I'll never forget how I learned about optics..and quality. A buddy of mine spent ALOT of money on a pair of Leicas...I thought he was crazy.

We went hunting and I sat in a blind where I could see a really long way, and he went into the woods. He gave me his Leicas and told me to compare them to what I had....

Later I saw two bucks fighting a long way down the fence line. Through my binos I could see it was two bucks...then I tried his.

One was an 8 point...and he was fighting with a really nice 10....

Wow. Spend the money.

I never regretted paying for quality glass. I will be loyal to Swarovski due to there outstanding customer service. Dropped my 8x30 SLC's in my fanny pack from 25' up a tree stand while getting ready to climb down. Bino's worked but were not as sharp on image. After season contacted Swarovski and sent them back, they fixed them no charge and returned them, they covered return postage in under 2 weeks. These bino's are around 20 years old.

If I may address your question more directly since you asked about two specific models. If you use the binos a lot I think the Conquest is fine. If you plan on hunting for a living go with the Swaros. If you have money you are dying to spend on great optics go with the Swaros. If you MAY wish you had spent that EXTRA money elsewhere like on a new custom bow you have been thinking about or that custom hunting knife you have been dreaming about go with the Conquests.Both Zeiss and Swarovski have excellent customer service! I have been down the route of top of the line to mid priced optics.(Left low end opyics in the dirt a few decades ago) I choose the mid priced binocs unless I was wealthy and needed to spend the money for the very best. BUT there is a difference in the more middle and up priced stuff. Some of it is NOT very good quality in over all build. The Conquest is pretty decent IMO and I think it would do you well if they fit. Make sure you try a pair out to see if they fit you (eye cups, controls, balance etc). Even if you go with the Swaros make sure they fit you.

Thanks, Kent! Well said and well reasoned.

My son-in-law has the Zeiss Conquest binoculars and I have the Zeiss Victory binoculars. We have compared them side by side when hunting. We both agree that the Conquest is excellent but noticed that the Victory binoculars gather more light in low-light conditions (deep, dark forest for instance). The cost difference of the two, if I remember correctly, is only about $200.

Wow.  Great thread.

Lots of good advice and I will second the value of birders on this topic.  They seem to really care about birding and don't give a crap about stuff for birding.  So when they talk optics it tends to loose the branding and focuses (pun intended) on the performance only.

Look thru em both, everyones eyes are different, like fingerprints. For me, Minox APO Hg's gathered more light and had a better picture than Zeiss Victories so the Zeiss went back.

check the warrantys  it may have been mentioned above, but I have had the same set of Swaro's for over 20 years and I am VERY hard on equipment, these have been rebuilt twice .. for any piece of gear to last me even 10 years is a miracle

either will be WAY BETTER than most other brands....that's not subjective.

The only other compact bino that I would highly recommend is the Leica Ultravid 8x20 BCR.

Like Terry said, either will be better than the competition. I've hunted with Zeiss for years but wouldn't hesitate to buy Swarovski if the right deal came along and I was looking for new glass.  

QuoteOriginally posted by Terry Green:
either will be WAY BETTER than most other brands....that's not subjective.

TRUE!