Okay. Disclaimers. I’m not binocular wise as many here on the forum. And I learn much from you. I do some casual birdwatching. But I’m mainly a hunter. Whitetails in particular. Much observation takes place our hunting properties which consists of large agricultural fields and mixed forest areas. One of the fascinating things I do on the stand is observing deer behavior. Sure I’m after a Trophy but those moments are few and far between. So having a good set of quality binoculars for me is necessary. Of course a high quality scope must tag along. In watching deer along with the many kites and falcons that frequent the area (especially the big oat fields) I’ve come to appreciate a good set of quality binoculars. I tried the lower end ones. And sure, they performed decently. But as I read more into the Brand Forums on this site, I noticed quickly that birders in general gravitate towards Zeiss, Swarovski and Leica. And for good reason. They are considered Titans in the Industry. So I saw a lot of fascination with the Zeiss SFL. Now my go to before my purchase of the SFL 8x40’s were the Nikon Monarch 7 8x42 and the Bresser Pirsch ED 8x42. They both were very good. Color rendering to me was excellent. Low light performance was very good. Here in Alabama we have a long deer season. And many of the better deer only show up near dark. Some are almost completely nocturnal. Low light performance is a must. But I didn’t want to go all in on just low light performance. Or a good 8x56 would have been in order. The Zeiss SFL seemed to be the balancing act to go for. And Wow! was my first impressions. Beautiful Neutral color rendering, huge FOV, light, compact and very bright. I was amazed how bright! I could count points when my naked eye could barely see the deer. A substantial upgrade to anything I had used before. But I began thinking. Was there a way to Beat the System? In other words could I get close to this level of optical quality for less than $1700. I know that by today’s standards and pricing that’s not huge amount of money. But for the average Joe, it’s considerable. Now in my choice of rifle scopes I had found that you could essentially Beat the System with the Brand Meopta. I have a Swarovski and to my eyes they are almost too close to call in the sheer low light testing. A slight advantage of course goes to the Swarovski in it’s color rendering. But the Meopta is at a much lower cost. So I call Zeiss. And just flat out ask the representative about their alternatives. He tells me that if I don’t mind a few ounces and a little different ergonomics that The Zeiss Conquest HDX is my answer. According to him the glass and coatings are identical. So I said you mean to tell me for approximately $700 less I’m getting the same optical performance including color rendering and the same low light abilities? His answer was Yes Sir. So I went online and purchased them in 8x42. I’m only a couple weeks into using them. But for my eyes,the Zeiss Rep was right. I find them optically equal. In every area with a minor trade off in a tiny bit of FOV and a few ounces. I guess if the Ergonomics is worth $700 is something that only the user can answer. So did I beat the System? I know it’s very subjective, but I think I did.