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Scope Glass

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Poll Question: Which company makes the best glass?
Poll Choice Votes Poll Statistics
14 [24.56%]
12 [21.05%]
12 [21.05%]
3 [5.26%]
10 [17.54%]
2 [3.51%]
1 [1.75%]
3 [5.26%]
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    Posted: June/07/2007 at 21:29
Which company makes the best glass(brightness, clarity)
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote silver Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June/07/2007 at 22:04

 

 

Nikon makes glass and to a lessor Swarovski, not that everything they, use they make.  Everybody else buys it.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Boodlum Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June/08/2007 at 10:00
Schmidt & Bender makes the best riflescope glass in my collection.  Optolyth's fluorite glass is the best spotting scope glass for me.

Zeiss Diavari, Leica, Nightforce and Leupold are competition in the collection.  Whoever makes the glass or applies the coatings, those are the names on the optics.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote koshkin Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June/08/2007 at 15:38
Zeiss makes their own glass: Schott glass is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Zeiss group.

Nightforce uses Japanese glass (Hoya, I think).

Leica uses Corning glass (USA)

Leupold, uses different glass for different scopes: Japanese or Korean.  Their Korean glass is made by Kyocera, I believe.  Their source for Japanese glass I am not too sure about

Nikon makes most of their high end glass (ED, etc), but I think some of their lower end glass is purchased elsewhere.  I do not know where the specific glass used ins copes is sourced from.

Now, if you are talking about the optical quality of the scope (of which the exact glass formulation is a pretty small part), Schmidt&Bender and Zeiss are probably at the top of the heap as far as optical quality goes.  Upcoming Leica scopes should be up there also, but I have not seen them yet.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote HuntMaster Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June/08/2007 at 21:02

It doesn't matter a whole lot where the glass is made. In the end, it's the engineering ,grinding, polishing, and coatings that make the difference. That is where the costs add up.

 Not many of the scope and/or binocular manufacturers make their own glass. It is contracted out.

 Derek



Edited by HuntMaster
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote cheaptrick Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June/09/2007 at 05:16

Too close for me to call on who's the best, but US Optics is certainly up there with the Euro's.

My SN-3's glass was equal to my S&B 3-12 in every way.

 

Zeiss Diavari "may be" the most optically perfect glass I've looked through. 

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote silver Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June/09/2007 at 19:28

Originally posted by koshkin koshkin wrote:

Zeiss makes their own glass: Schott glass is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Zeiss group.

ILya

 

Cite Please? Last year I talked to an enginer from Schott's appliance counter top division and this conflicts with my understanding from him.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote koshkin Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June/09/2007 at 20:30
A cursory glance at either Zeiss or Schott or their parent holding company Carl Zeiss Stiftung will tell you the company structure.  Just looks at the company history section or something along those lines for more detail.  In a nutshell:



Not sure what the Schott guy told you, but if he claimed that Schott is not part of the Zeiss group, he was mistaken.

http://www.zeiss.de/c12567a100537ab9/Contents-Frame/6e9948ae 4e5f7f3e41256a78004a8537

ILya


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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote RifleDude Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June/16/2007 at 23:12

This question kinda depends on the type of scope being chosen.  For example, some manufacturers don't make suitable scopes for niche applications like target, long range varmint, "scout" type scopes, pistol scopes, specialty rimfire/airgun scopes, etc.

 

Among the scopes I own, by far the best optically are Zeiss, S&B, Swaro, Kahles, IOR and Nighforce, but among those brands are a few scopes intended for entirely different applications.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Wvladimire Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June/17/2007 at 20:28
Out of all the scopes I own, I rate them as follows:

Nikon Monarch, Zeiss, IOR, and Mueller are all about the same as far as brightness and clarity are
concerened. However, while
the colors are vibrant in the Nikon, Mueller, and IOR, they are positively brilliant in the Zeiss. And mind
you, all of the scopes I mentioned are 42-44MM objectives, so they are pretty much on a level playing
field.

BTW I will be coming out with an article in the next few months on different rifle scopes tested. This is
a no-nonsense review of riflescopes from the 3-10 power range with 40-44MM objectives.

Edited by Wvladimire
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote kapt Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June/19/2007 at 07:06

There is one issue that no one seems to be talking about. EYES..

I have a corneal implant in my right eye that has completely changed the way things appear through different scopes. For the record I have Luepold , Weaver , BSA , Tasco , Millet , Sightron and Bushnell scopes. many at the top of the manufactuers scale of their product. The absolute clearest scope I own is the Weaver Grand Slam 6x20. I have it on a custom built 6 BR rifle which I took a Luepold 6.5x20 off and replaced it with the Weaver simply because of the clarity. I am not downing the Luepold nor am I touting the Weaver. I am just saying that different eyes see things very differently. Especially older ones.

 

 

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Boodlum Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June/20/2007 at 08:28
Originally posted by kapt kapt wrote:

I am just saying that different eyes see things very differently. Especially older ones.

 


This is more true than optics manufacturers want to admit.  Being possessed of Mark1 Mod 0 eyeballs in the late-50's serial number range my experience with optics is different than it was twenty years earlier.  Seems to me lens coatings work better for (or are designed for) younger eyes.  I keep a pair of Don Burris-designed Redfield non-coated scopes for comparison use.  In my experience non-coated glass works better for older eyes.  What younger shooters tell me helps them see better in reduced light just makes images appear in lower contrast or blurry to me.


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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote kapt Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June/20/2007 at 11:02

AMEN... I have late 40's vintage eyes.

Finally someone else who knows (admits) that even $800 glass is not for everyone.

 

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote tahqua Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June/20/2007 at 13:31

If we are talking about scopes, Nikon and Bushnell as good or better than Kahles.........hmmm

My fifty year old eyes can sure tell a difference and my Monarchs and Elites can't touch my Kahles in resolution or brightness.



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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote kapt Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June/21/2007 at 17:36

I did not say any scope was better than any other.I said one scope was more clear than another ( FOR ME ).

Given certian situations some scopes are better suited for different people for different reasons be they medical , finacial or application.  I would not begin to compare a Bushnell to a Ziess or any other top grade scope.

 My statement is :  THERE IS NO ONE SIZE FITS ALL..

 

 

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote tahqua Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June/21/2007 at 17:55
Originally posted by kapt kapt wrote:

I did not say any scope was better than any other.I said one scope was more clear than another ( FOR ME ).

Given certian situations some scopes are better suited for different people for different reasons be they medical , finacial or application.  I would not begin to compare a Bushnell to a Ziess or any other top grade scope.

 My statement is :  THERE IS NO ONE SIZE FITS ALL..

 

 


On that I certainly agree. There are some around here who find the Burris Signatures to be a better glass than the Leupold VXIII. I find that my Signatures have a slight yellow tint that I find bothersome, though the resolution is equal with my Leupold's. I also find that the Monarchs are as near neutral, tint wise, as my Kahle's.
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