Vortex Razor HD LH vs Zeiss Conquest HD5

[dcooper08]

All-

I am not happy with the clarity issues with my Vortex PST 6-24, and therefore looking to upgrade. The scope gets blurry at about the 18x zoom and higher (as commonly reported, and for that matter I have similar issues with my Diamondback scope).

Regardless, does anyone have any experience with both of these scopes? The Razor HD LH 3-15x42 and the Zeiss Conquest HD5 3-15x50. They seem similar in many ways, however my number one selling point would be image quality and brightness. I am able to get either of these scopes for roughly the same price so that argument is moot.

So should I stick with Vortex or make the jump to Zeiss? Thank you all for your input.

 

[8andbait]

I have owned both, I had the HD5 when they first came out and found the glass to be sub par. Others have reported great glass so maybe I had a bad one?
I had the target turrets which I liked very much but no wind hold reticle caused me to sell it.
I currently have the Razor HD LH and I like it. The glass is great, the turrets dial correctly and I like the reticle. Mine has the 2 moa hashes which are pretty functional. Downside for me is no zero stop and the numbers on the turret are too small for my aging eyes to read.

The Razor is definitely not PST glass, razor is much better to me.

For about the same price the VX6 is something you should give a good look. In my opinion one of the best hunting scopes out right now. TMOA or Wind plex reticle would be my choice but I like to hold for wind.

 

[dcooper08]

What about the fact that the Zeiss has a 8mm larger objective? Would that impact clarity and brightness enough to put the Zeiss above the Vortex here? Or is the Razor glass truly better than the Conquest HD to an extent that it can overcome having a smaller objective?

Also, unfortunately the VX6 would be a little beyond my budget here. Thank you for the suggestion.

Anyone else have thoughts or experiences? Please let me know. Any input is appreciated.

 

[the blur]

I have the Zeiss Conquest, and it's no where as nice as the Zeiss Victory. My new rifle will have the Razor HD LR.

 

[6x6 elk]

I've had a couple of Zeiss HD5 scopes. The optics are not consistent. I think the older conquests had better optics. I had a conquest that would not hold zero, sent it in for repair, but Zeiss replaced it instead with a HD5. It had a lot of peripheral distortion. Sent it back and Zeiss replaced it with another scope, which was better but still had a unacceptable amount of distortion. Sent that back, and the last scope they sent was fine. For the price of the HD5, the glass should be a lot better.Zeiss customer service was great!!I have also owned Vortex Viper and Razor's, and I really not impressed by them either. The AMG is nice, but heavy for a hunting scope. One of the scopes I really like for the money is the Sightron Slll and the Burris Verosity. Just my humble opinion.

 

[rafterfp]

I have run both scopes you mentioned. I still have the Razor and traded for another. No comparison imo.