Input on Minox?????????????

[FOTIS]

A buddy is looking at this one. I know nothiung of them Any input? How do they compare to leupold?



Minox 3 - 15 x 42mm ZA 5 Series Riflescope, Matte Black Finish with BDC Reticle.
Mfr. Part: 66021 SKU: MX66021

 

[DrMike]

They compare very favorably. Their quality is indisputable. They are perhaps clearer (if only marginally) than Leupold with slightly better light transmission. The price is often more attractive than Leupold. Good glass for the price. The ZA5 will cost you less than VX6, and is arguably better glass.

 

[FOTIS]

How is their customer service.

 

[Guest]

I've got a 4-20x50 sitting in the box upstairs, waiting for deer season to end on the 31st. It will go on my 270Wby after that, and I'll be able to give a full eval.

What I can tell you up to this point is that the glass is gin clear, and the clarity and brightness are well above that of most scopes, and certainly equal to or better than that of any glass I've looked through below the $1500+ euro glass. I'm confident I'll be buying another one. I am also confident that within the next couple of years, prices for these models will creep up just like the Conquest did a few years after its introduction.

 

[FOTIS]

cool

 

[DrMike]

We've not had any requirements for customer service on the Minox sold from this area. They remind me of Kahles. A few years ago, Kahles was a real bargain. Then, they were marketed by Swarovski and the price nearly doubled. They did split the sheets with Swarovski, and are now marketed through their own people. Minox, however, has in place their own service. The scopes and binoculars are quality glass, and I haven't heard of much need for customer service at this point. They do have a lifetime warranty. I suspect that anyone wishing to truly compete in today's market is compelled to provide such a warranty. What the service may be is as yet undetermined. I wouldn't hesitate to put the ZA5 glass on any of my rifles.

 

[Oldtrader3]

I purchased a Minox 2-10x40 BDC for $500+ about 18 months ago and was satisfied, at similar pricing that it woud compare favorably for perfomance, light trandsmission, contrast and value with a Conquest or a Leupold VX-3. Considering now that some of these Minox scopes can be had for less than half of the cost of a new VX-3 Leupold, there is no comparison for performance per dollar spent.

I took my scope and did some informal testing with an Air Force Contrast Chart in order to ascertain contrast and reolution values and levels of the (3) scopes tested. The Minox ZA-5, Zeiss 2.5-8x32 Conquest and Leupold 4.5-14x40AO VX-3 are essentially equal at 8 power and at 25 yards measurement range for testing purposes. My Minox is mounted on a Model 70 (refurbished) USRAC rifle that will shoot 1/8 inch groups at 100 yards on occasion. The last 1/8 inch group that I shot was with this scope at 100 yards on my .30-06. If it will do that, it must be pretty good glass and a good optic.

I would rate the Minox scope as being a very good value for the present selling price. Certainly superior to any thing even approaching the present open box pricing.

 

[35 Whelen]

What has been posted on here is correct as far as the quality of the glass; but there are some odd propertys involved with this scope that should be noted..................... for some unknown reason Minox chose to build their eye piece in a smaller than normal diameter.[30mm] I found from years of using standard sized ones,[34-36mm] that it would take some getting used to. As even if the actual field of view is the same; as the one you are comparing it to; Because you are now seeing it thru a smaller opening, it is sorta like watching the same TV show on a 30" screen instead of a 36"screen! Same show, and same quality of picture, but not really the same .................. bang for buck they are unbeatable, but I could not get used to smaller image ; and in the end pulled it off and sold it............... the contrast at the edges was not a sharp as my Zeiss scopes, but that wasnt really a big issue. I think Leupold did this same thing awhile back in their compact line, to keep the scopes lighter and dont think it worked as well as they had hoped either.
If you are shooting a extreame lightweight rifle, they are however one of the very smallest overall; and lightest out there, so that might be a factor but again none of my guns are: So a couple of ounces isnt an issue either.
As far a C.S. is consirned they are located in NH, and I called them to speak with a Tech Rep about mine to find out if the V5's had a larger eyepiece;[they dont] and was going to try another one, as they have that 1.5/6 that looked attractive . I got an answering service for days; and I did leave a message; but it was about a week, before they called back, and I wasnt here and they left me a message to "call anytime".......................................... so I dont think their is actually a warm body there most of the time; and that they must just check the messages once a week? Or something of that nature........
I am impressed with the quality: However if you had to pay, what Old Trader 3 did for his, I would most certainly pass on them, and stick with the Conquest line, however if you can get used to that 29mm eyepiece [and I couldnt] then value for money at the couple hundred dollar level is unbeatable. I have had Minox cameras since the 1970s; and used their binos since the 90s.... love them both. I will NOT be shocked to see them come out with a whole new line of V4/V6s that have a larger eyepiece in the very near future..................... why else would they dump a compleate line of scopes for half of the original prices?????????????
I realize a bunch of the guys on here, like myself, have snatched them up, and it sounds like most of them are very pleased with them, So I dont want to ruffle any feathers with the troops on here, but just thought I would toss this in from my perspective.
I have spent a large portion of my life looking thru a set of Binoculars; trying to find game for clients, and found that the very best glass money can buy from Germany, and Austria were none tooooo good when you are spending 8 hrs a day with a pair straped to your face.

 

[BK]

I have a 3-9x40ish on one of my '06s and I really like it. Clear, and seems to track pretty well,

What is a bit of a problem for me is I am starting to become a little wary of scopes over about 12x without parallax (sp?) adjustment. You can get side focus on the 3-15x50, but not the 3-15x42. Until they offer that, I think I would stick to the 2-10x like Scotty has. (I don't really like 50mm scopes, either.)

 

[SJB358]

What has been posted on here is correct as far as the quality of the glass; but there are some odd propertys involved with this scope that should be noted..................... for some unknown reason Minox chose to build their eye piece in a smaller than normal diameter.[29mm] I found from years of using standard sized ones,[34-36mm] that it would take some getting used to. As even if the actual field of view is the same; as the one you are comparing it to; Because you are now seeing it thru a smaller opening, it is sorta like watching the same TV show on a 29" screen instead of a 36"screen! Same show, and same quality of picture, but not really the same .................. bang for buck they are unbeatable, but I could not get used to smaller image ; and in the end pulled it off and sold it............... the contrast at the edges was not a sharp as my Zeiss scopes, but that wasnt really a big issue. I think Leupold did this same thing awhile back in their compact line, to keep the scopes lighter and dont think it worked as well as they had hoped either.
If you are shooting a extreame lightweight rifle, they are however one of the very smallest overall; and lightest out there, so that might be a factor but again none of my guns are: So a couple of ounces isnt an issue either.
As far a C.S. is consirned they are located in NH, and I called them to speak with a Tech Rep about mine to find out if the V5's had a larger eyepiece;[they dont] and was going to try another one, as they have that 1.5/6 that looked attractive . I got an answering service for days; and I did leave a message; but it was about a week, before they called back, and I wasnt here and they left me a message to "call anytime".......................................... so I dont think their is actually a warm body there most of the time; and that they must just check the messages once a week? Or something of that nature........
I am impressed with the quality: However if you had to pay, what Old Trader 3 did for his, I would most certainly pass on them, and stick with the Conquest line, however if you can get used to that 29mm eyepiece [and I couldnt] then value for money at the couple hundred dollar level is unbeatable. I have had Minox cameras since the 1970s; and used their binos since the 90s.... love them both. I will NOT be shocked to see them come out with a whole new line of V4/V6s that have a larger eyepiece in the very near future..................... why else would they dump a compleate line of scopes for half of the original prices?????????????
I realize a bunch of the guys on here, like myself, have snatched them up, and it sounds like most of them are very pleased with them, So I dont want to ruffle any feathers with the troops on here, but just thought I would toss this in from my perspective.
I have spent a large portion of my life looking thru a set of Binoculars; trying to find game for clients, and found that the very best glass money can buy from Germany, and Austria were none tooooo good when you are spending 8 hrs a day with a pair straped to your face.

Earle, great run down on the Minox. I agree about the eye piece, being a little smaller. I have actually never noticed it until you mentioned this on another post and while shooting yesterday, I said, "hmmmmm". Either way, I have three of them. All three work pretty well. I have two 3x9's and one 2x10. I am not anxious to test out their customer service, but I am not too scared of them either...

Oh, I also got my son a set of the Minox bino's 8x42's. Yeah, compared to my Zeiss Victory 10x42's RF's, the Minox's are clearly the better optic. I know it should not be that way, but that is the way it is. Maybe my Zeiss's were made on a Monday, but that is a big price difference. Those little Binos are well built and really the best bargain going. I would recommend them to anyone, especially seeing the way they stack up against my Zeiss binos.

I will say I went to the Minox because of the clarity of glass and great price. I replaced a few VX3's with them and haven't looked back.

Also, the only difference, as stated from Cameraland reps between the ZA3 and ZA5 is the zoom. All coatings and everything else are the same.

 

[SJB358]

I have a 3-9x40ish on one of my '06s and I really like it. Clear, and seems to track pretty well,

What is a bit of a problem for me is I am starting to become a little wary of scopes over about 12x without parallax (sp?) adjustment. You can get side focus on the 3-15x50, but not the 3-15x42. Until they offer that, I think I would stick to the 2-10x like Scotty has. (I don't really like 50mm scopes, either.)

Kurt hit the nail on the head. Gotta have a focus over 12x. I looked through a 3x15 recently, and while it was awesome, everything over 12X was kinda unusable for me. I was about to drop some coin on one of the 3x15's as well. I still might, but it'll be the 50mm variety. Scotty

 

[CatskillCrawler]

I recently bought a ZA5 2-10x40 and feel that for the open box prices that are available, it is a great deal. I also recently purchased an Elite 4200 at their closeout pricing and at that time I thought they were great. The Minox eclipses the Elite 4200 IMO despite the $90 difference.

The dimensions and weight of the ZA5 are excellent considering it's a 5x scope. Eye relief is almost too long, but not. The eyepiece is a little narrower than most scopes its size but I don't notice it when looking through it. Clears the bolt handle with ease too. The turrets are the only portion where I feel improvement can be made. The adjustment clicks are distinct and predictable except whenever you change directions. There is backlash(?) in the turret. I have to rotate through 2-3 clicks worth of movement before I feel a distinct click. Every click after is crisp again but it just seems as if there's a dead spot whenever you change directions.

Visual acuity seems to be excellent. I don't have a learned knowledge of optical acumen but I like the sharpness and contrast it provides. Edges are slightly less clear but not noticeable unless you look for it. I compared it in bright daylight and dusk with a VX-III 2-8x36, Elite 4200 3-9x40, Buckmasters 4.5-14x40, and a SII BigSky 3-12x42. They are all fairly close overall to me except the Minox which is easily better than all of these scopes. The 4200 and SII come very close at dusk but the ZA5 provides a decent 5-7 more minutes of viewing capability. I will compare it to my friend's Conquest 3.5-10x44 next week. I have a feeling he's gonna be miffed...

 

[Oldtrader3]

God! I just love it when somebody on a stupid forum publically tells me that I "screwed up" on what I paid for a scope. I paid the (stinking) retail price just like every Leupold (Conquest......) buyer that has ever lived! How was I to know that the nitwits in New York Camera were going to be selling them for 1/2 price a year later? Until a month ago, the Minox was marketed exactly like every other premium scope. I told them what I thought of their little marketing scheme and they thought it was funny (ha-ha!). Funny except to evey di*k head who paid retail for their scope!

Now that my personal honor and reputation are impuned, I have the choice of running the scope over with my 4WD and sharpening the flattened end of the tube to commit Hari Cari with, or live with the knowledge that I have been called a stupid oaf publically by someone that I do not even know and may not have even graduated from Hgh School!

Something to ponder, I own a couple of scope that have not parallax adjustment and I do not normally set their magnification higher than at 10x. Parallpax adjustment is fine for static range shooting but I will bet that 99.98% of hunters shooting at game do not yell: STOP! I have to reset my parallax before I can shoot!

The eyepiece on the Minox is 3 mm smaller than the Conquest eye box but Conquest and Nikon changed the basis of competition on eyeboxes by making them larger in about 2009. I would bet that the Minox is about the size of the Leupold and until I understand this spatial relationship better, I will refrain from comment.

 

[35 Whelen]

Well old trader I certainly didnt want you take that tooooooooo seriously . And just wanted to try to inform someone looking to BUY a Minox scope of some of the odditys they have. You had already commented how much you were enjoying yours so I purposely added that "I dont want to ruffle any feathers" comment on there so you wouldnt react that way. I fully realize you like yours and the eyepiece suits you fine, so I realize you are satisfied with them . However when someone asks how the rest of us feel about them [this post in general] I felt like I should be as qualified as you are to throw my two cents worth in here so I did, I was never questioning your honor or reputation . As far as you questioning weather I every finished high school is getting waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay otta line on here, so I am just going to ignore that statement, but you should tread lightly, as I will only dodge you for so long and you could see another side of me that you will not appreaciate ............... I can clearly see that you feel you are a expert on about any subject, one may post on here, and I respect that, now you need to stop wearing your "heart of your shirtsleave" and be more carefull how you react on these forums as I was NOT implying you are stupid, or a dickhead for paying retail at all,[I would feel exactly the same way you do about that ] but mearly stating; that I would NOT pay $500 for a Minox scope when there was a Zeiss sitting beside it for the same money . If you cant handle that so be it ........... I have printed many times I still feel they are unbeatable for the money they are presently selling for. I measure the Zeiss at 35.60 mm............ simple as that.

 

[IdahoCTD]

I bought a 4x20x50 Minox this past summer. What I noticed is the center of the glass is clear as hell but the edges are fuzzy. With a Leupold Vari X III 4.5-14 next to it to compare you can definately see the difference. The Leupold is crystal clear to the edge of the glass. Another down side to the Minox is the 1" tube and 50mm objective (and it's a large 50mm). You have to use crazy high rings to get it to clear the barrel. Bottom line is I'd stick with a 40mm Leupold. I personally dont think the 50mm and larger Leupolds are as clear as the 40's. A friend has a 56mm VX-L that is no where near as clear as my Vari X III 4.5-14x40. I can see bullet holes at 550yds and through his scope it was impossible.

 

[jmad_81]

I put a 2-14x40 ZA5 on my 280AI this summer. I'm still getting used to it. It has great eye relief, and is pretty damn clear for the money! The thing that really impressed me about it is how well it tracks. I was at the rang with it shooting the 300 yards gong, dialed up to 400, dead center hit. Dialed up to 600, missed. Corrected my elevation, whack. Dialed back to 300, whack, back to 600, whack again. They are not the sexiest scope out there, but they are very functional. The only thing that I really don't like about them is the bright silver "Minox" on each side of the bell. Screwed up a decent looking black scope by doing that IMO. Now That I think about it, the other thing I don't like is the eye piece focus turns to easy, and doesn't have a locking ring one you get it set.

I bought the Open box special from CLNY. Think it was like $360 for a duplex.

 

[Oldtrader3]

.35 Whelen, don't take this personally. It started a long time ago on a different forum by a few individuals who do not even look through the scope, let alone try it out optically and make a judgement based on knowledge, evaluative skills and maybe some experience. You just stepped into the middle of an already stewing pot and this has nothing really to do with what you said. Sorry, my remarks were in no way aimed at you personally. I was talking about another individual.

I made a mistake by responding to you on a topic which has been bothering me for awhile. I have no issue with you. I also have written to NYCamera about their marketing strategy of pricing tier destruction for a respected brand of optic which had been making nicely designed cameras and quality binoculars ever since I can remember. If I was Managing Director of Minox now, I would most certainly be very upset at what has happened to my brand image destruction in order for a NY Camera store to cheaply sell my product which is much better performance and price-wise than it is being treated by this distributor.

That is what my diatribe is about! However this entire scenario finally resolves inself, Minox wil never be the same company they were before this firestorm. If it was me running Minox Optik, I would fire their distributors, reorganise and start over under a different branding strategy. That is what I am upset about. I do not even know you all that well yet!

I am sorry if I inconvenienced you in any way.

 

[DrMike]

The only thing that I really don't like about them is the bright silver "Minox" on each side of the bell.

Hmmm! Kinda' like "Calvin Klein" on jeans. Guess it is for snob appeal. I'm with you, however; I like subtlety and restrained understatement on my gear. For the cognoscenti, the gear will be immediately recognised. For the casual shooter, it won't make much difference in any case. We recognise Leupold by the gold ring. We recognise Swarovski by the engraved falcon. Minox needs a way to mark their scopes in a more restrained manner.

 

[Oldtrader3]

My Minox scope has a Butler Creek cover on it. The scope now prominently says "OX" on it.

 

[35 Whelen]

Ok OT3........... no sweat. I am quite sure had I purchased one when you did; I would feel just like you do. I think Mike posted on here; the same thing happened a few years ago with the Kahles line they droped the price in half; and there must have been a ton of guys; that were exteamely upset about all that too...................... as far as scopes are consirned in general I have been watching the Swarovski and top end German stuff, selling on ebay commonly, in excellent used condition, for about half price; of what they paid for them; So really,high priced scopes dont hold their value as well as you would think; in our limp wristed economy, we are now all in..................... I would also hate to bail out on a scope I paid $1800 for; and it was in flat out minty condition, and have to take $800-1000 bucks for it! But I see alot of that happening. As you all know I prefer Zeiss Conquest scopes for the bang for buck, and being a dealer, I get great pricing when they run specials... so that works for me. I have a guide that runs an old Weaver K3 on his gun, that is a total mess to look thru, but he says it works fine for him so I let it go at that..................... I wouldnt use it on a air rifle; but he thinks its ok. I tryed to talk him into a Minox 3-9 for $230, and he wouldnt spring for it. So Minox are still at the top of the heap; at the money they are selling for now. I am real sorry you got stung on the Scope OT3.................. at the end of the trail it wont matter one bit; but right now I am sure it is a sore subject .