Difference Between Zeiss Diavari & Conquest Scopes

Lens Coatings

• Zeiss applies a coating to the lenses of their rifle scopes to reduce glare and allow the maximum amount of available light to enter the scope. This enhances clarity under less-than-ideal conditions such as twilight, fog or rain. The Conquest series of rifle scopes utilize Zeiss' basic "MC" coating. The Victory Diavari series uses higher-grade, more expensive proprietary coatings to improve performance under conditions of poor visibility.

Reticles

• Zeiss offers a variety of reticles from which to choose for both the Conquest and Diavari lines. Reticles are the aiming systems in rifle scopes -- usually some type of crosshairs -- that allow you to sight your target. Diavari scopes are available with electrically illuminated reticles to improve aiming under low-light conditions, a feature the lower-priced Conquest scopes do not offer.

Reticle Location

• The reticle of a variable-power scope may be located in the first or second focal plane. First-focal-plane reticles are mechanically stronger and more shock resistant, and are also more conducive to using the reticle markings for range estimation. In the Conquest line, only the "3-12x56 MC" scope offers a first-focal reticle option. All Diavari scopes with 50mm or larger objective lenses offer the first-focal-plane reticle as an option.

Bullet Drop Compensation

• Bullet Drop Compensation, or BDC, is an optional elevation adjustment turret the factory calibrates for specific cartridge and bullet weights. The BDC turret replaces the standard elevation turret, which is graduated in minutes of angle. With BDC, the shooter can dial in the range to target directly in yards or meters instead of needing to calculate the bullet drop for a given range and then converting to minutes of angle.

  BDC is available in the top-of-the-line FL sub-series of Diavari scopes. It is not available on any Conquest scopes.