Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Zeiss V4 or V6

I have a V4 in 4–16 X 50 that I got from red hawk. The glass clarity is amazing and I’m thoroughly impressed with the light gathering. To Mayeye – and I know it’s subjective – but to my eye it is clearer and brighter than my Leupold VX5 and my Trijicon Credo X. In fact, the glass clarity to Mayeye is on par with my Schmidt and bender polar.

I’m ready to get another scope but wondering if I should spring for the V-6 this time? I know this is personal and subjective but my number one priority is light gathering. The V-6 lists a higher light transmission but I take that with a grain of salt. Don’t fully trust manufactures specs on that. The V4 is a 4X magnification range which to me should be more conducive to light transmission than a 6X range. Not sure if the coatings on the V-6 bring like transmission in favor of that model.

I am more than happy with the clarity of the V4, but looking for any edge in light gathering for hunting hogs in the south through the midnight hour. Maybe BobbyTomek will give thoughts, here.

Any thoughts?

I would go with what fits you and your budget. If happy with a v4 why spend extra.

You are correct on your light transmission assumption that it may be suspect. All those numbers are generated by instruments measure light of various colors and spectrum. So who knows what it is for whatever lighting condition you are using.

Spence

I am just a hunter, not an optics or gear-testing expert. Comparing a V4 4-16x50 side-by-side to a V6 3-18x50, both set at the same actual magnification, I can get about 2-3 minutes of extra shooting time with the V6 at sunset. By that I mean I can see/distinguish antler tines for an extra 2-3 minutes while the sun sets and the woods grow dark with the V6 over the V4. In other words, to my eye, the V6 does have better light transmission over the V4. That's a small practical difference, though, and I am not sure if that slight difference matters to anyone, nor how that would translate to hog hunting at night. JMHO, and every ones' eyes are different.

I can say that I prefer the 3-18 magnification range of the V6 over the 4-16 range of the V4, but the V4 is still a very nice general purpose hunting scope.

I had a 3-18 V6 for a short time 3-4 years ago. I don’t remember the glass having a “wow” factor better than anything else I’d tried at the time. Sold it cause I needed illumination and wanted Mil adjustments.

From what I’ve seen out of the V4 line in recent years, I’m not convinced that the V6 is $800-$1000 better unless Zeiss has updated/upgraded the V6 since my sample of one.

Thanks for this insight, everyone.

I have owned both. Still own a V6. Glass clarity is very good on both. Slight edge to the V6. But splitting hairs. From what I can tell however, the V6 appears to be a better constructed scope, and that matters far more than minor glass nuances. The V6 is German and the V4 Japanese. Clicks are more solid. Tracking is spot on. Everything about it feels more solid. This site seems to place far more importance on glass than is necessary, IMO. Folks here seem to critique glass qualities and rarely discuss mechanical integrity. That’s absolutely backwards, imo. No animal is going to get shot or not shot because of the glass differences between the V4 and V6.

All that said, I don’t really trust either one thoroughly and treat them with kid gloves, which bothers me. I haven’t seen anything that shows any current model Zeiss hold up to impact well. Even their big bucks LRP failed Form’s drop test miserably and totally fell apart. I’ll likely replace my V6 soon enough. It’s certainly no Nightforce. I need scopes I trust completely. My hunting time is too important.

SD, Will you likely replace that with a night force?

Probably. Perhaps a March. Jury is still out. If you can handle a few extra ounces the NF NXS 3-15x50 is a no brainer compared to that V6. Similar cost, better in every regard that matters, except weight.

+1

I go directly to the easy button now days. For me, it’s Night Force for hunting or range.

The place where Zeiss beats NF is in their normal duplex/4A style 6 non illlum or 60 illuminated reticle. To me for hunting they are better reticles than anything NF offers, not taking about LR target shooting or sniper wannabes, just for hunting at normal, say 600 and in, ranges.

NF sells a great #4 in Europe, but won’t sell it here.

Spence

I don’t disagree if all you want is simple, but that’s also where you can get the Forceplex in the SHV line.

I like my V4’s. A 6X zoom seems like a lot, but I am only surmising. Seems like as zoom ratios go up, other optical properties suffer…? At least 10-15 years ago that was true, haha.

Being a Jap build is a GOOD thing; they come out of LOW in Japan, just like NF. The Japanese do not screw around.

OP, if you are "WOWED" by the V4 glass, you'll schidt yourself the first time you look through a Nightforce. I have a sample of one V4 and it sucks in comparison, even when compared to NF's bottom of the barrel SHV. I like my V4, but it is not worth the money they charge for them. Thankfully I did not pay retail, but waited on a repair that turned in to a replacement because they do not make the old Conquest anymore. That replacement took 6 months to get too, so think about that one for a bit. I also don't trust the Zeiss to hold up as well as a NF in real world use either. I do not like their zero stop feature. It feels very cheap to me. I was messing with setting it the other day and it's just cheap plastic, and slips. So it's not a real solid feeling zero stop. The one positive I can say about the V4 is it tracks well and returns to zero very well. Glass is on par with my cheap azzed Burris FFII's.

That’s not my experience. My V4’s are better optically than my early 3-10 SHV and my NSX 5.5-22.

It’s very possible NF has upgraded their glass. But for a long time there, you bought NF in spite of the glass, not because of it.

I have owned one SHV scope 3-10x42 and no V4's other than what I looked thru at SW. That SHV might be one rugged scope but optics are not its strong point for sure. For a scope that costs 1k no RTZ is a deal breaker as well. NF and V4 made in the same freaking plant by Japanese workers.

Being made in the same plant (LOW) is a good place to start, but by no means does it imply that they are the same quality. LOW builds scopes to spec for many manufacturers. Some are built like tanks and some aren’t. Some have high end glass and some do not. Other than the name on the door, there is very little similar between the Zeiss V4 and a Nightforce.

The other SHV models do have a zero stop. The 3-10 has capped turrets. Most scopes with capped dials lack a zero stop.

How much trouble would it had been for NF to make a non capped turret for it?

Im sure if they did then all the guys who want a capped turret would cry foul! Can’t please everyone. My guess is NF figured they have many other options with exposed turrets, so they made this one capped for those who are mostly non dialers. But to answer your question I’m sure it’s not as easy as it seems. I’d love that option too, selfishly. But it’s not a deal breaker for me. I just make it a habit of keeping my eye on it when the cap is in my pocket.

The exposed turret model is known as the SWFA 3-9.

Fair enough, but a manufacturer that makes very high quality stuff “knows things”…. can’t see them cheesing out. At any rate, my (5) V4’s have tracked great for me and are optically brilliant. To my eye- and that’s an important disclaimer. The turret design is really good; so is the illumination. The parallax knob is a bit stiff.

At the “demo unit from Red Hawk” price point, I’m a big fan.

Fair enough, but a manufacturer that makes very high quality stuff “knows things”…. can’t see them cheesing out. At any rate, my (5) V4’s have tracked great for me and are optically brilliant. To my eye- and that’s an important disclaimer. The turret design is really good; so is the illumination. The parallax knob is a bit stiff.

At the “demo unit from Red Hawk” price point, I’m a big fan. :)”

Jeff, those demos from red Hawk are exactly what I’m looking at. The one before I have from them has performed well for my eyes. But this time I’m going to go with illumination. Glad to hear they are working good for you

I bought the 6-24x50 V4 for my Bergara 6.5 creedmoor from RedHawk and my cousin bought the V6 model for his thinking he’d like the next model up. Neither of us can tell the difference optically but we like my V4 better than the Nightforce he started with. I’m a big Zeiss fan & their glass looks better to me than Leupold & most other scopes. In binoculars I use Swarovski & a Leica rangefinder but the have chosen Conquests without disappointment yet.

Last year I replaced my VX3 4.5-14 x50 on a 7mm with the illuminated 4-16x50 V4 and it is a terrific hunting scope. Again compared to son in laws Nightforce & Vortex Vioer PST models it suits my eyes better.

I’ve dragged Conquests through steep nasty oak brush filled elk country with many clumsy slips & falls and the recoil of a 300 Weatherby & not lost zero on any of them. If you need Nightforce to have peace of mind get one. I have piece of mind with Zeiss Conquest for almost 20 years & have recommended them to half a dozen other hunters who’ve killed elk with them.

I have never had a Zeiss product have to be sent back to Zeiss for anything. They will build their scopes in Japan to their specs which obviously work well. Jeez

I am no fan of that scope 3-10x42 SHV. They do not sell a scope with a decent hunting reticle except in Europe.

You guys are delusional if you think that V4 scope is anywhere near as good as a Nightforce. You better go get some sleep and think some of this schidt over until you come to your senses for fuggs sake.

Almost as dumb as you saying the Burris FF is an upgrade over a Zeiss V4. That and confusing a SHV with the rest of the NF lineup.

I’m sure your nightforce nameplate makes you feel cool. The fact that they are actually produced by the same manufacturer LOW of Japan very probably in the same plant might give you pause. With SWFA, Trijicon, Tract & others.

But my opinion isn’t based on reputation of the maker or cool nameplates - it’s based on lots of dead elk & deer over 2 decades of use. They have performed after 40 miles of difficult hiking on average in a week with another hundred in a scabbard on a UTV. Even the scope on my Creedmoor that’s primarily for target use killed an elk on a 300 Weatherby before swapping. Conquests work in the real world. My more recent Conquests are easier to look through than the handful of Nightfoce scopes I’ve looked through or shot with only a couple side by side.

If money were no object I’d buy S&B or top of line Zeiss but in the under $1k price range the Conquest is about as good as it gets.

Wait….. is being delusional a BAD thing?!

Asking for a friend—

LOW builds all kinds of scopes from low end to high end. They build to contract specifications. Some get built to much higher standards, some not. LOW has cranked out their fair share of cheap stuff over the years. That’s not their fault, that’s what the contract specified. Not everything is the same that goes out their door.


As an aside, many Nightforce scopes source parts from LOW, but then they are assembled and QC’d stateside.

I have used a V4 for three seas and really like it. I looked at the VX 5 and actually preferred the eye box and glass of the VX 4.

I would buy another.

Lefty

Thanks, Lefty. Shared experience is super helpful.

And thanks to everyone for keeping the conversation going I am enjoying reading.

So much of this glass stuff is subjective and personal to your eyes, if you have glasses etc…

I have owned LOW Japanese made scopes branded by bushnell, weaver, and NF. All were without fail mechanically reliable and optically excellent within their price range, to me the LOW weavers and Bushnell 3000/3200 batted way above their price range optically, the 4000/4200 and 6500s were also great but more in line with peer competition glass wise.

In the NFs I have owned, maybe 6 or so, all NSXs I think their mechanical features and durability were more than other optics at their price point but their optical quality was on par or slightly less when considering their brightness, color transmission and edge to edge clarity. But they were still optically all I could ever need for hunting and then some.

The same can be said for my LOW weaver classic 4x38. All I would ever need for hunting, but sometimes I want a little more.

Pick what looks good to you for your budget and don’t look back.

Your first call should be to Doug at Cameraland when you decide to buy.

Be safe all. Spence

The V4 (or mine anyway) have a great combo of a truly excellent elevation turret, with a zero stop, capped windage, and very effective illumination that has a VERY low setting for hunting when it’s pretty much dark. I’m forgetting the reticle # now, but there’s a simple (IE, not xmas-tree) MOA-hash reticle that looks like a duplex when you want it to.

Nightforce SHV and NSX are all LOW; parts, assembly, everything. Can’t speak to their other models.

I’ve done enough direct low-light comparisons between my SHV and V4’s to know for a fact the V4 kills the SHV in that context. With that said my SHV is an early one with parallax adjustment. I’ve heard they did do a glass upgrade on the SHV and NSX at some point, don’t know when.

Jeff, not sure and I might be mistaken but I thought the NXS and higher up scopes were assembled in Idaho.

You are correct.

I’ll verify but my big NSX says Made in Japan right on it. And I’ve read that that’s the case. Always learning so if I’m wrong, I’ll adjust accordingly. Thanks.

Here’s a good read on LOW:

https://sageratsafaris.com/light-optical-works-japan/

Jeff,
I've looked at that same website and I thought at one time it said the NXS Compacts where made in Japan by Low. In looking at it now it seems to of changed?? Anyway, just looked at a NXS Comapct I bought about 8-9 months ago and appears to be "assembled" in the USA per the scope. But is machined in Japan??

Not sure if there's a definitive "made in..." for the Nightforce line of scopes over the years. Seems to change with time. For a time period the NXS compacts were labeled USA while the other NXS scopes were Japan. Not sure if that holds true currently.

Of the NF scopes I have (as labeled on the optic):

3.5-15x50 NXS MLR (Japan)
3.5-15x50 NXS Mil-R (Japan)
5.5-22x50 NXS MOAR (Japan)
3.5-15x50 F1 NXS NP-RF1 (USA)
3.5-15x50 F1 NXS MD2.0 (USA)
2.5-10x32 NXS compact MOAR (USA)
2.5-10x32 NXS compact MOAR (USA)
2.5-10x42 NSX compact IHR (USA)

4-16x42 ATACR F1 Mil-XT (USA)
5.5-25x56 ATACR Mil-R (Japan)
5.5-25x56 ATACR F1 Mil-R (USA)

3-10x42 SHV MOAR (Japan)

My NSX says Made in Japan. Clearly it’s been a fluid situation over the years.

Back to the original subject - the V4 to my eyes is too close to the V6 to make a difference worth the additional cost.

Again to my eyes & some others on the forum the V4 glass is clearer/better than more than one model Nightforce.

In my experience hunting in snow/rain/thick brush & heavy recoil the conquest line of scopes has been reliable. I’ve broken or knocked other scopes off zero with my normal clumsy but not deliberately abusive use.

As always your mileage may vary & you can get lucky or unlucky with any individual scope from any manufacturer.