Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Swaro Z3 vs Z5 series....Should I see a difference?

A few months ago, I was doing some scope comparing between the Leupold VX-3 3.5-10x40, the Swarovski Z3 3-10x42, and the Swarovski 3.5-18x44....specifically, which had the best image at "dark 30" and beyond.

I was very familiar with how well the Leupy gathered light right at dark, and was looking forward to seeing how much better the Swaro's were.

First, the Z3 3-10x42 was very clear and bright....but I was hard pressed to see much (if any) difference in how nice of an image I got right before total darkness. I was honestly a little dissapointed.

Second, I had a chance to take out a Swaro Z5 3.5-18x44 the next week to compare. I honestly was expecting about the same as the Z3, but was REALLY impressed at how sharp and clear images were WAY, WAY, WAY, past legal shooting light. Without a doubt, the sharpest imagae I've seen through a scope at near total darkness.

So here's my question....according to Swarovski, the Z3 and Z5 use the same glass can coatings....and there was only 2mm of difference in the objective size.

Why did the Z5 seem so much better at dusk to me? Have others had the same experience or did the 2 scopes seems about the same to you?

Curious.....

If you had them set at the same power, was there a larger field of view with the Z5 ?

I thought the glass in the Z5 was closer to the glass in the Z6, but that's just a SWAG.

RDFinn,

To be totally honest, I can't remember if I compared FOV between them. Having said that, it does seem like the Z5 had a larger FOV.

Would that have anything to do with the Z5 seeming brighter/sharper to me?

All I know is I decided the duplex in my Z5 was too thin for hunting. But then I tried it anyway and was very favorably impressed with how it held up when the light went down. I could have shot later with a thicker reticle, but the game warden would have looked at his watch and come for me.

Your azz would've been grass and he would've been the lawmower, huh?

Sometimes a larger sight picture appears to be brighter.

Mathman,
I had the same experience. Initially thought the duplex would dissapear in low light because it was thinner than what I was used to, but it stayed very visible in contrast to the target until near total darkness

Something like that.

SCHOOLCRAFT,

I purchased four z5 5-25X52. The first one was better than my Bushnell 6500 4 1/2-30X50 during low light. The next two were equal to but no better than than the 6500 and the next z5 was much better than the 6500 in low light only. My criteria was on what magnification setting could I see the fork antlers 131 yards away well enough to shoot at the buck growing them.

I will include a small comparison of the z5 with a Bushnell 4200 4-16X40. This morning, December 13, 2011, there is fog but not so much I couldn't see the woods beyond the pump house. So of course I laid out a couple sand bags on the porch edge. (The temperature is a chilly 25 degrees.) I put the Bushnell 4200 and the Swarovski z5 on them. I set them on their lowest settings: Bushnell on 4X and Swarovski on 5X. I could not make out the antlers which are about 131 yards away with either. I could see the antlers but could not make out the forks on either side. I turned them both up to 6X. With the Bushnell I could distinguish the forks but I could not with the Swarovski.

Dispite the 6500 starting at 4 1/2X and the z5 starting at 5X the field of view is larger in the z5. The field of view in both of my 4200's is larger than the z5.

According to Swarovski customer service the z5 and the z6 use the same lenses. I never tried the z6 because they weighed too much for my criterial of less than 18 ounces. I didn't consider the 3 1/2-18X because it was about the same weight as the 5-25X.

Ran into the same thing with the S&B Summit.....folks on here said "...you'll lose the reticle cause it's too thin..." And yet aiming at plenty of deer with it to past legal light, I did not lose the reticle.A pal has a Z6.....same thing...

What I've noticed is that twilight conditions can vary alot. I've seen clear, full moon nights where my 8X32 binoculars would work. And legal shooting conditions where my 8X42 Leica would just barely work.
Another consideration is the magnification the scope is set on. Lowering the magnification from 8X to 6X, even down to 4X will sometimes make a thin reticle visable where it wasn't before. E

I've owned both Z3-Z5, hard for my eyes see any difference. Now my Z6 scopes I can definitely see a crisper image & colors little better. Can't go wrong with any Swaro glass IMO.