Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics New bino question

Looking at getting the Minox HG 8x43 or the Zeiss Conquest HD 8x42. Anyone have experience with both and what did you prefer? Any other binos you think are better in the $700 range?

Honestly, about the same to my eyes.

I have six pairs of binoculars. Two Minox HGs (8.5x43, 8x33),two Zeiss Victory FLs (8x32, 10x32),a Leica HD in 10x42. Plus one set of other Minoxs I inherited - 10x40's, BL series I think.

I've found the Minox and Zeiss conquests to be about the same. The Zeiss FL's are measurably more clear and sharper. The Leica's best of all.

Each, however, comes with a price. I love the warranty on the Minox, the eye relief, size and easy view of the FL's and the absolutely wonderful Leica HD's are just plain heavy for carrying around all day.

Of the two you've listed, flip a coin. I found that the real answer was to try and match the Bino's to the job at hand. The Minox No-Fault warranty has a lot of value in harsh or punishing environments.

Cropslx,

I've owned the Minox HG 8x43s; they are a wonderful binocular for the price. IMO, the Zeiss Conquest HD 8x42(a close friend of mine owns these) is a tad better optically. Build quality on both is very, very good(Minox being a bit lighter in weight than the Conquest). I personally like the lighter weight of the Minox better, but something about the Conquest's extra few ounces just makes them feel very solid(rugged/durable). That's not to say that the Minox don't feel rugged and durable because they do. Conquest comes with lousy objective lens covers that tend to fall off and get lost easily and the outside of the barrels is oddly shaped so finding good fitting aftermarket covers might be iffy. Minox covers are decent quality and very user friendly. Personally, good quality lens covers are a big deal to me(they protect the lenses from dust/scratching etc. when bouncing down a dusty mountain road on a 4-wheeler while hunting), your mileage may vary.

Warranties on both are great and I doubt you'd ever have a problem with either company if warranty service was ever needed. No, I do not think you will find better for your $700 price limit.

Bottom line: Both of these binoculars are excellent(good enough optically that you'd never need a better bino, IMO).

I presently own the Minox APO HG 8x43(Minox's HD version of the HGs). These are "equal to" if not better than the Conquest HDs optically, but I also paid a couple hundred more for them (special Cameraland Demo sale) and I've never seen them on sale that low since.


Good luck, you can't go wrong with either one, IMO.

Leftybolt

Regardless of the quality brand you choose, I am absolutely a believer in the 8X40ish size for field glasses.

I love my 8X32 FL ziess which are as good as glasses get, but compared to my wives 8X42 Terra's which are 1/3 the cost by the way...... well we usually use hers when the sun is about gone. They are by a large margin brighter and easier to see with at dusk and dawn.

There seems to be a point where the quality of the glass and the coatings cannot trump pure objective size. Decent glass with a large objective to magnification ratio are the real winner.

Good choice on the bino for hunting regardless of the brand

Conquest HD is better optically.

Nothing wrong with the Vortex Razor HD if you can find a deal on one.

I love my Cabelas Euro HDs, made by Meopta. They were dang near (98%) as good as my Leica HDs for half the price. They run them on sale sometimes so may be worth looking at.

I tried a set of the Minox HGs, nice but I returned them, didn't like the focus wheel. The Conguest HDsI have never looked through.

Anyone ever compare the 8x40ish roof to similar porros?

How much will you find them on sale for from Cabelas?

Mine were 25 percent off plus free shipping I recollect.