JMHO, but I think the low end Ziess is better than the high end Leupold and they are ruffly the same price. Again, that is JMHO...
Binos are the only Zeiss products I have used, so I really have no personal experience with them.
For me, when it comes to riflescopes it has to be the total package of glass, holding zero, repeatable turrets, etc.
Swaro, and sometimes Zeiss (Not the Hensoldt Line) has had some problems with turrets holding zeros, etc. They also had limited internal MOA adjustments for the class of scope.
They have made improvements recently in those areas.
Leupy VX-3 & Mark 4 glass is good enough for me for most of my uses, and they have been reliable in terms of holding zero and reliable/repeatable in the turrets.
Leupold scopes I have now: VX-3 3.5-10, Mark 4 CQ/T (1x-3x), VX-3 LR/T 6.5-20, VX-3 LR/T 8.5-25, and Mark 4 FFP 6.5-20.
Also have the 12-40 HD spotting scope.
Also have their variable handgun scope too.
They started in the LRF arena late in the game and are still playing catch-up. I support and root for Leupold, but I will not use their products in areas where they are behind in the game or do not meet my usage requirements
Zeiss' Hensoldt line is possibly one of the best riflescopes made now, basically being head-to-head with Schmidt & Bender's PM 2 line.
In the areas of Binos and spotting scopes the two companies put out great products. My Zeiss 7x42 (High Brightness) bino's are just outstanding. I went with Zeiss years ago when I was looking for good glass that had longer eye relief for people who wore glasses. None of the American companies had any. Even when their eyecups folded down, you still could not see a full FOV. That is what first moved me to high end glass. It took me several years to save for those Binos-no regrets.
