Leica VS Zeiss range finders

Any thoughts on either of these range finders? I was going to go with a Leica 1200, but I see that Zeiss came out with a new 8x26 range finder.

Thanks

Sparky

Good question, I haven't seen any one post any reviews on the new zeiss range finder yet, though it is pretty new.

ZEISS' new PRF rangefinder is a really good unit although it has not hit many store shelves yet. Optically it is fantastic and it has the red LED readout, scan mode, built in rain/snow modes, measures to 1,300 yards, and includes the BIS ballistic information system. You can go on to ZEISS.com, download a small program that will allow you to eventually choose/program the ballistic pattern of your bullet in to the PRF rangefinder. Then when you press the rangefinding button it will tell you 450 yards, H 6 (H6 = hold high 6 inches). Tells you the proper holdover - pretty cool.

Overall I would definitely recommend finding a dealer in your area that has the PRF and check it out. ZEISS' new PRF and the fantastic new Victory RF binocular were developed/designed by the same engineers who used to work for Leica and developed all of Leica's LRF/Geovid/CRF technology - so you know that the ZEISS units will be high quality.

Hope that helps a bit.

I would like to hear a truely qualified opinion about this range finder also -no hear say and thoughts which add up to zip! What is its true ability to range and in what conditions - how does it compare to the Swarovski in ranging ability ?

bartond, does that mean Zeiss pirated the technology it's using in it's range finding units from Leica?  So it actually means is that Zeiss could't figure it out, so they head hunted the Leica people?  WOW...

I,m in the market for a rangefinder also, and would like to hear from someone who has used both. The little information I've picked up from advertising is the Zeiss is a little bigger than the Leica, and 3oz heavier at 10.9oz compared to 7.8 for the Leica. Also, the ballistic information system is not actually programable. You pick one of the supplied programs that most closely matches your actual trajectory. Not exact, but should be close.

 

Gonna tag this as I'm also interested in the Zeiss.

ZEISS actually did not pirate anything from Leica. The ZEISS PRF is a totally built-from-scratch unit. I am simply saying that the engineers who developed the Leica Geovid and CRF have now worked for ZEISS for a few years, meaning they knew what all went in to the production of the Leica units and took that in to account while developing the ZEISS Victory PRF and RF products.

And to speak of "head-hunting," engineers and marketing/sales people from all three top European optics companies switch back and forth fairly regularly, so there's no advantage for any of them. Leica doesn't have some sort of "optics school" that grooms the top quality engineers over there.

Just received the Zeiss PRF.

The ballistics "program" is essentially a choice of six different trajectories. There are two choices here, six with a 100-yard zero and six with a 200-yard zero. It looks like they've covered everything from a real flat-shooting round like the .270 Wby mag to something like the 45-70 Gov't with the six choices.

Sorry to see this late, But, You'll be thrilled with either of these selections, the Zeiss is more expensive, but they both seem to do their job very well, elevation change and low light are not factors, I would go with the leica, because its cheaper, and its smaller/lighter.

I'd go with the Leica, rangings give slightly different values so not as accurate as the Swarovski but the funtionality is superior.  It is very simple, there is only one button, push it once and a small red square reticle appears.  Cheap, light, get it

Any new info from you Zeiss users? I'm also in the market for a new rangefinder and am considering the Zeiss, Leica and the Swaro.  Which is best