things as collimation, chromatic aberration, e.g., but I am still a novice and can't give you a blow-by-blow analysis--not yet, anyway.

But I thought you would like to know that someone has indeed purchased the new
Zeiss Conquest model. No doubt I am among the first in the U.S.

More info. posted later, as I become more familiar with these bins.
Again, I'm delighted to be here on the Bird Forum.

Jeffer

[Robert Ellis]

I would say they are good binoculars with one caveat. They are a tad overpriced, more like an expensive mid-priced binocular than a n inexpensive hig-end binocular. One can usally find Nikon LXLs in that price range and they are superior. The Nikon is up there with the Swaros Leicas and FL in many peoples books, the conquests are not.

[Stud Duck]

Thanks Robert. Jeffer, keep me posted on how you like your new bins.

[Hogjaws]

CA in Conquests?

How much CA do you see in the new full size Conquests? Are they similar to the Victory series, or are they different?

[Otto McDiesel]

CA in Conquests?

How much CA do you see in the new full size Conquests? Are they similar to the Victory series, or are they different?

I cannot comment on CA in the 10x40 Conquest ABK. I can tell you that i looked through a pair for about 5 minutes this summer and that they resembled the older Classic C in terms of view quality, but they had narrower field of view. Not bad, but you can find just as good for $200-400 less.

[macforst]

Hello to all Birdforum Members!
I´m also interested in buying a Zeiss Conquest 8x40. In a german forum I found a few comments on the new conquests written by owners. Because I think that your german is not that good here is a summary:
1. the 8x40 seems to be a good deal. The contour sharpness not as good as the Victory´s, but it´s perfect in the center. No visible collimation.
2. the conquest 8x40 is not a "dowstripped" old Victory 8x40, it seems to be completely new constructed. There are to many differences (fov, weight, ...).
Again - it´s nice to be here on the birdforum
Matthias Forsthövel

[Andrew Rowlands]

Hi Matthias, Welcome to Birdforum, from all the moderators and staff here!

I hope you enjoy participating here!

Cheers,

Andy.

[art92101]

I tried some LXes in 8x the other day at my local scope city. they were not that bright and kind of looked foggy. Perhaps it was because i used them after the Leica Ultravids? Still i was somewhat disappointed after reading all the great things about the Nikon high end models.

[Ned Z]

Hello to Stud Duck and All Bird Forum Members--

I am a brand-new member of BF and very happy to be among you!

Just purchased a few days ago the new Zeiss Conquest 8x40 B T binoculars.
What attracted me to these the most is the Zeiss name plus a substantially lower price than their FL line of bins. These new Conquests--which came out just last month, I believe--have an MSRP of about $1200. These new bins simply "felt right" in my hands when I first picked them up. At 29 ozs., they feel very well balanced.
I handled both the 10X and 8X models and opted for the 8X as perhaps being more
versatile overall for multiple uses.

So far, I have been very pleased with the Conquest 8x40 bins. Clarity, field of view, and focusing are all first rate. I wanted a set of bins that were a cut above a middle price range but not as expensive as a new Leica or Swarovski (or Zeiss FL). I had looked through and considered the Leica Trinovid 8x32, which I thought had an outstanding view, but I liked the looks and feel of the new Zeiss Conquest model enough that I decided to be a "trailblazer" of sorts and took the plunge.

Sorry, Stud Duck, I can't compare the new Zeiss to other Leicas/Swarovskis, since I don't have that experience. I haven't yet used these new Zeiss bins in twilight, etc., so I can't give you an opinion about that. I am aware of such things as collimation, chromatic aberration, e.g., but I am still a novice and can't give you a blow-by-blow analysis--not yet, anyway.

But I thought you would like to know that someone has indeed purchased the new
Zeiss Conquest model. No doubt I am among the first in the U.S.

More info. posted later, as I become more familiar with these bins.
Again, I'm delighted to be here on the Bird Forum.

Jeffer


Welcome to Bird Forum, Jeffer, and congrats on your new bins. You should get many years of excellent birding with them, as Zeiss makes excellent products. It's too bad that as a new member you rather innocently stepped into a gaggle of technogeeks who can be very opinionated about equipment, and at the same time somewhat hamhanded about expressing their opinions.

Seems to me you did what any reasonable person should do in selecting equipment. You figured out how much you could reasonably spend, then went to a shop and tried out a number of options and selected what felt best to you. Everyone's eyes and face are different and therefore different equipment is appropriate for different folks. The objective here is not to get so enamoured of the equipment that it's about equipment instead of birds. Rather the objective is to comfortably extend your ability to clearly see birds. In fact the best equipment for you is that which sort of disappears because it so naturally and comfortably extends your range of vision.

So, again, welcome. Enjoy yourself in the field, and don't worry much about the opinions of the technogeeks. Hope you are still delighted to be among us.

NedZ

[scampo]

...It's too bad that as a new member you rather innocently stepped into a gaggle of technogeeks who can be very opinionated about equipment, and at the same time somewhat hamhanded about expressing their opinions.

Seems to me you did what any reasonable person should do in selecting equipment. You figured out how much you could reasonably spend, then went to a shop and tried out a number of options and selected what felt best to you. Fair comment and well put, I reckon. Here's the conclusion of a review on the Zeiss bins:

Verdict: Optically excellent and lightest in this class, but over-styling affects comfort and balance.


OPTICAL: 9 / 10
DESIGN AND EASE OF USE: 7.5 / 10
VALUE FOR MONEY: 9.5 / 10

[angelo225544]

The Conquest 8x40 ABK and 10x40 ABK are the first bins in the Conquest line to use Abbe-Koenig prisms. This plus the T* coatings ought to give them a low-light performance rivaling most 8x50/10x50 roofs. Since they don't use Fl glass they should have slightly more chromatic aberation than the Zeiss Fl's but similar brightness. I look forward to reading some hands-on impressions.

[Anansi]

I wonder how they would compare to the Zeiss Victory 8X40 or 10X40.